HOWLING MONKEYS. 185 



The Black Howler {Mycetes caraya). 



\Vc select as our first example of that group of howlers iu which tiic hair of 

 the forehead is directed forwards so as to overhang the eyes, and the crown of the 

 head is smooth, with radiating hairs, the black howler, either a young male or 

 female of which is alluded to in tlie passage cited above. 



It is a native of Brazil. The adult males have their fur mainly of a uniform 

 bhick colour, interspersed with red hairs on the flanks and loins. The females 

 and j'oung males are of a dingy white, and were described as belonging to a distinct 

 species, under tlie name of M. straminetis. At one time there were young males of 

 the black howler in the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, which actually clianged fi-om 

 the white into the black .state. Mr. Bates's exainjjle was obtained on the Madeira 

 River, the largest southern tributary of the Amazon. 



The yellow-handed howler (J/, hdzehul) is another Brazilian representative of 

 this group, wliicli has been known since the time of Liunajus. It appears to \&vy 

 considerably in colour, so that one variety was desci'ibed as a distinct species {M. 

 jiavimanus). According to the late Dr. Gray, tlie general colour of i\w fui- may be 

 either uniform black or reddish, with some brown hairs on the shoulders ; but the 

 hands and feet, as well as a line running down the middle of the upper surface of 

 the tail, the tip of the same, together with a spot in front of each ear, and another 

 on the knee, are invariably reddish-yellow. Mr. Bates states that the variety 

 which is reddish coloured all over is the prevalent tj^pe of howler in Para, on the 

 southern side of the delta of the Amazon ; while in the island of Marajo, or Macajo, 

 in the middle of the delta, this fonu is replaced bj' the darker one with yellowisli 

 hands and feet. 



The red-anil-yclKnv limvler (M. aandas) is a third .species from Brazil bchnig- 

 ing to this group, in wliich the general colour is dark chestnut-brown, witli the 

 back and sides golden yellow, and the bear<l somewhat darker. Dr. Gray also 

 applied distinct names to two other Brazilian howlers. 



Other Species. 



Vera Cruz As the black howler is the most southerly representative of the 



Howler. genus, so M. villosus, the Vera Cruz howler (of which tlie head is 



figured on p. 183) is its most northerly example. This S23ecies dift'ers from tlie 



black howler by its long soft hairs, which near tiieir bases show a rufescent tinge, 



iu the hair of the face being inclined forwards instead of reversed, and also in the 



colour of the female and young being black, like that of the male. 



The red or golden howler (31. senieulus) is perhaps the best- 

 Eed Howler. =. . , • , xi f • • v x i i 



known representative of the group in which the hair is bent back 



so as to fonu a ridge across the centre of the crown of the head. The general 

 colour is a reddish-chestnut, but golden-yellow in the middle of the back. It 

 appears that in young indi\-iduals the hairs are short and stiff', without any under- 

 fur, and uiiifonnlj- coloured throughout their length. In older individuals, how- 

 ever, they become long, soft, and silk}', and are brown at the roots, and golden or 



