546 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



whiskers and beard being white, with a defined, round, white 

 spot on the nose, covered with short white hair, which gives to 

 the animal an almost ludicrous aspect. The Semnopithecus fron- 

 tatus likewise has a blackish face with a long black beard, and 

 a large naked spot on the forehead of a bluish-white color. The 

 face of the Macacus lasiotus is dirty flesh-colored, with a defined 

 red spot on each cheek. The appearance of Cercocebus asthiops 

 iis grotesque, with its black face, white whiskers and collar, chest- 

 nut head, and a large naked white spot over each eyelid. In very 

 many species, the beard, whiskers, and crests of hair round the 

 face are of a different color from the rest of the head, and when 

 different, are always of a lighter tint," being often pure white, 

 sometimes bright yellow, or reddish. The whole face of the South 

 American Brachyurus calvus is of a "glowing scarlet hue;" but 

 this color does not appear until the animal is nearly mature." 

 The naked skin of the face differs wonderfully in color in the 

 various species. It is often brown or fiesh-color, with parts per- 

 fectly white, and often as black as that of the most sooty negro. 

 In the Brachyurus the scarlet tint is brighter than that of the 

 most blushing Caucasian damsel. It is sometimes more distinctly 

 orange than in any Mongolian, and in several species it is blue, 

 passing into violet or gray. In all the species known to Mr. Bart- 

 lett, in which the adults of both sexes have strongly-colored 

 faces, the colors are dull or absent during early youth. This like- 

 wise holds good with the mandrill and Rhesus, in which the face 

 and the posterior parts of the body are brilliantly colored in one 

 sex alone. In these latter cases we have reason to believe that 

 the colors were acquired through sexual selection; and we are 

 naturally led to extend the same view to the foregoing species, 

 though both sexes when adult have their faces colored in the 

 same manner. 



Although many kinds of monkeys are far from beautiful accord- 

 ing to our taste, other species are universally admired for their 

 elegant appearance and bright colors. The Semnopithecus ne- 

 msBus, though peculiarly colored, is described as extremely pretty; 

 the orange-tinted face is surrounded by long whiskers of glossy 

 whiteness, with a line of chestnut-red over the eyebrows; the 

 fur on the back is of a delicate gray, with a square patch on the 

 loins, the tail and the fore-arms being of a pure white; a gorget 

 of chestnut surmounts the chest; the thighs are black, with tbe 

 legs chestnut red. I will mention only two other monkeys for 

 their beauty; and I have selected these as presenting slight sex- 



'" I observed this fact in the Zoological Gardens; and many cases 

 may be seen in the colored plates in Geofflroy St.-Hilaire and P. Cu- 

 vier, 'Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes,' torn. i. 1824. 



" Bates, 'The Naturalist on the Amazons,' 1S63, vol. ii. p. 310. 



