MONKEYS— AFFINITIES AND DISTRIBUTION 171 



fingers on each hand and foot, the hands have weak and 

 hardly opposable thumbs. Some species of these monkeys 

 are often carried about by itinerant organ-men, and are 

 taught to walk erect and perform many amusing tricks. 

 They form the genus Cebus of naturalists, and the wood- 

 cut (Fig. 36) shows the chief characteristics of the genus, 

 the species of which are rather numerous. 



The remainder of the American monkeys have non- 

 prehensile tails, like those of the monkeys of the Eastern 

 hemisphere ; but they consist of several distinct groups, and 

 differ very much in appearance and habits. First we have the 

 Sakis (Pithecia), which have a bushy tail and usually very 

 long and thick hair, something like that of a bear. This 

 is the case in the hairy Saki or Paraua^u of the Upper 

 Amazon (see the lower figure in the Plate, p. 172). Mr. Bates 

 describes it as being a timid, inoffensive creature, with a long 

 bear-like coat of speckled grey hair. The long hair of the 

 head hangs down, so as to partly conceal the pleasing diminu- 

 tive face. It is a very delicate animal, rarely living in cap- 

 tivity more than a month or two even in its native country. 

 It is found on the northern shore of the Upper Amazon as 

 far as Peru, and a different but closely allied species is found 

 south of the great river, which, as well as the Rio Negro, 

 limits the range of several species both of quadrupeds and 

 birds. In some species the tail is very short, appearing like a 

 rounded tuft of hair ; many of the species have fine bushy 

 whiskers, which meet under the chin, and appear as if they 

 had been dressed and trimmed by a barber, and the head 

 is often covered with thick curly hair, looking like a wig. 



The Uacari monkeys, forming the genus Brachiurus, 

 have the face quite red, and one has the head nearly bald, a 

 most remarkable peculiarity among monkeys. This latter 

 species was met with by Mr. Bates on the Upper Amazon, 

 and is figured at the top of the Plate. He describes the 

 face as being of a vivid scarlet, the body clothed from neck 

 to tail with very long, straight, and shining white hair, 

 while the head is nearly bald, owing to the very short crop 

 of thin grey hairs. As a finish to their striking physiog- 

 nomy these monkeys have bushy whiskers of a sandy 

 colour meeting under the chin, and yellowish-grey eyes. 



