2 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



centuries which have elapsed since Roman 

 times, and is a form of considerable interest. I 

 refer to that well-known species — the Barbary 

 Ape. 



The Barbary Ape {Macacus innuus)- — pithecus 

 of the ancient Romans — ttiOvkos of the ancient 

 Greeks — magot of the present day French — is a 

 stoutly built muscular animal about as large as a 

 moderately sized dog. The face is surrounded 

 by a semi-ruff of elongated hair : the eyes are 

 hazel-brown, close together, and deeply set in the 

 head ; each ear has a small tuft of upright hair 

 springing from its root. The muzzle protrudes 

 slightly. In colour the Barbary ape is brownish 

 grey paling to dirty white beneath : on the fore- 

 head the fur tends to an orange tint, and there is 

 a yellowish suffusion noticeable on the facial ruff 

 and the shoulders. The face itself, the soles of 

 the feet, and a small patch on each buttock are 

 flesh-coloured. There is some individual varia- 

 tion amongst these monkeys, the fur of some 

 specimens inclining to a reddish-brown colour, 

 while that of others approximates to olive-green. 



The tail of the Barbary ape is a mere tubercle 

 of skin : this is an interesting fact since so many 

 of the macaques (to which division of monkeys 

 the present species belongs) have long tails. One 

 can even trace a distinct gradation in the length 

 of this appendage. Thus in the well-known 



