y ORDER QUADRUMANA. 
SUB-TRIBE II — CHALANURA.'— SAGOINS. 
SYNONYMS. 
GEOPiTHEci.(Geopitbfeques).— Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX. 1 12. 
Les SAGotrr.vs* (in part) Buff’. Hist. Nat. 
Les Saimibis, Leb Sakis, et Les Nqcthobes Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 103, 104. 
Callithbix (in part) Erxl. p. 55. 
CHARACTERS OF THE^SDB-TRIRE. 
The Tail not prehensile, or imperfectly so, generally bushy and long. 
The Habits diurnal or nocturnal. Hands always pentadactylous. 
The remainder of the American Apes either have the fail depressed, and imperfectly prehensile, or it is not at all prehensile, and hangs 
loosely downwards. The latter are known in general by the name of Sakts. 
GENUS Vr. CALLITHRIX.— SQUIRREL-MONKEYS. 
Syn. Callithrix. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX Kuhl Beitr. Desm. Main. 
Callitkhix (in part) Erxl. 
Saguinus. — L ess. Mam. 
GENERIC characters. 
The Head round. The Muzzle short. The Facial Angle about 
60°. The Eyes and Ears large. 
The Body and Li.mbs medium size. H.abits diurnal. 
The Tail longer than the body, and covered with short hairs. 
The Nails short and flat on the thumbs ; long and narrow on the 
fingers. 
Inhabit South America. 
The prettily coloured hair observed in some of the animals belonging 
to this Genus has occasioned the term Callithrix, or beautiful hair, to be 
applied to them, although it is not by any means applicable to all the 
species. The manners of the greater part of them are but little known. 
It has been ascertained, however, that they are in general very intelligent; 
that they live on fruits, insects, and sometimes on small birds, or other 
animal food, and that they occur abundantly in troops or small families, 
in the equatorial parts of the New World. Some of the species seem to 
be delicately sensible to slight alterations of temperature and moisture, 
and they soon languish and die under the influence of the heats of the 
low-grounds near the coast. 
Some authors, among whom is the Baron Cuvier, have separated the 
Varied Squirrel- Monkey (C. sciurea) from the remainder, on account of 
the superior development of its cranium ; but this circumstance does not 
appear, in our opinion, to be sufficient to justify a generic distinction. 
The eyes in all of them are of considerable size, and the orbits are com- 
pletely circular ; the internal ear is supplied with large auditory chambers. 
But in all the species, excepting the first, the cerebral cavity is not very 
capacious ; the occipital hole is placed more in arrear, and the interorbi- 
tal partition is wholly osseous. 
The dentition of the whole of this genus is very uniform. In the 
upper-jaw the incisor nearest the medial line is double the size of the ex- 
ternal one, their shape being alike, the lower margin is roundish, the 
outer side sloping, and the inner aspect much curved. The canine is of 
moderate size. T'lie first false molar is smaller than the other two, and 
they are all shaped alike. The last of the true grinders is smaller than the 
other two, and of a peculiar form, exhibiting two circular crests within 
its inner margin, and one on the outer. The teeth of the lower jaw 
correspond with the description above supplied of the Howlers, with the 
exception of the last molar. 
We are acquainted with eight species ; some of them, however, are but 
imperfectly known. Many imaginary species have to be expunged from 
the lists of our predecessors. 
In the first species (Les Saimiris of the Baron Cuvier), the tail 
is depressed, and scarcely ceases to be prehensile ; the head is very 
flat ; and there is a membraneous expansion at the interorbital par- 
tition of the skeleton. 
1. CALLITHRIX SCIUREA — VARIED SQUIRREL-MONKEY. ’ 
Syn, Le Saijuri Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 103. 
Callithrix sciureus. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX. — Desm. Mam. 
Sima sciurea. — Linn. Gmel. I. 
LeTitide L’Ork.nouue (S. sciurea) — Humb. Obs. Zool. p. 332 and 
357. 
Saguinus sciureus. — Less. Mam. 
Orange-Monkey. — Penn. Quadr. I. No. 137. 
Suuirrel-Monkey. — S haw, Gen. Zool. 1. 77. 
Icon. Saimiri — F. Cuv. ct Geoff. Hist. Mam. 
Le Saimiri. — .4udeb. Sing. — Buff. Hist. Nat. XV. pi. 10. 
Calilrix entomophagus — D'Orb. Voy. pi. 4 (.Alammif^es). 
sPECiric characters. 
The Hair greenish-yellow above; white beneath; the upper- arms and 
thighs grey ; the lower-arms and legs bright orange. 
The Face and Hands flesh-coloured. The Muzzle black. 
Inhabits the Banks of the Oiinoco. 
The Varied Squirrel-Monkeys are very common in the regions to the 
south of the Cataracts of the Orinoco ; but the smallest and handsomest 
are those of the Cassiquiare. Their bodies exhale a sliglit odour of musk. 
The expression of their countenance resembles that of a child ; they have 
the same innocence of aspect, the same malicious smile, and they pass 
with equal rapidity from the extremity of deliglit to that of sadness. 
The Indians assert that they shed tears like a human being ; and M. 
Humboldt remarked in one specimen that its eyes became moistened 
when it was uneasy or under the influence of fear. The Titi, as it is termed 
by the natives, is in continual motion, and all its movements are light and 
graceful. It seldom becomes irritated, like the Marnumsets, but seems 
continually occupied in playing, leaping, and catching Insects or Spiders, 
the latter of which it prefers to all other food. It has the singular habit 
of looking attentively at the mouth of the person who speaks ; and if it 
happen to sit on his shoulder, attempts to pl.iy with his teeth or tongue. 
It is a formidable enemy of all collectors of Insects, and however carefully 
they may conceal their specimens, the Varied Squirrel- Monkey is sure to 
devour them, without even wounding itself with the pins by which the 
spoils are fixed. As an instance of its sagacity, M. Humboldt informs 
us that one of these little animals could distinguish uncoloured plates of 
Insects from those which represented Quadrupeds or any other subject. 
Whenever it .saw the engraving of a Grasshopper or a Wasp, its hand 
was instantly extended to grasp that object. Being accustomed to live 
in a moister and cooler climate than that of the coast, the Varied Squir- 
rel-Monkey soon loses its liveliness when removed from the forests of the 
Orinoco to Cumana or Giiayra, and it seldom survives this change of 
locality above a few months. 
Tlie upper parts of its body are of a greenisli-yellow, which assumes a 
greyish tint upon the upper-arms and thighs, and changes into a bright 
orange on the fore-arras and legs. The tail has the same greenish tint 
as the back, but becomes black towards the point ; the abdomen, breast, 
neck, cheeks, and a ciicle round the ears, are white ; there is, however, a 
spot of greenish-yellow in the middle of the white hairs of the cheeks. The 
tip of the muzzle, the nostrils at the corners of the mouth, and the under 
part of the chin, are black, the remainder of the face and the other naked 
parts of the body are flesh-coloured; likewise the nails, which are black 
only at the points. The eyes arc brown ; the hands perfectly formed, 
hut the thumbs are opposable only ou the hinder ; the nails of the tliumbs 
are flat and broad, those of the fingers long and narrow. The scrotum 
is very voluminous, and the remainder of these parts very similar to the 
corresponding arrangements in the human species. 
This animal never uses the tail for prehensile purposes, yet it often rolls 
up the point, and, when any thing is conveniently placed, encircles the ex- 
tremity of the tail round that object, but it is unable to do so with any 
con.sideiable force. When seated, its hinder limbs are extended forwards, 
and the fore-hands rest upon them. It sleeps in this sitting posture. 
I Chalamira, from ^aXctlva, to let loose, and ou^ac, a tail, 
’ .All the Amoriiian -Monkeys, having the tail not prehensile, are included by Buffon, along with the OuisHtis, under the common name of Saoouins (Callithrix, Erxl,) 
lh:s name of Nigoum, or 9aguj, is applied in Brazil to all the smaller Quadrumanous animals having the tail not prehensile. M. Geoffroy assigns to bis genus Callithrix 
(which forms only a subdivision of the Callithrix of Er.xleben), and to his genera Aotus and Pithccia, the common appellation of Geopitheci, or Ground-Monkeys Note of 
<Ac Buron Cuvier, r > / 
