MOUNTAIN FAUNAS 77 



monkey of the Himalayas is one of the langurs, a group 

 of slender-limbed, leaf-eating forms widely distributed 

 over South-eastern Asia. The particular species is 

 Semnopithecus schistaceus, and the animal occurs at 

 heights up to 12,000 feet. All who have seen it in 

 its native home speak of the peculiar effect of the 

 animal among the snow-covered pines and deodars 

 there, and the number of forms found on the lower 

 ground in India and the adjacent region proves that 

 the acquisition of the moimtain habitat in this case 

 must be recent. The Himalayan form is very closely 

 related to the common sacred monkey of India, and 

 while sharing with its aUies the usual adaptations to 

 arboreal Hfe — ^to be described later — ^it does not seem 

 to show any special fitness for mountain life. Better 

 adapted for hfe at high elevations is the Tibetan langur 

 [S. roxellanae), which hves in the forested regions of the 

 east of Tibet, especially in the vicinity of Lake Kuku 

 Nor, and also extends into China. It is found at 

 elevations of over 10,000 feet, and migrates to some 

 extent according to the seasons, but never descends to. 

 the region of cultivated land, the district plundered 

 so frequently by the low ground forms. The Tibetan 

 langur is somewhat stouter in build and shorter in the 

 limbs than the other forms, and has a curious tip- 

 tilted nose, whose use is imknown, unless it has any- 

 thing to do with facihtating respiration at these high 

 altitudes. The hair is very long, and the skin is greatly 

 prized by the Chinese on this account. The animal is 

 stated to live chiefly on ' fruits ', but no doubt the 

 seeds of the mountain trees are also important. As 

 the other monkeys of China are species of Macacus, 

 there can be no doubt that the Tibetan form has found 

 its way into China from the south, through the moun- 



