THE THUMBLESS MONKEYS 87 



black and short haired, the white tufted portion including only the last 8 or 10 

 inches; while the white mantle of hair depending from the back conceals only 

 about one-third of the black portion of the tail. In the Kilima-Njaro variety, or 

 large-tailed guereza, only some 3 or 4 inches of the base of the tail are black and 

 short haired, while the remainder is covered with long white hair for a length of 

 some 20 inches, each individual hair measuring from 8 to 9 inches. Moreover, the 

 white hairs of the mantle entirely conceal the black of the root of the tail, so that 

 the mantle and tail-brush practically become continuous. The tail of this variety 

 reminds us of the larger tail of half-bred yaks used in India as fly flappers, under 

 the name of chowris ; and indeed the whole arrangement of the long hairs of the 

 guereza, as well as its coloration, recalls a half-bred yak. 



The guereza has never been brought alive to this country. One of 

 the earliest accounts of its habits is given by Pearce in his Life and 

 Adventures in Abyssinia, in which it is stated that guerezas are common to the 

 Galla country, and that while they are known in the Amharic dialect of Central 

 Abyssinia under the name of Focha, in the Tigr6 tongue they are called Grazer 

 (=Guereza). At this period, and even up to the date of Salt's second journey into 

 Abyssinia in the first quarter of this century, these animals were supposed to be a 

 species of lemur. Riippell, however, definitely assigned the guereza to its proper 

 zoological position, and has left us an account of its habits, from which the follow- 

 ing particulars are taken. 



The guereza is said to live in small companies, and usually inhabits the tallest 

 trees it can find in the neighborhood of running water. It is restless, and con- 

 stantly on the move, but is said to be completely silent. The leaps which it takes 

 from tree to tree are described as of tremendous length. It subsists mainly on vari- 

 ous kinds of wild fruits, seeds, and insects, and it spends the whole day in collect- 

 ing these, retiring to sleep high up in the trees. In Gojam, on the southern frontier 

 of Abyssinia, it is common ; and it is largely hunted for the sake of its fur, which is 

 used for covering the shields of the Abyssinian soldiers. 



There are good grounds for believing that this monkey is the true callithrix of 

 the ancients, although this name is now applied in zoology to a totally different 

 group of monkeys, as we shall see below. 



THE BLACK COLOB (Colobus satanas) 



In marked contrast to the pied coloration of the preceding species is the sable 

 hue of the black colob, first described from specimens obtained at Fernando Po, on 

 the West Coast of Africa, in 1838. 



The uniform black color of this monkey, of which a representation is given 

 in the right-hand figure of the cut on p. 88, suffices indeed to distinguish it at 

 once from all its congeners. In addition to this black coloration, the crown of the 

 head has a crest of long hair projecting over the temples and eyes, and the 

 whiskers are long and expanded. The whole of the body is covered with long and 

 rather coarse hair ; but the tail is short-haired throughout the greater part of its 

 length, and has no trace of a tuft at the end. The whole of the hair has a dull and 



