302 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



well as the fruit of which serve them for food. In confine- 

 ment they are more solid than the generality of monkeys. 



The black howling monkey, or Caraya of Azara, is de- 

 scribed at some length by that writer, who has however 

 confounded it with the Coaita Simia paniscus. The native 

 term Caraya seems to signify master of the woods, appa- 

 rently from the habits of the animals — they are found in 

 families of from four to ten individuals, every male having 

 three or four females. The male or chief of this little state 

 mounts the greatest elevations, apparently^ watch over his 

 subordinates who never move till he has led the way. 



Azara confirms the account of the extreme difficulty of 

 getting at these animals even with the aid of the gun ; for 

 when mortally wounded they coil the tail round a branch, 

 and hang by it with the head downwards for days after 

 death, and until, in fact, decomposition begins to take effect. 



There are now eight species of Ateles described, viz., 

 1. The Chamek, a. Pentadactylus. 2. The Coaita, a. Pani- 

 cus. 3. The Cayou, which is named also Ateles Ater. 4. The 

 Beelzebut, our author's Coaita a ventre blanc. (see text.) 

 5. The Margine, a. Marginatus, the Baron's Coaita a, face 

 hordee. 6. The Arachnoide, a. Arachnoides, in our text the 

 fawn-coloured Coaita. 7. The Hypozanthus (Geoff.) 8. The 

 (Melanochir. ibid.) 



A few words on the group generally wanting the thumb 

 or the fore-hands, may not be uninteresting. The Ateles 

 (imperfect) do not all deserve this name in its rigorous 

 acceptation, since there are two species which possess 

 a thumb, though in a rudimental state. They form how- 

 ever, a very fixed and determined group, if not by organic 

 characters, at least by habits, manners, inclinations, and 

 natural disposition in general. They are animals essen- 

 tially formed to live in trees. When on the ground, nothing 

 can be more awkward and embarrassed than all their mo- 

 tions. They drag themselves along rather than walk, ad- 



