THE LANGURS 81 



on the rump near the root of the tail, as well as the tail itself, are likewise white. 

 All these colors are extremely brilliant, and sharply defined, without any tendency 

 to blend with one another at their junctions, so that this monkey is one of the most 

 gorgeously colored Mammals known. 



We have very little information as to the habits of the douc in a state of 

 nature, and it does not appear that it has been exhibited alive (at least of late 

 years) in this country. M. Rey, a French captain, who visited Cochin-China in 

 the years 1819 and 1820, has given us an account of a number of doucs which he 

 saw during an expedition into the interior of the country, in the course of which 

 it is stated that a hundred individuals were slaughtered on a single occasion in the 

 endeavor to capture some living specimens. 



THE TIBETAN LANGUR (Semnopithecus roxellance) 



Perhaps the last place in which we should expect to find a living monkey 

 would be the highlands of Eastern Tibet. Nevertheless, that one and a very pecul- 

 iar one does exist in those elevated regions has been proved by the researches of 

 the French missionary, Abbe David, who has done so much to increase our knowl- 

 edge of the fauna of that inaccessible part of the world. The monkey in question, 

 which may be known as the Tibetan langur, although a true Semnopithecus , may be 

 recognized at a glance among all its congeners by its " tip-tilted " nose. Although 

 short and small, the nose is so much turned up that its tip reaches to the level of the 

 lower border of the eyes. Some writers, relying on this peculiar formation of the 

 nose, have separated the species from the other langurs under the name of Rhinopith- 

 tais, but this multiplication of generic terms is confusing and unnecessary. 



Although this remarkable monkey was first made known in Europe from speci- 

 mens obtained in Eastern Tibet, subsequent researches have shown that it also 

 ranges into Northwest China, where it is found on the mountains of the province 

 of Kansu. It appears, indeed, from the researches of the late Professor Moseley, 

 that it has been known to the Chinese for an immensely long period. There is a 

 Chinese work known as the Shan Hoi King, or mountain and ocean record, of very 

 great antiquity, so old indeed, that one commentator even assigns to it as early a 

 date as the year 2205 B.C., in which there is a woodcut representing a man of the 

 Heu Yeung Kingdom, wherever that may be. Professor Moseley reproduces this 

 figure in his Notes of a Naturalist on the "Challenger " and says that it evidently 

 represents a monkey closely allied to, and perhaps identical with, the species under 

 consideration; the prominent nose turned up at the tip being clearly shown in the 

 engraving. Professor Moseley adds that "the wide but unscientific distinction com- 

 monly drawn between men and the higher monkeys is an error of high civilization, 

 and comparatively recent. L,ess civilized races make no such distinction. To 

 the Dyak the great ape of Borneo is simply the Man of the Woods orang-outang." 

 The Tibetan langur differs from the Indian langurs by its stouter build, and rela- 

 tively shorter limbs. The upper surface of the body, the crown of the head, the 

 outer sides of the limbs, and the whole of the tail, are an olive-brown color, flecked 

 with yellow ; while the sides of the face, the lower part of the forehead, and all the 

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