68 
THE MAMMALS OF EGYPT. 
Baboon and is more descriptive of the way in which a Macaque carries its tail; but 
as the figure to which Linnaeus has referred cannot be taken for any animal but a 
baboon, its evidence rectifies the discrepancy in the description. 
Oken 1, in 1816, described a large yellowish baboon with red callosities, under the 
name of Simia oegyptiaca, stating, as Hasselquist had done in the case of the Hama- 
dryas to which he had given the same name, that it had been shown about the streets 
of Cairo. 
F. Cuvier, in his monograph, gave expression to his views regarding the Cynocephali. 
Leaving the Mandrill and Drill out of consideration, he indicated Simia sphinx from 
the middle regions of Africa ; the Babouin (which he states had never been figured), 
from the countries situated beyond the Atlas; also Simia porcarius and S. hamadryas; 
and he gave a figure of the Babouin, under the name of Simia cynocephalus, Linn. 
Ogilby, in 1838 2 , described, under the name of Cynocephalus sphinx, a semi-adult 
baboon which had lived for three years in the Surrey Zoological Gardens. His 
description of it is as follows “ The sphinx is of a dark greenish colour above, mixed 
with long black hairs thinly scattered, and nearly naked on the under parts, the skin of the 
belly being of a light bluish white colour, and the hair of the thighs having a tinge of 
yellowish red; the face is pale violet brown, as are likewise the ears, palms of the hands, 
and soles of the feet, and there is a tan-coloured circle about the eyes. The animal is 
of a slender make, and longer in the limbs than the common cynocephal, in form, 
indeed, approaching towards the semnopithecs ; its nose does not extend beyond, or 
even as far as the lips, and the inside of the nostrils is Avhite.” Besides this baboon, 
he had seen another “in Wombwell’s travelling menagerie,” which agreed with it in 
every respect, but was older and larger. “The hair of this specimen, particularly on 
the head, was longer than in the common species ; it was rather thin, but stood erect, 
which was likewise the case in the individual just described, and gave the animal 
rather a shaggy appearance.” He identified this species with the Cynocephalus 
hahuin of the French naturalists; but as he regarded this specific appellation as 
barbarous, he replaced it by sphinx. It is not necessary to discuss here the grounds 
on which he appropriated the name for the baboon he was describing, but his 
statement, that “ the propriety of the application of this term {sphinx) to an animal 
common in the countries bordering upon Upper Egypt is obvious in other respects,” 
deserves notice, because of the suggested habitat of the species, vague though it be. 
He, however, a few lines further on, stated that while there could be no doubt 
regarding Nubia as being the habitat of C. anuhis, that of the Sphinx or Babouin was 
not well authenticated. 
1 Lehrb. Naturg. iii. 1816, p. 1220. 
2 The Ijibrary of Entertaining Knowledge. The Menageries : the Nat. Hist, of Monkeys, Opossums, and 
Lemurs, 1838, p. 425. 
