THE ABYSSINIAN GREEN MONKEY 



whiskers grow upwards and backwards over the ears. The western species, the 

 aforesaid C. callitrichus, lacks the white brow-band present in the Abyssinian 

 species and nearly all the other members of the group ; the species forming the 

 subject of the plate being further distinguished by the black-speckled yellowish olive 

 colour of the fur of the back, the long, white whiskers, sharply defined from the 

 hair of the rest of the head, and the presence of a tuft of hair at the root of the tail. 



Guenons may be regarded as some of the most typical of all monkeys, and 

 those in which monkey-tricks attain their fullest development. They live more on 

 fruits and seeds than either the guerezas or the langurs, which feed largely on leaves 

 and the young shoots of trees. Guenons are indeed probably to some extent omni- 

 vorous, whereas the members of the other two groups are wholly herbivorous. This 

 difference in the matter of diet is correlated with the presence of cheek-pouches and 

 the simple character of the stomach in the guenons, whereas the other two groups 

 lack pouches in the cheek, but, in compensation, have the stomach folded and 

 divided in a complex manner. 



In their native forests green monkeys and their relatives associate in large 

 troops, which keep up a constant chattering, and each of which is under the 

 leadership and control of an old male. Each troop appears to have its own 

 particular territory in the forest ; and if one party intrude on the domain of its 

 neighbour, a fierce contest takes place, which does not end until the invaders 

 have been driven out or have proved themselves the stronger. A survival of 

 this custom may be noticed even among monkeys in a menagerie, where each 

 species or individual will take up one portion of the cage for its own particular 

 use, and resolutely defend it against the other occupants of the enclosure. 



From the other members of the genus the patas monkey (C. ftatas) and its 

 relatives are specially distinguished by their red colouring and large size, and they 

 should perhaps form a genus by themselves. 



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