340 On a neiu Species of Monkey > 



square leagues which have not yet beeu visited by any Eu- 

 ropean. On the other hand, the monkeys tlie most com- 

 nioa are still so impertcctly represented even in the most 

 recent works, executed with the greatest elegance, that those 

 who have seen the living individuals woi'M have difficulty to 

 recognise them in the drawings published. Of this I might 

 cite as examples the s'nnia schirea, varieties of the simia ca- 

 pucina, and even the simia paniscns, which is the game 

 commonly eaten in the Upper Oronoco. 



Among the great number of new sapajuus, or marmoses, 

 that I had the opportunity of describing in my voyage to the 

 tropics, I have chosen a monkey of the plains of Mocoa, 

 remarkable for its resemblance with the lion of Africa, ot 

 which I made a drawing during my residence at Popayan. 

 My sketch has been copied and improved by M. Turpin, 

 (Plate VIII.) 



The leoncito* is very rare, even in its native country. It 

 inhabits the plains which border on the eastern declivity of 

 the Cordelliers, the fertile banks of the Putumayo and Ca- 

 qucta : it never ascends even to the temperate regions, while 

 the wandering bands of the simia leelzehul sometimes push 

 their excursions to heights equal to those of Canigou, and 

 even Mont Perdu. The leoncito of Mocoa, which I name 

 simia leonina, diflers essentially from all known species. It 

 has not the white head of the s. leucocephala figured in the 

 work of Audebert. It differs from the s. rosalia, and the 

 saki or fox-tailed monkey {s. pithecia), by a white spot 

 which covers the top of the nose, the mouth, and the,chin; 

 and from the s. iacchm of Brazil, by a tail without white 

 rings, by its black visage, and by the disparity of conforma- 

 tion that exists between the claws of its fore-feet and the 

 nails on its hinder ones ; the former almost resembling the 

 claws of a cat, and the latter having nails like the human 

 toes. The leoncito is but seven or eight inches long, 

 without counting the tail, which is of the length of the 

 body. It is one of the least and most elegant monkeys that 

 we have seen. It is gay and sportive, but, like most little 



* Leoncito, horn, kon (lioi') a diminutive of endearment more common even 

 with the Spaniards than the Italians. — Translator. 



animals. 



