Scientific American Supplement, No. 344, August 5, 1882 — John Shaqi
Scientific American Supplement, No. 344, August 5, 1882Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 344, August 5, 1882
Various
Science -- Periodicals
Closely allied to these are the small group of night monkeys, which have
large eyes, and a round face surrounded by a kind of ruff of whitish
fur, so as to give it an owl like appearance, whence they are sometimes
called owl-faced monkeys. They are covered with soft gray fur, like that
of a rabbit, and sleep all day long concealed in hollow trees. The
face is also marked with white patches and stripes, giving it a rather
carnivorous or cat like aspect, which, perhaps, serves as a protection,
by causing the defenseless creature to be taken for an arboreal tiger
cat or some such beast of prey.
This finishes the series of such of the American monkeys as have a
larger number of teeth than those of the Old World. But there is another
group, the Marmosets, which have the same number of teeth as Eastern
monkeys, but differently distributed in the jaws, a premolar being
substituted for a molar tooth. In other particulars they resemble the
rest of the American monkeys. They are very small and delicate creatures
some having the body only seven inches long. The thumb of the hands
is[1] not opposable, and instead of nails they have sharp compressed
claws. These diminutive monkeys have long, non-prehensile tails, and
they have a silky fur often of varied and beautiful colors. Some are
striped with gray and white, or are of rich brown or golden brown tints,
varied by having the head or shoulders white or black, while in many
there are crests, frills, manes, or long ear tufts, adding greatly to
their variety and beauty. These little animals are timid and restless;
their motions are more like those of a squirrel than a monkey. Their
sharp claws enable them to run quickly along the branches, but they
seldom leap from bough to bough like the larger monkeys. They live on
fruits and insects, but are much afraid of wasps, which they are said to
recognize even in a picture.
[Transcribers note 1: Changed from '... it not opposable', ...]
This completes our sketch of the American monkeys, and we see that,
although they possess no such remarkable forms as the gorilla or the
baboons, yet they exhibit a wonderful diversity of external characters,
considering that all seem equally adapted to a purely arboreal life.
In the howlers we have a specially developed voice organ, which is
altogether peculiar; in the spider monkeys we find the adaptation to
active motion among the topmost branches of the forest trees carried to
an extreme point of development; while the singular nocturnal monkeys,
the active squirrel monkeys, and the exquisite little marmosets, show
how distinct are the forms under which the same general type, may be
exhibited, and in how many varied ways existence may be sustained under
almost identical conditions.
LEMURS.
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