32 



QUADRUMANA. MAMMALIA. SIMIAD.E. 



with the inhabitants, who often keep specimens in their 

 houses. The grivet was also well known to the ancient 

 Egyptians, and is often represented on their monuments. 



THE PATAS (Cercopithecus Ruber), an inhabitant of 

 Senegal on the west coast of Africa, is one of the 

 monkeys most commonly imported into Europe. It is 

 about the size of the callithrix, and of a general reddish 

 fawn colour, with the lower part of the body and the 

 inner surface of the limbs pale grey. Across the fore- 

 head there is a blackish band, and the extremity of the 

 nose is covered with very short black hairs. In con- 

 finement the patas resembles the two preceding species 

 in its character, being very lively and playful, but at 

 the same time so capricious ia its temper that any 

 approach to familiarity with it is attended with danger. 

 In a state of nature, according to the old French 

 traveller Brae, the patas possesses a great share of 

 curiosity, coming down from the tops of the trees to 

 the lower branches to examine the boats passing 

 beneath them ; but when tly first novelty wore off, the 

 monkeys, says he, " became more confident, and began 

 to pelt us with rotten branches and other missiles, not 

 always of the most delicate description." This compli- 

 ment being returned by the sailors with their guns, by 

 which some of the monkeys were killed and others 

 wounded, they did not allow themselves at first to be 

 intimidated, but renewed the assault with great deter- 

 mination, until finally perceiving that the odds were 

 jigainst them, they scampered nimbly out of range of 

 the guns, and afterwards contemplated the boats from 

 a safer distance. 



THE NISNAS (C. PyrrJwnotus}, is a species very 

 nearly allied to the patas, with which it was formerly 

 confounded. It is, however, a stouter animal, and 

 presents several distinctive characters, especially the 

 whiteness of a portion of the nose. The nisnas is a 

 native of Abyssinia and Nubia; it was well known to 

 the ancient Egyptians, and is often represented in their 

 sculptures. It is also supposed to be the cebus of the 

 Greek writers on natural history. 



The group of the Macaques, already referred to as 

 distinguished from the Cercopitheci by the presence of 

 an additional (fifth) tubercle on the hindmost molar 

 teeth in the lower jaw, nevertheless presents a close 

 resemblance to the preceding group in its general 

 characters. In fact, the characters of the species of 

 these groups shade so gradually into each other the 

 Cercopitheci becoming insensibly macaque-like, and the 

 macaques baboon-like in their general structure that 

 some writers have proposed the abolition of the group of 

 the macaques altogether, by uniting the more monkey- 

 like macaques with the Cercopitheci, and the more 

 baboon-like species with the baboons. At the same 

 time, as the macaques, with but two or three excep- 

 tions, are all inhabitants of Asia, where they well 

 represent both the Cercopitheci and baboons of Africa, 

 it seems desirable to retain the group on account of its 

 convenience in regard to zoological geography. 



The macaques are, in general, of a more robust form 

 than the other monkeys ; the muzzle is prominent, but 

 rounded off at the extremity, and the tail is very 

 variable in length, being sometimes as long as in many 



Cercopitheci, sometimes reduced to a mere tubercle, 

 and in two species altogether wanting. In their general 

 habits they resemble the Cercopitheci, but their evil 

 passions acquire a strength proportioned to their usually 

 larger size and greater physical power ; and although 

 they are less disgusting and ferocious than the baboons, 

 they are far more so than the other monkeys. 



THE SOOTY MANGABEY, or WHITE-EYELID MON- 

 KEY ( CercocebusFuli/jiaosus). We have already stated, 

 that although the macaques are strictly speaking an 

 Asiatic group, they have a few representatives else- 

 where. Amongst these are the mangabeys or white- 

 eyelid monkeys which inhabit Africa, and most closely 

 resemble the common monkeys of that continent in 

 their general form, in the length of the tail, and in 

 their habits. The mangabeys are, however, distin- 

 guished from the ordinary monkeys and from the other 

 macaques, by a peculiarity in the structure of the 

 hands all the fingers both of the fore and hind hands 

 being united by webs which extend at least as far as 

 the first joint, whilst between the first and second fin- 

 gers of the hinder hands, the web reaches nearly to the 

 tip. They are also characterized by the dead white 

 colour of the upper eyelids, which gives them a singular 

 aspect when brought into view by those perpetual 

 bliukings in which all monkeys are fond of indulging. 



The sooty mangabey, which is the commonest spe- 

 cies, is of a sooty grey colour on all the upper parts of 

 the body, the tail and the outer surface of the limbs ; 

 the chin and throat, and the lower parts of the body 

 are brownish ash colour. This monkey is a native 

 of the west coast of Africa, but nothing is known of its 

 habits in a state of nature. In captivity it is familiar 

 and gentle, exceedingly active and full of grimace, 

 throwing itself into such ludicrous attitudes that, as 

 M. F. Cuvier observes, " it might be supposed to be 

 provided with a greater number of joints than other 

 monkeys," or tumbling and dancing in an absurd fashion 

 to attract the attention of the visitors, from whom it 

 hopes to obtain a reward for its agility. Mr. Ogilby 

 mentions that a " specimen in the menagerie of the 

 Zoological Society was very fond of being caressed, and 

 would examine the hands of his friends with the great- 

 est gentleness and gravity, trying to pick out the little 

 hairs, and ah 1 the while expressing his satisfaction by 

 smacking his lips, and uttering a low suppressed grunt." 

 This habit appears to be a favourite one with the spe- 

 cies, as many specimens exhibit it. 



Two other species of these monkeys are known the 

 COLLARED MAXGABEY (Cercocebus Collaris), and the 

 WHITE-CROWNED MANGABEY (C. jJEthiops) ; they 

 are both said to inhabit the west coast of Africa. 



THE BONNET MONKEY {Macacos Siniciis), the 

 Toque of some authors, was called the Bonnet Chinois 

 by Buffon, from an erroneous notion that it was a native 

 of China; it is now known to come from the Malabar and 

 Coromandel coasts, and probably inhabits the whole 

 southern extremity of the peninsula of Hindostan. It 

 also lives in a wild state in the Mauritius, but has been 

 introduced into that island since its occupation by 

 Europeans. 



The bonnet monkey is a species frequently brought 

 to Europe for exhibition ; it is about the size of a large 



