GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 
CHARTER iil 
The Lemurs : Sub-order Lemuroidea 
HESE nocturnal creatures, which have got their 
name from that way of life, stand unquestion- 
ably at a lower level than the apes, whose near relations 
they nevertheless must be regarded as being. Among 
themselves they are somewhat more diverse of habit 
than the monkeys, and show in consequence rather 
more differences of structure and appearance. The 
rodent-like Chiromys would hardly be referred to the 
same group of creatures as the tiny little ‘‘ Smith’s 
dwarf lemur ”’ (Microcebus smitht) or the ambling and 
quadrupedal black and white ruffed lemur (Lemur 
varius), by any one not conversant with anatomy, and 
without the power of making just inferences as to affinity. 
All lemurs, however, have hand-like feet with an oppos- 
able great toe exactly comparable to the thumb of the 
hand. 
The most remarkable fact about the lemurs is in 
reality their extraordinary geographical distribution 
in the world. The vast majority of them are absolutely 
confined to the great island of Madagascar, where they 
form the most important element in the vertebrate 
fauna. A few live in Africa, and still fewer in the east 
of Asia. No kind of lemur is common to any two of 
these three tracts of country which they inhabit. At 
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