Part 4

_Stenops_, Illiger, Prodr., p. 73 (1811).

As this genus contains only a solitary species, its characters are necessarily those of the species.

I. THE SLENDER LORIS. LORIS GRACILIS.

_Loris gracilis_, Geoffr., Magas. Encycl. Ann. 4, i., p. 48 (1796); id. Catal., p. 37, no. 1 (1803); id. Ann. Mus., xix., p. 163 (1812); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 79 (1851); Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc., p. 19 (1863); Anderson, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus., p. 97 (1881); Blanf., Faun. Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 47 (1888).

_Nycticebus gracilis_, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 70 (1829); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 284 (1876).

_Stenops tardigradus_, Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm., p. 73 (1811, pt.).

_Stenops gracilis_, Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr., Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39 (1844); Kelaart, Prod. Fauna Zeyl., p. 9 (1852).

CHARACTERS.--A slender-bodied animal covered with close, soft, and woolly fur. Head short and round; eyes very large; nose narrow and much pointed; ears small and haired externally; tips nude. Limbs long, remarkably slender and angularly bent; hands and feet covered with short hair; index-finger with three phalanges and finger-bones.

Skull with eye-sockets closely approximating, in the centre separated only by a thin plate of bone; nasal and premaxillary bones prolonged forward to support the narrow pointed nose; cranium, along its base to end of nasal bones, two inches long, broader across the orbits than behind in front of the articulation of lower jaw; bony palate extending back beyond the {32}posterior molar tooth. In the upper jaw the incisors are small and equal (Fig. 6); posterior pre-molar similar to, but smaller than the anterior molar; anterior molar with the oblique ridge on crown well developed; crown of posterior molar four-cusped, that of the posterior lower molar five-cusped. Dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together, 23; caudal vertebræ, 6-8.

The alimentary canal is four times the length of the body.

ADULT.--Dingy grey above, darker on back, paler on lower back; the hairs tipped with white. Sides of body, outside of fore- and hind-limbs dingy white, with a faint rufous wash on the outside of the hind-limbs. Face and ring round eyes dark greyish-brown; streak along nose white, branching on forehead above the eyes on each side into a broad ring encircling the dark ocular ring; this frontal branch sometimes absent. Under side greyish-white. Hairs of fur greyish-white at base, dark in the middle, and tipped with white. Length, 8 inches.

YOUNG.--More rust-coloured than the adult.

DISTRIBUTION.--The Slender Loris is common in the lower forests of Ceylon and of Southern India, south of the Godaveri river, as well as in those of the Eastern Ghats.

HABITS.--This curious, emaciated-looking, little creature is nocturnal, living entirely in trees. It sleeps during the day rolled up in a ball, with its head between its legs, grasping its perch with its hands. According to Jerdon these animals are occasionally brought in large numbers to the Madras market, their eyes being a favourite remedy of the Tamil doctors for ophthalmic diseases.

In its movements it is slightly more active than the Slow-Loris. Its food consists of succulent leaves, honey, insects, birds' eggs, and small animals.

PLATE III.

{33}THE SLOW-LORIS. GENUS NYCTICEBUS.

_Nycticebus_, Geoffr., Ann. du Mus., xix., p. 162 (1812).

_Stenops_ (nec Illiger), Van der Hoeven, Tijdsch. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39 (1844).

_Bradycebus_, Cuv. et Geoffr., Mém. Class. Mamm. (1795).

This genus, like the last, is represented by a single species, and its characters, therefore, are detailed below.

I. THE JAVAN SLOW-LORIS. NYCTICEBUS TARDIGRADUS.

_Lemur tardigradus_, Linn., S. N., i., p. 44 (1766, pt.).

_Nycticebus bengalensis_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 164 (1812).

_Nycticebus javanicus_, Geoffr., t. c. p. 164 (1812); id. Cat. Primates, p. 78 (1851); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 286 (1876).

_Nycticebus tardigradus_, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 71, no. 2 (1829); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 78 (1851); Blyth, Cat. Mam. As. Soc., p. 18 (1863); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 285 (1876); Anderson, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus., p. 94 (1881); Blanf., Faun. Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 44 (1888).

_Stenops tardigradus_, Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39 (1844); Wagner in Schreb., Säug. Suppl., v., p. 151 (1855).

_Stenops javanicus_, Van der Hoeven, _op. cit._, p. 40 (1844); Wagner, _op. cit._, p. 152 (1855).

_Nycticebus cinereus_, Milne-Edw., Ann. Mus., vii., p. 161 (1867); id. N. Arch. Mus., iii., p. 9, pl. 3 (1867); Anderson, Rep. Zool., Yun-nan, p. 103 (1879); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 286 (1876).

_Lemur menagensis_, Nachtrieb, Zool. Anz., xv., p. 147 (1892).

(_Plate III._)

CHARACTERS.--Body larger and fuller than in _Loris_, and covered {34}with close and woolly fur. Head short and round. Eyes large, set close together, and having a gentle expression; face short and flat; muzzle less projecting than in _Loris_; ears small, rounded, hairy, and nearly buried in the fur; neck short; tail invisible externally. Limbs short; index-finger small, containing three bones; toes remaining spontaneously contracted after death. Top of skull with prominent crests, globular behind; facial bones conspicuously projecting in front; orbits large, their inner margins separated from each other by a narrow flat space. Pre-maxillæ not produced far in front; hind border of bony palate not extending backwards beyond the median molar. Of the upper teeth, the inner incisor larger than the outer, one often absent on each side; canine vertically very long, with a gap between it and the anterior pre-molar; anterior pre-molar elongate, the posterior differing considerably from the anterior molar, and having a short cusped heel behind; posterior molar with a three-cusped crown. Teeth of lower jaw agreeing with those in the diagnosis of the family (_suprà_, p. 24). Vertebræ in dorsal and lumbar regions together 23 or 24. The long flexor muscle of the thumb, so characteristic of the Anthropoid Apes, is present in _Nycticebus_. The interlacement of the tendons of the muscles of its foot (according to Huxley and Murie) closely resembles the arrangement in the higher Primates. The long flexor muscle of the toes (_flexor longus digitorum_) is very large, and has one important origin on the lower end (internal condyle) of the thigh-bone correlated with the powerful grasp of its hind-limbs. The female bears one young at a birth.

Above, ashy-grey, rather paler below; more or less silvery on the back, often rufescent on the rump, with the hairs dark ashy at the roots; dorsal stripe from crown to loins chestnut {35}brown; circle round the eyes dark brown; a white line down the nose between the eyes; oral patch, including the ears, brown.

The Slow-Loris varies greatly in size and colour in the different regions it inhabits, and its varieties have been recognised by many naturalists as distinct species.

Every shade of colour occurs among specimens from different habitats. The colour varies between rufescent grey, or greyish-rufous, or white (with a brown tinge showing through from below) and silvery grey. The dorsal stripe varies from rufous to dull grey or even black, expanding out, or not, on the crown of the head, arms, and cheeks, bifurcating to the orbital rings and ear-patches, or to one or other only. Sometimes the dorsal stripe and face-markings are wanting altogether. Under side varying from pale rufescent grey to light rufous or dull grey. Length of head and body varying from 12¾ to 16 inches.

"It is an interesting fact," observes St. George Mivart, "that as far as concerns the skull and dentition, the Asiatic _Nycticebus_ far more resembles the African _Perodicticus_ than it does its Oriental neighbour _Loris_."

DISTRIBUTION.--The Slow-Loris has a comparatively wide and interrupted range. It is common in the dense mountain forests of Assam and Burma (where it has received the distinctive appellation of _N. bengalensis_), as well as in Tenasserim and the Malayan Peninsula. It has also been obtained in Siam and Cochin-China, whence it has been described as a distinct species (_N. cinereus_), from its silvery-grey fur; while it also occurs--somewhat reduced in size--and often (but not invariably) without the upper incisor teeth--in the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo with its surrounding islet groups, {36}as well as in the Philippine Islands. The form from the last-named localities (figured on Plate III.) has generally been recognised as _N. javanicus_; but, from a careful examination of the material in the British Museum, it appears to the present writer that the specimens from all these localities merge so insensibly into each other that it is impossible to separate them into distinct species. The Slow-Loris, though occurring on the north-eastern frontier of India, has not yet been discovered in the Himalayas.

HABITS.--Like the Slender Loris, the Slow-Loris is arboreal and nocturnal, hardly differing in its food and general habits from the latter. It lives alone or in pairs, and moves about very slowly, with its head curiously drawn up close to its body, with the latter arched and its limbs very angularly disposed. Colonel Tickell has observed it, however, to raise itself on its hind-legs and throw itself upon an insect. It is generally silent, but can utter a low growl when angry. In captivity it becomes docile, but is never very long-lived. Tickell records that "it never by choice leaves the trees.... It climbs readily and grasps with great tenacity. If placed on the ground, it proceeds, if frightened, in a wavering kind of trot, the limbs placed at right angles. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, its head and hands buried between its thighs, and wakes up in the dusk of the evening to commence its nocturnal rambles." Another observer records: "When he climbs he first lays hold of the branch with one of his hands and then with the other. When he has obtained a firm hold with both hands, he moves one of his hind-paws, and after firmly grasping the branch with it, he moves the other. He never quits his hold with his hind-paws until he has obtained a secure grasp with his hands." The remarkable tenacity of grasp in its feet is largely due to the {37}automatic action of the flexor muscles of the toes (the digits continuing flexed even after death), and the mere extension of the leg largely contributes to the "effortless suspension of the body" (_Murie_), as in the Fruit-Bats and other species which hang passively by their hind-limbs. (_Huxley._)

Dr. Coghlan, speaking of the Chinese race (_N. cinereus_), says: "They make a curious chattering noise when angry, and when pleased at night they utter a short though tuneful whistle of one unvaried note; this whistle is thought by Chinese sailors, who take them to sea, to denote the coming of wind.... Their intelligence seems to be much below that of the Monkey.... The Slow-Loris, when newly-born, is about four inches long, and covered with fur; it holds on by its four hands to the mother's fur, and in that attitude sucks the milk from its parent's breast."

THE GALAGOS. SUB-FAMILY II. GALAGINÆ.

The Lemurs comprised in the present Sub-family are divisible into two groups--those inhabiting the mainland of Africa and those confined to the island of Madagascar. The exclusively African species, the True Galagos, constitute the single genus _Galago_; while the Malagasy group is represented by three genera, the so-called Fat-tailed Lemurs (_Opolemur_), the Dwarf-Lemurs (_Microcebus_), and the Mouse-Lemurs (_Chirogale_). The members of this Sub-family vary considerably in size, and are all covered with soft woolly fur. Their ears especially are largely developed, being more or less membranaceous and naked, and their sense of hearing very acute. The eyes are large and the tail always elongated. In the skull the length of the muzzle is less that the greatest longitudinal diameter of the orbit (except in the genus _Galago_). {38}Their teeth number 36--18 above and 18 below--as in the bulk of the _Lemuridæ_; the upper molars present on their crown an oblique ridge from the outer hind cusp to the inner front cusp. The ankle region (_tarsus_) of the hind-limb is much elongated, through the lengthening of two of its bones (the _calcaneum_ and _naviculare_): this feature occurring to a greater extent among the African than among the Malagasy species. The mammæ are four in number, two on the breast and two on the abdomen.

Many of the species hibernate during the dry winter season, and to enable them to survive, they accumulate during the summer months a thick deposit of fat over their bodies, more especially at the root of the tail, a fact first conspicuously observed in the Opolemurids. This fat is absorbed for their sustenance during their prolonged torpidity.

THE AFRICAN GALAGOS. GENUS GALAGO.

_Galago_, Geoffr., Mag. Encycl., Ann. 2, i., p. 49 (1796).

The African Galagos are generally larger in size than the Madagascar members of the group, and have the snout produced beyond the lower jaw. Their ears are large, membranaceous, and have a very mobile contractile hinder edge, the animal having the power of folding them up at will. The eyes are also large and approximated; the fingers and toes very long and slender, and the tail thick and bushy.

The skull presents a high, broad, and round brain-case, with a relatively short facial region. The pre-maxillary bones are very much reduced, so that the muzzle, measured from the anterior margin of the orbit forward, is shorter than the longitudinal diameter of the orbits. The bony palate is also relatively short. Compared with those of the Madagascar genera {39}the orbits are, according to Dr. Forsyth Major, much broader vertically and horizontally in the genus _Galago_. The squamosal region of the skull and the outer portion of the ear-capsules (the periotic) are large and inflated. The mandible (or lower jaw) has its lower hind edge, or angle, produced backward.

The dentition of the Galagos presents several important characters. In respect to their upper teeth, the incisors are small, equal, and have a hind cusp on the cingulum. A distinct gap exists between the canine and the pre-molar teeth. Of the pre-molars, the anterior one is canine-like, and is equally distant from the canine and its own next neighbour. To the outside it has one main cusp, and generally one minute supplementary cusp on each side. The median pre-molar shows three cusps, and one strong inner front cusp. The posterior pre-molar is always molar-like. It has one front supplementary and two main cusps to the outside; and one front and one supplementary hind cusp to the inside: it has also on the crown the oblique ridge spoken of above.

The molars have a deep concavity on their hind border, due to the development of the cingulum on the inner half only of that border of the tooth; to the outside they present two main cusps (and often supplementary minute fore and hind cusps); while to the inside they present two cusps, and also an intermediate cusp in front between the two fore cusps; the oblique ridge is also here present; the hindmost molar is three-cusped. The five hind molars are, therefore, nearly equal in size. In the lower jaw the pre-molars are complicated. The anterior and median are canine-like and procumbent, with a cusped heel behind; the posterior is distinguished from a molar only by the lesser size of its fore-part. The molars are also complicated; the anterior and median are equal in size {40}and four-cusped--the two front cusps (united by a ridge) are taller than the two hind ones, and there is a minute cusp between the two hind cusps. The posterior molar, though smaller than the others, is five-cusped. The oblique ridge is not present in the lower molars.

The brain of the Galagos is narrower and shallower than that in the _Lemurinæ_.

The female gives birth to two or three young at a time.

According to Dr. Forsyth Major, who has made the Lemuroidea a special study, the smaller African Galagos have departed less from the primitive Lemuroid type than the Madagascar genera, in which greater specialisation has taken place.

The members of the genus _Galago_ are widely distributed on the African continent, but are unknown in Madagascar. They range throughout the dense forest regions, from Abyssinia in the north-east, to Senegambia in the west, and southward as far as Natal and Mozambique.

Almost all the Galagos are nocturnal. They are chiefly arboreal, and when they descend to the ground they advance by hops on their long hind-limbs. They feed chiefly on fruits, insects, birds, and birds' eggs.

I. GARNETT'S GALAGO. GALAGO GARNETTI.

_Otolicnus garnettii_, Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1838, p. 6.

_Otolemur agisymbianus_, Coquerel, Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1859, p. 457.

_Otogale garnettii_, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 140.

_Galago garnettii_, Sclater, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 711, pl. xi. Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 429 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Head round; snout elongate, protruding over {41}the lower jaw; ears very long, wide and rounded; eyes large and approximated. Toes and fingers not united by a membrane. Posterior upper molar with its fourth cusp little developed; the posterior lower molar four-cusped.

Fur woolly, the basal part of the hair Mouse-grey, the tips dull yellowish-white. Ears greyish-black; face from the middle of crown along the nose and round the eyes greyish-white. Top of head and neck dark pepper-grey; rest of upper side yellowish-grey, with longer black hairs distributed over the body; outside of arms and legs washed faintly with faded rufous. Under side and inner side of arms and legs greyish-white. Tail brownish-red at base, darker at tip. Length, 8 inches; tail, 8¾ inches.

DISTRIBUTION.--East coast of Africa.

HABITS.--Garnett's Galago is essentially nocturnal in its habits, feeding on fruits. According to Mr. Bartlett, it exhibited in confinement no fear of Cats or Dogs, and was very sprightly and tricky. It kills all it can pounce upon and overpower. On the ground it jumps upright, like a Kangaroo, on its hind-limbs, without using its fore feet, covering several feet at a spring.

II. THE SENEGAL GALAGO. GALAGO SENEGALENSIS.

_Galago du Sénégal_, Geoffr., Mag. Encycl. Ann. 4^e, p. 1 (1796).

_Galago senegalensis_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 166 (1812); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 81 (1851); Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 329 (1876).

_Galagoides senegalensis_, Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ., ii., pt. 1, p. 32 (1833).

_Galago moholi_, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Mamm., pls. 8, 8 _bis_ (1839); Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 147.

{42}_Otolicnus galago_, Wagner in Schreber's Säug. Suppl., i., p. 292 (1840); Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 41 (1844).

_Otolicnus senegalensis_, Peters, Reis Mozamb. Säug., p. 11 (1852).

_Galago senaariensis_, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 147, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 647.

_Galago (Otolicnus) moholi_, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 647.

CHARACTERS.--Body slender; head broad and sub-globular; nose high and pointed; ears large, bare, and with narrow rounded tips; hind-limbs longer than the fore-; tail with longer hair at tip. Fur very thick and soft on body and tail. Upper side pinkish-grey, or faded white with a slight wash of pink; back, sides of body, and outer surface of limbs pearly to yellowish-white; sometimes a dark ring round the eyes; a streak down the nose white or yellowish-white; ears flesh-coloured, sprinkled with pure white down; head, face, whole of under sides and inner sides of limbs white, yellowish, or whitish-buff; tail yellowish or reddish brown, darker at tip, lighter beneath; upper surface of hands and feet white, washed with yellow. Length of body, 7-8½ inches; tail of about the same length. The male and female are of the same size and of the same colour, but the male is somewhat more washed with yellow. Muzzle shorter than the diameter of the eye-socket; the bony palate not extending past the hinder end of the median molar. Anterior and median upper molars slightly larger than the posterior pre-molar; the latter as well as the two anterior molars with a small cusp between the two front cusps.

DISTRIBUTION.--This beautiful little Lemur was first recorded from Senegal, in West Africa. It occurs, however, from about 25° S. lat. in South Africa northwards to Tete on the Zambesi, through the mountainous regions of East Africa, on the shores of Lake Nyasa, to as far north as Senaar.

PLATE IV.

{43}HABITS.--The Senegal Galago is nocturnal and arboreal, occurring in the forests singly or in pairs. It makes a nest of leaves in the fork of a tree, and during its diurnal rest it either retreats thither, or composes itself on a branch, unwilling to move, and staring at passers-by, with its tail invariably folded across its body and round its neck. After sunset, these Galagos become lively, and in their movements they evince great activity; they spring from branch to branch, and even from tree to tree, with extraordinary facility (as both Sir Andrew Smith and Sir John Kirk have recorded), often clearing at single leaps distances of six feet. When seen in the dim light they may easily be taken for Bats. "They always seize with one of their fore feet the branch upon which they intend to rest. In their manners they manifest considerable resemblance to Monkeys, particularly in their propensity to the practice of ridiculous grimaces." (_Sir A. Smith._) In this habit they resemble also some species of the genus Lemur. Their food consists chiefly of fruits and of insects. The female produces generally two young at a birth.

III. ALLEN'S GALAGO. GALAGO ALLENI.

_Galago allenii_, Waterh., P. Z. S., 1837, p. 87; Sclater, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 375, pl. xxxii.

_Galago allenii_, var. _gabonensis_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 146.

_Galago gabonensis_, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 630.

_Galago (Otolicnus) allenii_, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 647.

_Otogale pallida_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 140, pl. xix.

_Otolicnus apicalis_, du Chaillu, Equat. Africa, App., p. 471.

_Galago elegantulus_, Slack, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil., 1861, p. 153.

(_Plate IV._)

{44}CHARACTERS.--Head round; muzzle pointed; eyes very large; ears also very large, long, nude, and membranaceous; fingers and toes very long, slender, and fine. Tail thick, round, and longer than the body; ankle-bones elongated. Length of body, 8¼ inches; tail, 10 inches. Head brownish-grey; a narrow black ring round the eyes; a streak from the forehead down the nose whitish; back greyish-brown, washed (sometimes markedly) with rufous on the upper back, fading out towards the root of the tail; the latter black or greyish-black. Outside of arms and legs washed with rufous, sometimes with a white spot on the shoulder-joint and over the groin; posterior aspect of legs sooty-black; cheeks, sides of nose, entire under surface, and inner side of limbs creamy-white with a rufous-washed bar across the chest. Muzzle shorter than the diameter of eye-socket. Incisors seen from the side, more or less hidden by the canines; anterior upper pre-molar very canine-like, relatively much produced longitudinally, with an interval between the anterior and median pre-molars; posterior upper pre-molar four-cusped, and with an intermediate cusp on the oblique ridge; posterior upper molar almost equal in size to the median one.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species has been recorded from the Gaboon, in West Africa, and from Fernando Po, whence it was first obtained by Captain Allen, R.N., in 1837.

HABITS.--Although little or nothing has been recorded of its habits, it is unlikely that they differ much from those of the species already known.

IV. DEMIDOFF'S GALAGO. GALAGO DEMIDOFFI.