542 
MAMMALIA. 
period to the people of Madagascar, and the name of Aye- Aye 
given to it by Sonnerat, was due to the exclamation of the natives 
of that island when this traveller showed it to them for the first 
time. 
For a long time it was undecided what place to assign the 
Cheiromys among the Mammalia. This indecision arose from 
ambiguous organic characteristics in this quadruped, some of 
which pertain to Rodents and others to the Makis. At first sight, 
the Cheiromys, or Aye- Aye (Fig. 235), shows some striking points 
Fig. 235. — Aye- Aye ( Cheiromys madagascaiensis ). 
of resemblance to the Squirrels : it has their general form, the 
long bushy tail, and especially their dentition. It has, in fact, 
no canine teeth, but possesses, in front of its jaws, a pair of 
strong incisors, isolated from the molars by a vacant space, 
similar to the gap occurring in the Squirrels and all animals 
belonging to the Order of Rodentia. But, on the other 
hand, the large size and rounded form of its head, indicative 
of a voluminous brain ; the conformation of its limbs ; the 
