The true lemurs are characterized by having thirty-six teeth, long tails, moderately elongated tarsus, and short exeunt. They are confined to and the adjacent Comoro Islands. They vary in size front that of a cat to that of a small squirrel, with fox-like faces and soft, thick fur. They walk on the ground or run about on the limbs of trees on all fours, but they are capable of very agile jumping. They are diurnal, but most active toward evening, and are very noisy, as they go about in small troops; only two or three species are nocturnal or solitary. They are omnivorous and ea t insects and birds' eggs, as well as buds and fruit. At rest, the tail is usually coiled around the body for warmth. Only one or two young are born at a time, and they are carried about by the mother, at first on her front (the manna are pectoral), but later on her back. Lemurs are easily kept, and often breed in captivity, and are common in menageries. They are very variable in color, mid for that reason the validity of many species is open to question. The most beautiful is the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta). or 'Madagascar cat,' which is gray, with the long tail marked with alternate black and white rings. Like the others it is locally distributed—not scattered generally all over the island, but only where the environment is suitable. This species lives only on slippery seaside cliffs, where it scrambles about rocks where not even barefooted men can walk, its long, smooth, leather-like palms en abling it to go safely. It feeds almost wholly on the fruit of the prickly pear in winter, stripping off the spinous skin by means of the long canine teeth. In summer it eats wild figs and bananas mainly. It may be easily tamed and taught to live upon cooked rice and the like, but will take no meat. These lemurs use their teeth as weapons, but also strike with their hands. and
will put to flight dogs larger than themselves.
The broad-nosed lemur (Hapalemur grisens, or simus)lives only among bamboos, whose young shoots form its principal fare; it also eats grass and sugar-cane. This genus is remarkable for a spine-hearing gland on the forearm. Many lemurs have strange processes upon the skin, the purpose of which is not clearly understood. The color of some species varies with sex, as Lemur macaw, the male of which is black and the female red. The ruffed lemur ( Lemur varies) is the largest of the race. It inhabits Northeastern Madagasear, and, as its name im plies, is remarkable for its variation in color, sonic being black and white in patches variously disposed, others reddish brown or red and black. The hair on the neck forms a high ruff.
Lemurs are all perfectly harmless, but their big eyes, weird actions (in some cases), and often loud and strange nocturnal cries have led to their being regarded with superstition by the ignorant, especially in the Oriental countries. Thiel' folk-lo•e and superstition has therefore gathered about many species. Consult, on this point, Flower, Proceedings of the Zoological So ciety of London for 19(10, p. 231.
See PuutATEs; AYE-AY E ; A LAGO ; MOUSE LEM Ult ; POTTO ; and other names of particular species. See Plate of LEI CBS.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Grandidier and Milne-EdBibliography. Grandidier and Milne-Ed- wards, "Mammals," in Ilisioire naturelle de Madagascar (Paris, 1875) ; also articles in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1864, 1865, 1867, 1873. 1879, and 1895; and the Transactions of the same society for 1SG3, 1869, and 1872. The best general aecount is by Lyddeker, Royal Natural Ilis,tury, col, i. (Lon don, 1894).