Chapter XII: The Moustached Guenon. Cercopithecus Cephus

_Simia cephus_, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 39 (1766).

_Cercopithecus cephus_ (Moustac), F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat., Mamm., i., livr.
xxvi. (1821); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 532 (1841); Wagner, in Schreber's
Säugeth. Suppl., v., p. 49 (1855); Gray, P. Z. S., 1868, p. 182; id.,
Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 20 (1870); Schleg., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p.
91 (1876); Scl., P. Z. S., 1893, p. 246.

_Le moustac_, Audebert, Hist. Nat. Singes, Fam. iv., Sect, ii., p. 19,
fig. xii.

CHARACTERS.--Face and nose naked; muzzle short; whiskers thick and bushy, directed backward and downward. Face, except the lips, violet-blue; margin of the upper lip black, this {54}colour extending as a bar back to the whiskers; between this black margin and the nose is a white bar, extending also across the cheek to the whiskers; under lip and chin, black; whiskers between the eyes and ears golden-yellow, paler below the ears, and white on the under jaw; ears black, with yellowish-white hairs. Head greenish, darker on the back than on the front; the neck, back, shoulders, outer side of arms, flanks, buttocks, and upper side of the base of the tail greenish-brown--the hairs being grey at their roots and ringed above with yellow and black, or brown, the predominance of the one or the other producing the brown, or brighter or fainter green colour; on the outer side of the thighs, the green hue is deeper. The rest of the outer aspect of the limbs is grey washed with yellow; hands and feet dusky brown or dull black; under side of the body and inside of the limbs dark grey, lighter on the throat, breast, and fore part of the belly; under side of the base of the tail dark grey; the remaining two-thirds rufous. Length of body, 19 inches; of tail, 26 inches.

DISTRIBUTION.--West Africa: from Gaboon to the Congo.

HABITS.--This species is not at all uncommon in menageries. Numerous specimens have from time to time been exhibited in the Zoological Gardens in London. Little is known, however, of the habits of the Moustached Monkey in its native forests. In captivity it is intelligent, lively, and good-tempered, but very shy. Its delicate constitution cannot resist the rigours of our climate for any length of time.