A T E L E S. 



231 



chievous habits of common monkeys. It does not 

 appear, indeed, that even in their most abundant pas- 

 tures, they lavish much of their energy in sporting. 

 Their excursions in the trees are chiefly in quest of 

 food ; they make them in the early part of the day, 

 and by the time that the sun is high, and beats strong 

 on the ground, they descend and bask themselves in 

 his heat. 



In the more distant and secluded parts of the fo- 

 rests, these animals associate in considerable numbers, 

 and they are said not only to live in perfect harmony, 

 but to make common cause against an enemy, and even 

 against man himself, if the attacks of the Indians, 

 whose food, in some places, consists in considerable 

 part of the flesh of monkeys, has not taught them, 

 that when man appears it is safer to fly. The alle- 

 gation is, that they combine to pelt the intruders with 

 sticks and other missiles ; but there have been so 

 many stories told of the pelting propensities of quad- 

 rumana in other places, without any foundation, that 

 this account of the ateles must be received with cau- 

 tion. When tamed, they are timid animals, and 

 though the tamed ones will bite, it appears to be 

 rather through fear of being injured than from any 

 direct purpose of injuring. 



If when they are hunted, or otherwise attacked, 

 one happens to be wounded, all the rest scramble 

 off 7 for the trees, gain the tops as fast as they can, 

 and then set up the most dolorous howling. The 

 wounded one, if able, follows, at least as fast and 

 as far as it can : and having gained a high branch, 

 it coils its prehensile tail two or three times firmly 

 round that, and then putting its fore paws to the wound, 

 it examines, and appears to mourn over the flowing 

 blood. All the quadrumana, however, have a simi- 

 lar habit when wounded ; and though the expres- 

 sion is no doubt piteous, as all the order howl and 

 lament, even when there is very little the matter with 

 them, the affecting character of the spectacle has 

 probably been exaggerated. 



There are eight species in the genus or group, six 

 of which are wholly without apparent thumbs on the 

 forepaws, and the other two have them merely rudi- 

 mental. They vary in size, colour, and locality, and 

 the same species is described as sometimes differing 

 considerably in different places, but their habits are 

 all nearly the same. 



The six species entirely without thumbs on the 

 fore-paws are: 1. The Coaita (Ateles panisctis) ; 2 

 The black Coaita (Ate/ex uiger); 3. The Marimonda 

 (Ateles Belzebitth); 4. The C\\\\\-A( Ateles marginatus) , 



5. The Spider Monkey {Ateles Arachnoidcs] ; ant 



6. The black handed Coaita (Ateles mc/anoc/iir) 

 The two which havo rudimental thumbs on the fore- 

 paws are : 7. The Miriki (Ateles liypoxanthus) ; anc 

 8. The Charneck (Ateles subprntadactylui). From 

 what has been said of their haunts and manners, anc 

 the comparative uniformity of these, the notice of the 

 species may be brief. 



The Coaita is pretty widely distributed, being 

 found both in Guiana and in Brazil. This is perhap 

 the best known of all the species, and is the one 

 usually referred to by the name of four-fingered mon 

 key. Coaita is its name by at least some of the Indiai 

 tribes by whom it is hunted, and that under which i 

 is described by Buffbn. It is probably, as the mos 

 of such names are, a sort of imitation of its cry 

 The length of the body is not above fourteen inches 

 while that of the tail is fully two feet ; the limbs ar 

 long in proportion to the body, slender, and jointcc 



n the loose manner that has been described. The 

 ace is nearly naked, and of a flesh or copper colour ; 

 ut all the rest, with the exception of the under part 

 f the tail toward the point, is covered with black 

 mir. In the woods of Guiana these animals are 

 bund in numerous parties, generally hanging sus- 

 >ended from the branches of the trees, and rarely 

 ipon the ground, where they have very little com- 

 mand of themselves. They are quiet and inoffensive, 

 and not difficult to tame ; but like all the rest of the 

 quadrumana, they are perfectly useless. It. cannot 

 well, indeed, be otherwise ; because their native 

 iciunts are so unlike places which man generally 

 nhabits, and their natural actions so unlike anything 

 which man requires to have done, that their nature 

 would have to undergo a total change before they 

 :ould be in any way useful. 



The S'pider Monkey and Black Coaita. 



The Black Coaita. This species has hitherto been 

 seen only or chiefly in Guiana. In many respects 

 it has a considerable resemblance to the former, and 

 has been sometimes considered as a variety ; but the 

 face, instead of being copper coloured and naked, is 

 uniformly black and covered with hair. 



The Marimonda is also found in Guiana, and 

 appears to be rather a local species. It is about the 

 same size as the two former; but it has some peculiar 

 markings. The hair on the head turns ^backward 

 from the front, and forward from the occ'iput ; and 

 the two meeting together form a sort of prominent 

 ridsje or crest across the middle part of the head. 

 The hair on the back is black ; but that upon the 

 belly and under part is dull yellow in the old males, 

 and white in the females and the young. There is 

 a flesh-coloured circle round the eyes, which, with 

 the crested ridge of hair on the top of the head, gives 

 it a peculiar expression. These animals are found asso- 

 ciated in considerable numbers, and when they descend 

 from their labours on the trees to bask themselves in 

 the sun, they are said to express their regard for each 

 other with somewhat ludicrous affection, embracing, 

 shaking hands, and paying such other compliments 

 as monkeys can pay. After salutation is over, they 

 are said to lie down upon their backs, with their open 

 eyes to the sun, and fling their long and ill-jointed 

 limbs as carelessly beside them as if they were to be 



