44 Quadkumana. MAMMALIA. Nycticebidas. 
manlike of all the lemurs. Its fur is very soft, long, 
and thick. Its general colour is black, with the throat 
and buttocks whitish. In its nature the indri is 
described as being very gentle, and, although not 
remarkable for intelligence, it is said to be so far 
susceptible of education that the natives of Madagascar, 
who honour it with the appellation of the Man of the 
woods, sometimes train it to hunt, probably for birds. 
If the information that we possess upon the habits 
of the preceding species be scanty enough, we know 
still less with regard to the other members of this 
family, which indeed are very few in number. They 
differ from the indri in having the tail, which in that 
animal is so greatly abbreviated, well developed and 
furred, and also in some particulars of their dentition 
upon which we need not dwell. 
Family. VI.— NYCTICEBIDiE. 
The animals of this family, which includes the greater 
part of the lemurine forms found out of Madagascar, 
are distinguished from the preceding families by the 
more acutely tuberculate form of their molar teeth, 
which must be regarded as indicative of their insecti- 
vorous habits, and from those of the following family 
by their having, like the lemurs, a curved claw only on 
the first finger of the hinder hands. In the number 
and arrangement of their teeth they agree with the 
lemurs. They are strictly nocturnal animals, and, like 
most other animals of similar habits, have the eyes very 
large. The species are found in India and Africa. 
THE BENGAL LORI {Loris gracilis), Plate 4, fig. 
13, as indicated by its name, is an Indian species. It 
occurs in Bengal, Assam, Silhet, and the Malayan pen- 
insula, and also in the island of Ceylon. The lori 
measures about a foot in length, and is of a greyish' 
fulvous colour, with the lower surface of the body 
whitish, and a white band running down between the 
eyes, and surrounding the nose. It has a rounded 
head, with small ears and a short pointed nose. Its 
body and limbs are slender, the first fingers of the 
hands are short, and the tail is altogether wanting. 
Its fur is very thick and soft. The habits of the loris 
are strictly nocturnal. They reside in large forests, 
usually in mountainous districts, and pass the days 
sleeping in the holes of trees. At sunset they come 
forth, and move slowl}' about amongst the branches, 
seeking their food, which consists partly of fruits and 
the tender leaves of trees, and partly of insects, small 
birds, and mice. When on the ground their long 
slender limbs seem unable to support them, and they 
move, as described by M. F. Cuvier, in a manner 
somewhat resembling that of a very young puppy. 
Hence many writers have compared them with the 
sloths, and it is remarkable that they exhibit an 
arrangement of the arteries supplying the anterior 
limbs somewhat resembling that which prevails in 
those singular creatures. M. Gervais justly compares 
the slow and cautious movements of the loris to the 
semiparalytic gait of the chameleon. 
In their nature the loris are gentle and inoffensive, 
and not destitute of intelligence, as will be seen from the 
following extracts from an interesting account given by 
Sir William Jones, the celebrated oriental scholar, of a 
specimen which lived for some time in his possession. 
•‘To me,” says Sir William, “who not only constantly 
fed him, but bathed him twice a week in water 
accommodated to the seasons, and whom he clearly 
distinguished from others, he was at all times grateful ; 
but when I disturbed him in winter, he was usually 
indignant, and seemed to reproach me with the un- 
easiness which he felt, though no possible precautions 
had been omitted to keep him in a proper degree of 
warmth. At all times he was pleased at being stroked 
on the head and throat, and frequently suffered me to 
touch his extremely sharp teeth ; but at all times his 
temper was quick, and when he was unseasonably 
disturbed, he expressed a little resentment by an 
obscure murmur, or a greater degree of displeasure by 
a peevish cry, especially in winter, when he was often 
as fierce on being much importuned as any beast of the 
woods. From half-an-hour after sunrise to half-an- 
hour before sunset, he slept without intermission, rolled 
up like a hedgehog,* and as soon as he awoke he 
began to prepare himself for the labours of his approach- 
ing day, licking and dressing himself like a cat. He 
was then ready for a slight breakfast, after which he 
commonly took a short nap ; but when the sun was 
quite set, he recovered all his vivacity. His ordinary 
food was the sweet fruit of this country. Milk he 
lapped eagerly, but was contented with plain water. 
In general he was not voracious, but never appeared 
satiated with grasshoppers, and passed the whole night 
whilst the hot season lasted in prowling for them. 
When a grasshopper or an}'' insect alighted within his 
reach, his eyes, which he fixed upon his prey, glowed 
with uncommon fire, and having drawn himself back 
to spring on it with greater force, he seized the victim 
with both his fore paws, but held it in one of them 
while he devoured it.” 
Another species of lori {L. tardigradus), is found 
in some of the islands of the eastern archipelago, such 
as Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. It is rather smaller 
than the preceding species, and has a rudimentary tail, 
from which and other characters it has been regarded 
by some writers as forming the type of a distinct genus 
{Nycticebus). The Javanese lori has also been de- 
scribed as a distinct species. 
THE POTTO {Perodicticus Potto) is the first African 
species of this family to which we shall refer. It is 
distinguished from all the rest of the Quadrumana by 
the rudimentary form of the first or index finger of the 
forehands, which is reduced to a mere tubercle furnished 
with a little claw. The potto is a thick-set animal, 
with short limbs and a long tail. Its size is about that 
of a small cat. Its ears are of moderate size. Its 
general colour is a reddish-brown, with the extremity 
of the tail black. M. Van der Hceven mentions, that 
in two specimens observed by him, “ the spinous pro- 
cesses of the last five cervical and of the first two 
dorsal vertebrae are long, and pierce through the hairy 
integument of the back, with a weak horny covering.” 
The potto is a native of the forests of the coast of 
Guinea, especially about Sierra Leone. Like the lori, 
* The individual described by F. Cuvier is said by him to 
have slept sitting in a crouching posture. 
