SAPAJOUS. 



SAPAJOUS. 



source of speculation. Malpighi supposed that it depended on the 

 contraction and dilatation of the air inclosed in the air-vessels. Borelli 

 attributed it to the condensation and rarefaction of the air and fluids 

 of the plant. Du Hamel, who w&t alao supported by Linnaeus, 

 accounted for it by the agency of heat. Hales demonstrated the 

 insufficiency of this principle, but did not adopt one less objectionable. 

 Capillary attraction has long been a favourite theory in explaining 

 these motions, but it is liable to the same objections that all purely 

 physical theories are, with regard to the movements of the fluids in 

 plants and animals. Those botanists who have referred these move- 

 ments to a vital agency have not been more happy. Brugmanns, 

 Coulon, Saussure, and others adopted the theory of vegetable irrita- 

 bility. The vessels in which the sap was contained were supposed to 

 be susceptible of the action of stimuli, and when the sap, which acted 

 as a stimulus, was applied to them, the vessels contracted and the sap 

 was propelled. Knight referred the propulsion of sap to contraction 

 and dilatation not of the vessel?, but of the medullary plates or rays. 

 It appears really to depend on the physical relations existing between 

 the substance of the cell-wall and the fluids which it has to absorb. 

 [ABSORPTION ; ENDOSMOSIS.] 



The movements observed in the sap are of two kinds, general and 

 special. The general consist in the strong upward movements that 

 take place in the spring, and which are called the ' ascent of the sap,' 

 and in the diffusion of the secreted matters in a fluid state throughout 

 the whole plant, the appearance of which, in dependent parts of the 

 plant, have led to the notion of a ' descent of the sap.' The special 

 movements are those which occur in the cells of plants, and which 

 have been called cyclosis and rotation. [CYCLO8IS; TIRSCES OF PLANTS; 

 SECRETIONS OP PLANTS.] 



SA'PAJOUS, the name generally given to a group of South American 

 Monkeys, including in its larger sense the Ordinary Sapajous [ATELKS; 

 LAGOTHUIX], and the other Sapajous (Cebus, Geoff.). These last, 

 which are termed Sajous, have the head round, the thumbs distinct, 

 but scarcely opposeable on the fore hands, and the tail entirely covered 

 with hair, although still prehensile. 



The whole of the Sapajous are very active, climb admirably, and are 

 altogether well formed for an arboreal life. The fore-hands suffer by 

 comparison with those of the Old World monkeys, and exhibit a less 

 perfect organisation. The thumb is longer, but is more on a Hue 

 with the other fingers. The palms both of the fore and hinder extre- 

 mities are endowed with great sensibility. Small in size and playful 

 in disposition, the Sapajous lead a gregarious merry life, feeding chiefly 

 on fruit) and insects. The facial angle is about 60 '. 



The species are very numerous, and Cuvier truly says, that they 

 are nearly as difficult to characterise as those of the American Howlers. 

 [MYCETES.] 



One of the most common species is the Weeper (Cebus Apella) ; but 

 why it should have obtained this dolorous title is not very clear, for 

 when confined it is good tempered, playful, and hardy. The fur is 

 rather rich, inclining to olive, with a golden tinge on the lighter parts; 

 and the face is bordered with a paler circle, varying considerably in 

 shading and breadth, being nearly wanting in some individuals. This 

 species has been known to breed in confinement. 



Humboldt describes another species, C. allifi-ons, the Ouavapavi 

 des Catarractes, about the same size as the last, with a grayish-blue face, 

 excepting the pure white orbits and forehead. The colour of the rest 

 of the body is grayish-olive; but the hue is lightest on the back 

 and belly. 



It was found living in troops in the forests near the cataracts of the 

 Orinoco. Mild and active, they are often kept by the Indians as play- 

 things, and are very entertaining. Thus Humboldt saw one domesti- 

 cated worthy at Maypures that caught a pig every morning, and rode 

 him about while he was feeding in the savanna the whole day. Another 

 in the house of a missionary bestrode a cat, which had been brought 

 up with it, and patiently submitted to the rider. 



C. fatuellus, the Sajou Cornu of the French, Horned Sapajou of 

 the English, >S'i'/nia futudlus of Liumcus, is a variety of the form 

 marked by the extraordinary direction of the hair on the forehead. 

 Colour, in some deep brownish or purplish black ; in others, reddish- 

 brown. The skin on the naked parts dark purple. The hair of the 

 forehead stands up like a crescent, or a waterman's cap with the front 

 elevated. When viewed in front it exhibits the appearance of two 

 horns. The tips of these erect hairs and of those on the checks are 

 paler. It is a native of French Guyana. 



Cebiu monachal, the Sal a Grosae Tote of the French, Large- 

 Headed Sapajou of the English, has no frontal tuft like the last. On 

 the contrary the head is covered with short whitish hairs of a shorn 

 appearance. The breast and belly, aides of the cheeks, and all the 

 front yellowish-white. Fore-arm*, hinder extremities, and tail black. 

 Irregular patches of black and brown cover the rest of the body. 



Fifteen or sixteen species are recorded of this the most numerous 

 group of the American monkeys. They may be considered as repre- 

 senting in that continent the Guenoni of the Old World, which are 

 also very numerous. [GuENONS.] 



The genus Fayuinui is allied to Cebut, and is thus defined by M. 

 Lesson : Same character as in the Sapajous, excepting that the ears 

 are very large and deformed, and that the tail is covered with short 

 hairs. Body slender. Facial angle, 60 degrees. 



- r -; 



Horned Sapajou (Cebiufatuelltu}. 



Lirge-llcaded Sapajou (Cebus mawclau 

 Dental Formula : Incisors, -; Canines, _ZL- ; Molars, _Z. = 36. 



1-1' 



G-6 



M. Lesson arranges the following species under the genus : 

 tciureua, >S'. pei'sonatus, >S'. lugens, S. amictus, S. torqualns, ti. Moloch, 

 S. melanocheir, and S. infulatitt. 



S. sciureia is the Simia sciurea, Linn. ; Callithrix sciureus, Geoff. ; 

 Sagoin Sa'imiri, and Sai'mird, of the French ; Saimire" of the natives 

 of the Orinoco ; and Titi of Humboldt. 



Size about that of a squirrel, hardly more than 10 inches in length 

 without the tail, which measures 13 or 14 inches. Body greenish- 

 yellow above, becoming grayish on the thigh and arms ; body beneath, 

 nearly white. Feet, legs, and fore-arms reddish-chestnut. Muzzle 

 dark ; the rest of the face and ears flesh-coloured. Tail black at the 

 tip. In both extremities the nails of the thumbs are broad ; those of 

 the fingers are more claw-like. It inhabits Brazil and Guyana. 



This pretty species is often kept by the natives in confinement. 

 One in the Paris Menagerie is described by F. Cuvier as very 

 playful and good-humoured. The tail, when the animal was at rest, 

 was wouud round the body or limbs, a position in which it was kept 

 when the little creature slept, which it did in a sitting posture, with 

 the head bent down between the fore legs ; but the tail was never 

 used as a support. This is not an uncommon species. 



