92 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



In their native condition the guenons go in separate families or droves, each 

 under the leadership of an old male ; and it appears that each drove has its own 

 particular limits of territory beyond which it cannot go without intruding on the 

 domains of another drove, an invasion which is treated as at once being a casus belli. 

 Indeed, this principle of territorial rights appears to be so deeply implanted in 

 the guenon nature that it persists even in captivity, when it is no uncommon sight 

 to see two or more of these Creatures religiously guarding one portion of the cage 

 from all intruders. 



As being the common monkeys of Africa the guenons would 



in " en naturally be well known to the ancient Egyptians ; and it is probable 



that most of the long-tailed monkeys we see on their old sculptures 



are either guenons, or mangabeys, as the members of the next group are called. 



The thum bless monkeys, as being almost exclusively West African, would be less 



likely to be intimately known to the inhabitants of Egypt. Not only were the 



guenons familiar to the Egyptians, but they appear to have been likewise imported 



into classic Greece and Rome ; and it is believed that the Greek and Latin term 



Cebus was used to designate them, although the name is now applied to a South 



American genus. 



THE TALAPOIN MONKEY (Cercopithecus talapoiri) 



The somewhat rare and tiny monkey from the Gabun and other regions of the 

 West Coast of Africa is taken as our first example of the guenons, on account of 

 the possession of a peculiarity which led Dr. Gray to separate it from all the others 

 as the representative of a distinct genus {Myopithecus} . This peculiarity is to be 

 found in the circumstance that the last molar in the lower jaw has only three, in 

 lieu of the ordinary four tubercles on its crown. Another distinctive feature, which 

 can be observed in the living animal or in stuffed specimens, is the relative shortness 

 of the hands as compared with those of the other guenons, and also the presence of 

 a web uniting the bases of the fingers. The talapoin, which is scarcely larger than 

 a squirrel, is the smallest of the guenons. In color it is olive green above and 

 whitish beneath, with short whiskers of a pale golden yellow tint, forming a 

 striking contrast to the face, which is black, with the exception of the upper lip 

 and rings round the eyes, which are yellow or orange. 



THE MALBROUCK MONKEY ( Cercopithecus cynosurus) 



With the malbrouck monkey of Western Africa we come to the first of a 

 group of guenons characterized by their oval heads and somewhat long muzzles, as 

 well as by their stiff and backwardly-directed whiskers. The fur is invariably 

 grizzled, each hair being marked with greenish or reddish rings. 



The malbrouck is distinguished from the other members of this group by the 

 large and broad face being flesh colored. The general hue of the fur is yellow, 



