MARMOSET MONKEYS 



intruder. In Para, Midas ursulus is often seen in a tame 

 state in the houses of the inhabitants. When full grown 

 it is about nine inches long, independently of the tail, 

 which measures fifteen inches. The fur is thick, and 

 black in colour, with the exception of a reddish-brown 

 streak down the middle of the back. When first taken, 

 or when kept tied up, it is very timid and irritable. It 

 will not allow itself to be approached, but keeps retreating 

 backwards when any one attempts to coax it. It is al- 

 ways in a querulous humour, uttering a twittering, com- 

 plaining noise ; its dark, watchful eyes, expressive of 

 distrust, observant of every movement which takes place 

 near it. When treated kindly, however, as it generally 

 is in the houses of the natives, it becomes very tame 

 and familiar. I once saw one as playful as a kitten, 

 running about the house after the negro children, who 

 fondled it to their heart's content. It acted somewhat 

 differently towards strangers, and seemed not to like 

 them to sit in the hammock which was slung in the room, 

 leaping up, trying to bite, and otherwise annoying them. 

 It is generally fed on sweet fruits, such as the banana ; 

 but it is also fond of insects, especially soft-bodied spiders 

 and grasshoppers, which it will snap up with eagerness 

 when within reach. The expression of countenance in 

 these small monkeys is intelligent and pleasing. This is 

 partly owing to the open facial angle, which is given as 

 one of 60° ; but the quick movements of the head, and 

 the way they have of inclining it to one side when their 

 curiosity is excited, contribute very much to give them 

 a knowing expression. Anatomists who have dissected 

 species of Midas telJ us that the brain is of a very low 

 type, as far as the absence of convolutions goes, the sur- 

 face being as smooth as that of a squirrel's. I should 

 conclude, at once, that this character is an unsafe guide 

 in judging on the mental qualities of these animals ; in 

 mobility of expression of countenance, intelligence, and 

 general manners, these small monkeys resemble the higher 

 apes far more than they do any Rodent animal with 

 which I am acquainted. 



On the Upper Amazons I once saw a tame individual 

 of the Midas leoninus, a species first described by Hum- 

 boldt, which was still more playful and intelligent than 

 the one just described. This rare and beautiful little 

 monkey is only seven inches in length, exclusive of the 



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