Part 34

Midas nigricollis, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras., p. 28, pl. 21 (1823).

Midas rufoniger, I. Geoffr. et Deville, C. R., xxvii., p. 499 (1848); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 64 (1851); Castelnau, Expéd. Amér. Sud, pl. v., fig. 3 (1855); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 67 (1870).

Hapale nigricollis, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 264 (1876).

CHARACTERS.--Differs from M. fuscicollis in having the back, loins, thighs, and legs bright reddish-chestnut. (Gray.) Mouth bordered with longish white hairs.

DISTRIBUTION.--The Upper Amazon Region. (Bates.) The Black and Red Tamarin is considered by Mr. Bates to be a form or race of the same stock as M. ursulus, modified to suit the altered local conditions of its home, for in the Upper Amazon Region, as Mr. Wallace has pointed out, the seasons, as well as the nature of the country, differ very considerably.

HABITS.--Mr. Bates states that in its habits the present species is similar to Midas ursulus. "One day," he says, "whilst walking along a forest pathway, I saw one of these lively little fellows miss his grasp as he was passing from one tree to another along with his troop. He fell head foremost from a height of at least fifty feet; but managed cleverly to alight on his legs on the pathway; quickly turning round, he gave me a good stare for a few minutes, and then bounded off gaily to climb another tree."

XI. ILLIGER'S TAMARIN. MIDAS ILLIGERI.

Hapale illigeri, Pucher., Rev. Zool., 1845, p. 336.

{146}Midas illigeri, Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 65 (1851); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 65 (1876).

Midas flavifrons, var. d. Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 67 (1870).

Midas devillii (nec Geoffr.), Sclater, P. Z. S., 1871, p. 220, pl. xiii.

CHARACTERS.--Head black; back black, washed with grey; back of head, nape of neck, shoulders and humeral region black, washed with reddish-brown; under side and the outer and inner surface of both limbs red; tail at base and tip red, intermediate portion black.

The sexes hardly differ; the male being merely rather larger and darker, especially on the head and nape, where the hair is longer.

DISTRIBUTION.--Mr. E. Bartlett says that this was the only Midas met with by him in Eastern Peru. It was plentiful everywhere in the Peruvian Amazons; and he obtained specimens both on the Huallaga and Ucayali rivers.

HABITS.--This species is extremely delicate, and will not bear the least cold. "I have had them alive," writes Mr. Edward Bartlett, "for two or three weeks; but they appear to suffer from cold and die. They are kept, however, by the Indian women, who make pets of them and put them into the long hair on their heads. With this protection they are able to live for a long time. Having become tame, they frequently hop out and feed, or, having captured a spider or two, scamper back again, and hide under the luxuriant crop of their owners, who are generally unwilling to part with them."

em00With the succeeding species commences the group of Tamarins with no mane and without white lips.

{147}XII. THE PIED TAMARIN. MIDAS BICOLOR.

Midas bicolor, Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras, p. 31, pl. 24, fig. 1 (1823).

Hapale bicolor, Wagner in Schreb., Säugeth., v., p. 135, pl. 12 (1855); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 257 (1876).

Seniocebus bicolor, Gray, Cat. Monkeys, Brit. Mus., p. 68 (1870).

CHARACTERS.--Head naked in front of the ears in the adult; hind-part of the head covered with long white hairs; ears exposed, naked; tail not ringed, the upper side black; nose and lips black; neck, chest and arms white; face, body, and hind-limbs brown; under side of tail, inner side of limbs, and the abdomen ferruginous.

In the young animal, the face is rather hairy and the forehead naked. (Gray.)

DISTRIBUTION.--The eastern bank of the Rio Negro, a northern tributary of the Amazon. Mr. Bates obtained a specimen at Barra, where it was rather common in the forest; and, he adds: "This place, a waterfall near Barra, which its citizens consider as the chief natural curiosity of their neighbourhood, is classic ground to the naturalist, from having been a favourite spot with the celebrated travellers Spix and Martius, during their stay at Barra in 1820. Von Martius was so much impressed by its magical beauty, that he commemorated the visit by making a sketch of the scenery, to serve as background in one of the plates of his great work on the Palms."

HABITS.--Keeping together in small troops, running along the main boughs of the loftier trees, climbing perpendicular trunks, but never taking flying leaps.

{148}XIII. LACÉPEDE'S TAMARIN. MIDAS MIDAS.

Simia midas, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 42 (1766).

Simia lacepedii, Fischer, Bull. Soc. Mosc., 1806, p. 23.

Midas rufimanus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 121 (1812).