THE PYGMY MONKEY. 



185 



feet, the digits of which are armed with claws, and the posterior mem- 

 bers presenting only imperfect hands. The head is roundish ; the flat 

 face is animated with small but very bright eyes ; the ears are often 

 adorned with tufts of hair, which give an odd character to the physiog- 

 nomy. Finally, the body is covered with a thick coat of soft, silken 

 hair, often with regularly-arranged bands in the back and tail. 1 By 



The Pygmy Monkey. 



their aspect, and the coloration of their fur, by their size, by their mode 

 of life, as also by the details of their organization, the Hapalians con- 

 stitute a very natural family. Still, they may be divided into two gen- 

 era, the Uistitis {Hapale or Jacchus), with long, tufted tail, with no 

 fringe of hair around the face, but with tufts of hair on the ears ; and 

 the Tamarins (Midas), whose head is adorned with a fringe, but whose 

 ears are more or less denuded. We will set this latter group complete- 

 ly aside, and consider only the Uistitis. 



The species of the genus Jacchus, all, without exception, are found 

 in tropical America, between the Isthmus of Panama and latitude 30 

 south, but chiefly, if not exclusively, in the region lying to the east of 

 the Andes, some of them inhabiting the virgin forests, others the thick- 

 ets scattered over the plains. The best-known species is the common 

 Uistiti [Hapale or Jacchus vidgaris), with gray-russet pelt, with alter- 

 nate red and blackish streaks, and with from fifteen to eighteen rings 

 on the tail, a white, triangular spot on the forehead, and long white 

 hairs on the sides of the head. It is a native of Guiana and Brazil, and 



1 The name Hapalians, given to these monkeys by Illiger, is derived from the Greek 

 ana\6s, which means soft. 



