Characters.—Fur long and soft, not woolly; ears short, hairy, with long black vibrissæ between them; tail bushy, and as long as the body; general shade above greyish Mouse-colour, washed with rufous and speckled with black on the crown, back and external surface of limbs; shoulders and fore-limbs bluish-grey; cheeks, throat, breast, and inner side of limbs ochraceous white; under side of body whitish-yellow; tail and hands grey, washed with black. Body and tail equal, 15 inches in length.
Facial portion of skull short; brain-case rounded; lower jaw shorter and higher than in Lemurs generally; great toe large and broad; on the inner side of both arms close to the wrist occurs a rough patch (extending down to the bare skin of the palm) corresponding to a gland beneath, in the male, spine-like, while in the female hairy processes are present, together with a tuft of long hairs; external to this patch is a callous pad; mammæ opening on the shoulder; intestine large; cæcum small.
Young.—Reddish-yellow below.
Distribution.—The Grey Gentle-Lemur inhabits the eastern side of the Betsileo province of Madagascar.
Habits.—The "Bokombouli," as the natives name this animal, is the smallest of any of the True Lemurs. It is nocturnal, and lives, according to the Rev. G. A. Shaw, among the bamboos in the higher-level forests of the island. Its lower incisors are used as scrapers, and nearly all its teeth are serrated and very effective in cutting off the bamboo shoots, on which it feeds. To enable it to grasp smooth surfaces, such as the stems of the bamboo and other trees it frequents, it possesses a broad pad under each great toe.
II. THE BROAD-NOSED GENTLE-LEMUR. HAPALEMUR SIMUS.
Hapalemur (Prolemur) simus, J. E. Gray, Cat. Monkeys, Brit. Mus. App., p. 133 (1870); id. P. Z. S., 1870, p. 828, pl. lii., pp. 829, 830, figs. 1-4 (Skull).
Prolemur simus, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1872, p. 851.
Hapalemur simus, Beddard, P. Z. S., 1884, p. 392; Jentink, Notes Leyd. Mus., vii., p. 33 (1885).
Characters.—Nose broad and truncated; ears short, covered with long hair on the outside and along the margin inside.