M O N K E Y. 



S281 



enemies they have in their native forests ; but there 

 was another animal of which they were even more 

 afraid, and that was a wasp, from which they 

 endeavoured to conceal their heads with their hands, 

 in a state of the utmost excitement. We must, how- 

 ever, close this general view, and very briefly notice 

 the two genera into which they have been divided. 

 The first, genus is, 



HAPALES, consisting of the Ouiititix, properly so 

 called. The generic characters are, the head round, 

 the muzzle short, the hind head prominent, tail very 

 long and hairy, the upper incisors in the middle larger 

 than the lateral ones, the lower cutting teeth long and 

 narrow, the upper canines conical, and the lower of 

 small size, and the cheek-teeth beset with sharp- 

 pointed tubercles. 



The Striated Monkey, or Common Ouistiti. This is 

 by no means a rare animal ; and although peculiar, 

 it is rather pretty, and agrees well with confinement. 

 It is pretty generally known and also liked. It is a 

 very small animal, being only about eight inches long 

 in the body, with eleven inches of a tail appended, 

 and very slender, though the fur makes it appear 

 much thicker than it is in reality. All the upper 

 part, of the body is covered with very long hairs, an- 

 imlated with black at the roots, and yellow, and then 

 black, and alternately white again ; so that while the 

 mixture of colours makes a general tint of greyish 

 olive, the whole of the upper part and the tail, and 

 also the external parts of the hind legs especially, are 

 marked with cross bars of darker and lighter shades, 

 which contrast very pleasingly with each other. Those 

 markings are finest on the tail, where twenty black 

 bands and as many white ones occur. The neck and 

 head, with the exception of the face and ears, are 

 covered with blackish-brown hair, without any mark- 

 ings. The paws are covered with very short hair, 

 which is pale brown in some individuals, and pale 

 grey in others. The inside of the legs and the belly 

 are brown, a little mottled with white ; the face is also 

 brown, with the exception of a large spot above the 

 eyes, and a line on the lip?. They are, however, 

 subject to considerable changes of colour. We had 

 almost forgotten to mention one very remarkable trait 

 in their appearance, which is a tuft of brownish hairs, 

 varying in the individuals from very light brown to 

 pure white. 



This species, which, though called the striated mon- 

 key, has very few characters in common with the 

 typical monkeys, is very common in all the tropical 

 parts of America ; and, considering the temperature 

 of its native haunts, it breeds pretty freely in Europe. 

 The number of young varies, being sometimes only 

 one and at other times as many as three. Some that 

 bred in the French Museum, gave F. Cuvicr an oppor- 

 tunity of observing their manners with his usual 

 exactness, and reporting them with his usual fidelity. 

 When the female produced three, she very soon 

 after eat the head of one of them, but the other two 

 began to suck, and her disposition soon became 

 changed to tenderness for them. They were borne 

 indiscriminately on the back or under the belly of the 

 mother, though the last was of course, more strictly 

 speaking, the sucklintr position. When fatigued with 

 carrying the two young one?, she used to apply to 

 the male for assistance, intimating her necessity for it 

 by a peculiar cry not uttered upon any otlirr occasion ; 

 and when she had recourse to this cry, the male took 

 upon himself the burden of the young. In confine- 



ment these little animals are not only very indiscrimi- 

 nate in their eating, but very rapacious. They will 

 contrive to catch gold fishes which are kept in orna- 

 mental jars ; and Edwards mentions one that acquired 

 some dexterity in killing and eating small eels. 



The tuftedJacchus (H. penitillatus\ is a Brazilian 

 species, bearing a considerable resemblance to the com- 

 rnori one, but differing in a sufficient number of respects 

 for entitling it to rank as a distinct species. The 

 breast and belly are red and not brown ; the white 

 spot on the front is larger, the cross bars on the back 

 are brighter, and the light-coloured hairs do not spread 

 like a fan over the ear, but form a tuft in front of it, 

 while a margin of produced hairs from the nape stands 

 up behind the ear. The manners of this species are 

 but little known. 



The white-headed Jacchus (H. leucocepJiahis), is 

 another Brazilian species, resembling the former one, 

 but yet with well-marked external characters. It is 

 rather larger than either of the two preceding ones, 

 and has the lower part of the back of a deep black 

 colour. This species has the head and throat entirely 

 white, and the ear tuft black. It is usually found in 

 the copses of the mining districts of Brazil. 



The eared Jacchus (H. aurilus), still resembles the 

 common one in form and size, but is very different in 

 the markings of the colours. The hairs on the back 

 are only black and russet alternately. The throat, 

 the belly, and the flanks are black ; the feet have 

 short hairs, a mixture of black and grey ; the face and 

 chin are white, and the nape of the head yellowish 

 red. There is a tuft of white hairs in front of each 

 ear, but shorter in proportion than the black hairs on 

 the tufted species. The young have the back more 

 striated than the adults, and they want the yellowish 

 red on the top of the head. This species is also 

 Brazilian. 



The white-shouldered Jacchus (//. humcralifcr,} also 

 Brazilian, smaller than the common one, and perhaps 

 only a variety, but very different in the colours. The 

 arms, the upper part of the back, the neck, and all 

 the under parts of the body, are white ; and so also 

 are the ear-tufts, the hairs of which are very long. 

 The top of the head is dusky, the thighs are brown 

 mottled with white, and the cross bars of the tail are 

 black and white, but very indistinct. The tail is 

 longer in proportion than that of the common species ; 

 and though this, as well as many of the preceding 

 ones, has often been regarded as belonging to that 

 species, and being only coloured varieties, yet the 

 departure in the case of this one is so great, indepen- 

 dently altogether of colour, that one would require 

 the evidence of absolute descent before confidently 

 referring them to the same species. 



The black-tailed Jacchus (H. mclanurus}. In this 

 species the tail is entirely black with a brownish 

 tinge, and without any cross bars of alternating 

 colours. The body and legs are generally bright 

 brown, except the under parts and insides of the legs, 

 which are reddish white. The feet are brown, and 

 the size of the animal is nearly the same as that of 

 the common species. Like the others it has hitherto 

 been found chiefly in Brazil. 



The Mica (H. argenfalus), is still a native of the 

 same countries, or nearly so. It is about the size of 

 the common one, but very differently coloured from 

 any of the rest, being generally of a white colour, 

 with the exception of the tail, which is black. It is 

 possible, however, that it may be a partial albino of 



