Quadrupeds. 3325 



felling timber, a number of them being concealed in a hollow tree, but 

 this was the only one he secured alive. It is not at all uncommon 

 there, and throughout the river Solimoens or Upper Amazons, as every 

 one who saw my animal knew it. They say it lives in numbers in the 

 hollows of trees (Humboldt, I believe, states that it lives in pairs), and 

 that, whilst sleeping in the day-time, it is sensitive to the least dis- 

 turbance ; so that when a person passes by a tree where they are 

 concealed, he is startled to see, aroused from their sleep, a number of 

 little striped owl-eyed faces crowding a hole in the tree-trunk. It is 

 a very singular animal, in its manners and general appearance very 

 different from the typical monkeys, but showing by the structure of 

 its hands and nails that it is very little removed from them. Its head 

 is small and round, the face short, the muzzle not at all prominent; the 

 separation of the nostrils narrow, mouth and chin small. The ears 

 short, scarcely appearing above the fur of the head ; the eyes large, 

 owl-like, and of an ochreous brown colour. The nails of the fingers 

 are slightly convex and rather narrow ; the tail not prehensile. The 

 molar teeth are studded with sharp points, showing that part of its 

 natural food is insects. The size of the animal, which I am told is 

 yet young, is as follows : — length of the body 10 inches, of the tail 

 12 inches. The colour of the fur, which is throughout soft and thick 

 like that of the rabbit, is generally brownish gray, rather black on the 

 crown and tip of the tail, speckled gray on the outside of the legs, and 

 ochreous white on the under surface of the body. On the forehead it 

 has the distinguishing marks which suggested the specific name, viz., 

 three longitudinal black stripes, the rest of the face being whitish. 



The name by which the Aotes trivirgatus is known on the Upper 

 Amazons is Ei-a. I suppose it must have been met with by Dr. Nat- 

 terer, who explored so well several portions of the Upper Amazons. 

 When I brought it down with me to Para, I showed it to many per- 

 sons at various places on the Lower Amazons, but no one appeared to 

 know it. Since then I have been assured by several persons that it is 

 found on the island of Marajo, and its peculiar habits were accurately 

 described ; they say it grows to twice the size, and becomes paler in 

 colour. Its manners in confinement are such as one would expect 

 from its habits in its natural state, and very different from those of the 

 lively Cebi, so many species of which are kept in this country as pets. 

 It sleeps during the day, seeking for this purpose any crevice where it 

 can avoid the light, which seems painful to it. I put mine in an old 

 chest, where I had a number of broad-mouthed glass jars; it selected 

 one as its hiding-place, bolting in head first when alarmed, and turn- 



