446 



ANIMALS OF EGA 



the muzzle is not at all prominent ; the mouth and chin 

 are small ; the ears are very short, scarcely appearing 

 above the hair of the head ; and the eyes are large and 

 yellowish in colour, imparting the staring expression of 

 nocturnal animals of prey. The forehead is whitish, and 

 decorated with three black stripes, which in one of the 

 species (Nyctipithecus trivirgatus) continue to the crown, 

 and in the other (N. felinus) meet on the top of the fore- 

 head. N. trivirgatus was first described by Humboldt, 

 who discovered it on the banks of the Cassiquiare, near the 

 head waters of the Rio Negro. 



One cannot help being struck by this curious modifi- 

 cation of the American type of monkeys, for the owl- 

 faced night apes have evidently sprung from the same 

 stock as the rest of the Cebidae, as they do not differ 

 much in all essential points from the Whaiapu-sais 

 (Callithrix), and the Sai-miris (Chrysothrix). They have 

 nails of the ordinary form to all their fingers, and semi- 

 opposable thumbs; but the molar teeth (contrary to 

 what is usual in the Cebidae) are studded with sharp 

 points, showing that their natural food is principally 

 insects. 



I kept a pet animal of the N. trivirgatus for many 

 months, a young one having been given to me by an 

 Indian compadre, as a present from my newly-baptised 

 godson. These monkeys, although sleeping by day, are 

 aroused by the least noise ; so that, when a person passes 

 by a tree in which a number of them are concealed, he 

 is startled by the sudden apparition of a group of little 

 striped faces crowding a hole in the trunk. It was in 

 this way that my compadre discovered the colony from 

 which the one given to me was taken. I was obliged to 

 keep my pet chained up ; it therefore never became 

 thoroughly familiar. I once saw, however, an individual 

 of the other species (N. felinus) which was most amusingly 

 tame. It was as lively and nimble as the Cebi, but not 

 so mischievous and far more confiding in its disposition, 

 delighting to be caressed by all persons who came into 

 the house. But its owner, the Municipal Judge of Ega, 

 Dr. Carlos Mariana, had treated it for many weeks with 

 the greatest kindness, allowing it to sleep with him at 

 night in his hammock, and to nestle in his bosom half the 

 day as he lay reading. It was a great favourite with 

 every one, from the cleanliness of its habits and the 



