QUADRUMAXA. MAMMALIA. CEBID,*:. 



nate moukeys, opening their prizes incautiously, were 

 severely stung. But this was never afterwards the 

 case ; for, becoming wise by experience, they always 

 held the papers up to their ears before opening them. 



The species most frequently brought to Europe is the 

 BROWN SAJOU, or WEEPER MONKEY (Cebus Apella), 

 which is exceedingly abundant in Guiana, and also 

 occurs in Brazil and other parts of South America. It 

 measures about fourteen inches to the root of the tail, 

 which is between two and three inches longer than 

 the body. It is of a reddish-brown colour, darker on 

 the back, head, limbs, and tail, but with the upper part 

 of the arms tawny or greyish-yellow. 



THE COAITA (Ateles Paniscus), Plate 2, fig. 6. The 

 Coaita is one of the most widely distributed of the well- 

 known American monkeys to which the name of Spi- 

 der monkeys has been given, in allusion to the great 

 length and slenderness of their limbs. It is found over 

 the greater part of the South American continent, 

 from Brazil and Guiana in the West, to Peru in the 

 East. In common with the other species of its genus 

 (Ateles), it is totally destitute of thumbs on the anterior 

 members, which thus consist only of four fingers, the 

 only trace of the thumb being an imperfect metacarpal 

 bone, completely concealed within the skin. The tail, 

 like the limbs, is very long, and exhibits a piece of 

 naked callous skin on the lower surface at the tip ; this, 

 coupled with the great muscular power of the tail, ren- 

 ders it, like that of the howlers, a most powerful pre- 

 hensile organ, and the animals use it freely as a fifth 

 hand in almost all the transactions of life. The agility 

 of movement displayed by these curious creatures when 

 springing freely about in their arboreal home, is in a 

 great degree due to this fifth hand; grasping a branch 

 with it, they swing to and fro in the air, until gaining 

 a sufficient impetus, they launch themselves towards 

 some other object ; and thus with the aid of the long 

 limbs, pass over great spaces with inconceivable rapidity. 

 Even when confined in menageries they exhibit aston- 

 ishing agility. We are told also by Dampier and 

 Dacosta, that when these monkeys want to pass a 

 river, or to get from one tree to another at a little 

 distance, without descending to the ground, they form 

 themselves into a sort of chain, each clinging to the 

 other by his tail; the whole then swing to and fro, until 

 the lowest individual at the free end of the chain con- 

 trives to get hold of the object to be attained, when he 

 draws up the rest, and the whole pass over. 



The coaita measured about two feet in length to 

 the root of the tail, and is covered with long black hair, 

 except upon the face which is naked and brown. They 

 live in the forests in troops, but frequently descend in 

 search of nourishment to the plantations, especially the 

 Indian-corn fields, which they plunder to an extent 

 that is anything but agreeable to the owners. Their 

 booty is carried off to be eaten at leisure in the woods, 

 and here again the tail comes into play; for an old 

 negro told Mr. Gardner, that he had often seen the 

 coaita making off with three ears of Indian corn, one 

 in its mouth, one under its arm, and the third in its 

 tail. The coaita, and the other spider monkeys, also 

 feed to a certain extent upon animal substances, such 

 as insects, molluscs, birds' eggs, and even small fishes ; 



and those which reside in the vicinity of the sea are 

 said sometimes to descend to the coast, and regale 

 themselves with marine luxuries, especially oysters, 

 which they are ingenious enough to break between two 

 stones. They are said also to adopt the same course 

 with nuts which are too hard for their teeth to crack, 

 and their general intelligence is very high, certainly 

 higher than that of any other American monkeys, and 

 inferior to that of few of the Old World. 



In captivity the coaita is very gentle, and soon 

 becomes tame. It is impatient of cold, and rather 

 melancholy in its aspect, but exceedingly amusing from 

 its agile gambols. An interesting account of a tame 

 coaita will be found in Mr. Gardner's " Travels in the 

 interior of Brazil." It became a favourite of his whole 

 party, and especially cultivated the friendship of a 

 large mastiff which accompanied them on their journey. 

 On the march, Jerry, as the monkey was called, always 

 rode on the back of his canine friend, but he was not 

 at all particular as to whether his face was towards the 

 head or tail of the dog, except in going down hill, when 

 he always turned his face forwards; and to prevent 

 himself from being iguominiously slipped over the head 

 of his charger, made use of his tail as a crupper, by 

 twisting its prehensile extremity round the root of the 

 dog's tail. 



THE SQUIRREL MONKEY (Callithrix sciureus), 

 Plate 3, fig. 8. The Squirrel monkey, Saimiri or Tee 

 Tee, is undoubtedly the prettiest, the most amiable, 

 and probably the most intelligent of the whole tribe. 

 The length of its head and body is only about ten 

 inches ; its tail, which is scarcely prehensile, measures 

 thirteen and a half; its general colour is olive-grey, 

 with the arms and legs reddish or orange-coloured; 

 and the face is bare and whitish, with the nose black. 

 Its eyes are large, soft, and lustrous, giving the little 

 creature an expression of intelligence, heightened by 

 the form of its head, in which the skull is of very large 

 size as compared with the facial bones. The skull, 

 with its inclosed brain, is in fact larger in proportion 

 to the size of the animal than that of any other monkey, 

 so that, if we may take the mere size of the brain as 

 a measure of intelligence, we may easily account for 

 the superiority of this interesting little creature. 



The squirrel monkey lives in the forests of Guiana 

 and Brazil, feeding principally upon fruits and insects. 

 Its tail is of little use to it in its arboreal gambols, but 

 it appears to employ it in keeping itself warm, by wind- 

 ing it round its body. In captivity it is gentle and 

 affectionate, and one of the most interesting of the 

 monkey tribe. Humboldt has given some interesting 

 details with regard to individuals in his possession. 

 When he spoke to them for some time, they listened 

 with the most marked attention, but soon raised their 

 hands to his lips, as if to catch the words as they 

 escaped. They recognized the objects represented in 

 engravings, even when not coloured ; and when the 

 figures of insects and fruits were shown to them, they 

 stretched out their hands towards the paper, and endea- 

 voured to seize their simulated food. 



THE DOUBOUCOITLI (Nyctipithecus trimrgatus). 

 The large eyes of the delicate little squirrel monkeys 

 to which we have just referred, indicate probably that 



