Part 5 (2/2)

SIZE.--Twenty inches; tail 15 inches.

Elliott remarks of this monkey that it inhabits not only the wildest jungles, but the most populous towns, and it is noted for its audacity in stealing fruit and grain from shops. Jerdon says: ”It is the monkey most commonly found in menageries, and led about to show various tricks and feats of agility. It is certainly the most inquisitive and mischievous of its tribe, and its powers of mimicry are surpa.s.sed by none.” It may be taught to turn a wheel regularly; it smokes tobacco without inconvenience.--_Horsfield_.

NO. 25. MACACUS PILEATUS (_vel_ SINICUS, _Lin_.).

_The Capped Monkey_, or _Bonneted Macaque_ of _Cuvier_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Rilawa_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Ceylon and China.

DESCRIPTION.--Yellowish brown, with a slight shade of green in old specimens; in some the back is light chestnut brown; yellowish brown hairs on the crown of the head, radiating from the centre to the circ.u.mference; face flesh-coloured and beardless; ears, palms, soles, fingers, and toes blackish; irides reddish brown; callosities flesh-coloured; tail longish, terminating in short tuft.--_Kellaart_.

SIZE.--Head and body about 20 inches; tail 18 inches.

This is the _Macacus sinicus_ of Cuvier, and is very similar to the last species. In Ceylon it takes the place of our rhesus monkey with the conjurors, who, according to Sir Emerson Tennent, ”teach it to dance, and in their wanderings carry it from village to village, clad in a grotesque dress, to exhibit its lively performances.” It also, like the last, smokes tobacco; and one that belonged to the captain of a tug steamer, in which I once went down from Calcutta to the Sandheads, not only smoked, but chewed tobacco. Kellaart says of it: ”This monkey is a lively, spirited animal, but easily tamed; particularly fond of making grimaces, with which it invariably welcomes its master and friends. It is truly astonis.h.i.+ng to see the large quant.i.ty of food it will cram down its cheek pouches for future mastication.”

NO. 26. MACACUS CYNOMOLGUS.

_The Crab-eating Macaque_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Kra_, Malay.

HABITAT.--Tena.s.serim, Nicobars, Malay Archipelago.

[Figure: _Macacus cynomolgus_.]

DESCRIPTION.--”The leading features of this animal are its ma.s.sive form, its large head closely set on the shoulders, its stout and rather short legs, its slender loins and heavy b.u.t.tocks, its tail thick at the base” (Anderson). The general colour is similar to that of the Bengal rhesus monkey, but the skin of the chest and belly is bluish, the face livid, with a white area between the eyes and white eyelids. Hands and feet blackish.

SIZE.--About that of the Bengal rhesus.

According to Captain (now Sir Arthur) Phayre ”these monkeys frequent the banks of salt-water creeks and devour sh.e.l.l-fish. In the cheek-pouch of the female were found the claws and body of a crab.

There is not much on record concerning the habits of this monkey in its wild state beyond what is stated concerning its partiality for crabs, which can also, I believe, be said of the rhesus in the Bengal Sunderbunds.”

NO. 27. MACACUS CARBONARIUS.

_The Black-faced Crab-eating Monkey_.

HABITAT.--Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--In all respects the same as the last, except that its face is blackish, with conspicuously white eyelids.

FAMILY LEMURIDAE.

The Indian members of this family belong to the sub-family named by Geoffroy _Nycticebinae_.

<script>