{ 65}The external coloration of the species of this Sub-family is remarkably variable, the variation being chiefly in the upper portion of the hairs, as their base is generally slate-grey.
The sub-family _Lemurinæ_ embraces four genera: the True Lemurs (_Lemur_), of which there are now eight recognised species; the Hattock (_Mixocebus_), with a solitary species; the Gentle-Lemurs (_Hapalemur_), containing two species, and the Sportive-Lemurs (_Lepidolemur_), with seven species. Some of the most elegantly coloured species in the Animal Kingdom belong to this group. They are gregarious, and most of them arboreal, though some are not so. They form rather an exception to the general rule among Lemurs, in not being nocturnal. They feed during the morning and evening, emitting loud cries as they move about, and during the heat of the day, they often lie stretched out in the sun; at night they rest with their long tails coiled about them. In their mode of progression they are more quadrupedal than most of the other Lemuroids; they jump, walk, or run on all fours. Their food consists of fruits, birds' eggs, birds and insects. Their infants are carried about close to, and concealed amid, the hair of their mother's breast; when older they cling to her back.
The True Lemurs are all inhabitants of Madagascar and of the adjacent Comoro Islands. They are unknown on the African continent.
_Prosimia_, Brisson, Regn. Anim., p. 220 (1756).
_Lemur_, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 44 (1766).
This genus contains the typical Lemurs, in their most restricted sense. They are characterised by having a very { 66}Fox-like head, and an elongate and tapering face, shelving on each side of the nose. A long fringe of hair surrounds their chin and cheeks. They have all large and tufted ears, and large eyes, with superciliary ridges rising higher than the forehead. Their tail is always half as long as the body at least. The fore-limbs are somewhat shorter than the hind-limbs, and both the wrist and ankles are haired. The ankle is not elongated, nor is the great toe as large as in the next family--the _Indrisinæ_. On the outside of the palm of the hand and under the base of the fingers are situated fleshy pads, giving them greater grasping power. The True Lemurs have only one pair of mammæ, which are situated on the breast.