_Lemur macaco_, Linn., S. N., i., p. 44 (1766); Schl. Mus. Pays. Bas.,
vii., p. 302 (1876); Milne-Edwards et Grandid., H. N. Madag., Mamm., pls.
131, 132 (1890).
_Lemur niger_, Schreb., Säugeth., pl. 40 A (1775).
_Lemur leucomystax_, Bartlett, P. Z. S., 1862, p. 347, pl. xli. (female).
_Varecia nigra_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 136.
{70}CHARACTERS.--Ears tufted, with long hairs continuing down the side of
the neck to the angle of the mouth.
MALE.--Entirely black.
FEMALE.--Formerly described as a distinct species, and known as the
White-whiskered Lemur (_L. leucomystax_). Face and lips black, darkest on
the nose, round the eyes and hinder part of the head; forehead
blackish-grey; whiskers and ear-tufts white, almost concealing the ears.
General colour of body rich ferruginous brown, darker on the middle of the
back; arms, legs and neck reddish-yellow; tail whiter; throat, under side
of body and inner side of limbs creamy-white.
There is a considerable amount of variation in this species. Some
individuals have the lower back and base of tail white; the belly
greyish-white, the feet brown, and the toes black. In others the black
frontal spot is wanting, the back of the head being reddish-white; the
basal half of the tail is dark orange-red, remainder of the body rich
rusty-brown. On the fore-arm is a cluster of stiff hairs, which occurs in
association with a large underlying sweat-gland, whose function is not yet
understood.
DISTRIBUTION.--The north-west coast of Madagascar.
HABITS.--The special habits of this species of Lemur are unknown, but in
all probability they agree with those of the group in general, as given
under the heading of the genus. It is said to utter a coarse grunting
call-note.
The young males are born black like the father, and the young females have
the colour of the mother. Dr. Sclater has observed that in specimens in
confinement in the Zoological Gardens, in London, the female carried her
young one transversely across her belly, its long tail passing round her
back and then round its own neck.
{71}III. THE MONGOOSE LEMUR. LEMUR MONGOZ.
_Lemur mongoz_, Linn., S. N., p. 44, no. 2 (1766); Scl., P. Z. S., 1871,
p. 231, figs, 1, 2; Schl., Mus. Pays. Bas., vii. p. 312 (1876);
Milne-Edw. et Grandid., H. N. Madag., Mamm., pls. 133-153 (1890).
_Lemur anjuanensis_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 161 (1812).
_Prosimia melanocephala_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 137, pl. xviii.
_Prosimia xanthomystax_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 138, pl. xvii.
CHARACTERS.--Fur woolly and thick; eyelashes long; some long bristles
behind the angle of the mouth; face long; no ear-tufts and whiskers, but a
sub-auricular patch of long hair; some long hairs on the digits; tail
bushy.
MALE.--Head, face, streak across the crown of head and down the forehead
brownish-black; ears of the same colour, white-fringed; cheeks and a spot
on the sides of the forehead iron-grey; sub-auricular cheek-patch white,
slightly washed with rufous; rest of upper surface reddish-grey; tail
darker; chest and under side rufous-grey.
FEMALE.--Rufous-brown above; neck and shoulders white; throat white;
frontal spot black; face whitish.
The colour of the fur in this species varies to an extraordinary degree,
and before this fact was recognised, a number of supposed species, founded
on the colour of the animals alone, were described. In course of time,
however, as specimens were obtained in greater number, it became evident
that the variation was only in the colour of the fur, and that there was
none in their anatomical and osteological structure to warrant their being
considered distinct species. They have, therefore, all been now classified
by Professor Milne-Edwards and M. Grandidier in their great work on the
Natural History {72}of Madagascar, as so many varieties of one species,
_Lemur mongoz_. Of these varieties, the most important are:--