30 



QuADRUMAsA. JIAMMALIA. Simiad.e. 



wliioli they acquire a formidable length as compared 

 with the size of the animal ; and from their being acute 

 at the point, and very sharp along the hinder edge, 

 they constitute most dangerous weapons, which the old 

 males of most species know well how to use. 



Besides the presence of cheek-pouches, the Cerco- 

 pitheci present anotlier character of distinction from 

 the Indian Semnopitheci and the African Colubi, 

 which, although of secondary importance, and common 

 to them and many of the macaques and baboons, it is 

 still necessary to mention. This is the annulated 

 nature of the fur, arising from the individual hairs not 

 being of the same colour from the root to tlie tip, but 

 marked with rings of different colours, by which means 

 the fur acquires a minutely speckled appearance ; and 

 tlie general tint of the animal is usually (juite different 

 fi'om any of the distinct colours which are to be found 

 in its fur. 



In their structure and form, as in their character, 

 these animals may be regarded as the types of our 

 notion of a monkey ; they are nearly equally removed 

 from the apes on the one hand, and from the baboons 

 on the other. Unlike the mild and gentle Semnopi- 

 theci and Colobi, they are petulant, capricious, and 

 often spiteful, especially when old ; whilst on the other 

 band they are, for the most part, free from the sullen- 

 ness and moroseness which are usually characteristic 

 of the baboons. They live in the forests, each species 

 usually confining itself to some particular district, 

 where the animals live in large troops, under the 

 chieftainship of the old males ; and the inroads of one 

 species or tribe upon the region over which another 

 has arrogated the dominion to itself, are highly resented 

 by the latter, of which the whole conmiunity inmie- 

 diately unites to repel the aggression. Even in confine- 

 ment this party feeling is maintained ; and it is not 

 uncommon in lai-ge menageries, where numerous 

 juoiikeys of different kinds are kept in the same cage, 

 to see those of one species combine their powers to 

 defend one of their brethren against the bullying of 

 some larger occupant of their common prison. In their 

 native forests, these monkeys keep at a distance from 

 linman habitations, and usually frequent the banks of 

 slicams. They feed principally upon fruits and seeds, 

 but also eat tlie buds and young shoots of trees, and 

 occasionally diversify this vegetable diet with a repast 

 of birds' eggs or insects, although they appear to be less 

 addicted to animal food than the baboons. 



The genus Cercopithecus includes those monkeys of 

 the Old World which are most commonly brought to 

 Europe, and also those which have most frequently 

 produced young ones in our menageries. The female, 

 under these circumstances, carries the young one in 

 her arms until it has acquired strength enough to cling 

 firmly to her hair, when, having all her hands at 

 liberty, .she is able to spring and climb about with as 

 much activity as if she had no burden. The male is 

 sometimes, if not always, an exceedingly bad father, 

 quarrelling with tlie female, and ill-treating the young 

 one. M. Is. Geoflroy St. Ililaiie, mentions, that in 

 1837, when a female of the Grivct (C. Griseus) had 

 a young one in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, the 

 male was obliged to be removed, in consequence of his 



unnatural behaviour to his infant offspring; while, in 

 the very next cage, several male baboons were to be 

 seen surrounding two females with their young ones, 

 caressing the two mothers with the most lively demon- 

 strations of tenderness, pressing them in their arms, 

 embracing them almost like human beings, and quar- 

 relling amongst themselves for the pleasure of nursing 

 the little ones, which, after passing from arm to arm, 

 were faithfully returned, each to its own mother." 



Of the numerous species of this genus known to 

 naturalists, we can only mention a few. Amongst 

 these — 



THE TAIAPOIN {Cercopithecus Talnpom) is the 

 one which, in the gentleness of its disposition and the 

 slenderness of its form, would appear to approach most 

 closely to the preceding monkeys ; it has been separ- 

 ated by Geoffrey as a distinct genus, on account of the 

 large development of its brain, the shortness of its 

 muzzle, and especially the small size of its hinder 

 molars, of which those of the lower jaw have only 

 three tubercles. 



The talapoin is the smallest of the monkeys of tlie 

 Old World. Its fur is of a greenish tint, with the 

 lower surface of the body and the inside of the 

 limbs greyish-white; the hairs of the forehead are 

 raised, so as to form a sort of tuft ; the whiskers are 

 yellowisli, and the face flesh-coloured, with the nose 

 and ears dark-brown or black. It is a native of 

 Western Africa, but is less commonly brought into 

 Europe than many other species inhabiting the same 

 localit}', although its gentleness and intelligence ren- 

 der it one of the most interesting of the Old Worid 

 monkeys. In captivity it is very lively and amusing. 



THE MONE ( Cercopithecus Mona) is a species nearly 

 related to the talapoin, which it resembles in the ele- 

 gance of its form, and in its intelligence. It is a little 

 larger than the talapoin, but is still one of the smallest 

 of the Simiada;, and its colours are very beautiful. 

 The head is of an olive-green colour, mixed with 

 golden-yellow ; the forohe.ad is covered with whitisli 

 hairs, and on each side of the face is a large bushy 

 whisker of a straw colour ; the back and sides are 

 brilliant chestnut, mottled with black ; the legs and 

 tail are black, speckled with grey, and on each liip, 

 immediately in front of the root of the tail, is an oval 

 spot of the purest white — a character which is peculiar 

 to this species ; the throat, the lower part of the body, 

 and the inner surface of the limbs, are also pure 

 white. 



The mone inhabits the western coast of Africa, and 

 is usually brought to Europe from Senegal. Its name 

 of Mona is a sort of generic name for monkey in some 

 parts of the south of Europe, and was applied to this 

 species by Buffon, who also identified it with the Cehiis 

 of the ancients, although without sufficient reason. 

 In confinement it exhibits a remarkable amount of 

 amiability, being more docile and less petulant and 

 capricious than most other monkeys, so that it may be 

 allowed far more liberty, although the males not unfre- 

 quently change their character for the worse as they 

 increase in age. M. F. Cuvier has published an inter- 

 esting account of an individual of this species, which 

 lived from its youth upwards in the menagerie at Paris, 



