MAMMALS. 



roi 



and besides, it shows other human traits. Ridicule is as dreadful to il as 

 to any schoolboy. 



The spider-monkeys — so called from the extreme length of their [ess 



■ 



— are first-cousins to the sapajous. In them the prehensile capacities of 



the extremely long tail reach their highest development. In their passage 

 through the trees this member is whipped around some branch to supporl 



M 



IH 



■in iii 





Fig. 535. — Sapajous (Cebus). 



the body, or even extended some distance ahead to bring some bough of 

 an adjacent tree within reach of the paws; or again, the same fifth hand 

 may grasp the fruit on which the animal is feeding. The spider-monkeys 

 are distributed over the whole Amazon basin, some of the members extend- 

 ing north into the southern Mexican states. The different species haw 

 their vernacular names, among which the most common are miriki and 



