AYE-AYE, the most remarkable of all the Malagasy lemurs (see PRIMATES). The aye-aye, Chirotuys madagascariensis, has a broad rounded head, short face, large eyes, large hands and long thin fingers with pointed claws, of which the third is remark able for its extreme slenderness. The foot resembles that of the other lemurs in its large opposable great toe with a flat nail; but all the other toes have pointed compressed claws. The tail is long and bushy. The general colour is dark brown, the outer fur being long and rather loose, with a woolly under-coat. It is nocturnal in its habits, living alone or in pairs, in the bamboo forests. It feeds on juices, es pecially of the sugar-cane, which it obtains by tearing open the hard woody circumference of the stalk with its strong incisor teeth ; but it also devours wood boring caterpillars, which it obtains by first cutting down with its teeth upon their burrows, and then picking them out of their retreat with the claw of its attenuated middle finger. It con structs large ball-like nests of dried leaves, lodged in a fork of the branches of a large tree, and with the opening on one side.