The Naturalist on the River Amazons
obtained, moreover, yet stronger proof of this close relationship between the night and day monkeys of America, in finding a species on the Upper Amazons which supplies a link between them. This one had ears nearly as short as those of the night apes, and also a striped forehead; the stripes being, however, two in number, instead of three: the colours of the body were very similar to those of the well-known Chrysothrix sciureus, and the eyes were fitted for day vision.
Barrigudo Monkeys.—Ten other species of monkeys were found, in addition to those already mentioned, in the forests of the Upper Amazons. All were strictly arboreal and diurnal in their habits, and lived in flocks, travelling from tree to tree, the mothers with their children on their backs; leading, in fact, a life similar to that of the Pararauate Indians, and, like them, occasionally plundering the plantations which lie near their line of march. Some of them were found also on the Lower Amazons, and have been noticed in former chapters of this narrative. Of the remainder, the most remarkable is the Macaco barrigudo, or big-bellied monkey of the Portuguese colonists, a species of Lagothrix. The genus is closely allied to the Coaitds, or spider monkeys, having, like them, exceedingly strong and flexible tails, which are furnished underneath with a naked palm like a hand for grasping. The Barrigudos, however, are very bulky animals, whilst the spider monkeys are remarkable for the slenderness of their bodies and limbs. I obtained specimens of what have been considered two species, one (L. Olivaceus of Spix?) having the head clothed with gray, the other (L. Humboldtii) with black fur. They both live together in the same places, and are probably only differently coloured individuals of one and the same species. I sent home a very large male of one of these kinds, which measured twenty-seven inches in length of trunk, the tail being twenty-six inches long; it was the largest monkey I saw in America, with the exception of a black Howler, whose body was twenty-eight inches in height. The skin of the face in the Barrigudo is black and wrinkled, the forehead is low, with the eyebrows projecting, and, in short, the features altogether resemble in a striking manner those of an old negro. In the forests the Barrigudo is not a very active animal; it lives exclusively on fruits, and is much persecuted by the Indians, on account of the excellence of its flesh as food. From information given me by a collector of birds and mammals, whom I employed, and who resided a long time amongst the Tucuna Indians, near Tabatinga, I calculated that one horde of this tribe, 200 in number, destroyed 1,200 of these monkeys annually for food. The species is very numerous in the forests of the higher lands, but owing to long persecution, it is now seldom seen in the neighbourhood of the larger villages. It is not found at all on the Lower Amazons. Its manners in captivity are grave, and its temper mild and confiding, like that of the Coaitds. Owing to these traits the Barrigudo is much sought after for pets; but it is not hardy like the Coaités, and seldom survives a passage down the river to Para. Marmosets.—It now only remains to notice the Marmosets, which form the second family of American monkeys. Our old friend Midas ursulus, of Parad and the Lower Amazons, is not found on the upper
river, but in its stead a closely allied species presents itself, which appears to be the Midas rufoniger of Gervais, whose mouth is bordered with longish white hairs. The habits of these species are the same as those of the M. ursulus; indeed it seems probable that it is a form or race of the same stock, modified to suit the altered local conditions under which it lives. One day, whilst walking along a forest pathway, I saw one of these lively little fellows miss his grasp as he was passing from one tree to another along with his troop. He fell head-foremost from a height of at least fifty feet, but managed cleverly to alight on its legs in the pathway; quickly turning round, he gave me a good stare for a few moments, and then bounded off gaily to climb another tree. At Tunantins I shot a pair of a very handsome species of marmoset, the M. rufiventer, I believe, of zoologists. Its coat was very glossy and smooth, the back deep brown, and the underside of the body of rich black and reddish hues. A third species (found at Tabatinga, 200 miles further west) is of a deep black colour, with the exception of a patch of white hair around its mouth. The little animal at a short distance looks as though it held a ball of snow-white cotton in its teeth. The last I shall mention is the Hapale pygmeeus, one of the most diminutive forms of the monkey order. I obtained near St. Paulo, three full-grown specimens which measured only seven inches in length of body. The pretty Liliputian face is furnished with long brown whiskers, which are naturally brushed back over the ears. The general colour of the animal is brownish-tawny, but the tail is elegantly barred with black. I was surprised, on my return to England, to learn that the pigmy marmoset was found also in Mexico, no other Amazonian monkey being known to wander far from the great river plain. Thus the smallest and apparently the feeblest species of the whole order is one which has by some means become the most widely dispersed.
The Jupurd.—A curious animal, known to naturalists as the Kinkajou, but called Jupura by the Indians of the Amazons, and considered by them as a kind of monkey, may be mentioned in this place. It is the Cercoleptes caudivolvus of zoologists, and has been considered by some authors as an intermediate form between the Lemur family of apes and the plantigrade Carnivora, or bear family. It has decidedly no close relationship to either of the groups of American monkeys, having six cutting teeth to each jaw, and long claws instead of nails with extremities of the usual shape of paws instead of hands. Its muzzle is conical and pointed, like that of many lemurs of Madagascar; the expression of its countenance, and its habits and actions, are also very similar to those of lemurs. Its tail is very flexible towards the tip, and is used to twine round branches in climbing. I did not see or hear anything of this animal whilst residing on the Lower Amazons, but on the banks of the upper river, from the Teffé to Peru, it appeared to be rather common. It is nocturnal in its habits, like the owl-faced monkeys, although unlike them it has a bright, dark eye. I once saw it in considerable numbers when on an excursion with an Indian companion along the low Ygapo shores of the Teffé, about twenty miles above Ega. Weslept one night at the house of a native family living in the thick of the forest, where a festival was going on, and there being no room to hang our hammocks
under shelter, on account of the number of visitors, we lay down ona mat in the open air, near a shed which stood in the midst of a grove of fruit trees and pupunha palms. After midnight, when all became still after the uproar of holiday-making, as I was listening to the dull, fanning sound made by the wings of impish hosts of vampire bats crowding round the Caja trees, a rustle commenced from the side of the woods, and a troop of slender, long-tailed animals were seen against the clear moonlit sky, taking flying leaps from branch to branch through the grove. Many of them stopped at the pupunha trees, and the hustling, twittering, and screaming, with sounds of falling fruits, showed how they were employed. I thought at first they were Nyctipitheci, but they proved to be Jupurds, for the owner of the house early next morning caught a young one, and gave it tome. I kept this as a pet animal for several weeks, feeding it on bananas and mandioca-meal mixed with treacle. It became tame in a very short time, allowing itself to be caressed, but making a distinction in the degree of confidence it showed between myself and strangers. My pet was unfortunately killed by a neighbour’s dog, which entered the room where it was kept. The animal is so difficult to obtain alive, its place of retreat in the daytime not being known to the natives, that I was unable to procure a second living specimen.
As I shall not have occasion again to enter on the subject of monkeys, a few general remarks will be here in place, as a summary of my observations on this important order of animals in the Amazons region. ‘The total number of species of monkeys which I found inhabiting the margins of the Upper and Lower Amazons was thirty-eight. They belonged to twelve different genera, forming two distinct families, the number of genera and families, here as well as in other orders of animals or plants, expressing roughly the amount of diversity existing with regard to forms. All the New World genera of apes, except one (Eriodes, closely allied to the Coaitds, but having claw-shaped nails to the fingers), are represented in the Amazons region. With these ample materials before us let us draw a comparison between the monkys of the new continent and their kindred of the Old World. It seems highly probable that the larger land areas, both continents and islands, on the surface of our globe, became separated pretty nearly as they now are, soon after the first forms of this group of animals came into existence: it will be interesting, therefore, to see how differently the subsequent creations of species have proceeded in each of the separated areas.
The American monkeys are distinguished, as a body, from all those found in the Old World. Upon this point there is no difference of opinion among modern zoologists. It is not probable, therefore, that species of the one continent have passed over to the other, since these great tracts of land received their present inhabitants of this order. The American productions present a cluster of forms, namely, about eighty-six species, separated into thirteen genera, which although greatly diversified amongst themselves, in no case show signs of near relationship to any of the still more diversified forms of the same order belonging to the eastern hemisphere. One of the two American
families (Cebidz) has thirty-six teeth, while the corresponding family (Pithecidz) of Old World apes has, like man, only thirty-two teeth; the difference arising from the Cebidz having an additional false molar tooth * to each side of both jaws. This important character is constant throughout all the varied forms of which the Cebide family is composed; being equally present in the prehensile-tailed group, with its four genera containing twenty-seven species, differing in form and clothing, shape of claws, mental characteristics, and condition of thumb of the anterior hands; and in the true Cebi and the group of Sagouins, with six genera and twenty-four species, including day apes and night apes, short furred and long-haired apes, apes with excessively long tails, and apes with rudimentary tails. ‘The second American family, the Marmosets, have thirty-two teeth, like the Old World monkeys and man; but this identity of number arises from one of the true molars being absent; the Marmosets have three premolar teeth, like the Cebidz, and are therefore quite as far removed as the Cebidz from all the forms of the Old World. They are, moreover, a low type of apes, having a smooth brain, and claws instead of nails, although they are gentle and playful in disposition, and have a visage which presents an open facial angle.