In 1758, Carl von Linné (Linnaeus) published the tenth edition of Systema Naturae, in which he formally described the most unique group of primates: lemurs. The story of the early human-mediated dispersal of lemurs from Madagascar, prior to their formalized descriptions, is a complex one. It touches on the birth of the standardization of modern zoology, empire building, and the growth of international trade and commerce, with many Fellows of the Royal Society contributing to the earliest observations of these animals in captive settings. Through the use of historical documents and artwork, we present this history in four parts: ‘Part I: The lemurs that became ‘lemurs’ (1746–1756)’, discusses the specific lemurs that Linnaeus used to describe the genera in the tenth and twelfth editions of Systema Naturae; ‘Part II: Establishing the trade routes (1500–1662)’, examines seventeenth century captive lemurs and the role of the trade routes of the East India Companies in the transportation of lemurs from Madagascar; ‘Part III: Tracing the Bugée (1693–1732)’, reviews the lemurs identified by late seventeenth and early eighteenth century pre-Linnaean naturalists; and ‘Part IV: The chained lemur (1732–1761)’, concludes with eighteenth century lemurs in menageries and as luxury goods.

1758 年，卡尔·冯·林奈 (Linnaeus) 出版了《自然系统》第十版，他在其中正式描述了最独特的灵长类动物群：狐猴。在对狐猴进行正式描述之前，早期人类介导的马达加斯加狐猴扩散的故事是一个复杂的故事。它涉及现代动物学标准化的诞生、帝国建设以及国际贸易和商业的发展，英国皇家学会的许多研究员为最早在圈养环境中观察这些动物做出了贡献。通过使用历史文献和艺术品，我们将这段历史分为四个部分：“第一部分：成为‘狐猴’的狐猴（1746-1756 年）”，讨论了林奈在第 10 和第十二版自然系统；“第二部分：建立贸易路线（1500-1662 年）”，考察了 17 世纪的圈养狐猴以及东印度公司贸易路线在马达加斯加狐猴运输中的作用；“第三部分：追踪 Bugée（1693-1732）”，回顾了 17 世纪末和 18 世纪初前林奈博物学家发现的狐猴；和“第四部分：链式狐猴 (1732–1761)”，以 18 世纪动物园和奢侈品中的狐猴作为结尾。