172 
NATURAL HISTORY . 
Black Howler, wlio was twenty-eight inches in length. Tlic skin of the face of a Barrigudo is black 
and wrinkled, the forehead is low, and the eyebrows project ; and, in short, the features resemble in 
a striking manner those of an old negro. It is not an active animal in the forests, and lives 
exclusively on fruits, but is much persecuted by the Indians on account of the excellence of its 
flesh as food. From information given to Mr. Bates he calculated that one troop of these Indians 
numbering about 200, destroyed 1,200 Monkeys a year for food. Consequently they are diminishing 
in numbers, and are not found on the Lower Amazon at all. Its manners in captivity are grave, and 
its temper is mild and confiding. Owing to these traits the Barrigudo is much sought after as a pet; 
but it is not hardy, and seldom survives a journey down the river. 
There are five species of the Woolly Monkeys, and they are found in the valley of the Upper 
Amazon and along the slopes of the Andes to Venezuela and Bolivia (Wallace). 
THE SPIDER MONKEYS— THE THUMBLESS MONKEYS OF AMERICA.* 
Many early travellers recorded that during their wanderings by the sides of the rivers of the 
northern part of South America, and in the Isthmus of Panama, small troops of dark-coloured 
Monkeys could be seen rushing along amongst the trees, swinging under the branches, and feeding 
upon berries. Sometimes they would stop on the lower branches of the trees and look at the 
intruders; but usually they scampered off, swinging with them front limbs and clasping with the 
hinder, having their stout and long tail ready for emergencies. Their length of limb, slender bodies, 
long hair, and their long tail, by which they suspend themselves, and their extremely variable move- 
ments, soon gave them the name of Spider Monkeys amongst those interested in their habits, although, 
of course, the natives had some names of their own for them. 
Humboldt saw them in the great virgin forests of Brazil, hanging in curious clusters, clasping 
each other by means of their limbs and tails, and all being suspended by the tail of one strong fellow. 
He was, as everybody must be, greatly impressed with their clever use of their tails, for he observed 
them being used as a fifth member, and with all the dexterity of hands. The natives will have it 
that they fish with their tails, but this is of course untrue, and they do not carry anything to their 
mouths with them. They are wonderful swingers and claspers, and they are exquisitely sensitive at 
the tip and for some inches underneath it, and they are .stout where they join the body, exceedingly 
muscular, and in some kinds there are long hairs on them, especially near the end. 
These Monkeys have small heads, long necks, and exceedingly long arms and legs ; some are 
covered with a soft fur, and in others it is harsh, and the hairs arc long and rigid ; and all have the 
thumbs of the hands either absent or just visible as slight projections. The feet are long and have 
well-shaped toe-tlmmbs. Their head is round, and the muzzle only projects slightly, so that 
there is something human in their appearance, especially when their large eyes are open ; and the 
hair in some kinds is brushed forwards on the cheeks and brows so as to resemble wliiskers and 
front hair. There is something in their shape, without the tail, which reminds one of the Gibbons, 
those long-armed Apes of the Fast, and the fore-hands resemble those of the Colobi of Africa (page 
100) ; but the Spider Monkeys have not the power of jumping possessed by these, and their hind legs, 
useful as they are when amidst the great trailing orchids and the climbers of the American 
tropics, are feeble members when on the ground. Then the Monkey walks on the outside edge of the 
feet, and on the inside edge of the hand, with its tail feeling here and there for anything to catch 
hold of. Often they are very sedate and slow in their movements, like the Semnopitlieci of India, 
and they indulge in a series of climbings from bough to bough, swinging from one to the other, and 
holding on now and then and assisting in the movement with the tail. They are as gentle in their 
manners as those just mentioned, and are full of play with each other. 
Their teeth resemble those of the Howlers, but the eye teeth, or canines, are smaller, and the 
crushing teeth, or molars, are rounder. 
From the defective thumbs, all these Monkeys as a group or genus have been termed “imperfect- 
handed,” and therefore two Greek words which convey these terms arex^s (imperfect), and X ^P ( tlie 
hand), have been conjoined in the word Atelocliirus, of which Ateles is used as an abbreviation. 
* Ateles. 
