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Show 252 UR. 0. I. FORSYTH MAJOR O N [Mar. 19, Theile des Gesichts und der Hiinde schwarz. Die Lange des Thiers von der Schnau/.enspitze bis zur Schwanzbasis betrug im frischen Zusfaude 13 engl. Zoll .. . " ' H. Schlegel repeatedly asserted, between the years 1866-1876 ", that with the real Lemur mongoz of Linnaeus, based on the "Mongooz"of G. Edwards, has been almost constantly confused a different species, for which he adopts the name I. collaris E. Geoffr. S.-H. He showed that, apart from L. catta, which stands aside from all the other species of the genus, these last may be divided into two groups-those with a black snout, and those in which "all the parts of the snout are covered with white hairs." To the latter group beloug the L. mongoz L. and the L. coronatus Gray. Thirty years ago 3, the Secretary of this Society " submitted as au hypothesis to be confirmed by subsequent investigation," that two kinds of Lemurs in the Society's Gardens, the " Yellow-cheeked" and the " Black-fronted," hitherto regarded as distinct species, were really male and female of the same species, to which the earliest name applicable appears to be the //. mongoz of Linnaeus, founded on the " Mongooz " of Edwards, a female. The female specimens of the Gardens are said to be certainly the animal figured by F. Cuvier (Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes) as " Le Maki a gorge blanche, femelle-Lemur dubius." Now, certainly not all the " Yellow-cheeked" Lemurs are the males of the species L. mongoz, nor are all the " Black-fronted" its females. But neither was this Sclater's view of the question, for he expressly states as his opinion that F. Cuvier's L. nigrifrons and Gray's L. xanthomystax are different. In his 'Monographie des Singes,' Schlegel partly endorses Sclater's view, which on the whole was a confirmation of his own. H e omits, however, from the synonymy of L. mongoz the L. collaris of E. Geoffroy S.-H., on the other hand adding to it L. albimanus of the same author. From Schlegel we also obtain, for the first time, information about the exact locality where the species was found in Madagascar; most of the specimens in the Leyden Museum were obtained by the Dutch collector Van D a m near Bembatoka Bay, West Coast of Madagascar. The description of the skin is given as follows :- " Teinte dominante d'un gris brunatre, plus ou moins lave de roussatre et tiquete de noir. Dessous blanchatre, quelquefois roussatre, ou meme teint connne les parties superieures. Teintes de la tete assez differentes dans les deux sexes : le male ayant les 1 Reise nach Mossambique, Zool. i. p. 21 (1852). 2 H. Schlegel, Contributions a la Faune de Madagascar et des lies avoisinantes: Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde, iii. p. 75 (1866).-Schlegel et Pollen, Recti, sur la Faune de Madagascar et de ses dependances. II. Mammiferes et Oiseaux par H. Schlegel et Francois P. L. Pollen, p. 4 (1868).- H Schlegel, Mus. d'Hist. Nat. des Pays-Bas, vii. Monogr. des Singes, p. 312 (!876). 8 P. L. Sclater, "Notes on rare or little-known Animals, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1871 (p. 230). |