THUMBLESS MONKEYS. 



87 



the group last mentioned, it is not easj- to see why tliey should have lost their 

 thumbs, — unless, indeed, the small thumbs of their Indian cousins are practically 

 useless. 



In adtlition to being strictly African, all the thumbless monkeys, with one 

 exception, appear to be confined to the west coast, where they must be very 

 abundantly represented. Most of them are remarkable for the length and beauty 

 of the silky hairs with which their bodies are clothed; their f\u- being laro-ely 

 inipoi-ted into Europe for use as trinuning for other furs and various kinds of 

 apparel. 



Our imperfect acquaintance with this group in their native haunts must be 

 largely attributed to the neglect witli which travellers and sportsmen treat 

 monkeys and baboons. In every book of travel or sport we are sure to find 

 chapter after chapter tlevoted to the hoofed mannnals and the carnivores, but very 

 seldom is there a M'ord about monkeys. We lia\-e no desire to place any check on 

 the continuous flow of infoi-mation relating to any of the animals, but we venture 

 to put in a plea that at least some attention may be devoted to these when 

 opportunity otfers. 



Before noticing sonn; of the species of this gi-oTip it may be mentioned that the 

 hair of all tlie thumbless monkeys is coloured uniformly, and by this character 

 even a small piece of tlieir fur may be distinguished from that of all other African 

 monkeys, in which each indiviilual hair is ringi'd with ditterent hues. 



The Guereza (Colohiis guereza).- 



We commence our account of the thumbless monkeys with this strikingly 

 liandsome animal, wliich diftei-s so much in external appearance from the otlier 

 members of the group that it was referred by Dr. Gray to a distinct genus. 



It is commojily reported to inhabit Abyssinia, but Mr. Blanford, who accom- 

 panied the Abyssinian Expedition under Lord Napier of Magdala, states that he 

 never heard of the animal in the part of the country traversed by the army, 

 and that the skins which are often offered for sale to travellers at Aden are really 

 brought from the mountains in the interior of Somalilan<l. As, however, Somali- 

 land and Abyssinia are continuous, it is highly proljable that it may be foun<l on 

 the eastern borders of the former ; and that it is found in Centi-al Abyssinia in 

 the neighbourhood of Samen, we have the evidence of several of the earlier 

 travellers to prove. In Southern Abyssinia it appears to be of comparatively 

 common occurrence in tlu; district of Gojam, and thence it extends further to the 

 southward into the Galla country. From the Galla country and Somalilaud the 

 guereza appears to range to the south-west into the Niam-Niam district, lying to 

 Uv north-west of Lake Albert Nyanza, and to the southward as far as Kilima- 

 Njaro on the east coast. 



The head, body, and limbs of the guereza ai-e covered with jet black hair of 

 moderate length : but on either side of the back there arises a line of long hair, 

 hanging down below the flanks, and forming a kind of mantle of a pure white 

 colour. The dark face is also surrounded with a fringe of the same white hair, 

 which forms long whiskers Iving flat on the cheeks, and directed backwards. The 



