276 



MONKEY. 



the insides of the legs upwards are bright red- 

 dish yellow, which does not pass into the grey, but 

 contrasts strongly with it at the line of meeting. The 

 hair on the basal part of the tail is very long, that 

 toward the extremity is shorter, and annulated with 

 blackish-brown and sandy-white. 



Black-handed Monkey (C. melanochir). This is also 

 a Brazilian species, or, at least, known only to Eu- 

 ropean naturalists as a native of that part of America, 

 and we owe the first account of it to Prince Maxi- 

 milian of Wied Neu-wied, to whom we are indebted 

 for many particulars respecting the native produc- 

 tions and native inhabitants of that extensive and 

 most interesting portion of the world. It is a large 

 species, measures about three feet in length, of which, 

 however, the tail occupies more than twenty inches. 

 Its fur is long, soft, and woolly ; generally speaking, 

 of an ashen-grey on most parts of the body, but really 

 consisting of sand-colour and black or brown, annu- 

 lated alternately upon the individual hairs. On the 

 middle of the back this passes into a bright maroon- 

 brown, and the tail is whitish, often entirely white, 

 and sometimes with a yellowish tinge. The hands 

 and face are entirely black. This species is much 

 better known than many of the others, being very 

 abundant in many of the Brazilian forests, where it 

 does not inhabit so peaceably as most of the others 

 do, whether in Brazil or elsewhere. Its cry is loud 

 and disagreeable, and numerous bands assemble in 

 the woods about sunrise, and make a loud and un- 

 pleasant yelping-. 



The Mitred Monkey (C. infulatus) is still anotherBra- 

 zilian species, or rather it is one known to us as 

 Brazilian, and not as coming from any other part of 

 South America, though it by no means follows that 

 an animal of tropical America thus described as 

 coming from one locality, may not be equally nume- 

 rous in other localities. Hence, in countries so 

 extensive, and so nearly alike in their physical cha- 

 racter, there is always danger of error when we 

 venture to call a species after any particular locality ; 

 because this not only gives an erroneous impression 

 with regard to the individual animal, but limits the 

 labours of those who afterwards seek for it to that 

 locality after which it is named, and this may be the 

 one in which it is least abundant. It is understood, 

 however, that this is a very rare species in Brazil, 

 and it has not been met with anywhere else. Its 

 prevailing colour on the upper part is grey, and on 

 the under part yellowish-red, or reddish-yellow ; and 

 the tail is of the colour of the under part toward the 

 base, and black toward the extremity, a large spot of 

 white surrounded with a black border, is situated 

 over the eyes, and forms what is called the mitre. 

 Very little is known of the manners of this species, 

 whether it belong to the more silent and retiring, or 

 to the more noisy; but the probability is that it 

 belongs more to the former, because social animals 

 not only make themselves better known, but are in 

 general more numerous than solitary ones. We shall 

 now proceed to a short enumeration of the night 

 monkeys, or night apes of America, properly so 

 called. 



NYCTIPITHECUS. We have mentioned the pre- 

 ceding genus as being, in a great measure, formed 

 upon the nocturnal model ; but, notwithstanding this, 

 they are not absolutely nocturnal animals, but rather 

 crepuscular or twilight ones. We mentioned that the 

 black-faced species assemble and howl at sunrise ; 



and this appears to be the signal call from the labours 

 of the morning to bring the stragglers in, so that 

 they may betake themselves to their hiding places, 

 and not become a sacrifice to diurnal foes. The pre- 

 sent genus are more decidedly nocturnal ; and their 

 covering, their appearance, and all circumstances con- 

 nected with them, are adapted to accord with this 

 habit. Their aspect is soft, and their hair long and 

 curled, or rather waved, and the fur of the head com- 

 pletely concealing the ears, at least in sonic of the 

 species. This concealment led Illiger to give them 

 the generic name of Aotus, which is usually trans- 

 lated " earless," and, as such, it is by no means de- 

 scriptive of the animals ; for they not only have ears, 

 but hear remarkably well, which is indeed a sense 

 upon which nocturnal animals are particularly de- 

 pendent, and which, consequently, they possess in a 

 very eminent degree, whatever may be the appear- 

 ance of their external organs of hearing. The word 

 has, however, a different meaning, and one which is 

 descriptive of the animals ; for AUTO; means silk or 

 wool, and by application, that which is silky or woolly ; 

 and this is exactly the character of the fur of these 

 animals. But even taking Illiger's generic name in 

 this sense, it is inferior to the other, which is descrip- 

 tive of the nocturnal habit ; whereas a name founded 

 on the mere texture of the covering is of inferior 

 value. The only objection to the literal Greek of 

 night ape is the rugged sound of the word, and on 

 this account F. Cuvier has softened it down to Noc- 

 thorus. Names, however, are of little consequence, 

 except in so far as they lead us to the right animal, 

 and prevent us from confounding one with another. 



The characters of this genus are peculiar and re- 

 markable. In the system of their teeth they agree 

 exactly with the last-mentioned genus. They have 

 the muzzle blunt, the face naked, no cheek pouches, 

 very large eyes, no apparent external ears appearing 

 through the fur ; the tail long, the fur woolly, and 

 partially formed into locks; five toes on all the feet; 

 no callosities on the buttocks, and two pectoral mam- 

 mae on the females. They bear a remarkable resem- 

 blance to the loris in their large eyes, their round 

 head, their nocturnal habit, and their reluctance to 

 move during the day. For a long time there was 

 only one species of the genus known, and the best de- 

 scription of that was given by Humboldt, who had an 

 opportunity of examining it in its native country, and 

 ascertaining its nocturnal habits, so far as the habits 

 of so obscure an animal can be ascertained. More 

 recently, however, other two species have been enu- 

 merated ; the first, and we believe the only account 

 of which is given by Spix, where they occupy plates 

 eighteen and nineteen of his " New Species of Bra- 

 zilian Bats and Monkeys," published at Munich in 

 1820. The manners of these two species are, how- 

 ever, comparatively little known, though, perhaps, 

 they do not differ much from this one, and therefore 

 one may serve for all. We shall consequently make 

 it the chief subject of description, and place it in order 

 before the others. 



The Douroucouli Night Ape (N. tnvirgata. Cuvier). 

 This is unquestionably the most singular of all the 

 quadrumanous animals of tropical America, or indeed 

 of any other part of the world, both iu the form of its 

 body'and in the colour and texture of its covering. 

 Its entire length is about two feet ; all its covering on 

 the upper parts of the body is of a peculiar grey 

 colour, the hairs being annulated with black and 



