THE RED HOWLER 



(Mycetes seniculus) 



ALTHOUGH not so familiar in its habits as the Capuchins, and but 

 rarely seen in captivity, the Red Howler is perhaps the most generally 

 familiar of the American monkeys, owing to its qualifications and 

 propensity for making a noise in the world, and the consequent im- 

 portance it has always assumed in the narratives of travellers, who 

 sometimes allude to it, very incorrectly, as a " baboon." Although 

 a large animal for one of the New World species, it does not equal 

 the Spider Monkey in size, being more shortly and stoutly built. Its 

 tail is thoroughly prehensile, being bald at the tip beneath, and it has 

 normal thumbs on the hands. The face has a brutish expression, 

 owing to the large development of the jaws at the expense of the 

 brain-case, and the throat is swollen by the presence of a curious 

 bony drum caused by an enlargement of the larynx, a structure which 

 assists in the production of the remarkable voice of the monkey. To 

 accommodate this organ the sides of the lower jaw are greatly expanded 

 in depth, so that a Howler's skull is easily known from that of any 

 other monkey. 



The red colour of the coat is common to both sexes, but there is 

 a certain amount of individual variation in the extent of the yellow 

 tinge. 



The Red Howler is widely spread over the northern portions of 

 South America, living in large bands in the tops of the forest trees, 

 under the leadership of a male, whose movements are followed by the 

 rest of the troop with remarkable uniformity, "taking off" with a swing 

 from their tails from the same branch as he has last vacated. The 

 females carry their young on their backs, and the Indians accuse them 

 of sometimes throwing their young down to facilitate their own escape 

 when threatened by the hunters. Humboldt suggests that this is 1 merely 



