Part 13

CHARACTERS.--Head round; face short; ears short, nearly naked; nose flat. Fur soft and woolly, intermixed with many long, stiff, dark reddish-brown hairs,--the hairs red at the base, and black at the tips; forehead black; crown of head dark brown; a narrow band round the face, white; a narrow collar round the neck, reddish-white; hands white; hair of feet red at the base, but black at the tips. Length of the body, about 12 inches.

DISTRIBUTION.--Confined to the upper reaches of the Rio Negro, Brazil.

HABITS.--This species, often known under the name of the Widow Monkey, is said to be very gentle in disposition. {160}When approaching to capture insects or small birds, which form its prey, it becomes keen and excited, but at other times it appears to be dull and listless. They roam about in flocks of about half a dozen individuals, on the large branches of the great forest trees. They are noisy animals, and in the early morning they make the forest resound with their yelping cries.

II. THE RED TITI. CALLITHRIX CUPREA.

_Callithrix cuprea_, Spix, Sim. et Vesper. Bras., p. 23, pl. 17, (1823); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 54 (1870); Schleg., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 236 (1876); Thomas, P. Z. S., 1880, p. 394.

_Callithrix discolor_, Is. Geoffr., C.R., xxvii., p. 498 (1848); id. Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 41 (1851); id. Arch. Mus., v., p. 551, pl. 28; Wagner in Schreb., Säugeth. Suppl., v., p. 114 (1855).

(_Plate XIV._)

CHARACTERS.--Fur soft and woolly, mixed with numerous long stiff hairs; face black; back grizzly blackish-grey in colour; tail the same but darker; the basal part and tips of the hairs grey, with an intermediate band below the tips, black; tip of the tail sometimes white; the cheeks, throat, hands, feet, legs, and the under side of the body, dark reddish bay; the ears coppery-red.

PLATE XIV.

{161}DISTRIBUTION.--This species is found throughout the whole of the Peruvian Amazons, though not in very large numbers--indeed, it is said to be rare. It has been recorded from Cashiboya on the Ucayali, and Santa Cruz on the Huallaga. Mr. O. Thomas mentions his having examined twelve specimens from the Copataza river, and one from Andoas in Ecuador. Of these he says: "The Andoas specimen, which is a male, differs from the rest in having the fur on the back of a dirty orange-grey colour, without annulations, instead of being of a bright annulated black and white. One of the others, a female, shows a tendency to this condition of the hair, which is, therefore, probably a seasonal change, as the Andoan specimen was shot in September, while the others were obtained between December and February."

III. THE WHITE-CHESTED TITI. CALLITHRIX AMICTA.

_Simia amicta_, Humboldt, Obs. Zool., i., p. 357 (1811).

_Callithrix amicta_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 19, pl. xiii. (1833).

_Callithrix amictus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 114 (1812); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 54 (1870).

_Callithrix torquata_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 235 (part, 1876).

CHARACTERS.--Agrees with the last species in the character of the fur; but the general colour is black, washed with rufous; the forehead is black; the chest has a pure white spot; the hands are white, but the feet black; the tail has the hairs entirely black throughout.

DISTRIBUTION.--Guiana.

IV. THE REED TITI. CALLITHRIX CINERASCENS.

_Callithrix cinerascens_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 20, pl. 14 (1823).

_Callithrix donacophilus_, d'Orb., Voy. Amér. Sud, iv., p. 10, pl. 5 (1826); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 55 (1870).

_Callithrix donacophila_, Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 41 (1851); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 240 (1876).

{162}CHARACTERS.--Fur long and similar in character to that of _C. torquata_; chest and under side of body pale grey or dark reddish-grey; hands and feet grey; back of the same colour; tail mottled grey,--the hairs being grey, with black tips.

In some species the fur varies from dark grey washed with rufous, to almost white, the red wash, where it occurs, sometimes deepening, or almost vanishing.

DISTRIBUTION.--Mr. Bates observed this species at Serra dos Parentins, in the Lower Amazon Region above the confluence of the Tapajos with the Amazon. It also extends to Bolivia and Peru.

V. THE ORABASSU TITI. CALLITHRIX MOLOCH.

_Cebus moloch_, Hoffman, Mag. Gesell. Berlin, x., p. 97 (1807).

_Callithrix moloch_, Geoffr., Arch. Museum, iv., p. 33, pl. 3(1844), id., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 114 (1812); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 55 (1870).

CHARACTERS.--Differs from the Reed Titi in having the cheeks, chest, and belly red. Hands and feet of the same colour as the back, grey.

The cerebral convolutions of this animal are, according to M. C. Dareste, exactly those of a "Maki," or _Lemur_.

DISTRIBUTION.--Throughout Brazil.

VI. THE ORNATE TITI. CALLITHRIX ORNATA.

_Callithrix discolor_, Verreaux, M.S. (nec Geoffr.).

_Callithrix ornata_, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., xvii., p. 57 (1866).

_Callithrix ornatus_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 55 (1870).

{163}CHARACTERS.--General colour black and grey, grizzled; forehead and ears white, instead of black as in _C. caligata_, or coppery-red as in _C. cuprea_; temples, cheeks, throat, under side of body, and inner side of legs, bright chestnut; hands and feet grey; tail black, with a grey tinge,--the hairs being grey, with a dark ring near the tip of each; hands and feet the colour of the back.

DISTRIBUTION.--U. S. Colombia; vicinity of Bogotá.

HABITS.--This species is arboreal, like the other members of its genus, and it is said to be nocturnal. It spends the day rolled up very much as many of the Lemurs do.

VII. THE MASKED TITI. CALLITHRIX PERSONATA.

_Callithrix personatus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 113 (1812); Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 18, pl. 12 (1823); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 56 (1870).

_Callithrix brunnea_, Wagner, Arch. f. Naturg., 1842, i., p. 357 (ex Natterer, MSS.).

_Pithecia melanops_, Vigors, Cat. Coll. Zool. Soc., p. 6.

_Callithrix personata_, Schl., Mus. Pays. Bas, vii., p. 231 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Size larger than that of the other Titis. Style of fur the same as in the previous species, but longer, and the long stiff hairs more bristly; general colour black, mottled with grey rings on the hairs; back grizzled grey; entire head, hands, feet, and lower part of limbs, black; chest, under side of the body, and tail dark ashy-grey, the latter washed at the base, sometimes extensively, with rufous, and grey towards the tip below.

FEMALE.--Body strongly washed with whitish-yellow, and the tail with rufous; forehead between the ears, black.

{164}DISTRIBUTION.--Upper Amazon. Of all the species of the genus, this ranges furthest to the south--to 14° S. lat.

VIII. THE BLACK-FRONTED TITI. CALLITHRIX NIGRIFRONS.

_Callithrix nigrifrons_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 21, pl. 15 (1823); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 56 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 232 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Nearly allied to the Masked Titi (_C. personata_), but distinguished by the nearly white back of the head and nape of the neck, and by the hairs at the base of the tail being entirely red.

DISTRIBUTION.--Upper Amazonia.

IX. THE RED-BELLIED TITI. CALLITHRIX CASTANEIVENTRIS.

_Callithrix castaneoventris_, Gray, Ann. and Mag. N. H., xvii., p. 58 (1866); id., Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 56 (1870).

_Callithrix caligata_, Wagner, Arch. f. Naturg., 1842, i., p. 454 (ex Natterer, MSS.); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 237 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Fur of the same nature as in _C. cuprea_, black, ringed with grey; face grizzled, whiskers, throat, chest, under side of the body, and inner surface of the limbs reddish-chestnut; outside of the limbs grizzled, washed with rufous; forehead, hands, feet and tail black; tip of the tail paler.

DISTRIBUTION.--Paraguay and Brazil; Borba, Rio Madeira.

The two following species may be distinguished from those already described by having their soft woolly fur entirely free from the long bristly hairs, which were dispersed through the fur of the others.

{165}X. THE BLACK-HANDED TITI. CALLITHRIX MELANOCHIR.

_Callithrix melanochir_, Neuwied, Beitr., ii., p. 114, et Abbild., iv.; Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 57 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 233 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--General colour red, but the crown of the head, the throat, and inner side of the limbs, mixed black and grey; the hands and feet black.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species has been recorded from Bahia, on the east coast of Brazil.

XI. THE GREY TITI. CALLITHRIX GIGOT.

_Callithrix gigot_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 22, pl. 16 (1823); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 234 (1876); Weldon, P. Z. S., 1884, p. 6.

_Callithrix gigo_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 57 (1870).

CHARACTERS.--Hair about two inches long, soft and slightly woolly over the trunk; hair on the forehead shorter and more thickly set; that over the limbs short and loose. General colour of the back reddish-grey behind, more ashy over the forehead and limbs; the hair black at the base, cream-coloured further up, the tips ringed with chestnut and black. Muzzle and chin black, with a few short, strong, white hairs; a black line along the nose and round the eyes; the eyelids white; the eye-lashes and long eye-brows black; forehead thickly covered with loose grey hairs, slightly tipped with black; a faint ridge across the brow between the ears; the ears black, covered with soft black hairs, except for a small grey tuft at their hind outer angle. In front of the ears a light grey band over the cheeks, continued above on to the forehead, below to the chest; throat naked, light pink; under surface {166}of the limbs pale grey; the hands and feet black; tail red, the hair bushy at its base. Length of the body, 14 inches; of the tail, 13½ inches. (_Weldon._)

Cæcum with dilated end; liver more divided than in _C. moloch_; the two halves (_rami_) of the lower jaw enormously deep, resembling those of the Howlers (_Mycetes_).

DISTRIBUTION.--Brazil; Bahia, and the country between the Parahyba and the mountains to the north of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro.

HABITS.--This species is very rare, and nothing is known of its habits.

Professor Weldon writes, in his paper in the "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," referred to above: "Sir W. Flower has suggested to me that the enormous depth of the _ramus_ of the mandibles in this _Callithrix_ pointed to the existence of some arrangement resembling that of _Mycetes_. It was difficult to determine this point in a young female; but the swollen condition of the thyroid, together with the existence of a patch of ossification on each side, seem to show the possible existence of a howling apparatus in the male."

THE DOUROUCOLIS. GENUS NYCTIPITHECUS.

_Nyctipithecus_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 24 (1823).

The members of this genus, usually called "Douroucolis," are small animals, somewhat Lemurine in appearance, possessing a short, thick body, a rounded head produced behind, and a short, round face, encircled by a ruff of whitish fur. The muzzle is not prominent; the mouth and chin are small; the {167}ears are very short, scarcely appearing above the hair of the head; the eyes are enormous and yellowish in colour, imparting to them the staring expression of nocturnal animals of prey. Their tail is bushy, moderately long and non-prehensile; and the nostrils are separated by a narrower partition than in the other genera of the sub-family. Their physiognomy reminds one of an Owl or Tiger-cat (_Bates_). They are covered with close, soft, woolly fur.

In the skull the orbits are enormously large and closely approximated, but yet separated by a complete bony wall; the nostrils, on the other hand, though separated in the living animal by a wide, fleshy partition, have only a thin plate of bone between them. The upper incisors are broad; the canines long; and the lower incisors project forwards, somewhat as in the Lemurs. The arm-bone has a perforation (the ent-epicondylar foramen) on its inner side above the articulation of the elbow joint, to give passage and protection to an important artery and nerve. The thumb is very short; the claws are small and weak. The dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together number twenty-two, the greatest number possessed by any American monkey. As in _Chrysothrix_, the external surface of the cerebral hemispheres is smooth and almost devoid of convolutions, but their inner faces exhibit several of the more important grooves seen in the higher Apes.

All the species are arboreal and nocturnal, hiding away in the daytime and roaming during the night, giving vent to loud howls, or Cat-like cries, as they move in quest of the insects, small birds, and fruits, which form their food. They range from Nicaragua to the Amazon and Eastern Peru, and are called "Devil monkeys" by the Indians. They are very delicate, and soon die in captivity.

{168}I. THE THREE-BANDED DOUROUCOLI. NYCTIPITHECUS TRIVIRGATUS.

_Aotus trivirgatus_, Humboldt, Obs. Zool., p. 306, fig. 28 (1811).

_Nyctipithecus trivirgatus_, Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist., x., p. 256 (1842); id., Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 58 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 213 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Fur short, grey and brown, with a silvery lustre; on the crown of the head three long black linear streaks, distinct from each other; frontal spot whitish; back greyish-brown with a dark dorsal band and a long chestnut patch; chest and lower surface of body rusty-red; throat, and inside of limbs, greyish-ashy; tail long, cylindrical, and with short, blackish-brown hair, more yellow on the under surface of the base. Length of the body, 12 inches; of the tail, 14 inches.

DISTRIBUTION.--The type specimen was obtained by Humboldt on the banks of the Cassiquiare, near the head waters of the Rio Negro. Mr. Bates found it at Ega and at other places on the Upper Amazon region. It has been recorded also from Guiana; and from Chanchamayo in Peru, at 3,000 feet above the sea.

HABITS.--The habits of the Three-banded Douroucoli are entirely nocturnal. They hide in small troops in a hole in the trunk of a tree from morning till twilight, hunting for food during the night. They have a singularly loud and far-reaching voice for such small animals.

II. THE LEMURINE DOUROUCOLI. NYCTIPITHECUS LEMURINUS.

_Nyctipithecus lemurinus_, Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., iv., p. 24, pl. 21 (1844); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 58 (1870).

{169}_Nyctipithecus felinus_, Gray, List Mamm. Brit. Mus., p. 14 (1843); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., 214 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Fur of body and head long; tail depressed, broad, with the hair bushy and spreading on the sides as in a Squirrel. Head presenting a dark frontal area with a round white spot over each eye.

DISTRIBUTION.--The Lemurine Douroucolis are found in Colombia and in Upper Amazonia; at Macas, on the eastern side of the Andes; and on the upper branches of the main streams of the Amazon, as far as a congenial habitat is met with.

III. THE RED-FOOTED DOUROUCOLI.[10] NYCTIPITHECUS RUFIPES.

_Nyctipithecus rufipes_, Sclater, P. Z. S., 1872, p. 3, pl. 1.

_Nyctipithecus vociferans_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 25, pl. 19 (1823; part); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 214 (1876; part).

(_Plate XV._)

CHARACTERS.--Above grey, slightly washed on the back with rufous; under side reddish fulvous; three vertical black stripes on the head, similar to _N. trivirgatus_, but much less distinct, narrower, and showing a prominent triangular white patch over each eye; ears large and prominent, almost nude (perhaps the result of captivity). Hands and feet rufous; tail short-haired, cylindrical; the basal half rufous, the remainder reddish-black. Length of the body, 11 inches; and of the tail, 16 inches. The absence of the long chestnut patch on the back distinguishes _N. rufipes_ from _N. trivirgatus_, and its paler colour and the indistinctness of its head-stripes, separate it from _N. felinus_.

DISTRIBUTION.--Nicaragua; San Juan del Norte.

{170}IV. AZARA'S DOUROUCOLI. NYCTIPITHECUS AZARÆ.

_Simia azaræ_, Humb., Obs. Zool., p. 359 (1811).

_Pithecia miriquouina_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 117 (1812); Kuhl, Beitr., p. 43 (1820).

_Nyctipithecus azaræ_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 212 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--A large rhomboidal black patch between the two large superciliary spots, the two acute angles of which are prolonged, the one under the base of the nose, the other in the median line to the top of the head; the inner side of the limbs, the under side of the body, throat, and chin of a reddish-ochre colour.

DISTRIBUTION.--The right bank of the River Paraguay, in the north-east of the Argentine Republic, but not in Paraguay proper.

V. THE FELINE DOUROUCOLI. NYCTIPITHECUS FELINUS.

_Nyctipithecus felinus_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 24, pl. 18 (1823); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 39 (1851); Gray, Ann. N. H., x., p. 256 (1842).

_Nyctipithecus oseryi_, Is. Geoffr. et Deville, C. R., xxvii., 1848, p. 498 (juv.); Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 39 (1851).

_Nyctipithecus commersonii_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 58 (1870).

_Nyctipithecus vociferans_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 214 (1876; part).

CHARACTERS.--Closely related to the last species, but differs in having the three facial streaks irregular and combining together on the crown, the middle one broad and lozenge-shaped; the frontal spots short, and white. Fur longer and more woolly; neck, chest, under surface of body, inner sides of the limbs, and the base of the tail yellowish; tail round.

PLATE XV.

{171}DISTRIBUTION.--This species is rather rare, but it has been obtained at Ega and at Tabatinga on the Upper Amazons; on the Ucayali, and near Yurimaguas on the Huallaga River--in the warm and humid virgin forests--in fact, generally along the Peruvian Amazons.

In speaking of his collections made at Ega on the Upper Amazons, which he describes as a fine field for a Natural History collector, Mr. Bates gives an interesting account of the Night-Apes, called "Ei-á" by the Indians, observed by him during his various journeys. "Of these I found two species (_Nyctipithecus trivirgatus_ and _N. felinus_) closely related to each other, but nevertheless quite distinct, as both inhabit the same forests, namely, those of the higher and drier lands, without mingling with each other or inter-crossing. They sleep all day long in hollow trees, and come forth to prey on insects and eat fruits only in the night. One cannot help being struck by this curious modification of the American type of Monkeys, for the Owl-faced Night-Apes have evidently sprung from the same stock as the rest of the _Cebidæ_, as they do not differ much in all essential points from the Whaiapu-Sais (_Callithrix_) and the Sai-miris (_Chrysothrix_). They have nails of the ordinary form on all their fingers, and semi-opposable thumbs; but the molar teeth (contrary to what is usual in the _Cebidæ_) are studded with sharp points, showing that their nocturnal food is principally insects.

"I kept a pet animal of _N. trivirgatus_ for many months, a young one having been given to me by an Indian compadre as a present from my newly-baptized godson. These Monkeys, although sleeping by day, are aroused by the least noise, so that, when a person passes by a tree in which a number of them are concealed, he is startled by the sudden apparition of {172}a group of little striped faces crowding a hole in a trunk. It was in this way that my compadre discovered the colony from which the one given to me was taken. I was obliged to keep my pet chained up; it, therefore, never became thoroughly familiar. I once saw, however, an individual of the other species (_N. felinus_) which was most amusingly tame. It was as lively and nimble as the _Cebi_, but not so mischievous, and far more confiding in its disposition, delighting to be caressed by all persons who came into the house. But its owner, the Municipal Judge of Ega, Dr. Carlos Mariana, had treated it for many weeks with the greatest kindness, allowing it to keep with him at night in his hammock, and to nestle in his bosom half the day as he lay reading. It was a great favourite with everyone, from the cleanliness of its habits and the prettiness of its features and ways. My own pet was kept in a box in which was placed a broad-mouthed glass jar; into this it would dive, head foremost, when anyone entered the room, turning round inside, and thrusting forth its inquisitive face an instant afterwards to stare at the intruder. It was very active at night, venting at frequent intervals a hoarse cry like the suppressed barking of a dog, and scampering about the room, to the length of its tether, after cockroaches and spiders. In climbing between the box and the wall it straddled the space, resting its hands on the palms and tips of the outstretched fingers with the knuckles bent at an acute angle, and thus mounted to the top with the greatest facility. Although seeming to prefer insects, it ate all kinds of fruit, but would not touch raw or cooked meat, and was very seldom thirsty. I was told by persons who had kept these Monkeys loose about the house, that they cleared the chambers of bats as well as insect vermin. When approached gently, my Ei-á allowed {173}itself to be caressed; but when handled roughly it always took alarm, biting severely, striking with its little hands, and making a hissing noise like a Cat.

"I have mentioned the near relationship of the Night-Apes to the Sai-miris (_Chrysothrix_), which are among the commonest of the ordinary Monkeys of the American forests. This near relationship is the more necessary to be borne in mind, as some Zoologists have drawn a comparison between them and the nocturnal Apes of the Lemur family, inhabiting Ceylon and Java, and it might be inferred that our American Ei-ás were related more closely to these Old World forms than they are to the rest of the New World Monkeys. The large nocturnal eyes and short ears of the Eastern Lemurs are simply resemblances of analogy, and merely show that a few species, belonging to utterly dissimilar families, have been made similar by being adapted to similar modes of life...."

THE SAKIS. SUB-FAMILY PITHECIINÆ.

The Sakis are characterised by having their lower incisor teeth inclined forward at their summits somewhat as among the Lemurs; and separated from the long canines by an interspace. The molar teeth are small; the tail, which in some is long, in others short, is non-prehensile. The nostrils are, as usual, far apart, and the thumb is well developed. The ears are large. Great differences in the character of the fur exist in the group: some species having long hair over the whole body, others on the chin and cheeks; some are well bearded, while others again are quite bald.

The Sakis are divided into two genera, a short-tailed group (_Brachyurus_), containing the Uakarí Monkeys, and a long-tailed {174}section, the Sakis (_Pithecia_). Their various species are restricted to the great equatorial forests of South America.

THE UAKARÍ MONKEYS. GENUS BRACHYURUS.

_Brachyurus_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 11 (1823); W. A. Forbes, P. Z. S., 1880, p. 644.

_Ouakaria_, Gray, P. Z. S., 1849, p. 9.