They are of a mild disposition, and, as Mr. Wallace remarks, they are the species "most frequently seen in confinement, and are great favourites, from their grave countenances, which resemble the human face more than those of any other Monkeys, their quiet manners, and the great affection and docility they exhibit."
{ 222}I. HUMBOLDT'S WOOLLY MONKEY. LAGOTHRIX LAGOTHRIX.
_Simia lagothrica_, Humb. and Bonpl., Obs. Zool., i., p. 322 (1811).
_Lagothrix cana_, Id. tom. cit. i., p. 354 (1811).
_Lagothrix lagotricha_, Id. tom. cit. p. 354.
_Lagothrix humboldtii_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 107 (1812); Scl., P. Z. S., 1863, p. 374, pl. xxxi.; Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 162 (1876, part.).
_Lagothrix canus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 107 (1812).
_Gastrimargus olivaceus_, Spix, Sim. et Vespert., Bras., p. 39, pl. 28 (1823).
_Lagothrix tschudii_, Pucher., Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1857, p. 296.
_Lagothrix geoffroyi_, Pucher., t. c. p. 297.
_Lagothrix cana_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 162 (1876; part.).
_Lagothrix olivaceus_, Spix, ?; Bates, Nat. River Amazon, ii., p. 320 (1863).
CHARACTERS.--Body large and heavy; face naked, black, and wrinkled; forehead low, the eyes projecting; a few scattered white hairs on lips. Hair of under surface hoary, and longer than that of the upper surface.
ADULT MALE.--General colour blackish, hoary-grey, the hairs being dark grey, tipped with black. Head, chest, hands, under surface of body, and tip of tail, black. Length of the body, from 19 or 20 inches to 27 inches in very large specimens; tail from 24 to 26 inches.
YOUNG.--Hoary grey, darker on the belly and inner surface of the limbs; hands and top of head black.
[Illustration: HUMBOLDT'S WOOLLY MONKEY.]
{ 223}DISTRIBUTION.--This Monkey was discovered by Humboldt on the Guaviaré, a branch of the Orinoco river. It occurs in the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia, where it is known as the "Churuco" river. Its true habitat is the district south-west of the Rio Negro towards the Andes. It is unknown in the Lower Amazon Region.
HABITS.--The "Caparro," as the Orinoco Indians named this species to Humboldt, or "Macaco barrigudo," as the Portuguese settlers call it, is entirely an arboreal animal, living exclusively on fruits, on which it is a most voracious feeder. The name of "big-bellied," which _barrigudo_ means, is probably obtained from the effects of this habit. Its manners in captivity are grave, and its temper, according to Mr. Bates, is mild and confiding, like that of the Coaitas, or Spider-Monkeys. Owing to these traits, the Barrigudo is much sought after as a pet; but it is not hardy like the Coaitas, and seldom survives a passage down the river to Pará. Nevertheless, the Zoological Society has had a considerable number of these Monkeys in confinement during the past twenty years. Mr. Bates also states that it is much persecuted by the natives on account of the excellence of its flesh as food. "From information given me," he says, "by a collector of birds and mammals whom I employed, and who resided a long time among the Tacuna Indians, near Tabatinga, I calculated that one horde of this tribe, 200 in number, destroyed 1,200 of these Monkeys annually for food. The species is very numerous in the forests of the higher lands, but, owing to long persecution, it is now seldom seen in the neighbourhood of the larger villages."