LEMURID)E, a fatally of mammals, the le murs, mostly of Madagascar, one genus of Africa and two or three in India and Malayana. 'fho lemurs constitute a distinct group of qua.dru manous animals. They live almost entirely in trees, and are most active at night. The fur of the lemurs is soft, dense, and woolly. Their nostrils, unlike those of either group of monkeys, have a curved opening, and the tail is never pre hensile. The extremities of the lemurs differ remarkably from those of the monkeys, in having a long, sharp, curved claw on the first finger of the hinder pair, and generally in the broad, flat character of the nails of the other fingers. The form of the face is somewhat fox-like in the pro longation of the muzzle, and affords a physiogno mical character which will be readily recognised.
Nycticebus tardigradus, Jerdon.
Stcnops Javanicus, Auctar. I N. Bengalensis, Geoff Lajja banar, . . BEND. I Slow-paced lemur, ENC. Lajjawoti banar, . „ I Sharmindah . HIND.
Found in Bengal, Rangpur, and Dacca.
N. Javanieus, Blyth, of Java.
Loris gracilis, Jerd., Lemur Ceylonicus, Fischer. The slender lemur, ENG.Tevangar, . . . Tam.
I Sloth of Madras, . „ Dewantsi pilli, . . TEL.
Found in Ceylon and Southern India. Tarsium, a genus of Java.
Galeopithecus volans, Shaw.
Lemur volans, Linn. Cato-simius volans, Vespertilio admirabilis, Bone. Colugo, Griff.
Flying macaco, . ENG. I Flying cat, . . . ENG. Flying lemur, . . „ I Gendoo, . . JAW.
Flying fox, . . . „ I Kubung, . . . 31ALAT.
This is the only species of the genus. It inhabits India, Burma, Penang, the Malay Penin sula, Siam, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
G. marmoratus, Philippensis, Ternatensis, rufus, undatus, and Temminckii are considered by Shaw and others to be varieties. It is nocturnal, lives on young fruits and leaves, and does very great injury to gardens and plantations. As evening approaches they quit their shady retreat, and are to be seen in considerable numbers making oblique leaps from one tree to another. The membrane or expansile skin by which it is enabled to leap, like the flying squirrel, is continued on each side from the neck to the fore feet, thence to the hind feet, again to the tip of the tail, and to the roots of the claws.—Horsfeld's Mammalia ; Jerdon.