JO 



CLAWED MONKEYS. 



sleep is not so profound that they are not | of cats. The species 

 awakened by noises, 



their sense of hearing ";.n 4^:y\;v<jt^'*-'^^^^^^ 



being apparently very 

 highly developed in 

 spite of the fact that 

 they have only small 

 ears almost hidden in 

 the fur. In the light 

 of day they are, as it 

 were, oppressed with 

 drowsiness, and are 

 sulky, ready to bite, 

 and helpless; but by 

 night they become 

 cheerful and active, 

 climbing and jumping 

 about with great dex- 

 terity in search of their 

 prey, which consists 

 exclusively of insects 

 and birds. The favour- 

 ite parts in the latter 



are the brain and the entrails. Their large to its keepers, but 

 eyes shine more conspicuously than those 



Fig. 22. — The Mirikina or Three-bandetl Douroucbitli 



( Nyctipithcctu trivirgatm ) . 



to its keepers, 

 natured. 



represented in fig. 22, 

 the Mirikina or Three- 

 banded Douroucouli 

 {^Nyctipithecus trivir- 

 gatus), is gray above, 

 orange-yellow on the" 

 under side, and is dis- 

 tinguished by three 

 black stripes on the 

 forehead, the middle 

 stripe running down 

 to the ridge of the 

 nose, the other two 

 to the outer angle of 

 the eyes. The fur is 

 thick and soft. This 

 monkey has been met 

 with from Paraguay 

 to Guiana. It is sel- 

 dom brought to Eu- 

 rope, has but little 

 intelligence, and ex- 

 hibits no attachment 

 appears to be good- 



(c) CLAWED MONKEYS 



(ARCTOPITHECI). 



With 32 teeth, fore-paws without an opposable thumb, but hind-feet with an opposable hallux, all the 



digits except the hallux provided with claws. 



The nature of the dentition has already 

 been explained in the general account of the 

 Simia;. The Arctopitheci have three pre- 

 molars like the other American monkeys, 

 but they have only two molars, the posterior 

 of which is besides always very small. Al- 

 though, accordingly, the number of the teeth 

 is the same as that of the Old World 

 monkeys and of man, yet the fundamental 

 type is e.ssentially different, and when recent 

 authors assert that in respect of their den- 



tition they approach the Old World monkeys 

 more nearly than their fellows belonging to 

 the same continent, they do so only on the 

 basis of a superficial comparison. 



The dentition is a purely insectivorous 

 one, and has much resemblance to that of the 

 saimiri. The chisel-shaped incisors have a 

 marked inclination forwards, especially in the 

 upper jaw, in which, moreover, the inner 

 ones are the largest. A relatively large gap 

 separates them from the sharp prominent 





