Chapter I: The Slender Loris. Loris Gracilis

_Loris gracilis_, Geoffr., Magas. Encycl. Ann. 4, i., p. 48 (1796); id.
Catal., p. 37, no. 1 (1803); id. Ann. Mus., xix., p. 163 (1812); Is.
Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 79 (1851); Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc.,
p. 19 (1863); Anderson, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus., p. 97 (1881); Blanf., Faun.
Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 47 (1888).

_Nycticebus gracilis_, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 70 (1829); Schl., Mus.
Pays Bas, vii., p. 284 (1876).

_Stenops tardigradus_, Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm., p. 73 (1811, pt.).

_Stenops gracilis_, Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr., Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39
(1844); Kelaart, Prod. Fauna Zeyl., p. 9 (1852).

CHARACTERS.--A slender-bodied animal covered with close, soft, and woolly fur. Head short and round; eyes very large; nose narrow and much pointed; ears small and haired externally; tips nude. Limbs long, remarkably slender and angularly bent; hands and feet covered with short hair; index-finger with three phalanges and finger-bones.

Skull with eye-sockets closely approximating, in the centre separated only by a thin plate of bone; nasal and premaxillary bones prolonged forward to support the narrow pointed nose; cranium, along its base to end of nasal bones, two inches long, broader across the orbits than behind in front of the articulation of lower jaw; bony palate extending back beyond the {32}posterior molar tooth. In the upper jaw the incisors are small and equal (Fig. 6); posterior pre-molar similar to, but smaller than the anterior molar; anterior molar with the oblique ridge on crown well developed; crown of posterior molar four-cusped, that of the posterior lower molar five-cusped. Dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together, 23; caudal vertebræ, 6-8.

The alimentary canal is four times the length of the body.

ADULT.--Dingy grey above, darker on back, paler on lower back; the hairs tipped with white. Sides of body, outside of fore- and hind-limbs dingy white, with a faint rufous wash on the outside of the hind-limbs. Face and ring round eyes dark greyish-brown; streak along nose white, branching on forehead above the eyes on each side into a broad ring encircling the dark ocular ring; this frontal branch sometimes absent. Under side greyish-white. Hairs of fur greyish-white at base, dark in the middle, and tipped with white. Length, 8 inches.

YOUNG.--More rust-coloured than the adult.

DISTRIBUTION.--The Slender Loris is common in the lower forests of Ceylon and of Southern India, south of the Godaveri river, as well as in those of the Eastern Ghats.

HABITS.--This curious, emaciated-looking, little creature is nocturnal, living entirely in trees. It sleeps during the day rolled up in a ball, with its head between its legs, grasping its perch with its hands. According to Jerdon these animals are occasionally brought in large numbers to the Madras market, their eyes being a favourite remedy of the Tamil doctors for ophthalmic diseases.

In its movements it is slightly more active than the Slow-Loris. Its food consists of succulent leaves, honey, insects, birds' eggs, and small animals.

PLATE III.

{33}THE SLOW-LORIS. GENUS NYCTICEBUS.

_Nycticebus_, Geoffr., Ann. du Mus., xix., p. 162 (1812).

_Stenops_ (nec Illiger), Van der Hoeven, Tijdsch. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39
(1844).

_Bradycebus_, Cuv. et Geoffr., Mém. Class. Mamm. (1795).

This genus, like the last, is represented by a single species, and its characters, therefore, are detailed below.