In Para _Midas ursulus_ is often seen in a tame state in the houses of
the inhabitants. When full grown it is about nine inches long,
independently of the tail, which measures fifteen inches. The fur is
thick, and black in color, with the exception of a reddish-brown streak
down the middle of the back. When first taken, or when kept tied up, it
is very timid and irritable. It will not allow itself to be approached,
but keeps retreating backward when any one attempts to coax it. It is
always in a querulous humor, uttering a twittering, complaining noise;
its dark, watchful eyes, expressive of distrust, observant of every
movement which takes place near it. When treated kindly, however, as it
generally is in the houses of the natives, it becomes very tame and
familiar. I once saw one as playful as a kitten, running about the house
after the negro children, who fondled it to their hearts' content. It
acted somewhat differently towards strangers, and seemed not to like
them to sit in the hammock which was slung in the room, leaping up,
trying to bite, and otherwise annoying them.
It is generally fed on sweet fruits, such as the banana, but it is also
fond of insects, especially soft-bodied spiders and grasshoppers, which
it will snap up with eagerness when within reach. The expression of
countenance in these small monkeys is intelligent and pleasing. This is
partly owing to the open facial angle, which is given as one of sixty
degrees; but the quick movements of the head, and the way they have of
inclining it to one side when their curiosity is excited, contribute
very much to give them a knowing expression. Anatomists who have
dissected species of Midas tell us that the brain is of a very low type
as far as the absence of convolutions goes, the surface being as smooth
as that of a squirrel's. I should conclude at once that this character
is an unsafe guide in judging of the mental qualities of these animals;
in mobility of expression of countenance, intelligence, and general
manners these small monkeys resemble the higher apes far more than they
do any rodent animal with which I am acquainted.
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