■MAMMALIA. Simiad.®. 
"^0 Quadrdmana. 
which they acquire a formidable length as compared 
with the size of the animal ; and from their being acute 
at the point, and very sharp along the hinder edge, 
they constitute most dangerous weapons, which the old 
males of most species know well how to use. 
Besides the presence of cheek-pouches, the Cerco- 
pitheci present another character of distinction from 
the Indian Semnopitheci and the African Colobi, 
which, although of secondary importance, and common 
to them and many of the macaques and baboons, it is 
still necessary to mention. This is the annulated 
nature of the fur, arising from the individual hairs not 
being of the same coloirr from the root to the tip, but 
marked with rings of different colours, by which means 
the fur acquires a minutely speckled appearance ; and 
the general tint of the animal is usually quite different 
from any of the distinct colours which are to be found 
in its fur. 
In their structure and form, as in their character, 
these animals may be regarded as tbe types of our 
notion of a monkey ; they are nearly equally removed 
from the apes on the one hand, and from the baboons 
on the other. Unlike the mild and gentle Semnopi- 
theci and Colobi, they are petulant, capricious, and 
often spiteful, especially when old ; whilst on the other 
hand they are, for the most part, free from the sullen- 
ness and moroseness which are usually characteristic 
of the baboons. They live in the forests, each species 
usually confining itself to some particular district, 
where the animals live in large troops, under the 
chieftainship of the old males ; and the inroads of one 
species or tribe upon tbe I'egion over which another 
has arrogated the dominion to itself, are highly resented 
by the latter, of which the whole community imme- 
diately unites to repel the aggression. Even in confine- 
ment this party feeling is maintained; and it is not 
uncommon in large menageries, where numerous 
monkeys of different kinds are kept in the same cage, 
to see those of one species combine their powers to 
defend one of their brethren against the bullying of 
some larger occupant of their common prison. In their 
native forests, these monkeys keep at a distance from 
human habitations, and usually frequent the banks of 
streams. They feed principally upon fruits and seeds, 
but also eat the buds and young shoots of trees, and 
occasionally diversify this vegetable diet with a repast 
of birds’ eggs or insects, although they appear to be less 
addicted to atiimal food than the baboons. 
The genus Cercopithecus includes those monkeys of 
the Old World which are most commonly brought to 
Europe, and also those which have most frequently 
produced young ones in our menageries. The female, 
under these circumstances, carries the young one in 
her arms until it has acquired strength enough to cling 
firmly to her hair, when, having all her hands at 
liberty, she is able to spring and climb about with as 
much activity as if she had no burden. The male is 
sometimes, if not always, an exceedingly bad father, 
quarrelling with the female, and ill-treating the young 
one. M. Is. Geoffrey St. Hilaiie, mentions, that in 
1837, when a female of the Grivet {C. Griseus) had 
a young one in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, the 
male was obliged to be removed, in consequence of his 
unnatural behaviour to his infant offspring ; while, in 
the very next cage, several male baboons were to be 
seen surrounding two females with their young ones, 
caressing the two mothers with the most lively demon- 
strations of tenderness, pressing them in their arms, 
embracing them almost like human beings, and quar- 
relling amongst themselves for the pleasure of nursing 
the little ones, which, after passing from arm to arm, 
were faithfully returned, each to its own mother.” 
Of the numerous species of this genus known to 
naturalists, we can only mention a few. Amongst 
these — 
THE TAIAPOIN (^Cercopithecus Talapoiri) is the 
one which, in the gentleness of its disposition and the 
slenderness of its form, would appear to approach most 
closely to the preceding monkeys ; it has been separ- 
ated by Geoffrey as a distinct genus, on account of the 
large development of its brain, the shortness of its 
muzzle, and especially the small size of its hinder 
molars, of which those of the lower jaw have only 
three tubercles. 
The talapoin is the smallest of the monkeys of the 
Old World. Its fur is of a greenish tint, with the 
lower surface of the body and the inside of the 
limbs greyish -wh ite ; the hairs of the forehead are 
raised, so as to form a sort. of tuft; the whiskers are 
jmllowish, and the face flesh-coloured, with the nose 
and ears dark-brown or black. It is a native of 
Western Africa, but is less commonlj- brought into 
Europe than many other species inhabiting the same 
locality, although its gentleness and intelligence ren- 
der it one of the most interesting of the Old World 
monke 3 's. In captivity it is very lively and amusing. 
THE MONE ( Cercopithecus Mona) is a species nearly 
related to the talapoin, which it resembles in the ele- 
gance of its form, and in its intelligence. It is a little 
larger than the talapoin, but is still one of the smallest 
of the Simiadse, and its colours are very beautiful. 
The head is of an olive-green colour, mixed with 
golden-yellow ; the forehead is covered with whitish 
hairs, and on each side of the face is a large bushy 
whisker of a straw colour; the back and sides are 
brilliant chestnut, mottled with black ; the legs and 
tail are black, speckled with grey, and on each hip, 
immediately in front of tbe root of the tail, is an oval 
spot of the purest white — a character which is peculiar 
to this species ; the throat, the lower part of the body, 
and the inner surface of the limbs, are also pure 
white. 
The mone inhabits the western coast of Africa, and 
is usually brought to Europe from Senegal. Its name 
of Mona is a sort of generic name for monkey in some 
parts of the south of Europe, and was applied to this 
species by Buflbn, who also identified it with the Cehus 
of the ancients, although without sufficient reason. 
In confinement it exhibits a remarkable amount of 
amiabilitjq being more docile and less petulant and 
capricious than most other monkeys, so that it may be 
allowed far more liberty, although the males not unfre- 
quently change their character for the worse as they 
increase in age. M. E. Cuvier has published an inter- 
esting account of an individual of this species, which 
lived from its youth upwards in the menagerie at Paris, 
