J3tcttntiarj) at 



$aturr. 429 



forming a tuft : body and legs very slender ; 

 and the length of the former is about three 

 feet. It is a native of Sierra Lone. 



The COCHINCHINA MONKEY, or Douc, is 

 a very large species, distinguished by the 

 singular variety and brilliancy of its colours. 

 The face is rather flat, and of a yellowish 

 bay colour ; and across the forehead runs a 

 narrow dusky band : the sides of the face 

 are bounded by long yellowish hairs ; round 

 the neck is a collar of purplish-brown ; the 

 upper part of the arms and thighs are black ; 

 and the legs and knees are of a chestnut- 

 colour. The back, belly, and sides are of a 

 yellowish gray ; the lower part of the arms 

 and tail are white ; the feet black ; and the 

 rump (like the American Monkeys) is covered 

 with hair. In an upright position this 

 animal measures three and a half or four 

 feet in height, being nearly as large as the 

 Barbary ape. 



The Monkeys that follow belong to the 

 American continent, all of which differ from 

 those of Asia and Africa by having neither 

 cheek-pouches, posterior callosities, nor op- 

 posable thumbs, and being generally fur- 

 nished with prehensile tails ; while the nos- 

 trils are separated by a broad space in front : 

 they constitute the family CEBID^E. 



The PREACHER MONKEY. (Mycttes Beelze- 

 bub.) This animal is about the size of a fox; 

 with long, black, glossy hair ; a round beard 

 beneath the chin and throat ; black shining 

 eyes ; short round ears ; and a long tail. 

 It is a native of Brazil and Guiana, inhabit- 

 ing the woods in great numbers, which re- 

 sound with its dreadful howlings. It receives 

 its name from the following circumstance, 

 the authenticity of which is abundantly 

 verified by different writers. It is common 

 for one of these creatures to ascend a lofty 

 tree ; while numbers of them assemble on 

 the lower branches : the Monkey who is ele- 

 vated above the rest then sets up a howl, so 

 loud and shrill that it may be heard at an 

 immense distance : after a certain space he 

 stops and gives a signal with his hand, when 

 the whole assembly join in chorus ; but on 

 another signal a sudden silence prevails, and 

 the orator concludes his harangue. The cla- 

 mour on such occasions is most astounding 

 and disagreeable. This howling faculty is 

 accounted for by the peculiar conformation 

 of the os hyoides, or throat bone, which, com- 

 municating with the larynx, gives great ad- 

 ditional resonance to the voice. These howl- 

 ings are usually sent forth in the morning, 

 at sunset, and in the darkness of night ; they 

 are also heard when the over-clouded sky 

 threatens an approaching storm. [See Mr- 



CETES.] 



The FOX-TAILED MONKEY. Pifhecia leu- 

 cocephala.) This animal, which is about the 

 size of a large cat, has a very singular aspect ; 

 the middle of the face being black, bare, and 

 surrounded by white downy hair on the 

 cheeks and forehead, and which, gradually 

 expanding on the top and sides of the head, 

 forms a very thick and full kind of beard, 

 which divides under the chin, so as to leave 



a bare space there. Its general colour is a 

 dusky brown : the eyes are large, and the 

 ears round and flat : the feet aud hands are 

 furnished with sharpish claws ; and the tail 

 is long and very full of hair. It is a native 

 of South America. 



The FOUR-FINGERED, or SPIDER MONKEY. 

 (Ateles paniscus.) A species of Monkey, 

 distinguished no less by its active, lively, 

 and tractable disposition, than by the slen- 

 derness of its body and limbs, and the ab- 

 sence of thumbs on its fore-paws. Its colour 

 is uniformly black, except on the face, which 

 is of a dark flesh-colour ; and it has a long 

 prehensile tail, which more than compen- 

 sates for the defects of the hand. It inhabits 

 the woods of South America, associating in 

 great multitudes, and assailing such travel- 

 lers as pass through their haunts by throwing 

 dry and withered sticks at them, and by 

 numberless sportive and mischievous gam- 

 bols. In order to pass from one lofty tree 

 to another, whose branches are too distant 

 for a leap, they form a kind of chain, by 

 hanging down, linked to each other by their 

 tails ; and swinging in that manner till the 

 lowermost catches hold of a bough of the 

 next tree, and draws up the rest. 



The SQUIRREL MONKEY. (Callithrix sciu- 

 reus.) This species, which scarcely exceeds 

 in size the animal whose name it bears, is of a 

 bright golden yellow colour, with orange-yel- 

 low feet and hands : the nails of the hands are 

 flat, and those of the feet resemble claws. 

 The head is round ; the nose blackish ; the 

 orbits of the eyes flesh-colour ; and the ears 

 hairy : under parts whitish : tail very long, 

 with a black tip. The specimens usually 

 brought to Europe are rather of a yellowish 

 brown or greenish cast. 



MONODON. [See NARWHAL. 



MONODONTA. A genus of Mollusca, 

 inhabiting a pyramidal shell ; the lips dis- 

 united at the upper part, the left having a 

 tooth-like process, from which the name is 

 derived ; and it is on account of this tooth 



or notch, with which the columella termi- 

 nates, that the genus is divided from Trochus. 

 The animal is characterized as head dis- 

 tinct, having two tentacula, with eyes at the 

 base ; foot short. They are found in most 

 seas, and recent species are rather numerous. 



MONOMYARIA. The name of an order 

 of Conchifera, consisting of those bivalve 

 shells which have but one principal muscu- 

 lar impression in each valve, and which in - 

 eludes several well-known useful Mollusca ; 



