THE BLACK BABOON.[70] There is a small Baboon which is very interesting to the student of the distribution of animals over the surface of the globe and to geologists. It is jet-black in colour, there being hardly a trace of dark-brown in its long hair, and hence it has been called the Black Baboon, or _Cynocephalus niger_. These animals are found in considerable numbers in the great island of Celebes, situated in the sea between Australia and the mainland of Asia, and they have been introduced by man into the Philippine Islands and Batchian. They are, therefore, extra-African, but they are true short-tailed Baboons, nevertheless. The Black Baboon, when full grown, is about two feet in length, and the tail measures about an inch. Its face and neck are not covered, but all the rest of the body, the head, and the limbs, have a long black fur, and the hair of the top of the head runs up into a tall long half-curl. The face is long and very melancholy-looking, and the cheeks are smaller, but coloured black on either side of the nose. But the nose does not extend, like that of a Dog, quite to the end of the muzzle, for the creature has a decided upper lip, and the division or septum of the nostrils is long and rather broad, so that these openings look downwards and outwards. The seat has a scarlet tint, and the tail is a mere knob. [Illustration: DRILL.] Nothing is known about the wild habits of the Black Baboon, but it appears to be a wood Ape, and it certainly has not the impudence or the bold aggravating courage of the African Baboon in confinement. They are frequently brought over to Europe, and may be watched in most zoological gardens. They are capital climbers, but they like to remain a great deal on the ground, sitting upright on their haunches in a very sedate manner. Associating very well with other Monkeys, they appear rather affectionate in disposition than otherwise, and may be seen looking very quiet and stately whilst some more agile companion rubs his face and lips against theirs, apparently to their gratification. The distinction between the Black Baboon and the African kinds is slight, and they all belong to the same genus,[71] and therefore must have had a common parent in remote times. But the black one lives far away in the Asiatic islands, surrounded by animals different from those which live in Africa, many of which, nevertheless, have a curious African look about them. Now, the geologist asserts that there are proofs of the former connection by land of the mainland of Asia, Hindostan, and Africa. The facts upon which this assertion is made will be stated in several consecutive chapters of this work, and indeed particular allusions to them from time to time will be inevitable. It is only necessary to mention here that the separation of the two great masses of land occurred about the time of the elevation of the Himalayas as a mountain chain, and they are about as old as the Alps of Europe.