Part 3 (1/2)
DESCRIPTION.--Dark glossy black throughout, except head and nape, which are reddish brown; hair very long; in old individuals a greyish patch on the rump.--_Jerdon_.
SIZE.--Length of head and body, 26 inches; tail, 30.
This monkey does not, as a rule, descend lower than 2,500 to 3,000 feet; it is shy and wary. The fur is fine and glossy, and is much prized (Jerdon). Its flesh is excellent food for dogs (McMaster).
Dr. Anderson makes this synonymous with the last.
NO. 9. SEMNOPITHECUS _vel_ PRESBYTES PILEATUS.
_The Capped Langur_.
HABITAT.--a.s.sam, Chittagong, Tipperah.
DESCRIPTION.--General colour dark ashy grey, with a slight ferruginous tint; darker near head and on shoulders; underneath and on the inside of the limbs pale yellowish, with a darker shade of orange or golden yellow on the breast and belly. The crown of the head is densely covered with bristly hairs, regularly disposed and somewhat elongated on the vertex so as to resemble a cap, whence the name. Along the forehead is a superciliary crest of long black bristles, directed outwardly; whiskers full and down to the chin: behind the ears is a small tuft of white hairs; the tail is long, one third longer than the body, darker near the end, and tufted; fingers and toes black.
SIZE.--A little smaller than _P. entellus_.
This monkey is found in Northern a.s.sam, Tipperah and southwards to Tena.s.serim; in Blyth's 'Catalogue of the Mammals of Burmah' it is mentioned as _P. chrysogaster_ (_Semnopithecus potenziani_ of Bonaparte and Peters). He writes of it: ”Females and young have the lower parts white, or but faintly tinted with ferruginous, and the rest of the coat is of a pure grey; the face black, and there is no crest, but the hairs of the crown are so disposed as to appear like a small flat cap laid upon the top of the head. The old males seem always to be of a deep rust-colour on the cheeks, lower parts, and more or less on the outer side of the limbs; while in old females this rust colour is diluted or little more than indicated.”
Dr. Anderson says that a young one he had was of a mild disposition, which however is not the character of the adult animal, which is uncertain, and the males when irritated are fierce, and determined in attack. No rule, however, is without its exception, for one adult male, possessed by Blyth, is reported as having been an exceeding gentle animal.
NO. 10. SEMNOPITHECUS _vel_ PRESBYTES BARBEI.
_The Tipperah Langur_.
HABITAT.--Tipperah, Tena.s.serim.
DESCRIPTION.--No vertical crest of hair on the head, nor is the occipital hair directed downwards, as in the next species. Shoulders and outside of arm silvered; tail slightly paler than body, ”which is of a blackish fuliginous hue.”
More information is required about this monkey, which was named by Blyth after its donor to the Asiatic Society, the Rev. J. Barbe. Blyth considered it as distinct from _P. Phayrei_ and _P. obscurus_, which last is from Malacca.
Dr. Anderson noticed it in the valley of the Tapeng in the centre of the Kakhyen Hills, in troops of thirty to fifty, in high forest trees overhanging the mountain streams. Being seldom disturbed, they permitted a near approach.
NO. 11. SEMNOPITHECUS _vel_ PRESBYTES PHAYREI.
_Syn_.--SEMNOPITHECUS CRISTATUS.
_The Silvery-Leaf Monkey_ (_Blyth_).
HABITAT.--Arracan, Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo.
DESCRIPTION.-Colour dusky grey-brown above, more or less dark, with black hands and feet; a conspicuous crest on the vertex; under parts white, scarcely extending to the inside of the limbs; sides grey like the back; whiskers dark, very long, concealing the ears in front; lips and eyelids conspicuously white, with white moustachial hairs above and similar hairs below.
SIZE.--Two feet; tail, 2 feet 6 inches.
This monkey was named by Blyth after Captain (now Sir Arthur) Phayre, who first brought it to his notice; but he afterwards reconciled it as being synonymous with _Semnopithecus cristatus_. The colouring, according to different authors, seems to vary considerably, which causes some confusion in description. It differs from an allied species, _S. maurus_, in selecting low marshy situations near the banks of streams. Its favourite food is the fruit of the Nibong palm (_Oncosperma filamentosa_).
NO. 12. SEMNOPITHECUS _vel_ PRESBYTES OBSCURUS.
_The Dusky-Leaf Monkey_.