THE GIBBONS. 



151 



lies, and are the rarest of all the Sumatra Gibbons. Their agility is al- 

 most that of a bird, and perceiving the approach of danger at an immense 

 distance, they immediately take flight. Climbing rapidly to the tops of 

 the trees, the Varied Gibbon seizes the most flexible branch, and balanc- 

 in" itself two or three times before making its spring, clears a distance of 

 fourteen or fifteen yards, several times in succession, without showing 

 any signs of fatigue. When in confinement, though still active, it 

 exhibits no signs of this extraordinary muscular power. Its abilities are 

 not very considerable, yet it seems susceptible of some slight education, 

 is inquisitive, familiar, sometimes gay, but always greedy. Its forehead is 

 very low, and its larynx destitute of any membraneous sac. 



3. PIYLOBATES LEUCISCUS ASH-GREY GIBBON. 



Si/n- Ee Gieeon CENoaE. — Cuv. Reg. Anira. I. 90. 



PiTHECUS LEUCISCUS. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX Desm. Mam. 



SiJUA LEircisCA Fisch. Syn. Mam. 



Hylobates LEUCISCUS Kuhl, Beitr. 6 F. Cuv. Diet, des Sc. Nat. 



XXXVI. 289.— Geoff. Cours, Le . 7. 



Die aschgraue Gibbon. — Voi'^t, Thierr. I. 77. 



White Gibbon. — Sliaw, Gen. Zool. I. 12. 



The Wow-wow.' — Ham. Smitli, Syn. — Jard. Syn. 

 Icon. Le Moloch. — Audeb. Sing. 



SuUA LEUCiscA Schreb. Saiigth. pi. 3, B. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Hair soft and woolly, of a uniform ash-grey; the face black, or dark 

 grey ; the circle round the face clear grey. 



Callosities very large. 



Inhabits the Molucca and Sonda Islands. 



This species lives among the reeds, and climbs the highest stems 

 of the bamboo, balancing itself on them by means of its long arms. 

 This is also called VVouwou by the natives. 



The black face of the Ash-Grey Gibbon contrasts forcibly with the co- 

 lour of the hair on the rest of the body. Its height is rather more than 

 three feet. The habits of this Gibbon are little known, our knowledge 

 of it resting merely upon two specimens in the Paris Museum, and a few 

 observations made by Camper upon the living animal. 



i. HYLOBATES RAFFLESII.— RAFFLES' GIBBOM. 



Si/n. Le Gibbon Ounko, Hylobates Rafflki — Geoff. Cours. Lee. 7. 



SiMiA Rafflesil — Fisch. Syn. Mam. Suppl. 



PiTHECUS Ear. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX. 



■Slmja Lar Ungka-etam. — Raffles in ilie Linn. Trans. XHI. 242. 



SiMiA CONCOLOR Fiscli. Syn. Mam. 



HvLOB.\TES Rafflei. — Isid. Geoff, in Belang. Voy. 



SlJUA HooLOCK. — Harlan in the Transactions of the American Philo- 

 sophical Society. 



The Hoolock ( II. Hoolock). — Jard. Syn. 

 Icon, Ounko, male et fem.— Geoff, et F. Cuv. Hist. Mam. 



Sdiia CONCOLOR Harlan, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. V. pi. 9. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 

 THE MALE. 



Hair blSck, changing to brown according to the angle at which the 

 light is reflected, eyebrows white, and cheeks grey. 

 Callosities small. 



THE FEMALE. 



Hair of the eyebrows clear grey, and cheeks black, elsewhere resem- 

 bling the male. 



Inhabits Sumatra, and the territory of Assam in British India. 



This animal, called Unglca-etam by the Malays, is smaller than the 

 Varied Gibbon, which it resembles in most other respects, excepting co- 

 lour. It is confounded with the White-Handed Gibbon by the Baron 

 Cuvier, as well as hy its first describer, Sir Thomas' Stamford Raffles.- 



It has been stated that the females of this species have the fingers 

 united as in the Syndactylous Siam.ing ; such, however, is not the case, 

 as we are assured by M. Isidore Geoff'roy-St-Hilaire. 



To this species we must assign the Simia concolor and Simia Hoolock 

 of Dr Harlan, which some Naturalists would consider as distinct species. ^ 



Dr Burrough thus describes the habits of the latter animal. The 

 Hoolocks, he observes, " walk erect, and, when placed upon a floor, or 

 ' in an open field, balance themselves very prettily, by raising their arms 

 over their head, and slightly bending their arm at the wrist and elbow, 

 and then run tolerably fast, rocking from side to side ; and if urged to 

 greater speed, they let fall their hands to the ground, assist themselves 

 forward, rather jumping than running, still keeping the body, how- 

 ever, nearly erect. If they succeed in making their way to a grove of 

 trees, the}' then swing with such astonishing rapidity from branch to 

 branch, and from tree to tree, that they are soon lost in the jungle or 

 forest." To these particulars he adds among others, that the principal 

 food of the animal was the banana, that it was fond of spiders and flies, 

 but disliked flesh ; that its temper was mild, and its cry loud and shrill, 

 consisting of whoo-whoo-whoo, repeated for five or ten minutes without 

 intermission. 



5. HYLOBATES SYNDACTYLU.S SYNDACTYLOUS GIBBON. 



Syn. Le Siamang. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 90. 



PiTHECUS SYNDACTYLUS Desm. Mam. Suppl. 531. 



Simia syndactyla. — Raffles in the Linn. Trans. XIII — Fisch, Syn. 

 Mam. 



Hylobates syndactylus. — Isid. Geoff, in Belang. Voy. 



The Siamang Ham. Smith, Syn. — Jard. Syn Stark, Elem.* 



Icon. SiAJiANG F. Cuv. et Geoff. Hist Mam. 



Suu A syndactyla — Horsf. Zool. Jav.s 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 

 THE MALE. 



The Hinder Hands with the first and second phalanges of tlie index 

 and middle fingers united by the integuments. 

 The Throat with a large naked space beneath. 

 Callosities small. 

 The Hair generally black, reddish upon the eyebrows and chin. 



the female. 

 The Hinder Hands with the first phalanx only of the index and middle 

 fingers united : otherwise resembling the male. 

 Inhabits Sumatra. 



We must now notice the Syndactylous Gibbon, as being the most 

 remarkable species of this genus, from its having the first and se- 

 cond fingers of the hinder hands united together by a narrow inem- 

 brane reaching the entire length of the first phalanx [m the females, 

 and to the end of the second phalanx in the inales]. The animals 

 of this species live together in numerous troops, which are conduct- 

 ed by brave and vigilant leaders, making the forests resound with 

 their deafening cries at the rising and setting of the sun. The 

 larynx is supplied with a membraneous sao. 



These animals are very common in the forests of Sumatra. They are 

 slow in their motions, dull and stupid ; they climb without security, and 

 leap without agility, so that, on surprising them, they are easily captured, 

 yet they can hear a noise at the distance of a mile from the object, when 

 they immediately take fright and abscond. If found upon the ground 

 apart from trees, they are sure to be taken. At first they attempt to 

 flee, but their body being too high and heavy for their short and meagre 

 thighs, inclines forward, and their arms performing the oftice of stilts, 

 they advance forward by jerks like a lame old man, whom fear lias com- 

 pelled to make a great effort. However numerous the troop, a wounded 

 Syndactylous Gibbon is deserted by his companions, except it be a young 

 one, when the mother, who carries, or stands near her progeny, falls 

 with it, and raising a hideous yell, throws herself with open mouth and 

 extended arms upon the assailant. The care which the mothers bestow 

 on their young is very remarkable, and M. Duvaucel, by means of proper 

 precautions, li^as seen them carefully washing their progeny in the river, 

 regardless of the cries of the young ones. This species often falls an 

 easy prey to the Tiger, through the paralyzing influence of fear. 



In respect to their intelligence, the Syndactylous Gibbons stand nearly 

 the lowest of the Monkey tribe. They are almost equally insensible to 

 kind or unkind treatment. Hatred, as well as gratitude, are alike strangers 

 to these animated machines. Mostly in a crouching posture, lolied up 



1 This practice of adopting the barbarous and vernacular names of animals as specific, is certain to plunge the science into mejmcable con usion Thus the name » o»- 

 wou is applied by the Malays indiscriminately to the Varied and Ash-grey Gibbons, and the appellation Ounko, both to Raffles and the White-handed Gibbon t^ava.es are 

 not likely to care much about specific distinctions, and all such terms as Ounko, Wowwow, Siamang, Hoolock, should be suppressed, wherever their use is likely to be a.- 



,'° '» DLriiTivT Catalogue of a Zoological Collection, made on account of the Hon. East India Company, in the Island of Sumatra and its vicinity, by Sir Thomas S. Raffles, 

 in the Transactions of the Linnjean Society, vol. Xlll. London, 1818-22. , , ., , ^ t .i, c-i u „ «f p ,«?„, 



3 After an attentive enamination of the characters assiRned to these animals, we can find nothing which cannot be stated with equal correctness of the Gibbon of Raffles, 

 excepting the alleged absence of callosities, v^hich has probably arisen from want of care in the stuffing of the specimens. 



* Stark, Elem — Elements of Natural History, by John Stark. Edinburgh, 1828. 



5 HoBSF. ZooL. Jav Zoological Researches in Java and the neighbouring Islands, by Dr Thomas Horsfield. London, 1S15. 



