PITHECIA 285 



Subfeimily 3. Pithecinae. 

 GENUS PITHECIA. SAKIS. 



i- 2— 2> ^' 1— i> "• 3— 3> "'■• 3—3 3 



PITHECIA Desm., Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., XXIV, 1804, p. 8. Type 

 Simia pithecia Linnaeus. 

 Yarkea Less., Spec. Mamm., 1840, p. 176. 

 Chiropotes Less., Spec. Mamm., 1840, p. 178. 



Hair long, thick, divided by a central line on the head, and falling 

 down partly covering the face ; thick beard on the chin ; ears large ; tail 

 long, thick, bushy, non-prehensile. Incisors of both jaws project 

 forwards, the inner pair larger than the outer which are very small; 

 canines long, conical ; first premolar the smallest and with only one 

 cusp; molars with grooved crowns, and four cusps. 



The members of this genus are peculiar in having the body usually 

 covered by long, coarse hairs. The tail, which is longer or as long 

 as the body, is also covered with a similar coarse hair, being in certain 

 species quite bushy. Another peculiarity is the thrust forward of the 

 incisors both of the upper and lower jaws. In the brain the cerebellum 

 and olfactory lobes are covered by the cerebrum, and the ribs are broad 

 and consist of twelve pairs except P. pithecia which has thirteen. 



They are timid and very delicate creatures, usually surviving but 

 a brief period in captivity, and become much attached to whoever cares 

 for them. 



These monkeys are found in the Guianas, the forests of the 

 Orinoco and its tributaries, and the valley of the Amazon, extending 

 their range westward into Ecuador and Peru. Eight species are here 

 recognized. 



LITERATURE OF THE SPECIES. 



1766. Linnwus, Systema Naturce. 



Pithecia pithecia first described as Simia pithecia. 

 1777. Erxleben, Systema Regni Animalis. 



In this work under the genus Callithrix various species are 



