40 Quadrumana. MAMMALIA. Cebid^. 
nate monkeys, opening their prizes incautiously, were 
severely stung. But this was never afterwards the 
case ; for, becoming wise b}’^ experience, they always 
held the pa[)ers up to their ears before opening them. 
The species most frequently brought to Europe is the 
Brown Sajou, or Weeper Monkey {Cebus Apella), 
which is exceedingly abundant in Guiana, and also 
occurs in Brazil and other parts of South America. It 
measures about fourteen inches to the root of the tail, 
which is between two and three inches longer than 
the bod}'. It is of a reddish-brown colour, darker on 
the back, head, limbs, and tail, but with the upper part 
of the arms tawny or greyish-yellow. 
THE COAITA {Ateles Paniscus), Plate 2, fig. 6. The 
Coaita is one of the most widely distributed of the well- 
known American monkeys to which the name of Spi- 
der monkeys has been given, in allusion to the great 
length and slenderness of their limbs. It is found over 
the greater part of the South American continent, 
from Brazil and Guiana in the West, to Peru in the 
East. In common with the other species of its genus 
{Ateles), it is totally destitute of thumbs on the anterior 
members, which thus consist only of four fingers, the 
only trace of the thumb being an imperfect metacarpal 
bone, completely concealed within the skin. The tail, 
like the limbs, is very long, and exhibits a piece of 
naked callous skin on the lower surface at the tip; this, 
coupled with the great muscular power of the tail, ren- 
ders it, like that of the howlers, a most powerful pre- 
hensile organ, and the animals use it freely as a fifth 
hand in almost all the transactions of life. The agility 
of movement displayed by these curious creatures when 
springing freely about in their arboreal home, is in a 
great degree due to this fifth hand; grasping a branch 
with it, they swing to and fro in the air, until gaining 
a sufficient impetus, they launch themselves towards 
some other object; and thus with the aid of the long 
limbs, passover great spaces with inconceivable rapidity. 
Even when confined in menageries they exhibit aston- 
ishing agility. We are told also by Dampier and 
Dacosta, that when these monkeys want to pass a 
river, or to get from one tree to another at a little 
distance, without descending to the ground, they form 
themselves into a sort of chain, each clinging to the 
other by his tail ; the whole then swing to and fro, until 
the lowest individual at the free end of the chain con- 
trives to get hold of the object to be attained, when he 
draws up the rest, and the whole pass over. 
The coaita measures about two feet in length to 
the root of the tail, and is covered with long black hair, 
except upon the face which is naked and brown. They 
live in the forests in troops, but frequently descend in 
search of nourishment to the plantations, especially the 
ludian-corn fields, which they plunder to an extent 
that is anything but agreeable to the owners. Their 
booty is carried off to be eaten at leisure in the woods, 
and here again the tail comes into play; for an old 
negro told Mr. Gardner, that he had often seen the 
coaita making off with three ears of Indian corn, one 
in its mouth, one under its arm, and the third in its 
tail. The coaita, and the other spider monkeys, also 
feed to a certain extent upon animal substances, such 
as insects, molluscs, birds’ eggs, and even small fishes ; 
and those which reside in the vicinit}' of the sea are 
said sometimes to descend to the coast, and regale 
themselves with marine luxuries, especially oysters, 
which they are ingenious enough to break between two 
stones. They are said also to adopt the same course 
with nuts which are too hard for their teeth to crack, 
and their general intelligence is very high, certainly 
higher than that of any other American monkeys, and 
inferior to that of few of the Old World. 
In captivity the coaita is very gentle, and soon 
becomes tame. It is impatient of cold, and rather 
melancholy in its aspect, but exceedingly amusing from 
its agile gambols. An interesting account of a tame 
coaita will be found in Mr. Gardner’s “ Travels in the 
interior of Brazil.” It became a favourite of his whole 
party, and especially cultivated the friendship of a 
large mastiff which accompanied them on their journey. 
On the march, Jerry, as the monkey was called, always 
rode on the back of his canine friend, but he was not 
at all pai ticular as to whether his face was towards the 
head or tail of the dog, except in going down hill, when 
he always turned his face forwai’ds; and to prevent 
himself from being ignominiously slipped over the head 
of his charger, made use of his tail as a crupper, by 
twisting its prehensile extremity round the root of the 
dog’s tail. 
THE SQUIEREL MONKEY {Callithrix sciureus), 
Plate 3, fig. 8. The Squirrel monkey, Saimiri or Tee 
Tee, is undoubtedl}' the prettiest, the most amiable, 
and probably the most intelligent of the whole tribe. 
The length of its head and body is only about ten 
inches ; its tail, which is scarcely prehensile, measures 
thirteen and a half ; its general colour is olive-grey, 
with the arms and legs reddish or orange-coloured; 
and the face is bare and whitish, with the nose black. 
Its eyes are large, soft, and lustrous, giving the little 
creature an expression of intelligence, heightened by 
the form of its head, in which the skull is of very large 
size as compared with the facial bones. The skull, 
with its inclosed brain, is in fact larger in proportion 
to the size of the animal than that of any other monkey, 
so that, if we may take the mere size of the brain as 
a measure of intelligence, we may easily account for 
the superiority of this interesting little creature. 
The squirrel monkey lives in the forests of Guiana 
and Brazil, feeding principally upon fruits and insects. 
Its tail is of little use to it in its arboreal gambols, but 
it appears to employ it in keeping itself warm, by wind- 
ing it round its body. In captivity it is gentle and 
affectionate, and one of the most interesting of the 
monkey tribe. Humboldt has given some interesting 
details with regard to individuals in his possession. 
When he spoke to them for some time, they listened 
with the most marked attention, but soon raised their 
hands to his lips, as if to catch the words as they 
escaped. They recognized the objects represented in 
engravings, even when not coloured ; and when the 
figures of insects and fruits were shown to them, they 
stretched out their hands towards the paper, and endea- 
voured to seize their simulated food. 
THE DOUKOIJCOTJLI {Nyciipithectis trimrgatiis). 
The large eyes of the delicate little squitrel monkeys 
to which we have just referred, indicate probably that 
