Part 7

THE WHITE-FACED LEMUR. LEMUR ALBIFRONS.

Forehead, top of head, ears, throat, and chest white.

Pure albino varieties are also quite common.

DISTRIBUTION.--The Mongoose Lemur with its numerous varieties is found throughout the island of Madagascar, in Mayotte, and in Anjuan or Johanna Island, one of the Comoro group.

HABITS.--Gregarious and diurnal, feeding on fruits, insects, and small animals.

IV. SCLATER'S LEMUR. LEMUR NIGERRIMUS.

_Lemur nigerrimus_, Scl., P. Z. S., 1880, p. 451, figs. 1 and 2; Milne-Edw. et Grandid., H. N. Madag., Mamm., pls. 154, 155 (1890).

_Lemur macaco_ (nec L.), Scl., P. Z. S., 1878, p. 1016.

_Prosimia rufipes_, Gray, Ann. N. H., 1871, p. 339 (female).

CHARACTERS.--Face covered with short hair; ears nude and without tufts; nose-pad and lower lips nude. Similar to _L. macaco_, but larger and more intensely black, with a raised crest of upstanding hair on the head, formed by the longer fur of the body terminating arcuately on the forehead. External ears pinkish flesh-colour. Eyes blue, turning to green. Length, 16 inches; tail, 20 inches.

{74}FEMALE.--(_Prosimia rufipes_ of Gray) Brown; eyes brownish-yellow.

DISTRIBUTION.--Cap d'Ambra, N. Madagascar.

Nothing is known of the habits of this species.

V. THE WHITE-HANDED LEMUR. LEMUR ALBIMANUS.

_Le Maki aux pieds blancs_, Audebert, H. N. Singes, p. 10, pl. 1 (1797: male).

_Lemur albimanus_, Is. Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., pp. 161-169 (1812); Milne-Edw. et Grandid., Hist. Nat. Madag., Mamm., Atlas, pls. 156, 157, 162-164, 165, figs, 1 and 2 (1890).

_Lemur mongoz_ (nec L.), Schl., Mus. Pays. Bas., vii., p. 312 (1876, pt.).

CHARACTERS.--Nose sharp and Dog-like; eyes oblique; ears, except the central portion, haired.

MALE.--Face, anterior to a line over the forehead, cheeks, snout (except a greyish wash on its sides and the upper lip) umber-brown; rest of head, neck, down to the middle of the back, and fore-limbs, grey; margins of ears, chin, and under surface of body white; rest of back and hind-limbs umber-brown; tail darker, except for a short distance at the base; upper surface of hands and feet grey. The nose varies in different species in the amount of grey colouring, and the forehead and face in depth of brown. Some specimens also have an arcuate black band over the forehead from one outer corner of the eye to the other.

FEMALE.--Greyish-black; nose grey; rest of face washed with brick-red, deeper on the forehead, cheeks, ears, and sides of neck, fainter in tint on the upper back; lower back and tail darker, except at the base, where it is washed with reddish-yellow. Hands and feet greyish-white. The colour of the face varies much in different specimens, being deeper or lighter rufous. {75}The arcuate band from the corners of the eyes over the forehead varies in breadth and depth of colour.

DISTRIBUTION.--Madagascar; the precise locality unknown.

VI. THE CROWNED LEMUR. LEMUR CORONATUS.

_Lemur coronatus_, Gray, Ann. and Mag. N. Hist., x., p. 257 (1842); Schl., Mus. Pays. Bas., vii., p. 313 (1876); Milne-Edwards et Grandid., Hist. Nat. Madag., Mamm., Atlas, pls. 158-161, 165, 166.

_Lemur chrysampyx_, Scheurm. Mém. Cour. Acad. Brux., xxii., p. 6 (1848 = female).

_Prosimia coronata_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 138.

CHARACTERS.--Tips of ears naked; tail a little more than the length of the body.

MALE.--Face, nose, and region round the eyes greyish-white; cheeks and forehead rufous or yellowish-red; a conical spot in the centre of the head between the eyes, dark brown or black, intruding sometimes on the rufous of the forehead; ears white; inner side of limbs and under side of body greyish-white; tail rufous at base, the upper side blackish, and the under side lighter; rest of body sienna-grey.

FEMALE.--Upper side entirely grey, washed with yellowish cream-colour on the middle and lower part of the back, and on the upper side of the tail; long black hairs present in the tail; the under side entirely silvery-grey; fur at base black, the tips grey or silvery; instead of the black spot on the forehead there is a golden yellow-hooped, or widely V-shaped, bar above the eyes, narrower in the centre over the nose.

Albino specimens are sometimes found, which are entirely white, except for the golden bar over the eyes.

{76}VII. THE RED-BELLIED LEMUR. LEMUR RUBRIVENTER.

_Lemur rubriventer_, Is. Geoffr., C. R., xxxi., p. 876 (1850); Schl., Mus. Pays. Bas., vii., p. 311 (1876); Milne-Edw. & Grandid., Hist. Nat. Madag., Mamm., Atlas, ii., pls. 167-170 (1890).

_Lemur flaviventer_, Is. Geoffr., _tom. cit._, p. 876 (1850).

CHARACTERS.--Inner margins and outside of ears haired, the interior nude.

MALE.--Face, a line down the forehead, and snout dark maroon-brown; a ring round the eyes cobalt-blue; rest of head and cheeks reddish-brown; upper side of body speckled reddish-brown, darker on the lower back; tail almost black, with long white hairs distributed throughout its length; feet rufous; under side of body pale.

FEMALE.--Like the male, but having the cheeks whitish; a narrow ring round the eyes pale blue; upper surface umber-brown, washed with reddish-yellow; under side and inner sides of limbs yellowish; ruff reddish-chestnut.

YOUNG.--Head entirely rufous; nose black.

DISTRIBUTION.--Madagascar.

VIII. THE RING-TAILED LEMUR. LEMUR CATTA.

_Lemur catta_, Linn., S. N., i., p. 45, no. 4 (1766); Schl., Mus. Pays. Bas., vii., p. 314 (1876); Milne-Edw. et Grandid., Hist. Nat. Madag., Mamm., Atlas, pls. 171-172 (1890).

CHARACTERS.--Inside of ears naked; no ruff round the face; top of head greyish-black; face, rest of head, lower surface of body, and inner side of the limbs pearl-grey; upper surface sienna-grey. Tail pearl-grey, banded with from ten to twelve black rings, distinguishing it from all other Lemurs, which have the tail of one colour. Length of body and tail together, 40 inches.

{77}On the fore-arm above the wrist-joint there is, in both sexes, a comb-like bony outgrowth (becoming in old males a prominent spur) continuous with the palm of the hand by means of a narrow strip of black, hairless skin; near it there is a cluster of long stiff hairs over an underlying sweat-gland, the function of which is still unknown.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species inhabits chiefly the rocky and treeless regions of the south and south-western borders of the Betsileo province of Madagascar. It is, however, not entirely confined to these treeless districts, for it has been recorded as occurring in bands of some numbers in the neighbouring forest regions.

HABITS.--The Ring-tailed Lemur--one of the handsomest species of the genus and the only one in which the tail is not uniformly coloured--is of gentle manners, active, and graceful. According to the notes of the Rev. G. A. Shaw, as recorded in a paper in the Zoological Society's "Proceedings," it lives among the rocks where a few stunted trees occur, and over this rocky ground it can easily travel, in places where it is impossible for the natives, although bare-footed, to follow it. The palms of its hands and feet are smooth and leather-like, enabling the animal to apply them firmly to the wet rocks. This Lemur feeds on bananas and wild figs. In the winter its chief sustenance consists of the prickly-pear, peeling off the spiny skin with its long upper canines. According to the same observer, this Lemur rarely drinks water; indeed, it is said that the species living in the west of Madagascar, including two kinds of White Lemur, subsist without water, while those on the east coast invariably drink water with their meals. When fighting, the Ring-tailed Lemur scratches vigorously and strikes out with its hands.

{78}THE HATTOCKS. GENUS MIXOCEBUS.

_Mixocebus_, Peters, M. B. Akad. Berlin, 1874. p. 690.

This genus contains but one species, whose characters are therefore those of the genus also.

THE HATTOCK. MIXOCEBUS CANICEPS.

_Mixocebus caniceps_, Peters, M. B. Akad. Berlin, 1874, p. 690, pl. i., pl. ii. (Skull.)

CHARACTERS.--Snout sharp, with a naked nose-pad; eyes very large; ears very short, rounded, higher than broad, scarcely appearing beyond the fur, and sparsely covered with short hair; limbs long, the digits with unkeeled nails; tail as long as the body, or slightly longer; inter-maxillary bones more prominent than in the species of the next genus, and containing a small incisor tooth on each side; no inter-parietal bone; upper canine not vertically longer than the grinders; the upper pre-molar and molar series of teeth arranged to converge but slightly anteriorly, forming, as seen from the front, a somewhat convex line, differing in this from some species of _Lepidolemur_, in which these teeth are arranged in a nearly straight line.

Top of head grey, the base of the hairs Mouse-grey, with black or white tips; a triangular patch on the middle of the head, darker; band on the sides and middle of the nose dark brown, widening out on the forehead and over the eyes; a dark ring round the eyes, merging into the dark brown colour of the nose; front border of the ears, a patch behind the latter, the lips, chin, sides of cheek, and chest a creamy- or yellowish-white; throat grey; upper side of the body, outside of the limbs, and dorsal end of the tail, rufous-grey; back portion of {79}the upper part of the thigh, the hinder part of the belly, and the greater part of the upper side of the tail yellowish-rufous; the upper side of hands dark brown, of the feet yellowish-grey; extremity of tail blackish-brown. Length of body, 12½ inches; tail, 13½ inches.

DISTRIBUTION.--Confined to Madagascar.

HABITS.--The habits of the Hattock, as the natives name this animal, are quite unknown.

THE GENTLE-LEMURS. GENUS HAPALEMUR.

_Hapalemur_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 74 (1851).

This genus has been constituted for two species of a specialised type of Lemur, characterised by a globose head, a short muzzle, with a tapering nose and short hairy ears. The hind-limbs are longer than the fore-limbs, the feet short and broad, and the tail hairy and equal in length to the body. The female has four teats, two on the breast, or on the shoulder, and two on the abdomen.

In regard to their skeletal characters, the facial portion of the skull is short and narrow in front--the nasal bones being arched--and the brain-case rounded. The cranium presents no elevated frontal crests, as among the members of the next genus (_Lepidolemur_). The pre-maxillary bones are very small. The hind margin of the bony palate, which dilates posteriorly, does not extend behind the mid-line of the last molar. The squamosal region of the skull and the outer and posterior--the mastoidal--portion of the ear-capsules (periotic bones), is not inflated in the members of this genus. Their lower jaw is very characteristic, being massive in front and possessing a very long symphysis (or line of junction of its two halves), its angle being {80}also very large, and produced downward, inward, and backward, even more than in the genus _Indris_. The _naviculare_ bone of the ankle (_tarsus_) is relatively short, thus differing from the same region in _Microcebus_ and in _Galago_; the _carpus_ (or wrist) has no central (_os centrale_) bone.

In _Hapalemur_ the teeth are of the normal Lemurine number, viz., 36; but the dentition as a whole is peculiar and characteristic. Each series of teeth is very uniform and equal, and those anterior to the molars are serrated. In the upper jaw the incisors are very small, sub-equal, and situated close together; the posterior tooth on each side being (when the skull is viewed from the side) internal to and touching the canines. The canines are small, and the gap between them and the anterior pre-molar is very small. The anterior pre-molar is slightly taller vertically than its median fellow, and stands close up to it without an interval; it has one main (and sometimes one rudimentary) outer cusp; the posterior pre-molar, which closely resembles a molar, and is often the largest tooth in the jaw, having one inner cusp united by ridges to its two outer cusps. The molar teeth are sub-equal to the hindmost pre-molar, and have one front inner and two outer cusps, without an oblique ridge between them, and also a well-developed cingulum, cusped externally. Of the lower teeth, the anterior and median pre-molars are set obliquely, the median having three outer and two inner cusps (the two inner being united to the two hind outer by ridges). The posterior pre-molar is quite molariform, and, with the molars, presents three outer and two (or three) inner cusps, of which the two inner are united by ridges to the outer hind cusps, while transverse ridges unite the main outer and inner cusps together. The molars are cingulate towards the outside.

PLATE VIII.

{81}The brain is narrower and shallower than that of the genus _Lemur_, and presents no specially close resemblance to the same organ in the _Indrisinæ_ or the _Lorisinæ_.

I. THE GREY GENTLE-LEMUR. HAPALEMUR GRISEUS.

_Lemur griseus_, Geoffr., Mém. sur les Makis. Mag. Enc., i., p. 48 (1796).

_Hapalemur griseus_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 74 (1851); Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 613 (Skull); Schleg., Mus. P. B., vii., p. 361 (1876).

_Hapalemur olivaceus_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 75 (1851); Schl., Mus. P. B., vii., p. 316 (1876).

_Cheirogaleus griseus_, Giebel., Säugeth., p. 1018 (1856); V. der Hoeven, Tijds. Natuurl. Gesch., p. 38, pl. i., fig. 1 (1844).

_Hapalolemur griseus_, Scl., P. Z. S., 1863, p. 161; Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 828, pl. lii.

(_Plate VIII._)

CHARACTERS.--Fur long and soft, not woolly; ears short, hairy, with long black vibrissæ between them; tail bushy, and as long as the body; general shade above greyish Mouse-colour, washed with rufous and speckled with black on the crown, back and external surface of limbs; shoulders and fore-limbs bluish-grey; cheeks, throat, breast, and inner side of limbs ochraceous white; under side of body whitish-yellow; tail and hands grey, washed with black. Body and tail equal, 15 inches in length.

Facial portion of skull short; brain-case rounded; lower jaw shorter and higher than in Lemurs generally; great toe large and broad; on the inner side of both arms close to the wrist occurs a rough patch (extending down to the bare skin of the palm) corresponding to a gland beneath, {82}in the male, spine-like, while in the female hairy processes are present, together with a tuft of long hairs; external to this patch is a callous pad; mammæ opening on the shoulder; intestine large; cæcum small.

YOUNG.--Reddish-yellow below.

DISTRIBUTION.--The Grey Gentle-Lemur inhabits the eastern side of the Betsileo province of Madagascar.

HABITS.--The "Bokombouli," as the natives name this animal, is the smallest of any of the True Lemurs. It is nocturnal, and lives, according to the Rev. G. A. Shaw, among the bamboos in the higher-level forests of the island. Its lower incisors are used as scrapers, and nearly all its teeth are serrated and very effective in cutting off the bamboo shoots, on which it feeds. To enable it to grasp smooth surfaces, such as the stems of the bamboo and other trees it frequents, it possesses a broad pad under each great toe.

II. THE BROAD-NOSED GENTLE-LEMUR. HAPALEMUR SIMUS.

_Hapalemur (Prolemur) simus_, J. E. Gray, Cat. Monkeys, Brit. Mus. App., p. 133 (1870); id. P. Z. S., 1870, p. 828, pl. lii., pp. 829, 830, figs. 1-4 (Skull).

_Prolemur simus_, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1872, p. 851.

_Hapalemur simus_, Beddard, P. Z. S., 1884, p. 392; Jentink, Notes Leyd. Mus., vii., p. 33 (1885).

CHARACTERS.--Nose broad and truncated; ears short, covered with long hair on the outside and along the margin inside.

Very similar to _H. griseus_; head and upper back dark reddish-grey, faintly washed with rufous; sides of head, neck, and region round the eyes lighter; sides of nose and region between the eyes black; ears dirty grey; lower back, sides of {83}body, and outer surface of limbs sooty-grey, with here and there a wash of rufous; the patch on the end of the rump and upper part of the base of the tail uniform pale yellowish rust-colour; remainder of tail sooty-grey; from the chin to the chest yellowish-grey; under side of body and inner side of arms pale sooty-grey.

No spines on the fore-arm above the wrist as in _H. griseus_. In the skull, the nose is broad, square, and truncated; the pre-maxillæ very small; the lower jaw weak and narrow in front.

DISTRIBUTION.--Only known from Madagascar.

HABITS.--The habits of the Broad-nosed Lemur are said to differ in no respect from those of the foregoing species.

THE SPORTIVE-LEMURS. GENUS LEPIDOLEMUR.

_Lepilemur_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 75 (1851).

_Lepidolemur_, Peters, M. B. Akad. Berlin, 1874, p. 690 (1874).

This genus contains, according to Dr. Forsyth Major, as many as seven species. This excellent comparative anatomist has made a very careful revision of the group, and the present writer has gratefully to acknowledge from him many valuable notes incorporated under this section, as well as his kindness in supplying for publication the diagnoses of his new species.

Dr. Major divides these seven species into two series:--(A) a group of four larger species, and (B) a group of three smaller species.

The members of this genus are smaller than the True Lemurs of the genus _Lemur_. Their head is conical and short, their ears large, round, and membranaceous, and the tail is shorter than the body. In this latter character and in their shorter limbs they differ from _Mixocebus_. The fourth finger and toe are the longest digits of their respective extremities, the nails of all are keeled, and that of the great toe is very large and flat.

{84}In the skull, the muzzle is longer than the longitudinal diameter of its orbit in the series of larger species (Section A); in the smaller species (Section B) the muzzle is shorter.

Their dentition presents several important characters. The series of upper molars and pre-molars form almost a straight line, both sides being almost parallel, or only slightly convergent towards the front. In the upper jaw the incisors are wanting; the canines are very large and grooved internally, and have a posterior heel. There is no gap between them and the anterior pre-molar, which last is vertically taller than the rest, and has one cusp to the outside, whereas the median and posterior have an inner cusp as well. The anterior and median molars have the inner hind cusp rudimentary, but the cingulum rises into a minute cusp, both at the fore and hind edge; the posterior molar is three-cusped. The whole of the cheek-teeth gradually broaden and decrease in vertical height from before backward as far as the median molar. In the lower jaw the anterior pre-molars are large, canine-like, and decumbent, and have a strong process on their anterior margin (resembling that in the corresponding tooth in _Indris_); the median and posterior pre-molars have one external cusp, and the latter tooth one interior cusp in addition. The anterior and median molars have a rudimentary fifth cusp, which is large in the posterior molar.

The pre-maxillæ are very much reduced, so that the teeth they usually carry are generally wanting. The bony palate is short, its hind margin extending back only to the middle of the median molar; its anterior foramina are small; and it differs from that of _Microcebus_ and _Chirogale_ in having its posterior perforations small. The angle of the lower jaw is produced downwards and backwards. The mastoid portion of the ear-capsules (periotic bones) as well as the squamosal are markedly {85}enlarged and swollen, in this respect differing from the skulls of _Lemur_ and _Hapalemur_. The ridges in the temporal bone unite into a frontal (sagittal) ridge, and the space between the orbits is depressed; a depression is also present on the cheek in front of the lachrymal foramen. The foot is slightly elongated by the lengthening of the _naviculare_ bone of the ankle (_tarsus_), the thin bones of which are short. In the wrist (_carpus_) there is no _os centrale_ or central bone, which is otherwise invariably present in the Primates, except in Man, the Chimpanzees, the Gentle-Lemurs, and the Endrina.

The Sportive-Lemurs are confined to Madagascar and are nocturnal and arboreal creatures, feeding on leaves and fruits.

In Group A (the larger species) are included: 1, The Weasel-like Lemur (_L. mustelinus_); 2, the Red-tailed Sportive-Lemur (_L. ruficaudatus_); 3, Edwards' Sportive-Lemur (_L. edwardsi_); and 4, the Small-toothed Sportive-Lemur (_L. microdon_). Group B (consisting of the smaller species) comprises: 1, The Round-headed Sportive-Lemur (_L. globiceps_); 2, Grandidier's Sportive-Lemur (_L. grandidieri_); and 3, the White-footed Sportive-Lemur (_L. leucopus_). With the exception of the two first-named species, all the others are here made known for the first time by Dr. Forsyth Major. Very little is recorded of the habits of these animals. They are so rare that at present the various species are known from a few skins or alcoholic specimens in European museums. They are said to be inhabitants only of the forest-country, nocturnal in their habits, sleeping coiled up in some retreat all day, but issuing forth at night, at which time they are very agile in their movements.

{86}SECTION A. (SPECIES MAJORES.)

I. THE WEASEL-LIKE SPORTIVE-LEMUR. LEPIDOLEMUR MUSTELINUS.

_Lepilemur mustelinus_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 76 (1851); Schl. et Pollen, Faun. Madag., Mammif., p. 10, pls. 4, 6, fig. 3; Schl., Mus. P. B., vii., p. 317 (1876).

_Lepilemur dorsalis_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys, Brit. Mus. App., p. 135 (1870).

CHARACTERS.--Fur soft and woolly; ears rounded, naked excepting at the base behind; muzzle elongated. Above, reddish-grey. Face and cheeks grey; throat white; under side of body and inner side of limbs, pale grey; tail short-haired, the posterior third dark brown. Length of body, 14 inches; and tail 10 inches.

Skull large and massive; the brain-case small and inflated; facial region long, differing in this character from _L. ruficaudatus_; orbits very large, thus differing from the three remaining species of the larger group (A); the process of the maxilla intervening between the nasal and lachrymal bones; molar teeth large.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species occurs in the north-east of Madagascar, and, according to Grandidier, in the north-western corner of the island.

HABITS.--The "Fitili-ki," as the natives have named this animal, is found in the forests in small companies. It is nocturnal in its habits, feeding on leaves and fruits.

II. THE RED-TAILED SPORTIVE-LEMUR. LEPIDOLEMUR RUFICAUDATUS.

_Lepilemur ruficaudatus_, Grandidier, Rev. et. Mag. de Zool., 1867, p. 256.

{87}_Lepilemur pallidicauda_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1872, p. 850.

_Lepilemur mustelinus_ (nec. Is. Geoffr.), Schl., Mus. P. B., vii., p. 317 (in part).

CHARACTERS.--Smaller than the last species; head much broader than it is long; snout short and conical; ears ovate, exposed, short-haired; tail long, thicker at the end, and covered with softer and longer hairs. Fur pale or reddish-grey; head dark brown; the shoulders and outer side of the arms grey, washed with brown; chin, breast, and inner side of limbs and under side of body whitish; upper side of the base of the tail rather dark brown, this colour extending further down in the tail of the female; rest of the tail uniform pale brownish or greyish-red.

Skull very broad compared with its length, more massive, and showing a shorter muzzle than in _L. mustelinus_; orbits smaller than in any of the other species in Group A.

DISTRIBUTION.--South-western Madagascar.

III. MILNE-EDWARDS' SPORTIVE-LEMUR. LEPIDOLEMUR EDWARDSI.

_Lepidolemur edwardsi_, Forsyth Major.[5]