190 



QUADRUMANA. 



other species, I followed the direction given 

 by the said authors. 



d. Fourth Genus. Colobus ILLIGER. 



This genus represents in North Africa the 

 Semnopitheci of South Asia, and seems only 

 to differ from them by the rudimentary con- 

 dition of the thumb, and, in one species, 

 C. verus VAN BENEDEN *, by the total want 

 of it. By this disposition the Semnopitheci 

 and Colobi may be compared with the genus 

 Ateles from the New World, in which some 

 species want the thumb, and others possess 

 it : they seem, in fact, to represent that 

 genus in the Old World, having a great deal 

 of conformity with it in structure, manners, 

 and character. RUPPELL-J- has proved, by 

 dissection of the Colobus guereza, that in this 

 genus the stomach approaches to that of the 

 Semnopitheci, by its extension and the exist- 

 ence of separate cells. The teeth are the 

 same as in the Semnopitheci, viz., with an 

 additional tubercle to the posterior molar of 

 the lower jaw. The first molar of the lower 

 jaw on each side is inclined backwards, and 

 gives also room for the canine of the upper 

 jaw. In both the Semnopitheci and Colobi, 

 detrition of the molar teeth seems to take 

 place in a longitudinal direction, as has been 

 shown by OGILBY, indicating a corresponding 

 motion of the jaws, something similar to what 

 takes place in the Rodentia. They have cheek- 

 pouches and ischial callosities. 



Spec. Colobus polycomos, C. ferrugineus, 

 C. guereza, C. verus. 



e. Fifth Genus. Cercopithecus. Monkey, 

 Engl. Guenon, Fr. 



Prominent jaws ; cheek-pouches ; naked 

 callosities on the buttocks, and long but not 

 slender tail ; arms much shorter than the pos- 

 terior limbs, by which disposition the Cerco- 

 pitheci climb with much agility, but walk with 

 more difficulty : consequently they are syl- 

 van in their habits, and confined in general to 

 the woods of Africa. They possess in general 

 a laryngeal pouch, and their posterior molar 

 of the lower jaw wants in general the ad- 

 ditional tubercle proper to the Semnopitheci. 

 The first molar of the lower jaw is disposed 

 as in Colobus. They are quick, capricious, 

 choleric, cunning, and very teachable. They 

 are a pre-eminently sylvan race, and live in 

 the forests in society, under the guidance of 

 the old males. Each tribe or family has its 

 own particular district, into which individuals 

 of other tribes or species are not allowed to 

 intrude. So strongly is this propensity im- 

 planted in the Cercopitheci, that they carry it 

 with them even into our menageries. They 

 feed indiscriminately upon wild fruits, the 

 seeds and buds of trees, insects, birds' eggs, 

 &c., but appear on the whole to be less car- 



* P. S. VAN BENEDEN, Notice sur une Nouvelle 

 Espece de Singe d'Afrique, torn. v. n. 6. Bull, de 

 1'Acad. Roy ale de Bruxelles. 



j- E. RUPPELL, Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna 

 von Abyssinien. Frankf. a. M. 18351840. 



nivorous in their appetites than either the 

 Apes or Cynocephali. 



Spec. Cercopithecus ruber, C. JEthiops, 

 C. fuliginosus, C. Sabceus, C. griseo-viridis, C. 

 melarhinus, C. faunus, C. pygerythrus. To 

 this genus are also referred the C. mona, 

 C. cephus, C. petauristus, C. nictitans, and 

 C. Diana, which, according to the observa- 

 tions of F. Cuvier, form a separate group, 

 distinguished by their elegance of form and 

 gentleness of manners and character. All 

 these and the preceding Cercopitheci inhabit 

 chiefly Africa. I intend also to introduce, 

 upon the authority of OGILBY and SCHLEGEL, 

 in this genus three Asiatic and chiefly Indian 

 species, which are referred by others to the 

 genus Macacus, viz., C. cynomolgus, C. radi- 

 atus, and C. pileatus, OGILBY. They have an 

 additional tubercle on the posterior molar of 

 the lower jaw, and differ by it from the other 

 species of the genus Cercopithecus; but in 

 their general form, external aspect, and man- 

 ners, they offer the greatest analogy with the 

 Cercopitheci, constituting a natural group 

 with them, and forming, at the same time, a 

 transition to the genus Inuus. I am fully 

 convinced, that in forming a natural system, 

 it is very wrong to be led by a single ana- 

 tomical character. This additional tubercle 

 of the molars is unquestionably a subordi- 

 nate character, insufficient of itself to in- 

 duce us to separate animals belonging to the 

 same natural group. Geoffrey St. Hilaire 

 seems to have had the same views, by the 

 formation of his genus Cercocebus, in which 

 he places the above-named three species, 

 and Ogilby says that he found in the Man- 

 gabey and in the Collared Mangabey, which 

 every one refers to the genus Cercopithecus, 

 the tubercle in question ; a proof that it is 

 not an essential character. Recently I. 

 Geoffrey St. Hilaire has separated the C. 

 melarhinus or Talapoin from the other Cer- 

 copitheci, and has formed of it a new genus 

 Miopithecus. The principal character is the 

 existence of only three tubercles on the pos- 

 terior molar of the lower jaw. But 1 am of 

 opinion, that this is not sufficient for the 

 formation of a separate genus. If such merely 

 anatomical characters are admitted for the 

 classification of animals, there will be within 

 a short time as many genera as there are ani- 

 mals. 



f. Sixth Genus. Inuus SCHLEGEL. Macacus 

 Cuv. Macaque^r. Laponder-aap, Dutch. 



Upon the authority of my distinguished friend 

 Schlegel*, curator of the splendid museum at 

 Leyden, I am induced to unite the genus Ma- 

 cacus Cuv. with the genus Inuus SCHLEGEL. 

 They form together a natural group, in which 

 the tail becomes gradually shorter, and finally 

 disappears, in the Inuus sylvanus or ecaudatus. 

 An elongated muzzle, much more prominent 

 than in the Cercopitheci, with nostrils opening 



* OGILBY seems to agree with these views, by 

 the formation of his genus Papio, which is much 

 similar to my genus Inuus. 



