CERCOPITHECUS 193 



Genl. Char. Face covered with hair ; hands and feet black ; ears 

 naked, large. 



Color. Head, neck all around, chin, arms, entire under parts, 

 inner side of legs, hands, feet and tail black; back below shoulders 

 and outer side of legs, rayed black and ochraceous, the tips of the 

 hairs being of the latter color. 



Measurements. Size of C. midas, tail shorter, 407. Skull : occip- 

 ito-nasal length, 47; Hensel, 33; zygomatic width, 32; intertemporal 

 width, 23 ; palatal length, 16 ; width of braincase, 28 ; median length 

 of nasals, 7; length of upper molar series, 9; length of mandible, 31; 

 length of lower molar series, 10. 



"In the vicinity of Para,'' says Mr. Bates, (1. c.) "the only monkey 

 I saw frequently was the little Midas ursulus." It is never seen in 

 large flocks, three or four being the greatest number he had found 

 together. It was less afraid of the neighborhood of man than any 

 other of its Tribe. He at times saw it in the woods bordering the 

 suburban streets, and once saw two in a thicket behind the house of the 

 English Constil at Nazareth. Its mode of travelling along the boughs 

 of the lofty trees resembled a Squirrel, and it does not go on the 

 slender branches, nor make flying leaps, but confines itself to the larger 

 boughs and to the trunks of the trees, its long nails enabling it to cling 

 securely to the bark, and it often rapidly encircles the trunks of the 

 perpendicular trees. It is quick, restless and timid, and has much 

 curiosity, for should a person pass under the trees on which a flock 

 of these little creatures is running, they always stop to stare at the 

 intruder. In Para, it is often seen tamed in the houses, but when first 

 captured, or tied up, it is very timid and irritable, not allowing itself 

 to be approached, but retreating when any one draws near. 



When treated kindly, however, as it generally is in the houses of 

 the natives, it becomes very tame and familiar. He once saw one as 

 playful as a kitten running after the negro children and fondled by 

 them. It did not like strangers to sit in the hammock which was hung 

 in the room, and tried to bite them. It fed on bananas and insects, 

 especially spiders and grasshoppers. This little monkey has a very 

 intelligent and pleasant face, and when its curiosity is excited, it in- 

 clines its head to one side and has a very knowing expression. Although 

 the absence of convolutions in the brain would seem to indicate a low 

 type. Bates considered this a very unsafe guide, for in mobility of 

 expression and general ways, he considered these small monkeys resem- 

 bled the higher Apes, more than any other Rodent animal with which 

 he was acquainted. 



