62 



THE APES AND MONKEYS. 



not graceful, for the hind limbs are the longest. 

 They climb and jump to perfection. On their noc- 

 turnal wanderings they easily succeed in capturing 

 sleeping birds. Insects are also welcome and caught 

 very dexterously. From time to time they utter a 

 hollow, loud sound, which has been likened by 



SQUIBBEL lUONSETS. Here are two of these merry and lively 



little creatures iperched in a palm tree, the fruit of which one of them holds in 

 his hands. They are exceedingly timid, fleeing at the slightest alarm, and in 

 this picture they are depicted as preparing to take flight from real or fancied 

 da^er. {Chrysoihrix sciurea.) 



travelers to the distant call of a Jaguar. They ex- 

 press anger by a repeated " grr, grr, grr, grr." 



Z\ic flDarmoset0. 



THIRD FAMILY: Arctopitheci. 



Several naturalists see in the Marmosets only a 

 variety of the preceding genus and class the two 

 together : but we think that their distinguishing 

 features are marked enough for us to treat them as 

 two distinct groups. 



The Marmoset has a round head, a short flat face, 

 small eyes, large ears, sometimes adorned with tufts, 

 a slim body and short limbs, a bushy tail and silky 

 fur. The claws on the fingers and toes are small 

 and narrow, except those of the thumb-toes, which 

 are broad and nail-like. The claw-like hands, whose 

 thumbs cannot be opposed to the other fingers — this 

 peculiarity is not noticeable in the feet — have really 

 become paws in this genus, and the feet only are 

 similar to those of other Monkeys. 

 Haunts and The Marmosets have a very wide 



Habits of range, being found in Mexico, Central 



Marmosets. America and South America to the 

 southern limits of Brazil. They occur in greater 

 variety and numbers in Brazil, Guiana and Peru, 

 Mexico affording but two kinds. How high they 

 ascend the mountains has not been determined ; 



Schomburgk saw them at an elevation of i,6oo feet, 

 but it is believed they inhabit much greater altitudes 

 in the Andes range. 



All Marmosets are arboreal or tree-livmg, m the 

 true sense of the word. They inhabit not only the 

 damp, stately forests of the coast and the valleys, 

 but also the stunted, bushlike woods in the inner 

 parts of the continent. In their traits and habits 

 they resemble Squirrels as much as they do Monk- 

 eys. They never sit erect as Monkeys frequently 

 do but roam from tree to tree on the thick boughs, 

 using their claws exactly like Squirrels. They have 

 never been seen to go erect, and in walking they 

 place the sole of the foot flat upon the ground. 

 Still, in eating, they will often raise their bodies, 

 like the Squirrel, when bearing food to their mouths. 



Special Traits I" other respects they also resemble 

 of the the Squirrels very much ; possessing 



Marmosets. the same restlessness and the same 

 shyness and timidity. The little head of the Mar- 

 moset never rests, even for a moment, and the glance 

 of the dark eyes wanders hurriedly from one object 

 to another and seemingly with little understanding, 

 the animal evidently thinking of something else all 

 the time. I do not wish it understood that I thus 

 credit the Marmosets with great ideas ; on the con- 



SILKY TAMARIN. The Silky Tamarins are noteworthy for the 



beauty of their fur. Their hair is soft, long and of a chestnut color, 

 and forms into two tufts over the ears ; while the tail is long and bushy. 

 They inhabit Brazil, and are about the size of a common Squirrel. 

 (Haiiale Rosalia.) 



trary, I believe them to be the dullest of all Monk- 

 eys, creatures with decidedly limited intellect, whose 

 thinking capabilities are probably not any greater 

 than those of the Squirrel. Timid, distrustful, re- 

 served, petty and forgetful, the Marmoset seems 

 to act unconsciously and to be carried away by mo- 



