WIDOW MONKEY. 



25 



backwards, as is usual in 

 allanimals, rise vertically, 

 and thus forms what M. 

 Cuvier terms a bandeau; 

 and at each extremity 

 arises one of the above- 

 mentioned tufts of hairs, 

 which are much longer 

 than the rest. In the 

 season of winter, when 

 the fur of the animal is 

 longest, these tufts be- 

 come very prominent ; 

 but they do not appear in the young animal, until it has 

 cut the canine teeth. In confinement, this species is 

 said to be mild and affectionate. 



The exact size has not been stated, but it is rather 

 above the middle-sized monkeys. The prevalent colour 

 is a very dark brown, nearly black on the head and 

 limbs, and somewhat lighter on the shoulders ; the 

 cheeks are surrounded by a narrow line of white hairs, 

 which meet at the chin ; the face, and all the naked 

 parts, are violet. 



The Widow Monkey. 



Callithrix lugens, Geoff. 



This rare and pretty little animal has been compared, 

 and not unaptly, to a diminutive black dog with a white 

 face. Its whole colour, in fact, is of a uniform shining 

 blackness, with the exception of the face, neck, and 

 arms, which are dull white; the former being sur- 

 rounded with a narrow band of pure white. This re- 

 markable disposition of colour has obtained for it, from 

 the Creoles, the fanciful name of the Widow monkey; 

 the whiteness of the face, neck, and arms being com- 

 pared to the veil, handkerchief, and gloves worn in 

 its native country by widows. It is described as par- 

 ticularly gentle and timid, except when a small bird. 



