SIMIAD^E. 479 



respect to the white, or whitish spot at the root ol the tail underneath, 

 and which is so distinct in the adult specimen in the museum of the Zoo- 

 logical Society, it cannot hut be considered as a variable character. This 

 species must not be confounded with the Lotong, or Simia maura (?) of 

 Raffles, which is the S. femoralis of Horsefield ; it is, however, most 

 probably, identical with the S. Edwardsii of Fischer, which, in his 

 Synopsis, he regards as synonymous with the "Middle-sized Black 

 Monkey " of Edwards, and also with the Cercopithecus maurus ol 

 Erxleben, and the C. Afer of Latreille, in Buff. Hist. Nat. xxxvi. ; at 

 the same time he considers it as a doubtful species. He gives Guinea, 

 with a query, as its habitat ; doubtless, on the authority of Edwards, 

 who states that the Monkey, figured by him under the name of " Middle- 

 sized Black Monkey," came, as he was informed, from Guinea ; but 

 he does not assert it as an ascertained fact. In his description of this 

 Monkey, Edwards observes that the hair above the eyes was long, and 

 also on the temples, partly covering the ears ; and adds, that he had 

 an opportunity of seeing a Black Monkey, something like his species, 

 called a Spider-Monkey, from the thinness and length of his limb, with 

 four fingers, and a prehensile tail ; in short, a species of the American 

 genus Ateles. Now we gain, from this statement, an important fact ; 

 viz., that the long and slender limbs of this Ateles struck him as being 

 like those of his " Middle-sized Black Monkey," thereby almost demon- 

 strating that this animal must have been a Semnopithecus (in which 

 genus the character of the limbs is much the same as in Ateles), and not 

 one of the African genus, Cercopithecus ; indeed, the figure given by 

 Edwards, though rude, has all the appearance of a young species of 

 Semnopithecus. That it was not an Ateles, is proved by its non-prehensile 

 tail, and by the presence of a thumb on the hands. The Guenon negre 

 of Buffon, is founded partly on this Monkey described by Edwards, and 

 partly on a Monkey entitled Simiolus Ceylonicus, by Seba ; its specific 

 appellation indicating it to be a native of Ceylon ; and Edwards observes 

 that, " in Siam, is a large species of Monkey, probably different from 

 this ;" viz., the ** Middle-sized Black Monkey." Shaw, combining the 

 accounts of Edwards and Seba, states the Simia maura to be a native both 

 of Ceylon and Guinea ; but he only refers to Edwards. What the " Middle- 

 sized Black Monkey" was, or whence it really came, is of course impos- 

 sible to be determined ; and, in considering it as identical with the 

 Semnopithecus maurus, the Author is to be understood only as assuming a 

 probability, based upon the coincidence of his description with that of the 

 present species, or, rather, upon its agreement with the specimens of S. 

 maurus which he has examined. Dr. Horsefield, in his Zool. Res. (1824), 

 states that, in the S. maurus, or Budeng (of which he gives the figure of 

 an adult and young), the ridge of the nose is elevated ; the chin short 



