THE LEMUROIDA (_continued_).
THE GENERA LEMUR AND CHEIROGALE.
Called by the French _Makis_--Restricted to Madagascar--Their
Activity--Different Species--How to distinguish them--THE
RING-TAILED LEMUR--Reason for the Name--Tail--Colour of
Body--Eye--Hand and Foot--Geographical Range--Anatomical
Peculiarities--Playfulness in Captivity--THE WHITE-FRONTED
LEMUR--Specimen in the Zoological Gardens--THE LEMUR OF
MAYOTTE--Where Found--Colour--Manner of Life--THE MONGOOSE
LEMUR--Description of one sent to Buffon--THE RUFFED
LEMUR--Described by Ellis--Domesticated Specimens--THE BLACK
LEMUR--Geographical Range--Hand--Foot--GENUS CHEIROGALE--Bushy
Tails--Resemblance to the Hapalemur--Nocturnal Habits--Difficult
to distinguish--THE FORKED-CROWNED CHEIROGALE--Wonderful Powers of
Leaping--Cry--Reason for the Name--A Nest-making Variety--Specimens
in the Jardin des Plantes--Resemblance to the Galagos.
The animals which are included in the genus Lemur are popularly called
by the French the _Makis_. They are restricted, geographically, to
Madagascar, and to some of the adjacent islands, and are not found
elsewhere. Instead of roaming along the boughs and through the woods
with a restless activity during the night, after the manner of the
Lemuroida already described, the Makis move, gambol, and jump with
great agility by daylight. Resting during the hours of the night,
they run along the branches after daylight, searching for their food,
which consists principally of fruit and occasionally birds’ eggs, and
even of the small birds themselves. They are very active, and as the
conformation of their limbs adapts them for an arboreal existence, they
rarely come to the ground.
Having, without exception, all the peculiarities of animals which move
and prey by day, it is very curious that the species of Makis should
be classified under a genus bearing the name of Lemur. But in this
instance, as in many others, the original derivation of the name has
but slight or even no reference to the peculiarities of the animals
which are thus artificially designated by it, and of course great
confusion results.
There are many species included in the genus Lemur, and there is great
difficulty in discriminating between them, for many of them are very
variable, and therefore it is probable that it will be much restricted
with the advance of the knowledge of the zoology of Madagascar. All
have a long snout, a small, flat, and long skull, and a long body with
narrow flanks. The hind limbs are rather longer than the front ones,
and there is a long furry tail. The feet and hands are short, and the
great toe is broad; moreover, the ears are moderate in length, and
are either tufted or are hairy. In some kinds the head is surrounded
by a ruff of fur, and the colour of the hair differs according to the
species, and is even different in individuals of the same kind.
Thus, a black Lemur, called _Lemur niger_, has a female which has white
whiskers, and another with a black-and-white fur, which is called the
Ruffed Lemur (_Lemur varius_), has a young one which is red, so that
all these different tints having been formerly recognised as belonging
to different kinds or species are now proved to be natural varieties of
fewer species.
The males of many kinds differ from the females in colour, and from
the young also; moreover, at certain times of the year, according to
the age of the animal, the fur changes its tints, and a corresponding
alteration is produced by different food, so that the great number
of species of Lemur described by naturalists must be regarded with
suspicion.
A careful plan in discriminating the species is to divide them after
the fashion--but not with the same intention--of the late Dr. Gray,
of the British Museum. He made certain groups, and called each a
genus, but this last proceeding was not correct. One of his groups is
as follows:--For example, Lemurs with faces without a ruff, the tail
ringed, and a bald spot above the inside of the wrist.[119] The first
kind about to be described belongs to this set, and is
THE RING-TAILED LEMUR--THE MACACO OF BUFFON--LEMUR CATTA--THE CAT-LIKE
LEMUR.
All these titles refer to the pretty Cat-like Lemur with
chinchilla-grey tints, and a banded tail of black and grey rings, which
is commonly to be seen at the Zoological Gardens. It is so familiar,
and has been so carefully examined, that it is advisable it should
occupy some space in this description of its natural history.
The naturalist’s name for this creature aptly denotes a Cat-like
resemblance--a similitude due, perhaps, partly to size, certain tints
of colouring, a peculiar arching of the back, and the long tail carried
aloft, recalling at once purring Pussy. The tail, a striking feature,
is several inches longer than the head and body taken together; it is
clothed with abundance of long, soft, fluffy hairs, and alternately
marked with rings of black and white. The predominant colour of the
body and legs is chinchilla-grey, with a sprinkling of reddish hairs
or rusty wash on the back; the under parts, however, are pure white.
The cosy covering of delicate woolly fur, shorter than on the tail,
stands out, instead of being smooth and sleek. The head is of a conical
shape; the flattish depressed oval ears, by no means prominent, are
sparsely hairy within, and are edged with short white hairs. The muzzle
is nearly bald and black; the eyes are broadly encircled by the same
colour, the remainder of the head and throat being snow-white. The
eye, full, conspicuous, and softly expressive, is of a rich orange
hue, with a dark pupil, and the eyebrows are represented by a few
long black straggling hairs. There is a moustache and beard, but no
vibrissæ (smellers), as in the Cat-tribe. The hind limb far exceeding
the fore-limb in height, mainly causes the attitude of back-arching
when on the ground. The fore foot is a kind of diminutive flat-nailed
hand, with a proportionally short thumb, and it is hairy above, but
naked below, and all the fingers have expanded cushions on their last
joints. The hand is not capable of being closely clenched, and the
thumb reaches only to the middle of the palm. The hind feet are large,
and there is a strong great toe-thumb. Moreover, a true claw adorns
the next toe, and in many other respects there is a certain agreement
between the foot and hand. Both are black-soled, and the beautiful
tracery of the pronounced cross lines, furrows, and folds would delight
the heart of a gipsy fortune-teller. The mammæ, or teats, are two in
number, and are placed near the armpits. Usually the species of Lemur
have but one, or at most two, little ones at a birth, and the period
of gestation is about one hundred and ten days, the young Lemur being
born almost naked, and nearly without fur. Their hairs are short and
sparsely distributed, except on the head, where they form a kind of
belt around the eyes. They cling on to their mother’s fur, and, holding
on to that over her stomach and abdomen, they lie across her, so that
when she draws up her legs she either hides the little one effectually,
or it may be seen hairless in the folds of the mother’s groins. After
a while, and as the young Lemur becomes better clothed and stronger,
it leaves this snug and warm retreat, and crawls up on to the mother’s
back and shoulders, and seizes her fur, and holds on with such tenacity
that she can jump and bound about without unseating her little burthen.
[Illustration: RING-TAILED LEMURS.]
_Lemur catta_ inhabits a circumscribed region. Its range is along the
south and west coasts of Madagascar. Social, and banding together in
troops, they feed on the fruits of the forest, and occasionally, it is
averred, capture insects and small birds. Those kept in confinement,
however, are far less carnivorous than the smaller and livelier
nocturnal Galagos to be described hereafter. They seem remarkably
sensible to cold, huddling and crouching close to one another as if
heat and comfort were indispensable to their nature. At such times
their tails are wound round the bodies of their companions and of
themselves in a very odd fashion. Ordinarily very good-natured, they
like to be fondled, and come down to be fed, uttering either a grunt
of satisfaction or a loud plaintive cry, but it is stated that in
Madagascar when the wet season comes on they become much excited, and
rush about quite careless of danger, grunting terribly. They do not
tease each other like Monkeys, and do not jump about on their hind
legs alone, to do mischief of all kinds; on the contrary, they leap on
all-fours with great agility and quietude, and in a light-hearted sort
of way. They use their hands in grasping objects given to them, and
feed themselves with them; but, like the Monkeys, they often scratch
with the hinder extremities, and do not use them to put food to their
mouths.
On looking into their anatomy it will be noticed that the back-bone
has none of those graceful curves so characteristic of man, and which
are modified and less perceptible in Apes. It is made for going on
all-fours and jumping, and consists of some twenty-nine pieces, or
vertebræ, there being also twenty-six in the tail. Having good lungs,
the chest is capacious, but is long and flattened at the sides, and
there are thirteen ribs on each side, and a central breast-bone, or
_sternum_, composed of seven pieces.
The skull has large eye-cavities, or orbits, and (as in Indris)
they are not closed behind by bone, but are open there, though the
angle of the lower jaw is not turned in or inflected. The diet of
the Ring-tailed Lemurs being both vegetarian and of insects, or an
occasional small bird, their teeth are very equally distributed as
regards their kinds. There is a good set of front teeth for tearing
and incising, the full number of canines for piercing and killing,
and the full number of grinders. The numbers are on each side of the
upper jaw--two incisors, one canine, three false, or pre-molars, and
three true molars, and on each side of the lower jaw is a corresponding
number. Thus this arrangement resembles that of the milk teeth of
Indris, but the front teeth of the lower jaw stick out in a remarkable
manner. Corresponding with their teeth are the digestive organs, which
are more suited for the assimilation of vegetable food than for a
purely carnivorous diet. These measure nearly seven feet in length, and
the blind-gut, or cæcum, is about a foot long. There is one point of
great interest in the throat of this Lemur, especially when the animal
is considered as intermediate between some Carnivora and the American
Monkeys. This, the organ of voice, has a small laryngeal pouch,
recalling, or rather fore-shadowing, the great ones of the Howlers;
and the bone at the base of the tongue (the hyoid) has a body and
projections, which resemble those of the Carnivora rather than those of
the Monkeys. In the wrist there is the ninth bone.
When in captivity, the Ring-tailed Lemur soon becomes attached to its
keeper, and they show some powers of memory. A quartermaster of the
French frigate _Dupleix_, who had one on board, was recognised by it
when surrounded by all the crew. This little creature liked to play
with the cabin-boys and the Dogs, and took charge of, and protected, a
little Monkey belonging to one of the sailors. The Monkey was fondled
and nursed, and cleaned with great attention by its active little
friend; but corresponding kindness was not shown to the ship’s fowls,
whose tails it pulled unmercifully.
THE WHITE-FRONTED LEMUR.[120]
This is easily known by its broad band of white fur encircling the
forehead, cheeks, and ears, and contrasting with the black muzzle,
which is long and compressed. It is restricted in its geographical
range to Madagascar.
Several of these White-fronted Lemurs have been brought to Europe from
time to time, and have been kept in the Zoological Gardens. Their
habits are simple enough. They often exhibit great vivacity, and are
much given to leaping from one object to another, in which they are
aided by the pad-like structures of the hands and feet.
THE LEMUR OF MAYOTTE.[121]
There is a kind of Lemur which lives in the island of Mayotte, one of
the Comoro group between Madagascar and the mainland of Africa, and
which is not found elsewhere. It is known as the Lemur Mayottensis, or
the Lemur of Mayotte, and is remarkable for the strange variation in
the colour of its fur. Probably there are five different colours, which
are peculiar to different individuals of this species, and they have
all received different names. These are termed varieties. But of what
are they varieties, and which is the animal whence they have varied?
These questions cannot be answered; and therefore this group of forms
constitutes a species--a species really being a term which includes the
sum of all the possible varieties of an animal. One of the varieties is
the Black-fronted Lemur, which inhabits Madagascar itself, and as there
is every probability that at one time the Comoro Islands were joined
on to Madagascar, the existence of apparently different species, but
really only varieties, can be explained.
These animals live in companies composed of from six to twenty, in the
virgin forests of Mayotte, and they may be seen in broad daylight or at
night. They lead an arboreal life, but they occasionally come to the
ground after fallen fruit. They are hunted with Dogs, and when closely
pressed, they take refuge in the highest branches, look fixedly at
their enemy, growl, and wave their tails. When they see the hunter they
rush off and take prodigious leaps, and go into the very depths of the
forest. Should one be wounded it will defend itself against the Dogs,
and will even jump upon them and bite their ears. They are fond of
fruit, and especially of the wild date, and they wander far and near in
numbers seeking their favourite food.
THE MONGOOSE LEMUR, OR WOOLLY MACACO.[122]
The great naturalist Buffon had a Lemur sent to him as a present, which
he kept as a pet for many years. At first it ran about the house, and
was tame and full of fun, roaming here and there, and settling down
before the fire like a common Cat. It was very good-natured, and became
a great favourite; but with age came ill-temper, and it became cross
and vicious; moreover, it was always making disturbances, so it had to
be chained up. Having some ingenuity and perseverance, it managed to
slip its chain now and then, and to escape. It made its way directly
into the street, and used to visit a confectioner’s shop, where it very
quietly and systematically roamed in search of sweets, devouring all it
could lay its hands on. If it could not get sweets it would take fruit,
and was quite heedless regarding the price or the rarity of its desired
treats. When it was known that it had escaped, if the shop-people had
not already told Buffon, every one knew where it was to be caught,
and a great trouble the catching was, for it got into corners, showed
fight, and bit, and resisted being touched very decidedly. The cold,
however, was its great enemy, and it always suffered much from it, and
finally died from its effects.
The Mongoose Lemur, as it is often called, has a long head, flat
forehead, and large canine teeth. It is of a reddish-grey colour
generally, the crown of the head, the face, and chin being black;
moreover, there is a streak of the same colour up the forehead,
and across the crown. The cheeks and the side of the forehead are
iron-grey, and this and its black nose distinguish it.
It carries its fine tail well stuck up when it runs about, and jumps on
all-fours from place to place, and grunts with pleasure when fed and
noticed.
The last group of the genus Lemur contains kinds which have a ruff of
fur on the cheeks and neck, and the ears are pencilled at the end, the
wrist being moreover hairy. They are common in Madagascar, and two are
worthy of notice--the Ruffed Black-and-White Lemur, and the Ruffed
Black Lemur.
[Illustration: MONGOOSE LEMUR, OR WOOLLY MACACO. (_Male and Female,
partly after Sclater._)
(From the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_.)]
THE RUFFED LEMUR.[123]
[Illustration: RUFFED LEMUR. (_After Schlegel and Pollen._)]
Ellis, when journeying through one of the Madagascar forests, noticed,
one bright, clear, and bracing morning, a peculiar shouting or
hallooing, apparently at no very great distance. It was, he wrote, “not
like any sound I had heard before, but resembled that of men or boys
calling to each other more than anything else. At first I thought it
was a number of people driving cattle out of the forest into the road.
Still I heard no crashing amongst the underwood, and saw no signs of
bullocks. Then I imagined it must be a number of bird-catchers, or
squirrel-catchers. But on inquiring of my companions they said the
noise proceeded from the Black-and-white Lemurs--_Lemur macaco_, or
_Lemur varius_ (Geoffroy)--of which there were great numbers in the
forests. I had repeatedly seen Lemurs of more than one species in the
market at Tamatave, and numbers among the people of the place. There
were two or three of the large ruffed Lemurs in a house near my own
dwelling, and they seemed to be quite domesticated. Though covered with
thick, almost woolly, hair, they appeared to be ill at ease in wet or
cold weather, but to luxuriate in the warm sunshine. I often noticed
two or three of them together on a fine morning after rain raised upon
their hind legs, on the outside of the house, leaning back against the
wall with their fore legs spread out, evidently enjoying the warmth of
the sun which was shining upon them. They are often kept tame by the
natives for a long time, and numbers are sold to the masters of ships
and others visiting the port. We had one on board the ship in which I
made my first voyage from Madagascar. It was a fine animal, and during
the twenty-eight days of our passage I had frequent opportunities of
observing its disposition and habits. It was tied to a boat on deck,
and in a basket under the fore part of the boat it found a partial
shelter from the rain and wind. It conveyed its food--boiled rice
and fruit--to its mouth by the hand; and it was gentle and sociable,
seemingly grateful for any trifling notice or kindness. I frequently
gave it water, which it lapped like a Dog, and occasionally a banana;
and in a short time it seemed to watch my movements whenever I came on
deck, jumping on my arm or shoulder if I approached the boat; but was
most delighted when, attaching a long line to the short cord tied round
its body, I loosened it from the boat and allowed it to run up the
cords or rigging, which it ascended with astonishing ease and speed,
sitting sometimes with apparent pleasure on the extremity of the yard.
It was scrupulously clean, and seemed unable to endure any tar or other
dirt on its shaggy coat. One morning, during a heavy gale of wind,
when there was much motion of the ship and great confusion and noise
among the sailors, the Lemur seemed unusually excited, and clapped its
hands together, and chattered loud in a most extraordinary manner,
occasioning great uneasiness amongst the crew of Malagasy sailors,
who declared it was an omen of evil to the ship, and that some fearful
calamity might be expected. I had felt so much interest in the sociable
and apparently gentle animal on board ship, that I should have been
glad to have seen some of its species in their own forest homes; but
though numbers were evidently near, none of them came within sight.”
This Lemur has, as its name implies, a black-and-white fur; the white
tint is very general near the skin, and black is put on in patches, the
tail being completely of that colour. It has a long face and skull,
with a high nose and a narrow space between the eye cavities.
[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE RUFFED LEMUR. (_Modified after De
Blainville._)]
THE BLACK LEMUR.[124]
It is this Lemur which has a mate with white whiskers and a white patch
on the lower part of the back, whilst its own colour is uniformly black.
It inhabits the north-west of Madagascar, and the Sakalaves call it
Acoumba. M. Pollen noticed one of the white-whiskered yellowish-red
coloured females with a little black young one (a male) on its
shoulders, and when the mother was shot, it fell with her, so tightly
had it grasped her wool. They live in companies, and like the very tops
of the tallest trees of the forest for their home; they are usually
seen in the evening, when they make a great deal of noise with their
concert of grunts and cries, and they jump from bough to bough quite as
quickly as a bird flies. They have a trick of falling down suddenly,
when pursued, into the underwood, and when the hunter searches for
them they will be seen rushing off to a distant tree. When reared in
captivity they are docile and affectionate. They like to sit on their
keeper’s shoulder, and will eat nearly everything that is offered to
them. Fruit they prefer, but they will crack a bird’s skull and eat the
brain. In some districts of Madagascar these Lemurs are not allowed
to be killed or to be kept either dead or alive, on account of some
superstitious ideas of the natives.
One of the most remarkable peculiarities of this Lemur is the marked
padded nature of the hand. The palm of the hand is longer than the
fingers, and the thumb is not much bigger than the little or fifth
finger. The fourth finger is slightly the longest, and its tip, as well
as those of the other fingers, is furnished with a well-marked pad,
which gives a roundness and fulness to the last joint, or phalanx. The
fleshy pads of the palm and fingers are also numerous, and the largest
occupies the position on the palm of the ball of the thumb in man,
whilst in front of this there is a pad space on the palm close below
the first joint of the index finger. A smaller pad is placed behind
the roots of the third and fourth fingers, and there is a pad at the
root of the fifth digit. Two long pads are seen behind this last on the
outer margin of the palm, which converge towards the great pad of the
base of the thumb. These six pads of the palm form an ellipsis around
the centre of the hand, and are of paramount importance in preventing
the jar of jumping.
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE BLACK LEMUR. (_After Murie._)]
The under part of the foot of the Black Lemur is at first sight very
much like a hard palm, with a great thumb, for the great toe is large
and thumb-like. The four other toes are finger-like, and are very
slightly larger than the fingers of the hand; and the sole, although
narrow and rather elongate, resembles a palm somewhat. The second toe
is small; and although it has a small pad beneath its tip, a distinct
and sharp nail projects from the last phalanx. All the other toes have
large pads beneath their tips, and assume more or less of a rounded
shape at the ends. The great toe’s pad is large and almost circular in
outline. There is a large pad at the base of the great toe, which is
almost divided into two by a furrow, and each of the remaining toes has
a small pad at its junction with the sole, and there is one along the
outer border. All these tactile pads with cushions of fat on the palm
and sole act admirably as buffers, and prevent injury to the joints of
the bones, as the Lemur terminates its leap by bringing its extremities
in sudden contact with boughs or small trees. Moreover, they enable
the animal to distinguish substances by their very sensitive surface.
By being placed at the base of the fingers and toes on the palm or
sole, and by being separate and along the edge of elliptical spaces,
the movement of the fingers and toes still retains their independence.
Moreover, the existence of a central spot between the pads favours the
movements of the palm and sole, and assists in the opposable nature
of the thumb and first toe. The pads on the under part of the ends
of the fingers and toes appear not only to act as cushions, but to
enable the Lemur to distinguish the nature of the substances with which
they come in contact. They are therefore sensitive, and may be termed
extraordinary organs of touch. A circlet of very long hairs projects
and radiates round the ears of this Lemur, and gives the animal a very
peculiar appearance.
GENUS CHEIROGALE.[125]
There are many very small bushy-tailed and almost Rat or Squirrel-like
Lemuroida in Madagascar, which have a most curious habit. In England
Hedgehogs, Dormice, and Bats--and in other countries the Marmot and
other animals--hide up on the approach of winter, and go off to
sleep for many a long day until warm weather returns, and food can
be obtained; and this is done also by many reptiles, and not a few
insects. They take their winter’s sleep like the Water-rat--
“And when cold winter comes, and the water-plants die,
And his little brooks yield him no further supply,
Down into his burrow he cozily creeps,
And quietly through the long winter-time sleeps.”
And in Madagascar, where the heat is always great, and there is a wet
and dry season, food being always in great abundance, these little
bushy-tailed things go off at a certain time into a nest of leaves, and
doze away for weeks, whilst their fellows are scampering around them
during the moonlight nights, and imitating them in their sleep whilst
all nature glows in the tropical sun. In temperate climates where there
is a winter, this long sleep is called wintering, or hibernating, and
in the hot climate it is called the summer sleep, or æstivation.
Why some animals should do this and others not, why some should
sleep long in winter, and others in summer, and why all should be
most regular in their time of taking their nap, are questions well
worthy of any one’s attention, and especially because they cannot be
answered. Some of the hibernating animals awake for a little time now
and then, and take food, but others get quieter and quieter, their
breathing becomes slower and slower, their heart beats with diminished
force and rapidity, and their temperature falls; but, on the other
hand, the irritability of the muscles, especially of those of the
heart, increases; and in these--for instance, in many of the Bats--the
hibernation is not a commonplace, long-continued slumber, but a
necessary matter, and the awakened sleeper dies.
Let us notice what takes place in the hibernators. They get into a
place out of the light, and where the temperature is tolerably equable,
and after having got nice and fat previously, they settle down in
different positions, according to their shape, and go to sleep. They
avoid too cold places, and get out of the range of the action of frost.
Now taking no food, breathing very slowly, with very slow pulses, and
indulging in no exercise, there is very little exhaustion going on. The
quantity of fat stored up by the animal in its body generally consumes
away, but very tardily, for the oxygen in the blood is at its lowest
ebb, and the arterial blood resembles that of the dull purple veins.
Under ordinary circumstances, if the whole of the blood is in this
condition, the muscles of that side of the heart which propels the
pure blood throughout the frame lose their power of contraction, and
death ensues. But in their hibernating condition their irritability
is increased, and they pump the impure blood as well as they did the
bright scarlet fluid of old. At last the fat is consumed, the animal
gets thin, and by the time the spring comes it is ready for its new
life.
Now the little _Cheirogales_ of Madagascar certainly do part of all
these wonderful things. They get fat, and their tails attain a most
dignified size; then they retire for their summer sleep, grow thinner
and thinner, and finally come forth with such miserable vestiges of
tails, so thin and miserable-looking. Their time of quietude is during
the hot and dry season, and is equivalent to the English winter, and
they fatten up during the months when the warm rain makes everything to
grow in profusion. It must be noticed that although these Cheirogales
greatly resemble the Lemurs already described, they have no special
construction which necessitates this sleep.
These Cheirogales resemble the Hapalemurs in shape, and may be known
by their small size, their long tail, which is either conical or
cylindrical, and by their face, which is scarcely narrower in front
than behind. Having long ankle-bones, the back muscles of the leg have
a great leverage over the foot, which enables the creature to make
its easy jumps. Being nocturnal in their habits, they have very large
eyes, and rounded and short, but sharp-sensed, external ears. They are
vegetable feeders, yet most of them are extremely fond of something
alive to eat, and, indeed, are greedy enough when they have the
opportunity of catching insects. Having wonderful powers of sight, and
of rapid jumping, they watch for their prey, and approach it quietly,
and finally descend from some height with the stealthy swoop of an
Owl, catching the Beetle, Spider, or even small bird, and tearing it
to pieces with astonishing celerity. They have a shrill cry at night,
which is loud for such small creatures, but their usual voice is soft.
Holes in trees are used by the Cheirogales for hiding-places and nests
for their young, which do not accompany the mother at first out of
their safe retreats.
Naturalists have had a vast amount of trouble in distinguishing these
little Lemuroids one from the other, and there has been a vast amount
of confusion about their names, but the following are interesting for
many reasons.
THE FORKED-CROWNED CHEIROGALE.[126]
[Illustration: FORKED-CROWNED CHEIROGALE. (_Modified after Schlegel and
Pollen._)]
The “Walouvy,” or “Tantaroué-léla”--for such are its Malagasy
by-names--is found in abundance in the forests on the western side of
the island, but it equally inhabits the eastern parts of Madagascar.
Their choice of a domicile is ordinarily in the hollow of a tree,
particularly in one with a double aperture; and in their selection they
not unfrequently stumble on a cavity already occupied by Bees, but this
does not deter them from having a share in the busy business concern.
For the natives pretend that it has a preference for the society of
the Bees, doubtless with an eye to the dainty luscious honey, which it
steals as opportunity offers. They make incredible leaps, so that it
is extremely difficult to capture them. At night their cries resound
in the woods almost continuously, and their noise somewhat resembles
the piercing tones of the Guinea-fowl, a kind of “Ka-ka-ka-ka” being
uttered loudly and precipitately.
The name of this species comes from a dark brown streak which passes
along the whole length of the back, and over the head, to fork into two
bands--one over each eyebrow. Whatever may be its liking for honey,
it has the means of biting hard fruit, for it has large middle front
teeth, and also a strong first upper false molar. As a whole the teeth
number the same as in the first division of the American Monkeys.
COQUEREL’S[127] AND THE DWARF[128] CHEIROGALE.
Another of these little Lemuroids, called Coquerel’s Cheirogale, is
celebrated as a nest maker, for it gathers dead leaves, and twigs, and
grass, and makes a comfortable nest of large size, for it is a foot and
a half in diameter. It goes into it by day, and sleeps soundly whilst
the sun is up, but comes out at dusk to leap, crawl, and swing amongst
the trees, looking out for live food quite as much as for fruit.
M. Milius, who was Governor of the Island of Réunion in 1821, gave a
pair of little Lemuroids, each being about nine inches in length, with
a long tail, to the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris. They lived there
for some time, and used to get out of their cages at night and wander
about the rooms and places where the beasts were confined. At dusk,
after having been very quiet all day, they got up and stood well on
their hind legs, and began to jump to and fro like mad creatures, and
they kept it up when the room was quite dark, for they could be heard
rushing about amongst a crowd of cages tenanted by other animals; but
if the least light were admitted they darted through a small hole which
led to their own cage, and were there again in the twinkling of an eye.
They had beautiful silky fawn-coloured fur, and rolled themselves up in
balls during the daytime, for the light seemed to be especially painful
to them. In their captivity they were fed on bread, biscuits, and fruit.
One of the Cheirogales has a black circle around the eyes, and is
called the Spectacled Cheirogale, and it is interesting because it is
the species whose summer sleep has been noticed, and because it has an
extremely important tail. This tail thickens greatly at the root, and
tapers towards the end, not being cylindrical throughout, and it is the
root which gets grossly fat, and finally excessively thin.
The last kind to be noticed is sometimes called the Madagascar Rat, or
the Dwarf Cheirogale, for it is only four inches long, with a tail of
six inches, and it might be passed by as only interesting for its small
size and Rat-like look, but it has a most resplendent eye. The tapetum,
or coloured tinsel-looking glaring structure situated deeply in the
eyes, is so large, and the eye admits so much light at dusk, that quite
an unnatural brilliancy is produced. They are night hunters, and are
quiet and good-tempered when kept in cages.
They make true nests, like those of the crow, which consist of small
interlaced twigs, in the midst of which there is a depression, with a
bed of hairs for the young.
All the Cheirogales come, of course, from Madagascar, and they appear
to inhabit the northern part of the island, and the east and west
coasts, but not the south. They complete--with the exception of the
curious Aye-Aye, which will be described at the end of this notice of
the Lemuroida--the Madagascar Lemurs, and it is a point of interest
to know that they are the only Madagascar Lemuroids which are pretty
closely allied, so far as construction and shape are concerned, with
any of the African kinds, which will now demand attention. Indeed,
they and the Galagos of Africa have much in common, and are readily
distinguished from the Indris and other Lemuroids already noticed. For
instance, both have the long heel, or ankle-bone, the same number of
teeth, and both have four teats, or mammæ--two on the breast, and two
on the groin. They have no ruffs and no ear-tufts, and their brain is
more triangular in shape than that of any other of the Lemuroida.
[Illustration: MAHOLI GALAGO AND THE SENEGAL GALAGO.]