FAMILY SIMIAD.E. GIBBONS ; MONKEYS. 



159 



syndactylus, * or Siamang (Fig. 69), is another species of 

 Gibbon, of greater size, and more robust proportions, also inha- 

 biting Sumatra. It is remarkable for possessing a pouch, or 

 sac, in its throat, which is connected with the larynx, and seems 

 to have some influence on the voice ; this is described as a hollow 

 barking sound. The Siamang is a bold and powerful animal ; 



but is easily domesticated, and is 

 then gentle in its manners, forming 

 strong attachments. In their na- 

 tive haunts they associate together 

 in troops, under the direction of a 

 leader ; and they utter their cries 

 simultaneously in the morning and 

 evening, making a most discor- 

 dant noise. Their movements 

 are not nearly so active as those of 

 the species just named ; but their 

 vigilance is great, and their hear- 

 ing seems remarkably acute; so 

 that they are enabled to make a 

 timely retreat from danger. The 

 specific name of this animal is 

 derived from the adhesion of the 

 first and second fingers, as far as 

 the last joint which bears the nail. 



Several other species of Gibbon, of which less is known, 

 inhabit the same portion of the globe. 



150. The Monkeys are distinguished, as already stated, by 

 possessing cheek-pouches, callosities on the buttocks, and long 

 tails ; and all these peculiarities of structure are intimately con- 

 nected with their habits. The cheek-pouches enable them to 

 stow away and carry off large quantities of nuts and fruits for 

 future consumption; and these stores they usually obtain by 

 periodical excursions from the forests in which they reside, to 

 the more open and fertile spaces, and especially to cultivated 



FIG. 69. SJAMANO. 



* Meaning " united -fingered." 



