Chapter XVIII: Schlegel's Capuchin. Cebus Fallax

_Cebus fallax_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 210 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--In colour closely resembling _C. fatuellus_, but the hair is longer all over, silky, and of a dusky hue, especially on the hinder part of the body. The lumbar vertebræ are four in number, and there are also fourteen pairs of ribs.

DISTRIBUTION.--Unknown.

THE WOOLLY MONKEYS. GENUS LAGOTHRIX.

_Lagothrix_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 106 (1812).

The animals grouped under the genus _Lagothrix_ are readily distinguished by having a heavy body, and a rounded head, with the muzzle much flattened, and the nostrils nearly circular, but not approximated. More conspicuous than any other external character is the woolliness of their under-fur.

The name _Lagothrix_ was given by Humboldt to the first specimen he found, because of the similarity of its fur to that {221}of the hare, and hence this name, from [Greek: lagôs], a hare, and [Greek: thrix, trichos], hair, was adopted for the new genus, which was afterwards established by Geoffroy St. Hilaire.

The hair of the crown is short and directed backwards; the tail is long and perfectly prehensile, being naked and sensitive for a considerable distance back from the tip. The limbs are moderately long, and the thumb and great-toe are well developed, the nails of the digits being compressed and pointed.

In regard to the skeleton, the skull of _Lagothrix_, as Dr. Slack points out, can be readily distinguished from that of the Capuchins by a broad, well-marked, articulation taking place between the pre-maxillary and the nasal bones at right angles to the suture between the latter, while in the Capuchins no true articulation takes place between these bones. The lower jaw is larger than in _Cebus_, approaching the size and form of _Mycetes_. The incisor teeth are small and unequal, the upper inner incisor being the largest; the canines are very large and grooved in front.

The Woolly Monkeys are slow in motion, gregarious, diurnal, and arboreal. The "Barrigudos," as they are called by the Portuguese colonists, live exclusively on fruits, and are larger and less active than the Capuchins. They are confined to the forests of the Ecuador district of the Upper Amazon Valley, and along the slopes of the Andes, north to Venezuela and south to Bolivia.

They are of a mild disposition, and, as Mr. Wallace remarks, they are the species "most frequently seen in confinement, and are great favourites, from their grave countenances, which resemble the human face more than those of any other Monkeys, their quiet manners, and the great affection and docility they exhibit."

{222}I. HUMBOLDT'S WOOLLY MONKEY. LAGOTHRIX LAGOTHRIX.

_Simia lagothrica_, Humb. and Bonpl., Obs. Zool., i., p. 322 (1811).

_Lagothrix cana_, Id. tom. cit. i., p. 354 (1811).

_Lagothrix lagotricha_, Id. tom. cit. p. 354.

_Lagothrix humboldtii_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 107 (1812); Scl., P.
Z. S., 1863, p. 374, pl. xxxi.; Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 162 (1876,
part.).

_Lagothrix canus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 107 (1812).

_Gastrimargus olivaceus_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert., Bras., p. 39, pl. 28
(1823).

_Lagothrix tschudii_, Pucher., Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1857, p. 296.

_Lagothrix geoffroyi_, Pucher., t. c. p. 297.

_Lagothrix cana_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 162 (1876; part.).

_Lagothrix olivaceus_, Spix, ?; Bates, Nat. River Amazon, ii., p. 320
(1863).

(_Plate XX._)

CHARACTERS.--Body large and heavy; face naked, black, and wrinkled; forehead low, the eyes projecting; a few scattered white hairs on lips. Hair of under surface hoary, and longer than that of the upper surface.

ADULT MALE.--General colour blackish, hoary-grey, the hairs being dark grey, tipped with black. Head, chest, hands, under surface of body, and tip of tail, black. Length of the body, from 19 or 20 inches to 27 inches in very large specimens; tail from 24 to 26 inches.

YOUNG.--Hoary grey, darker on the belly and inner surface of the limbs; hands and top of head black.

PLATE XX.

{223}DISTRIBUTION.--This Monkey was discovered by Humboldt on the Guaviaré, a branch of the Orinoco river. It occurs in the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia, where it is known as the "Churuco" river. Its true habitat is the district south-west of the Rio Negro towards the Andes. It is unknown in the Lower Amazon Region.

HABITS.--The "Caparro," as the Orinoco Indians named this species to Humboldt, or "Macaco barrigudo," as the Portuguese settlers call it, is entirely an arboreal animal, living exclusively on fruits, on which it is a most voracious feeder. The name of "big-bellied," which _barrigudo_ means, is probably obtained from the effects of this habit. Its manners in captivity are grave, and its temper, according to Mr. Bates, is mild and confiding, like that of the Coaitas, or Spider-Monkeys. Owing to these traits, the Barrigudo is much sought after as a pet; but it is not hardy like the Coaitas, and seldom survives a passage down the river to Pará. Nevertheless, the Zoological Society has had a considerable number of these Monkeys in confinement during the past twenty years. Mr. Bates also states that it is much persecuted by the natives on account of the excellence of its flesh as food. "From information given me," he says, "by a collector of birds and mammals whom I employed, and who resided a long time among the Tacuna 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."