THE MARMOSETS. 



137 



Mico melaiiuriis, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 64 (1870). 

 Hapale argentafa, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 268(1876). 



Characters. — Face naked, flesh-coloured; ears naked, flesh- 

 coloured, exposed ; no ear-pencils, as in H. chrysoleuca ; tail 

 uniform black; head and fore-limbs pale brown; front of the 

 body paler; front edges of the thighs, and a band acioss the 

 loins, white. Length, 7 inches, without the tail. Some varieties 

 have the body entirely covered with long, white, silky hairs. 



Distribution. — Bolivia and Brazil. Mr. Bates says that the 

 Black-tailed Marmoset is one of the rarest of the American 

 Monkeys. He did not hear of its being found anywhere in 

 Amazonia except near Cameta, on the River Tocantins. 



Habits. — Little is known of the habits of this species, few 

 naturalists having had the good fortune to observe it in its 

 native state. Mr. Bates, however, once saw three individuals 

 together, running along a branch, and looking like white 

 Kittens. "I afterwards saw a pet animal," he says in his 

 book, "of this species, and heard that there were many so 

 kept, and that they were esteemed as choice treasures. . . . 

 It was a most timid and sensitive thing. The v/oman who 

 owned it carried it constantly in her bosom, and no money 

 would induce her to part with her pet. . . . The nervous 

 little creature would not permit strangers to touch it. If any- 

 one attempted to do so, it shrank back, the whole body 

 trembling with fear, and its teeth chattered, whilst it uttered 

 its tremulous, frightened tones. The expression of its features 

 was like that of its more robust brother, Midas ursulus ; the 

 eyes, which were black, were full of curiosity and mistrust, and 

 it always kept them fixed on the person who attempted to 

 advance towards it." 



