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CHAPTER XVII.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE FAMILIES AND GENERA OF MAMMALIA.

Order I-PRIMATES.

FAMILY 1.-SIMIIDE. (4 Genera, 12 Species).

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

ORIENTAL AUSTRALIAN

NEOTROPICAL NEARCTIC PALEARCTIC ETHIOPIAN
SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS.

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SUB-REGIONS.

THE Simiidæ, or Anthropoid Apes, comprehend those forms of the monkey-tribe which, in general organization, approach nearest to man. They inhabit the tropics of the Old World, and are most abundant near the equator; but they are limited to certain districts, being quite unknown in eastern and southern Africa, and the whole peninsula of Hindostan.

The genus Troglodytes (or Mimetes, as it is sometimes named) comprehends the chimpanzee and gorilla. It is confined to the West African sub-region, being found on the coast about 12° North and South of the equator, from the Gambia to Benguela, and as far inland as the great equatorial forests extend. There are perhaps other species of chimpanzee; since Livingstone met with what he supposed to be a new species in the forest region west of Lake Tanganyika, while Dr. Schweinfurth found one in the country beyond the western watershed of the Nile. The gorilla is confined within narrower limits on and near the equator.

We have to pass over more than 70° of longitude before we again meet with Anthropoid Apes, in the northern part of Sumatrawhere a specimen of the orang-utan (Simia satyrus) now in the Calcutta Museum, was obtained by Dr. Abel, and described by him in the Asiatic Researches, vol. xv.-and in Borneo, from which latter island almost all the specimens in European museums have been derived. There are supposed to be two species of Simia in Borneo, a larger and a smaller; but their distinctness is not admitted by all naturalists. Both appear to be confined to the swampy forests near the north, west, and south coasts.

The Gibbons, or long-armed apes, forming the genus Hylobates, (7 species) are found in all the large islands of the Indo-Malayan sub-region, except the Philippines; and also in Sylhet and Assam south of the Brahmaputra river, eastward to Cambodja and South China to the west of Canton, and in the island of Hainan. The Siamang (Siamanga syndactyla) presents some anatomical peculiarities, and has the second and third toes united to the last joint, but in general form and structure it does not differ from Hylobates. It is the largest of the long-armed apes, and inhabits Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.

FAMILY 2.-SEMNOPITHECIDE. (2 Genera, 30 Species.)

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The Semnopithecidæ, are long-tailed monkeys without cheekpouches, and with rather rounded faces, the muzzle not being prominent. They have nearly the same distribution as the last family, but are more widely dispersed in both Africa and Asia, one species just entering the Palæarctic region.

The Eastern genus Presbytes or Semnopithecus (29 species), is spread over almost the whole of the Oriental region wherever the forests are extensive. They extend along the Himalayas to beyond Simla, where a species has been observed at an altitude of 11,000

feet, playing among fir-trees laden with snow wreaths. On the west side of India they are not found to the north of 14° N. latitude. On the east they extend into Arakan, and to Borneo and Java, but not apparently into Siam or Cambodja. Along the eastern extension of the Himalayas they again occur in East Thibet; a remarkable species with a large upturned nose (S. roxellana) having been discovered by Père David at Moupin (about Lat. 32° N.) in the highest forests, where the winters are severe and last for several months, and where the vegetation, and the other forms of animal life, are wholly those of the Palearctic region. It is very curious that this species should somewhat resemble the young state of the proboscis monkey (S. nasalis), which inhabits one of the most uniform, damp, and hot climates on the globe-the river-swamps of Borneo.

Colobus, the African genus (11 species), is very closely allied to the preceding, differing chiefly in the thumb being absent or rudimentary. They are confined to the tropical regions—Abyssinia on the east, and from the Gambia to Angola and the island of Fernando Po, on the west.

FAMILY 3. CYNOPITHECIDE. (7 Genera, 67 Species).

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This family comprehends all the monkeys with cheek pouches, and the baboons. Some of these have very long tails, some none; some are dog-faced, others tolerably round-faced; but there are so many transitions from one to the other, and such a general agreement in structure, that they are now considered to form a very natural family. Their range is more extensive than any other family of Quadrumana, since they not only occur in every part of the Ethiopian and Oriental regions, but enter the Palæarctic region in the east and west, and the Australian region as far as the islands of Timor and Batchian. The African genera

are Myiopithecus, Cercopithecus, Cercocebus, Theropithecus, and Cynocephalus; the Oriental genera, Macacus, and Cynopithecus. Myiopithecus (1 species), consisting of the talapoin monkey of West Africa, differs from the other African monkeys in the structure of the last molar tooth; in the large ears, short face, and wide internasal septum; in this respect, as well as in its grace and gentleness, resembling some of the American monkeys.

Cercopithecus (24 species), contains all the more graceful and prettily coloured monkeys of tropical Africa, and comprises the guenons, the white-nosed, and the green monkeys. They range from the Gambia to the Congo, and from Abyssinia to the Zambesi. Cercocebus (5 species), the mangabeys, of West Africa, are very closely allied to the eastern genus Macacus.

Theropithecus (2 species), including the gelada of Abyssinia and an allied species, resemble in form the baboons, but have the nostrils placed as in the last genus.

Cynocephalus (10 species), the baboons, are found in all parts of Africa. They consist of animals which vary much in appearance, but which agree in having an elongated dog-like muzzle with terminal nostrils, and being of terrestrial habits. Some of the baboons are of very large size, the mandrill (C. maimon) being only inferior to the orang and gorilla.

Macacus (25 species), is the commonest form of eastern monkey, and is found in every part of the Oriental region, as well as in North Africa, Gibraltar, Thibet, North China, and Japan; and one of the commonest species, M. cynomolgus, has extended its range from Java eastward to the extremity of Timor. The tail varies greatly in length, and in the Gibraltar monkey (M. innus) is quite absent. A remarkable species clothed with very thick fur, has lately been discovered in the snowy mountains of eastern Thibet.

Cynopithecus (? 2 sp.).-This genus consists of a black baboonlike Ape, inhabiting Celebes, Batchian, and the Philippine Islands; but perhaps introduced by man into the latter islands and into Batchian. It is doubtful if there is more than one species. The tail of this animal is a fleshy tubercle, the nostrils as in Macacus, but the muzzle is very prominent; and the

development of the maxillary bones into strong lateral ridges corresponds to the structure of the most typical baboons. This species extends further east than any other quadrumanous animal.

FAMILY 4.-CEBIDE. (10 Genera, 78 Species.)

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The Cebidæ, which comprehend all the larger American Monkeys, differ from those of the Old World by having an additional molar tooth in each jaw, and a broad nasal septum; while they have neither cheek-pouches nor ischial callosities, and the thumb is never completely opposable. Some have prehensile tails, especially adapting them for an arboreal life. They are divided into four sub-families,-Cebinæ, Mycetinæ, Pitheciinæ, and Nyctipithecinæ. The Cebidæ are strictly confined to the forest regions of tropical America, from the southern part of Mexico to about the parallel of 30° South Latitude. The distribution of the genera is as follows:

Sub-family, Cebinæ.-Cebus (18 sp.), is the largest genus of American monkeys, and ranges from Costa Rica to Paraguay. They are commonly called sapajous. Lagothrix (5 sp.), the woolly monkeys, are rather larger and less active than the preceding; they are confined to the forests of the Upper Amazon Valley, and along the slopes of the Andes to Venezuela and Bolivia. Ateles (14 sp.), the spider monkeys, have very long limbs and tail. They range over the whole area of the family, and occur on the west side of the Equatorial Andes and on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Eriodes (3 sp.), are somewhat intermediate between the last two genera, and are confined to the eastern parts of Brazil south of the equator. The three last mentioned genera have very powerful prehensile tails, the end being bare beneath; whereas the species of Cebus have the tail

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