Chapter 30

MAHOLI GALAGO AND THE SENEGAL GALAGO.CHAPTER XVI.THE LEMUROIDA (concluded)—THE GALAGOS[129]

MAHOLI GALAGO AND THE SENEGAL GALAGO.

THEGALAGOS—DEMIDOFF’SGALAGO AND THEMOUSEGALAGO—THESENEGALGALAGO—THESENNAARGALAGO—THEMAHOLIGALAGO—THEGRAND,ORTHICK-TAILEDGALAGO—MONTEIRO’SGALAGO—THEAFRICANSLOWLEMURS—VANBOSMAN’SPOTTO—GENUSARCTOCEBUS,ORBEARMONKEYTRIBE—THEANGWÁNTIBO—THEASIATICSLOWLEMUROIDS—THESLOWLORIS—THESLENDERLORIS—GENUSTARSIUS—THESPECTRETARSIER,ORTARSIUS—THEMALMAG—GENUSCHEIROMYS—THEAYE-AYE—The Puzzle of the Naturalists—Opinions regarding it—Specimen Examined by Owen—Feeding—Teeth—Hands—Classification of the Lemuroida—Geographical Distribution

THESEGalagos are most interesting, lively creatures, and they have wonderful ears, which are long, large, and elliptical, and can be furled up if the animals become frightened. Moreover, they have a long heel-bone, and the tail, often bushy, either equals or is longer than the trunk.

EARS OF MAHOLI GALAGO,CONTRACTED AND OPEN.(Original after Murie.)

The distinction between these kinds is not very definite, but they are inhabitants of the West Coast of Africa, namely, Senegal, Calabar, and the Gaboon. The Rev. W. C. Thomson’s account in a letter to Mr. Murray of what he suspects to be really and trulyG. DemidoffiiandG. murinusis well worth quotation. “Young ones of both species were brought to us about this period of the year (July 26). Mr. Robb has a young specimen of the smaller species just now, and about this time last year I became possessed of one of the larger. It is a most interesting and amusing pet, not only quite tame, but manifesting strong attachment. I had it for about six weeks in my possession, when, unfortunately, both for myself and it, it took a false leap into a water-canal and was drowned. It was a very epitome of zoology, of the size and colour of a large Rat; it had the tail of a Squirrel, the facial outline of the Fox, the membranous ears of the Bat, the eyes and somewhat the manners of the Owl in its cool odd way of peering at objects, the long slender fingers of a lean old man, who habitually eats down his nails, and all the mirthfulness and agility of a diminutive Monkey. It hated its cage at night, but delighted to leap upon the bars of the chairs ranged purposely round the table for it. It could clear a horizontal distance of at least six feet at a leap; and whenever it fell, as during its short apprenticeship it often did, and from alarming heights too, it gave expression of its apparent chagrin by a rough sort of purring. It possessed a curious power of folding its membranous ears back upon themselves, and somewhat corrugating them at pleasure; and it appeared to me that the palms of its hands and feet were endowed in some degree with the power of suction, such as the Walrus is said to possess in perfection. I have seen it maintain itself in positions where the mere lateral pressure of its limbs appeared to be inadequate for the purpose. I once applied it to the side of a cylindrical glass shade, of which it could not embrace so much as a third of the circumference, and sure enough it maintained its position for some time, gradually sliding down until it gave way. The palm was very much depressed, always clean and glistening, surrounded by five papilliform growths, those near the roots of the fingers serving as points of opposition to them, the fingers never closing beyond the palm. Mr. Robb had one of your species (G. murinus) in his possession for a considerable while. It devoured Grasshoppers, and even the fierce Mantides (leaf insects), greedily, as well as Moths, little as it was; but I never saw my kind muster courage enough to attack a Grasshopper orMantis, though nearly twice as large as Mr. Robb’s. No doubt mine would, by-and-by, have become less particular and more daring. The smaller species was very familiar, and used to run over people with perfect freedom. A favourite place of refuge was under his whisker, and between it and his shirt collar.” According to the same correspondent, the little ones breed in captivity, but never grow more than about three or four inches long in the body; the larger kind, he says, within a year grow to six or seven inches long, or equal to a big Rat. Their voices differ, the larger animal’s tone being lugubrious. He further says that the little creatures (G. murinus?) are gregarious or social in their wild state, travelling in small companies, and inhabiting a common nest, one of which he himself got a glimpse of. He saw several individuals rush out of it as he passed, and it answered in its situation and description to the account he had received of them, which was, that they were built on suitable forks of trees, with a foundation of clay and superstructure of dried leaves.

THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS OFTHE TAIL OF GRAND GALAGO.(Modified after Murie and Mivart.)

This is interesting from being the earliest known species of true Galago, and also as apparently having the widest range of geographical distribution. It is but a very little larger than the full-grownspecies mentioned above, and has fawn-grey fur above, and yellowish-white beneath, with dark-brown feet and tail, and a white stripe on the face. It is common in the Senegal forests, even to the borders of the great Sahara Desert. Its habits in no way differ from the other Galagos’, though it is asserted that when pressed by hunger it feeds on the gum-arabic, plentiful in the acacia trees of its native forests. Its eagerness in the capture of insect prey is well attested. It pursues Beetles, Sphinges, and Moths with great ardour, even while they are on the wing, making prodigious bounds at them, and often leaping right upwards to seize them. Should it by chance miss its object and accidentally fall from the branch to the ground, it re-ascends with the rapidity of flight to renew the hunt. In captivity it freely eats chopped meat, eggs, and milk. Although good-tempered in confinement, it nevertheless is vivacious and petulant. At night it is always on the move, and if the occasion arises, darts off to the woods without a moment’s delay. The Moors say its flesh is good eating.

FOOT-BONES OF GRAND, OR THICK-TAILED GALAGO.(Altered after De Blainville.)

The so-called Sennaar Galago[132]by some is held to be a different species, but by many is only deemed a variety of the preceding. This animal is plentiful on the wooded banks of the White Nile, and is spread over the forest tracts in Kordofan, and in the same latitudes to the Blue Nile in Sennaar, bordering Abyssinia. By the native name, “Camimdi,” it is also well known in the interior of the East African Coast, viz., above Tete near the Zambesi River. If, moreover, the Maholi Galago, as certain authorities believe, is but a variety of the same, then the Senegal Galago ranges over nearly three-quarters the length and breadth of Africa.

MONTEIRO’S GALAGO.(From a Photograph by Murie.)

Originally discovered and described by the late Sir Andrew Smith in his “South African Zoology,” this is one of the most charming and interesting little creatures imaginable. The general colouring of the upper parts is a yellowish or brownish-grey, with slightly darker brindling on the back, a broad nose-streak, cheeks and throat white, and a tinge of yellow intermixed with the white of the belly and inside of the limbs. The great tender-looking eyes are of a deep topaz yellow; the ears, flesh-tint inside and downy-white outside, are very big, and betimes are rapidly folded together like those of Garnett’s Galago, giving the creature great variety of expression. The head is somewhat globular,with a short, high, almost pointed nose. The delicate woolly fur of the body lengthens and darkens on the tail, most so towards its end. Smith observes that they spring from branch to branch, and tree to tree, with extraordinary facility, and 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 and gesticulations. It spends the daytime in the nests which it forms for itself in the forks of branches, or in the cavities of decayed trees; and in these nests the females also produce and rear their young, of which there are generally two at a birth. Sir John Kirk found it common among the hills of Kebrabassa, Batoka, and Nyassa, in East Africa. He says, singly and in pairs they came about the camp-fires at night, and in the dim light resembled a Bat in movements, by crossing from side to side, at single leaps, distances of six feet. A pair which lived a few years ago in the Zoological Gardens were a most interestingly tender couple. The day saw them nestled lovingly in their little box, and as night wore on they would peep out and cautiously and by stealth venture into their more spacious cage. Creeping down the branch, which served as a ladder, so noiselessly that not a movement could be heard, they would suddenly spring hither and thither, not like ordinary quadrupeds, but in a manner only to be compared with the leap and dart of a Tree Frog (Hyla). Approaching a dish of Meal-worms laid out for them, they would snap them up with their forepaws so quickly that the eye could not follow the motion; this rapidity of action equalled the Chamæleon’s tongue, whose protrusion and withdrawal baffles the eye, the fly gone being the main fact the observer is cognisant of. They seemed heartily to enjoy the Meal-worms, these being dainties in comparison with their ordinary food, which was sopped bread, rice and milk, and fruit. They were much more timid creatures than the impudent, rollicking Garnett’s Galago,[134]whose habits were noticed in the beginning of our description of the Lemuroids. Neither were they by any means as noisy; indeed they seldom if ever uttered a sound, and that was only a subdued warning note. As regards their Monkey-like gestures, hinted at by Smith, this pair never showed any, their manner being rather Squirrel-like than otherwise. Occasionally a hasty contraction or curling together of each capacious ear simulated the scared grimace of a Monkey, but this action was one of surprise or timidity, and not that of the drollery and mischief of Monkey habit. On the whole, these Maholi Galagos appear to be animals of lower intelligence than the Monkey tribe.

This handsome animal comes from both East and West Africa south of the Equator, and is about as large as a Cat, with a great bushy tail some three or four inches longer than the body. This appendage it carries aloft very majestically, or swerves it to and fro as a kind of rudder in climbing, occasionally sweeping it along the back and belly, or curling it around the body after the manner ofthe Lemurs. Being nocturnal in its habits, the eyes, which are large, and with great wide dark pupils and a brown-red iris, have a glassy, glimmering appearance in daylight, but look like balls of fire at night. The ears are a remarkable feature: about a third shorter than the head, they stand out like great, flattish, elliptical-mouthed trumpets, ever changing position and shape, and catching all sounds, and they are nearly bare within and slightly hairy outside. This animal has fur of a uniformly dark brown, and this colour mainly distinguishes it from

This short description of the Thick-tailed Galago in a great many respects answers to another, which merits the title of “Grand,” if dimensions a grade larger deserve it. One was obtained at Cuis Bay, south of Loanda, and was conveyed to England in the living state, being supposed to be only a pale variety of the last-mentioned species. The only visible difference from the latter seems to be that of colour, even this slightly varying. It is of a light chinchilla-grey all over, save the tail and the throat, which are nearly white. The nose is black and bare, and the feet are deep brown. The entire length of the animal is twenty-eight inches, whereof the tail is sixteen. The ears are a couple of inches long, and blackish. Mr. Bartlett remarks that when these are thrown forwards they give the head a resemblance to that of the Aye-Aye; but when they are folded back and down the physiognomy approaches that of the Douroucouli. Sir John Kirk (who accompanied Dr. Livingstone) says: “While theG. maholiis peculiar to the interior, where its geographical range seems to be great, the other, or Great-tailed Galago (G. Monteiri), is confined to the maritime region—so far as I know, never penetrating beyond the band of wood known generally as the mangrove forests. By the Portuguese it is named ‘Rat of the Cocoa-nut Palm,’ that being its favourite haunt by day, nestling among the fronds; but if it be disturbed, performing feats of agility, and darting from one palm to another. It will spring with great rapidity, adhering to any object as if it were a lump of wet clay.

PALM OF HAND OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.(Original after Murie.)SOLE OF FOOT, WITH LONGHEEL, OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.(Original after Murie.)

PALM OF HAND OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.(Original after Murie.)

SOLE OF FOOT, WITH LONGHEEL, OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.(Original after Murie.)

“It has one failing—otherwise its capture were no easy task. Should a pot of palm-wine be left on the tree, the creature drinks to excess, comes down, and rushes about intoxicated. In captivity they are wild; during the day remaining either rolled up in a ball, or perched half asleep, with ears stowed away like a Beetle’s wing under its hard and ornamented case (elytra). I had half a dozen Squirrels with one in the same cage; these were good friends, the latter creeping under the ‘Golgo’s’ soft fur and falling asleep. On introducing a few specimens of Shrew (Macroscelides tetradactylus), the ‘Golgo’ seized one and bit off its tail, which, however, it did not eat. The food it took was biscuit, rice, orange, banana, guava, and a little cooked meat. Stupid during the day, it became active at night, or just after darkness set in.

“The rapidity and length of its leaps, which were absolutely noiseless, must give great facilities to its capturing live prey. I never knew it give a loud call, but it would often make a low chattering noise. It has been observed at the Luabo mouth of the Zambesi, at Quilimane, and at Mozambique. When I had my live specimen at Zanzibar, the natives there did not seem to recognise it; nevertheless, it may be abundant on the mainland.”

POTTO IN ITS SLEEPING AND WAKING ATTITUDES. (Modified from Alph. Milne-Edwards.)

Mr. Monteiro tells us that the Loanda specimens have not the character of being such a drunken lot of creatures, though they are arrant thieves, but otherwise he corroborates Kirk’s observations. He mentions that they come in bands, and rob the fruit-trees of the villages. Their flesh is looked upon as good eating, and their skins are eagerly sought for, the fur being used to staunch wounds. In allusion to the Galago’s inebriety, Dr. Gray relates that a friend of his gave a half-grown Scotch Terrier to a distiller, who soon returned it with the character of “habit and repute.” The animal could not by any correction be prevented from drinking the spirit as it came from the still, or any spirits it could get, and it would stagger and reel about, verifying the term, “a drunken dog,” so often applied to divine man.

The rest of the African Lemuroids have not the habits, appearance, and anatomy of the Galagos, and are a very sad, weird, slow-going set, totally different from the active, careless kinds already noticed. A world of care seems to hang around their deliberate movements; they are images of Sleepy Hollow; they never are seen to spring and rush about, but ordinarily conduct themselves with great gravity and decorum. Slow they are, and hence their name the Slow Loris, and their body and limbs are not made for rapid locomotion. The limbs are nearly equal in length, their head is globular, and the eyes are uneven. The short ears and short fur are all of a piece, and so is the short tail (for this is most common), and the short second or index (counting the thumb as one)finger. The back or rib vertebræ are fourteen or more, and the loin-bones are never less than seven. There is a remarkable division of the blood-vessels of the arms, loins, and legs called therete mirabile. The vessels split into minute tubes, like hairs in calibre, but of two sizes, and lie closely adherent to each other in long parallel lines (seepage 245); this arrangement, also termed a plexus, or plexiform, being similar in kind to what is met with in the Sloth tribe of South America. The Slow Lemurs inhabit both Africa and Asia, but are not found in Madagascar, and their mode of life is strictly arboreal and nocturnal.

The first African genus isPerodicticus.

ANGWÁNTIBO. (Slightly altered after Huxley.)

As far back as the year 1705, while on a voyage to the Guinea coast, the Dutch navigator, Van Bosman, came across a new and strange little quadruped which, on his return, he figured and briefly described under the name of Potto. The colonists knew it as the Bush-dog, and that it was slothful and retiring, seldom making its appearance except in the night-time, and then to feed on the cassada and other vegetables. It is remarkable for its singular hand, which has, as it were, a deformed forefinger, and for a seeming protrusion of the neck-bones.

Like other tropical night-animals, the home or wild habits of the Potto have only been loosely studied. It is not restricted to the northern parts of Guinea, but is found on the Gold Coast and at the Gaboon River under the Equator. It shows a certain agility at night, clambering up the most smooth and polished branches with ease. When caught, and in captivity, one authority says, it sped along the cornices and angles within the house wherever there was the least elevation from the wall.

HAND AND FOOT OF ARCTOCEBUS.(After Huxley, Zool. Soc. Proc.)

Those specimens which have lived in the Regent’s Park Gardens from time to time have fed onthe same kind of food and exhibited no special differences of habit from the Slow Loris of Asia, presently to be described, if we except a more intractable disposition; for they have seemed rather addicted to giving an ugly bite whenever attempted to be handled, however gently. Mr. Bartlett managed to get one that showed a more amiable disposition, courting kindly stroking. When first obtained, it was so young that doubts were entertained of its surviving, especially as it suffered from the cold weather. To obviate this a small bag of hare-skin was made, fur inside, and Master Potto was placed therein. Furthermore, a bitch having whelps on the premises, one of the latter was put in with the young African for a while, then another, and so on in rotation, the animal heat of Potto being duly sustained. The latter clung to the puppies as it would to its mother, hugging them on the belly so tight that the doggies did not quite seem to relish their forced companion. This nursing, however, did well, and Potto was duly reared, and became on the whole good tempered.

Mr. Skues records having purchased a female at Cape Coast on the 31st March, 1869, along with its young one, which had been born on the 8th February. They slept all day; the mother usually perched on a door, with the youngster clasped to her belly, by its fore and hind extremities. At dusk they came down and wandered about the room all night. After a time, young Potto scampered hither and thither on his own account. Milk and bread they refused, but would feed on pine-apples and bananas, with water. Although there were insects about the room, as is the case always in tropical climates, the Pottos were never detected eating them, but one day the mother was found busily munching at a tray of preserved Beetles. At Accra, circumstances prevented due attention being given them, and there the young one died aged twenty-two weeks. The mother survived only six weeks. The negroes seemed to be much afraid of the Potto, which they called “Aposo,” or “Aposou.” It inhabits West Africa and the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea.

The hairs on the Potto are longish, soft, and woolly, mouse-coloured at the base, rusty in the middle, and paler tipped. Hence results a general chestnut tint, with intermixture of grey, the under surface being considerably paler. The limbs are nearly of one length; the head rounded, with slightly-hairy shortish ears, and moderately-projecting muzzle. The nose and chin are almost naked and flesh-coloured, the former grooved or nicked in the centre. The eyes are lateral and oblique, very convex, and with an oblong pupil. The index, or first finger, is very short, resembling a tubercle.

The nature and number of the teeth indicate a mixed diet, as there are four incisors above and below, and two canines in the upper and lower jaw. Then come three pre-molars and three lower grinders on each side in both jaws.

The next genus is very singular. The species has just the trace of a tail, and the index finger is reduced to a slight projection, or tubercle, on which there is no trace of a nail, and the fingers and toes about the lower joints are united by skin. The ear has two cross folds, and there are fifteen dorsal back-bones, and seven in the loin region.

Our knowledge of this curious African species, which comes from West Africa and Old Calabar, truly a “three-fingered Jack,” is due to the Rev. A. Robb, when missionary at Old Calabar. From hisletter (December, 1859) accompanying the bottled specimen first transmitted to England, we gather the following history:—“The Calabar people call itAngwántibo—angwánmeans a farm, but we do not know the etymology of the second part of the word, and cannot say whether it arose from any habit peculiar to the animal. It lives in trees; but, being nocturnal, the people know exceedingly little about it. They cannot tell what it eats. A lad whom I asked said that he lived in the house, and it lived in the bush, how then could he know anything about it? My Krumen also recognised it as a countryman of theirs. They consider the one sent as a young one, and say that in their country it grows to the size of a common puss. Probably theirs is a different animal, but I cannot tell. They call itDwăn, and say that it lays down the law to the other beasts, forbidding them to eat the young fruit when it begins to form on the trees. If the Monkey transgresses, theDwănseizes him, and holds him there till he dies—yea, the Monkey rots in his grasp. They say they are shot together thus. If the Monkey gets the shot, theDwănholds on; if theDwăngets the shot, they fall together. The Krumen say that theDwăneats fruit. This is all we know about it at present; and their (the Krumen’s) account seems somewhat fabulous.”

SLOW LORIS. (After Tickell and Alph. Milne-Edwards.)

Dr. Alexander Smith describes and compares the animal with the Potto. He mentions the following characters:—Above, yellowish-brown, the roots of the hairs, dark grey; below, paler, in some parts nearly white; hair, wool-like; length from muzzle to point of tail, 10½ inches, the tail being only a quarter of an inch long. The body is slender; the head oval and rounded, with a blunt but protuberant face; the eyes, full and large; ears, naked within, and with short hairs externally; nostrils, sinuous, and laterally placed; there is projecting fold beneath the tongue, as in other Lemuroids, and the neck is short. The limbs are slender, the hinder a trifle larger and stronger than the others; both feet and hands conform to those of the Potto, with, however, a still greater reduction of the index finger. He observes that the hands and feet are divided, as it were, into two opposing portions, which he likens to the grasp of such climbing-birds as the Parrots. This peculiarity, along with the multiple blood-vessel division of the extremities, he thinks indicative of long-enduring muscular action, stealthy step, and adaptation for gripping twigs of trees, rather than for the purpose of capturing a prey.

RETE MIRABILE. (Original after Murie.)Greatly magnified, and partly diagrammatic representations of aRete Mirabile.A.General appearance.B.Cross section of vessels.C.How the capillary vessels of two sizes join.

RETE MIRABILE. (Original after Murie.)

Greatly magnified, and partly diagrammatic representations of aRete Mirabile.A.General appearance.B.Cross section of vessels.C.How the capillary vessels of two sizes join.

The anatomical peculiarities of the Angwántibo have been lucidly described by Prof. Huxley in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” where, from his examination, he substantiates Dr. Gray’s separation of the animal generically from its African mother the Potto.

There are two well-marked kinds of these Lemuroida to be met with in very large districts in the East, and they live in the tropical woods of Eastern and Southern Hindostan, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Cochin China, the Malay Archipelago, and in the great Islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. But they do not live together in the same parts.

SLOW LORIS.(From a sketch by Tickell.)

The first to be noticed has the widest geographical range, and is to be found here and there from Hindostan to China, and from Burmah to the great islands. Hence quite a voluminous history is attached to this animal, whose singular appearance and habits, peculiar anatomy, and geographical distribution, have been the fruitful theme for travellers and naturalists of most European nations. He is called by many names, and is the Bashful Billy—“Chirmundi Billi”—of the Bengalese, or the Slow Lemur, and naturalists term him the Slow Loris, or Kukang (Nycticebus tardigradus). When he is turned out of his quarters in the daytime, he reminds one of a very young, awkward puppy without a tail. But his eyes, however, are enormous and owl-like, and seem to start protuberantly forwards with an unmeaning stare. When his wits return, and the scare ceases, he softly turns on his heel, and with a very slow, measured pace—hand-over-hand, as sailors term it—makes for his box. There is a cool, sedate manner about his whole proceedings which may either be taken for wisdom or stupidity. During the night, when hungry cravings send him forth on hisown account, his eyes light up, and he seems more alive to his interests, though seldom increasing the activity of his movements. On a table he waddles like a sailor newly ashore, but with a rope or bough to grasp, by foot or hand, there ensues a grip like a vice, a steady mode of ascent putting him betimes out of reach of danger.

The eye of the Kukang, besides its adaptation to nocturnal vision, in the presence of a tapetum, or silvery lining to the choroid or blood-vessel layer, has also a singular manner of closing. Instead of the eyelids shutting from above downwards, as in the majority of Mammals, they approach obliquely outwards and inwards. This mode of closure is entirely due to an inequality in the fleshy fibres which surround the eyelid, and, together with the large pupil, somewhat elliptical in shape, produces in daylight a very strange, unmeaning look. It has a very odd knack of hanging to boughs, body downwards, and the way in which it is done, asleep or awake, apparently receives explanation from the mode in which certain of the flexor muscles are fastened above the knee-joint. Thus, by simple bending of the leg, the toes are drawn (on bending) together, and hold fast without any sensible muscular exertion. The mechanism, in fact, is similar in kind to that which enables birds to perch while slumbering, or by which Bats adhere to crevices while suspended head downwards. It possesses the peculiarrete mirabileof blood-vessels already noticed.

Many anecdotes respecting the habits of the Nycticebus in confinement have hitherto found currency, a similar vein of narrative running through each. One kept by Mr. Baird some nine months had a preference for veal, fresh-killed fowls’ necks, sugar, and gum-arabic, cooked meat being abhorred. Instead of recounting old stories, we append the following observations of Captain Tickell, not hitherto made public:—

“This animal is tolerably common in the Tenasserim provinces, and in Arracan, but from being strictly nocturnal in its habits is seldom seen. It inhabits the densest forests, and never by choice leaves the trees. Its movements are slow, but it climbs readily, and grasps with great tenacity. If placed on the ground, it can proceed, if frightened, in a wavering kind of trot, the limbs bent at right angles, like a mutilated Spider. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, its head and hands buried between its thighs, and wakes up at the dusk of evening to commence its nocturnal rambles. The female bears but one young at a time. In confinement they are at first savage, bite severely, and in spite of general slow movements, can do so pretty quickly, uttering a rough grunt or growl. They, however, get quiet, if not absolutely docile, in time, and are kept without difficulty, requiring no other diet than plantains, or any other kind of fruit. They become content to remain in the smallest box, where another animal would soon pine and perish for want of exercise. When for a time confined they readily abandon their nocturnal habits, eat during the day, and rest at night. They will thus remain contentedly on an old punkah hung in a lumber-room, for many days; but, unless thoroughly reclaimed, they will always seize an opportunity during night to escape, never travelling far, however, and generally turning up in some thicket or bamboo-clump, or other quiet corner in the grounds. They greedily devour all sorts of insects, and also birds’ eggs.”

On one occasion Captain Tickell watched an individual crawling along the floor to seize a Cockroach. When it had approached within ten or twelve inches, it drew its hind feet gradually forwards until almost under its chest; it then cautiously and slowly raised itself up into a standing position, balancing itself awkwardly with its uplifted arms, and then, to his astonishment, flung itself, not upon the insect, which was off “like an arrow from a Tartar’s bow,” but on the spot which it had, half a second before, tenanted (seewoodcut). This is its manner, however, of catching such of its living food as will wait long enough. Grubs, Caterpillars, and the slower Beetles (Scarabæi) are seized in one or both hands, and slowly carried to its mouth, and there solemnly munched up; the Nycticebus looking all the time, with its delicate small muzzle and its protuberant eyes, like one of those apologetic pigmy Lapdogs ladies love to carry. It is almost wholly silent, but when roused to take food, now and then it utters a feeble tone, like the crackling of some substance in the fire. When angry, and about to bite, it gives forth a tolerably loud growl or grunt.

The above animal (with one or possibly two species) forms the genus Nycticebus, in which the body and limbs are short; there is no tail, and the head is globular, whilst there are no less than sixteen back-bones with ribs. The index finger is short, and there is a nail on it.

The next genus is called Loris, or Stenops.

Comes from Ceylon, Malabar, and the Coromandel Coast, and the Malays in Ceylon call it “Seyvoingoo,” the Cinghalese, “Onaha ppoolowa.” The meagre figure and long lank limbs of this creature give it a droll, half-starved look, its skin-tight robes and silent melancholy lending oddity, but not gracefulness, to its charms. If seen during the day, and made to walk on a flat surface, what between its blinking, peeping eyes and awkward gait, a feeling of pity devoid of admiration is apt to arise. But watched at night, when it is clambering among branches, its character changes to that of a more lithe and nimbler animal, whose great staring eyes and gliding progress most surely indicate a nature less apathetic than a more hasty conclusion would warrant. Its uncommonly long body, devoid of a tail, is rendered more striking on account of limb-length, and the colour is usually of an unequal sooty-grey, the back mingled with much rusty-tinted or tawny hairs. The under parts are whitish, and there is a light nose-streak. The space round the eyes, which are close together, is dusky, and on the head is a dark spot, pointing to the inner eyelid. As in other of the Lemuroid groups, there is no absolute constancy in depth of tint and markings, lighter and darker varieties being met with. The rounded ears are conspicuous, though not long and mobile as in the Galagos, and the face has a kind of Dog-like expression. The hair is very singular when the animal is alive: it resembles soft packed wool, somewhat curled and arranged in little tufts, as the hair on the scalp of the negro, but very delicate; it soon loses this appearance after death if much handled, as is always the case in removing the skin.

SLENDER LORIS, SHOWING ITS ATTITUDES AND HABITS. (In part after Emerson Tennent.)

The Slender Loris is very common in the lower country of the south and east of Ceylon. Dr. Templeton, who had several of them, observes“that after a few months’ confinement they soon begin to pine and die. One was particularly noticed. If the room was perfectly quiet about dusk, it ventured about, crawling along the rails of the chairs with a very gentle movement. There was an interval of nearly a minute in the closing of its hands on the parts of the furniture which it grasped in succession, while moving its head from side to side with much grave deliberation. But when a Spider or other insect came within its reach, its clutch at it was quick as lightning, and with equal rapidity it was conveyed to the mouth. It seemed particularly anxious to avoid having its hinder extremities touched. When approached, it retiringly slunk along the stick placed slantingly in the corner for its use, or along the back of the chair, with the usual deliberate movement. Its great goggle eyes would be fixed immovably on your face or hands if held towards it, and with every expression of fear. Its mouth appears small, and so little distensible that one cannot imagine it capable of biting anything except it be of very small size. The natives, nevertheless, assert that it destroys Peacocks in the jungle, seizing them by the neck, which it clutches with such tenacity that the bird soon falls exhausted to the ground off its perch, or in its sudden flight, attempting to escape its persecutor. Having devoured the brain, the Loris leaves the rest of the body untouched.” Among the others in his possession, Templeton alludes to a female which gave birth to a young one. “This latter, when ushered into the world, was about two inches long, like a Mouse, perfectly without hairy covering, a large head, attenuated body, and excessively slender legs. The face and eyes were proportionally much smaller than in the older animal. It clung to the mother so tenaciously, that I believe it would almost have parted with its life than let go its hold.” This baby Loris, he remarks, was not at all entitled to the usual appellation, Dog-like.

Sir J. Emerson Tennent says that the Slender Loris, from its sluggish movements, nocturnal habits, and consequent inaction during the day, has acquired the name of the “Ceylon Sloth.” According to him there are two varieties in the island; one of the ordinary fulvous brown, and another larger, whose fur is entirely black. A specimen of the former was sent to him from Chilaw, on the western coast, and lived for some time at Colombo, feeding on rice, fruit, and vegetables. It was partial to Ants and other insects, and always eager for milk or the bone of a Fowl. The natural slow motion of its limbs enables the Loris to approach its prey so stealthily that it seizes birds before they can be alarmed by its presence. During the day one which he kept was usually asleep in the strange position shown in the woodcut (p. 247), its perch firmly grasped with its hands, its back curved into a ball of soft fur, and its head hidden deep between its legs. The singularly large and intense eyes of the Loris have attracted the attention of the Cinghalese, who capture the creature for the purpose of extracting them as charms and love-potions, and this they are said to effect by holding the little animal to the fire till its eyeballs burst. Its Tamil name istheivangu, or “thin-bodied;” and hence a deformed child or an emaciated person has acquired in the Tamil districts the same epithet. The light-coloured variety of the Loris in Ceylon has a spot on its forehead, somewhat resembling thenamam, or mark worn by the worshippers of Vishnu; and from this peculiarity it is distinguished as theNama-theivangu.

A curious animal, differing from the foregoing Slow Lemuroids, but Asiatic in its distribution, is the only species of the genusTarsius.

This is a small, active creature, which appears to excite great terror in the minds of the natives of the East Indian Archipelago, from its curious-shaped face, and sudden appearance at dusk. So impressed are the inhabitants of some portions of Java with its malevolent influence, that if they see one of them on a tree near their rice-grounds, they will leave them uncultivated.

About the size of a small, common Squirrel, this tiny cause of fright has a round head, like that of a Marmoset, a pointed muzzle, large ears, and staring eyes. Its grinning mouth gives a queer and comical look to the face. Its body is about six inches in length. The limbs are long, especially the hind pair, and the tail—about nine inches long—is slender, and furnished with a brush of long hair at the end. The colour of the body is fawn-brown as a rule, and the bare partsare of a flesh tint, and the forehead, face, and nose are reddish, and there is a black eye-streak. The name is derived from the fact of the “tarsus,” or ankle-bones, being remarkably developed, the heel-bones being very long. There is but one kind as yet known, and it can be distinguished from all the other Lemuroids by the peculiarity of its front teeth. There are four upper ones and only two lower, and the inner pair of the upper jaw are much larger than the outer. There are four canine teeth; and there are twelve molar teeth in each jaw, six being false molars. These teeth are very crowded, and there is scarcely any space between them. The ends of the fingers and toes are well supplied with pads, which assist the animal in its jumping and clinging, and the second and third toes have short, sharp, and pointed claws, which stand nearly erect. The nails of the hands are scale-like and triangular, and this is the case with those of the great and outer toes.

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