A Hand-book to the Primates, Volume 2 (of 2)Forbes, Henry O. (Henry Ogg)
Science
A Hand-book to the Primates, Volume 2 (of 2)
Forbes, Henry O. (Henry Ogg)
Primates
HABITS.--The "Simpai," as the Malays call this Langur, is very abundant in
Sumatra, where the present writer has obtained it both in the north of the
Palembang Presidency and in the south of the Lampongs. It is undoubtedly in
part to this species that Dr. Wallace refers in his "Malay Archipelago,"
when, at Lobo Raman, he says that they frequented the trees overhanging the
guard-house in which he was staying. "Two species of _Semnopithecus_ were
most plentiful--Monkeys of a slender form and long tails. Not being much
shot at, they are rather bold, and remain quite unconcerned when natives
alone are present, but when I came out to look at them, they would stare
for a minute or two and then make off. They take tremendous leaps from the
branches of one tree to those of another a little lower, and it is very
amusing when one strong leader takes a bold jump, to see the others
following with more or less trepidation; and it often happens that one or
two of the last seem quite unable to make up their minds to leap till the
rest disappear, when, as if in desperation at being left alone, they throw
themselves frantically into the air, and often go crashing through the
slender branches and fall to the ground."
XXVIII. THE MITRED LANGUR. SEMNOPITHECUS MITRATUS.
_Presbytis mitrata_, Escholtz, in Kotzeb. Reis., p. 196, _cum tab._
(1821).
{138}_Semnopithecus comatus_, Desmar., Mamm. Suppl., p. 533 (1822);
Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 468 (1841); Wagner in Schreber Säugeth. Suppl.
v., p. 24 (1855).
_Semnopithecus fulvo-griseus_, Desmoul., Dict. Hist. Nat., vii., p. 570
(1825).
_Semnopithecus fascicularis_, Owen, P. Z. S., 1833, p. 75.
_Semnopithecus mitratus_, Schl., Essai Phys. Serp., p. 237 (1837);
Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 16 (1851); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit.
Mus., p. 16 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 37 (1876); Anders.,
Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 36, (1878; with full synonymy).
_Semnopithecus siamensis_, Müll. u. Schl., Verh., p. 60 (1841); Anders.,
_t.c._, p. 37 (with synonymy).
_Semnopithecus albo-cinereus_, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xii., p. 175
(1843); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 38 (1876).
_Presbytes argentatus_, Blyth; Horsf. Cat. Mamm. E. I. Co. Mus., p. 7
(1851).
_Semnopithecus nigrimanus_ et _S. cinereus_, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, pp.
625, 626.
_Presbytes cristatus_ (nec Raffles) et _P. melanolophus_, Blyth, Mamm.
Burma, p. 9 (1875).
CHARACTERS.--Head with a compressed blackish crest; hairs radiating from
the forehead over the eyes; crown above grey, mingled with black, becoming
black on the front of the crest and nape of the neck; flanks, under surface
of the body and tail, as well as the inner side of the limbs, dirty white;
hands and feet whitish, mixed with black or reddish hairs; upper surface of
the tail dark grey, the tip paler and tufted; ears and face deep black;
legs flesh-coloured; chin and throat white. Length of body, 20½ inches; of
tail, 28½ inches.
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