MARMOSETS. 



189 



we for the first time find the tail ringed with alternate dark and light bands : a 

 feature occurring also in the lemurs, and in some of the lower Mammals. As in the 

 American monkeys, the thumb of the hand cannot be opposed to the fingers, neither 

 are there naked callosities on the buttocks, nor are there pouches in the cheeks. 

 None of the marmosets have prehensile tails. Their hind-limbs are always con- 

 siderably larger and more robust than the front ones, and the great toe is invari- 



V 



MARMOSETS (1) COMMON MARMOSET, (2) BLACK-TAILED MARMOSET, (3) BLACK-EARED MARMOSET ( nat. size). 



ably of such small dimensions that, in a literal sense of the term, it has no sort of 

 right to its name. 



Many of the marmosets have the ears fringed with long pencils of hairs, which 

 give them a very peculiar and unmistakable appearance. Both in size and habits 

 they are more like squirrels than monkeys, and they climb in the same way. 

 They are, indeed, essentially arboreal animals, subsisting not only on fruits, 

 but likewise to a large extent on insects. As we shall see later on, marmosets 

 usually live in small parties, and all of them appear to be gentle in disposition, 



