36 



QuADEUMANA. MAMMALIA. Simiad^. 



sixth century of the Christian era, mentions man-like 

 apes inhabiting Corsica. In the absence of all positive 

 eviilence, one way or the other, we can only suppose 

 that the magot, with the other African forms of ani- 

 mals which occur with him in Southern Europe, may 

 have extended his range into the latter region at a 

 period when the two continents were united. Even 

 tlien it would be curious that the European represen- 

 tatives of the species should confine themselves to a 

 bare rock at the most southern point of the peninsula, 

 as if anxious still to be within sight of the shores which 

 undoubtedly constitute their true home, but from which 

 they are for ever excluded. This, however, may per- 

 haps be explicable upon the supposition, that important 

 changes of climate may have taken place in Spain since 

 the disruption of the continents at the Pillars of Her- 

 cules. 



The group of the Baboons at which wo now arrive, 

 and which closes the series of Old World monkeys, 

 resembles the macaques in most of its characters, dif- 

 fering principally in the form of the face, which, in the 

 baboons, is produced into a snout and more or less 

 truncated, or, as it were, cut off at the extremity. They 

 have small eyes, placed closer together than in any 

 of the preceding groups of monkeys; the hindmost 

 molars in the lower jaw are furnished with one or two 

 accessory tubercles as in the macaques ; and the 

 tail, which is usually short, is placed very high up on 

 the rump. 



Tlie baboons are all of considerable size, larger than 

 the other monkeys, but usually smaller than the true 

 apes. They are of a robust form, with stout poweri'ul 

 limbs, upon which they usually go upon all fours ; they 

 are, in fact, the most animal of the Simiada;. Tlieir 

 jaws are enormously powerful, and armed with immense 

 canine teeth, with which they are able to inflict very 

 severe wounds upon their adversaries. They usually 

 take up their abode amongst the rocks, and are con- 

 fined to the African continent, in all parts of which some 

 species are found. One species also occurs in Arabia. 

 Tliey are ferocious and disgusting in their habits, and 

 during the breeding season the posterior callosities, 

 which are of large size and generally of a bright red 

 colour, become so turgid and conspicuous, as to give 

 the creatures a most repulsive aspect. In confinement, 

 even the females seem to delight in exposing tliese 

 disgusting features to the gaze of the spectators, whilst 

 the males usually exhibit the lasciviousness of their 

 nature in such an odious light, that they can rarely be 

 exposed freely to the public. In many cases they have 

 been known to notice women amongst the spectators 

 before their cages, sometimes even selecting the young- 

 est and handsomest for this questionable compliment, 

 and evincing their preference by unmistakeable ges- 

 tures ; so that there can be little doubt, that had they 

 the opportunit}', they would resort to violence for the 

 gratification of their passions. 



THE MANDRILL {PajMO Mormon), Plate 2, fig. 4. 

 Tlie mandrill, the largest and most powerful of the 

 baboons, Ijclongs to a genus in which the tail is very 

 sliort, formint; a small naked process which stands up 



perpendicularly to the spinal column. The head o( 

 this baboon is of large size, a circumstance which is 

 due principally to the enormous development of the 

 facial bones ; in the males, especially, these bones form 

 a long muzzle, on the sides of which are a pair of large 

 bony protuberances ; the upper canines are of immense 

 size; the lower jaw is enormously powerful and armed 

 with sharp canine teeth ; the surface of the skull exhi- 

 bits strong ridges for the attachment of the muscles ; 

 and no one who looks at the entire skull of a mandrill, 

 can doul)t for a moment that the creature possessing 

 such formidable weapons and such powerful means of 

 setting them in motion, would be as terrible an anta- 

 gonist as almost any beast of prey. 



The adult male sometimes attains a height of upwards 

 of five feet when standing upright. The general colour 

 of the fur on the back and sides is a light olive-brown, 

 and on the lower parts of the body a silvei'y grey. On 

 the forehead and crown of the head the hair is directed 

 upwards, giving a curious appearance to the head ; the 

 face is naked, and the protuberant sides of the nose 

 are strongly ridged and marked with bright red, light 

 blue, and purple. The callosities are large, and of a 

 bright red colour. In the females and j'oung males, 

 the muzzle is shorter and less protuberant than in the 

 old males, and of a uniform blue colour. 



The native country of this formidable animal is the 

 western coast of Africa, especially in the district of 

 Guinea, where it appears to have been often confounded 

 with the chimpanzee in the stories related by the 

 Negroes to travellers. It is known to the natives of 

 difi'erent districts by a variety of names, amongst which 

 Smillcn, Choras, Bogrjo, and Barris are recorded by 

 authors ; the latter name is the one given to the gorilla 

 by De Laval (see p. 17), and we have already stated 

 that the name of t)rill, now commonly applied to the 

 following species, and which evidently forms part of 

 the name under which the present animal is known, 

 really belongs to the chimpanzee. Considering the 

 vicious character of the mandrill, we may, perhaps, 

 suppose that many of the narratives of travellers, with 

 regard to women being carried off into the woods by 

 monkej'S, apply rather to this species than to the chim- 

 panzee, although both of them are charged with this 

 crime. The mandrills are also described as associating 

 in large troops, and driving away other wild animals, 

 including even the elephants, from the districts of the 

 forest in which they choose to take up their quarters, 

 whilst their human neighbours are afraid to pass tlirough 

 the woods in wliich they reside, except in large com- 

 panies and well armed. In a state of nature the 

 mandrills live principally upon fruits, although, like 

 the other baboons, they doubtless often devour small 

 animals, and they are said sometimes to make a descent 

 upon the negro villages, and plunder them of every- 

 thing eatable. In captivity they eat almost anything, 

 and usually acquire a strong taste for intoxicating 

 liquors. A fine specimen which was exhibited many 

 years ago at Exeter Change, and which had retained 

 his youthful tractability to a later period than is usual 

 with the male baboons, was in the habit of drinking 

 his pot of porter daily, accompanying this indulgence 

 with a pipe, which he smoked with great gravity. 



