50 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



Firm believers in the motto that "Union is strength," Coatis 

 travel about in companies — an interesting trait in animals to which 

 we have already drawn attention — and may be found for the most 

 part among the trees, in which they so dearly love to pass the time, 

 feeding on a similar diet to that of the Kinkajou, and going through 

 various acrobatic exercises with which one cannot help associating 

 these arboreal tenants of the forest. 



That these are wary wood-folk goes without saying, for we are 

 told by an observer that when hunting for food the troop divides 

 into two companies, one devoting their energies to the higher 

 branches of the trees, and the second section concentrating their 

 efforts upon the ground. It is no easy matter to capture the Coati 

 in its own domain — easily tamed though it may afterwards become 

 — for it is a desperate fighter, and the double-edged canine teeth will 

 give the hunter just cause to remember the encounter, if the battle 

 is fought at too close quarters ! 



MARMOSETS.— Closely allied to the Monkeys as well as the 

 Lemurs, the Marmosets (see Figs. 41, 42 and 43) make very gentle 

 and affectionate pets, but are delicate creatures, and difficult to keep 

 in captivity. As will be observed from the photographs, these are 

 somewhat peculiar-looking animals, but, in spite of this, they are 

 well worth keeping, many of them being small in size. They are 

 restricted to South and Central America, and the curious facial 

 expression in each individual which posed for its photograph is 

 worthy of note. 



One most interesting feature concerning the Marmosets is the 

 number of their teeth, for whereas the Monkeys of the Old World 

 have thirty-two teeth, American Monkeys possess thirty-six. Yet, 

 curious to relate, we find that the Marmosets differ from their 

 American Monkey relatives by having thirty-two teeth only, like the 

 Old World Monkeys, although it is true that they are disposed 

 differently, there being three pre-molars and two molars. It is 

 interesting to carry this analysis a little further, for although the 

 Marmosets resemble the Old World Monkeys in having thirty-two 

 teeth, a careful examination reveals the fact that in the number of 

 pre-molars the Marmosets agree with their American cousins, the 

 Monkeys. 



Mr. Lydekker puts the matter nicely when he states that a 

 Marmoset "differs by the comparatively unimportant feature of the 

 loss of the last molar in each jaw. A Marmoset may, indeed, be 



