LEMURS. 
216 
and flanks, and the outer surfaces of the limbs; while the black embraced the 
forehead and face, the throat, chest, and abdomen, the inner surfaces of the limbs, 
and the hands and feet, witli the exception of a narrow stripe of white across their 
THE BUFFED LEMUR (| nat. size). 
upper surface. On the back of the neck there was a large white patch. The 
length of the head and body of this animal was two feet, and that of the tail 
somewhat more. 
The Gentle Lemur. 
Genus Hapctlemur. 
The gentle lemur (Hapalemur griseus), like all the members of the group 
under consideration, is an inhabitant of Madagascar, but differs so decidedly from 
the true lemurs that it has been made the type of a distinct genus, of which 
it is the only well-defined species. 
It may be readily distinguished from the true lemurs by its rounded head and 
extremely short muzzle, the ears being likewise very short. A peculiar feature 
is the presence of a small bare patch on the front surface of the fore-arm, a little 
above the palm of the hand, which is covered with small spines. The colour is a 
dark iron-grey, with a tinge of yellow, becoming somewhat paler on the under-parts 
and the inner sides of the limbs. The individual hairs are black, with a reddish 
band near their tips. 
The species differs from the true lemurs in being purely nocturnal in its habits. 
It is chiefly found in bamboo-jungles, and subsists mainly on the young tender 
