A YE-A YE. 
241 
their being referred to one and the same group; while further minute investiga¬ 
tions will reveal the fact that their deep-seated internal structure—which alone 
reveals their true affinities—is very different. Such was the case with the aye- 
aye, which was at first referred to the Rodents; its affinities to the lemurs not 
having been discovered till a fuller examination. 
The aye-aye agrees with the true lemurs in having the great toe of the foot 
furnished with a flattened nail, and capable of being opposed to the other toes; 
this feature being alone sufficient to prove that the creature has nothing to do with 
the Rodents. With the exception of this great toe, however, all the toes and 
fingers, which are very long and narrow, are furnished with narrow and sharply- 
pointed claws. Although both the hands and the feet are large in proportion to 
the aye-aye (J nat. size). 
the size of the animal, yet the great peculiarity is concentrated in the hands, in 
which the fingers are much longer than are the toes of the feet. One finger— 
namely, that corresponding to our middle finger—is more remarkable than the 
others, being of great length and extreme slenderness. It is probable that this 
ghostly middle finger is employed in extracting from their burrows the larvae 
which, as we shall shortly learn, appear to form a portion of the creature s natural 
diet. 
In size the aye-aye may be compared to a cat; its total length being about 
3 feet, of which the larger moiety is formed by the bushy tail. The comparison 
with a cat may be further extended to the short and rounded head and cat dike 
face of the animal. The rounded ears are, however, relatively larger than those of 
a cat, and have the peculiarity of being nearly naked. The fur is long, and com - 
vol. 1.—16 
