CERCOPITHECIDsE 



being found in Japan. All these Monkeys ;ire of stout build, and 

 it is chiefly by the greater production of the muzzle, the larger 

 ischiatic callosities, and the frequent shortness of the tail that they 

 are distinguished from the under-mentioned African genera. The 

 transition from the longer -tailed to the short-tailed forms is so 

 complete that the proposed generic separation of the latter as Inuus 

 is impracticable. In M. inuus the tail is wanting; in M. tibetanus 

 (Fig. 346) and M. iinnrsfrimis of Tenasserim it is short; in the 

 common Bengal Monkey (.1/. rhesus) it is about one-half the length 

 of the head and body, while in M. cynomolgus and its allies it is 

 still longer. In the Indian Lion-tailed Monkey (M. silenus) it is 

 tufted at the end. 



The following summary of the habits of the Macaques is taken 

 from Mr. W. T. Blanford's Mammals of JBntish India : "The species 

 of the present genus resemble each other in their habits; they are 

 found in flocks, often of considerable size, and generally composed 

 of individuals of both sexes and of all ages. They are active 

 animals, though less rapid in their movements, whether on trees 

 or on the ground, than the Semnopitheci. Their food is varied, 

 most of the species, if not all, eating insects as well as seeds, fruits, 

 etc., and one kind feeding partly on Crustacea. They have occa- 

 sionally been known to devour lizards, and, it is said, frogs also. 

 All have the habit of cramming food into their cheek-pouches for 

 mastication at leisure — a practice that must be familiar to any one 

 who has fed monkeys in confinement. The voice and gestures of 

 all the species are similar, and differ entirely from those of both 

 the Gibbons and Semnopitheci. . . . The majority of the species are 

 very docile when young. They thrive well, and several of them 

 have bred in confinement. The period of gestation is about seven 

 months, only a single young one, as a rule, being produced at a 

 birth. They become adult at the age of four or five years, but 

 breed earlier." 



The Common Indian M. rhesus is found in the Himalaya at an 

 elevation of over 8000 feet. 



Fossil remains of Macacus are found in India in the Pleistocene 

 of Madras and the Pliocene of the Punjab ; and they also occur in 

 the Pliocene of France and Italy, those from the latter deposits 

 having been incorrectly separated as Aukmnuus. Part of the jaw 

 of a Monkey from the Pleistocene of Essex has been described as 

 Macacus pliocenus, and is very interesting as showing the presence 

 of Apes in Europe at that late period. 



CercocebusJ 1 — An African genus agreeing with Macacus in the 



presence of a hind talon to the third lower molar, but with the 



other characters of Cercopithecus. The species of this genus are 



known as Mangabeys, or White- eyelid Monkeys, and include 



1 Geoffrey, Ann. du Mus&win, vol. xix. p. 97 (1812). 



