OBSERVATIONS ON THE ZOOLOGY OF THE AMAZON DISTRICT.
_A._ MAMMALIA.
Notwithstanding the luxuriance of the vegetation, which might be
supposed to afford sustenance, directly or indirectly, to every kind
of animal life, the Amazon valley is remarkably deficient in large
animals, and of Mammalia generally has a smaller number both of species
and individuals, than any other part of the world of equal extent,
except Australia. Three small species of deer, which occur but rarely,
are the only representatives of the vast herds of countless species of
deer and antelopes and buffaloes which swarm in Africa and Asia, and of
the wild sheep and goats of Europe and North America. The tapir alone
takes the place of the elephants and rhinoceroses of the Old World.
Two or three species of large _Felidæ_, and two wild hogs, with the
capybára and páca, comprise almost all its large game; and all these
are thinly scattered over a great extent of country, and never occur
in such large numbers as do the animals representing them in other
parts of the world.
Those singular creatures, the sloths, the armadilloes, and the
ant-eaters, are very generally distributed, but only occur singly and
sparingly. The small agoutis are perhaps rather more plentiful; but
almost the only animals found in any numbers are the monkeys, which are
abundant, both in species and individuals, and are the only mammalia
that give some degree of life to these trackless forests, which seem
peculiarly fitted for their development and increase.
I met with twenty-one species of these animals, some of which I had no
opportunity of examining. Several others exist; but it is necessary to
reside for some years in each locality, in order to meet with all the
different kinds. I subjoin a list of the species, with the localities
in which they were found.
MONKEYS FOUND ON THE AMAZON AND RIO NEGRO.
1. _Mycetes seniculus_, Geoff.; on the Rio Negro and the north bank
of the Amazon.
2. _Mycetes caraya_, Gray; on the Upper Amazon.
3. _Mycetes beelzebub_, Br. Mus.; Pará.
4. _Lagothrix Humboldtii_, Geoff.; Upper Amazon and west of Rio Negro.
5. _Ateles paniscus_, Geoff.; Guiana, north bank of Amazon and east
of Rio Negro.
6. _Cebus apella_, Erxl. (?); Amazon and Rio Negro.
7. _Cebus gracilis_, Spix; Rio Negro and Upper Amazon.
8. _Callithrix sciureus_, Geoff.; the whole Amazon valley.
9. _Callithrix torquatus_ (_amictus_, Geoff.); Upper Rio Negro.
10. _Callithrix personatus_, Geoff.; south bank of Upper Amazon.
11. _Nyctipithecus trivirgatus_, Humb.; Upper Rio Negro.
12. _Nyctipithecus felinus_, Spix ; Upper Amazon.
13. _Pithecia irrorata_ (_hirsuta_, Spix); south bank of Upper Amazon.
14. _Pithecia_ ——, north of Upper Amazon.
15. _Brachiurus satanas_, Br. Mus.; Guiana, east bank of Rio Negro.
16. _Brachiurus oakary_, Spix; Upper Rio Negro.
17. _Brachiurus rubicundus_, Isid.; Upper Amazon.
18. _Brachiurus_ ——, south side of Upper Amazon.
19. _Jacchus bicolor_, Spix; north of the Amazon and Rio Negro.
20. _Jacchus tamarin_, Br. Mus.; Pará.
21. _Jacchus_ n.s., Upper Rio Negro.
Of the above, the first seven have prehensile tails, a character
only found among the monkeys of America. The howlers, forming the
genus _Mycetes_, are the largest and most powerful. They have a bony
vessel situated beneath the chin, and a strong muscular apparatus in
the throat, which assists in producing the loud rolling noise from
which they derive their name, and which appears as if a great number
of animals were crying in concert. This however is not the case; a
full-grown male alone makes the howling, which is generally heard at
night, or on the approach of rain.
The annexed list of the other larger mammalia of the Amazon district,
will serve to confirm the statement of the extreme poverty of these
regions in that class of animals. Owing to the loss of my notes and
specimens, many of the specific names are doubtful: such are marked
thus—?
* * * * *
_Phyllostoma hastatum._—This is a common bat on the Amazon, and is, I
believe, the one which does much injury to the horses and cattle, by
sucking their blood; it also attacks men, when it has opportunity. The
species of blood-sucking bats seem to be numerous in the interior. They
do not inhabit houses, like many of the frugivorous bats, but enter
at dusk through any aperture they may find. They generally attack the
tip of the toe, or sometimes any other part of the body that may be
exposed. I have myself been twice bitten, once on the toe, and the
other time on the tip of the nose; in neither case did I feel anything,
but awoke after the operation was completed: in what way they effect it
is still quite unknown. The wound is a small round hole, the bleeding
of which it is very difficult to stop. It can hardly be a bite, as
that would awake the sleeper; it seems most probable that it is either
a succession of gentle scratches with the sharp edge of the teeth,
gradually wearing away the skin, or a triturating with the point of the
tongue, till the same effect is produced. My brother was frequently
bitten by them, and his opinion was, that the bat applied one of its
long canine teeth to the part, and then flew round and round on that
as a centre, till the tooth, acting as an awl, bored a small hole;
the wings of the bat serving, at the same time, to fan the patient
into a deeper slumber. He several times awoke while the bat was at
work, and though of course the creature immediately flew away, it was
his impression that the operation was conducted in the manner above
described. Many persons are particularly annoyed by bats, while others
are free from their attacks. An old Mulatto at Guia, on the Upper Rio
Negro, was bitten almost every night, and though there were frequently
half-a-dozen other persons in the room, he would be the party favoured
by their attentions. Once he came to us with a doleful countenance,
telling us, he thought the bats meant to eat him up quite, for, having
covered up his hands and feet in a blanket, they had descended beneath
his hammock of open net-work, and, attacking the most prominent part of
his person, had bitten him through a hole in his trowsers! We could not
help laughing at the catastrophe, but to him it was no laughing matter.
Senhor Brandão, of Manaquery, informed me that he had once an Indian
girl in his house, who was much subject to the attacks of the bats.
She was at length so much weakened by loss of blood, that fears were
entertained of her life, if they continued their attacks; and it was
found necessary to send her to a distance, where these bloodthirsty
animals did not abound.
The wound made by them is very difficult to heal, especially in its
usual locality—the tip of the great toe, as it generally renders a shoe
unbearable for a day or two, and forces one to the conclusion that,
after the first time, for the curiosity of the thing, to be bitten by
a bat is very disagreeable. They will however very rarely enter a
lighted room, and for this reason the practice of burning a lamp all
night is almost universal.
_Tapirus Americanus._—The Tapir is common over the whole Amazon
district, but is nowhere very abundant. It feeds on leaves and a great
many different kinds of fruits, and sometimes does much injury in the
mandiocca-fields of the Indians. Its flesh is very good eating, and
is considered very wholesome, and is even said to be a remedy for the
ague. It is a very shy and timid animal, wandering about principally
at night. When the Indian discovers a feeding-place, he builds a
stage between two trees, about eight feet above the ground, and there
stations himself soon after dusk, armed with a gun, or with his bow and
arrow. Though such a heavy animal, the tapir steps as lightly as a cat,
and can only be heard approaching by the gentle rustling of the bushes;
the slightest sound or smell will alarm it, and the Indian lies still
as death for hours, till the animal approaches sufficiently near to be
shot, or until scenting its enemy it makes off in another direction. I
have accompanied the Indians on these expeditions, but always without
success.
_Coassus nemorivagus._
_C. rufus._—These are the small white and red deer of the forests,
found in all parts of the Amazon. They have very small unbranched horns.
_Mazama campestris?_—The “Viado galera,” or horned deer of the Rio
Branco, is probably of this species. It has small branched horns, and
inhabits the open plains, never the thick forests.
_Dicotyles taiaçu._ The smaller wild Hog. Taititú of the Indians.
_D. labiatus?_—The larger species, called by the natives “Taiaçu.”
There seems to be also a third species, of the same size as the last.
_Arctopithecus flaccidus?_ Preguiça real. Ai, L. G. The great Sloth.
_Bradypus torquatus._ Ai, L. G.—These and some other species of sloths
are not uncommon. They feed entirely on leaves, preferring those of the
_Cecropias_. They are frequently attacked by the harpy eagle, and are
also eaten by the Indians. For their habits see pages 48 and 52.
_Myrmecophaga jubata._ Tamanduá assu, L. G. “The great Anteater.”—This
animal is rare, but widely distributed. During rain it turns its long
bushy tail up over its back and stands still; the Indians, when they
meet with one, rustle the leaves, and it thinks rain is falling, and
turning up its tail, they take the opportunity of killing it by a blow
on the head with a stick. It feeds on the large termites, or white
ants, tearing up with its powerful claws the earth and rotten wood
in which their nests are made. The Indians positively assert that it
sometimes kills the jaguar, embracing it and forcing in its enormous
claws, till they mutually destroy each other. They also declare that
these animals are all females, and believe that the male is the
“curupíra,” or demon of the forests: the peculiar organization of the
animal has probably led to this error. It lives entirely on the ground.
_Tamandua tetradactylus?_ The smaller Prehensile-tailed Anteater.—This
animal is entirely arboreal, feeding on the tree termites; it has no
nest, and sleeps in a fork of a tree with its head bent under its body.
_Cyclothurus didactylus._ Tamanduái, L. G. The small Silky-haired
Anteater,—is arboreal, and rather abundant. There is another species
much smaller, and as white as cotton; but it is rare, and I never met
with it.
_Priodonta gigas?_ Tatuassú, L. G. The great Armadillo.—Rather scarce.
_Tatusia septemcinctus?_ Tatu, L. G.—This and another very small
species are the most abundant in the Amazon district, but can seldom
be procured except by hunting with dogs. All the kinds are eaten, and
their flesh is very white and delicate.
_Didelphis_ ——. Opossum. Mucúra, L. G.—Several species are found. They
frequent the neighbourhood of houses, and attack poultry. The young
are carried in an abdominal pouch, like the kangaroos, and have their
little prehensile tails twisted round that of the mother.
_Hydrochærus capybara._ Capywára, L. G.—This animal is found on all the
river-banks. It feeds on grass, and takes to the water and dives when
pursued. It is sometimes eaten, but is not considered very good.
_Cœlogenis paca._ Páca, L. G.—This animal is generally abundant. It is
nocturnal, and is much esteemed for its meat, which is the very best
the country produces, being fat, delicate, and very tender.
_Dasyprocta nigricans_, Natt. Black Agouti. Cotía, L. G.—This species
is found on the Rio Negro.
_D. punctata?_ Yellow Agouti.—This is probably the common Amazon
species.
_D. agouti?_ Cotiwya, L. G.—A smaller species, very widely distributed.
All are eaten, but the meat is rather dry and tasteless.
_Cercolabes prehensilis._ The Brazilian Porcupine.—This animal is
scarce. It is eaten by the Indians.
_Echimys_ ——. Several species of these curious, spinous, rat-like
animals are found on the Upper Rio Negro.
_Cercoleptes caudivolvus._ The Potto.—It is a nocturnal animal, and
inhabits the banks of the Upper Amazon.
_Nasua olivacea?_ Coatí.—Two species, the “Coati” and “Coati mondi” of
the Indians, are found on the Amazon.
_Lontra Brasiliensis?_ The Brazilian Otter,—is abundant on the Rio
Negro.
6 1–1 4–4
_Galera barbara._ Irára, L. G. Teeth, I. — C.——— M. ——– This is
6 1–1 4–4
a curious animal, somewhat allied to the bears. It lives in trees, and
eats honey, whence probably its Indian name,—from Irá, in the Lingoa
Geral, “honey.”
_Vulpes ——?_ A wild dog, or fox, of the forests; it hunts in small
packs; it is easily domesticated, but is very scarce.
_Leopardus concolor._ The Puma. In the Lingoa Geral, Sasurána, “the
false deer,” from its colour.
_L. onça._ The Jaguar. Jauarité, L. G.—“The Great Dog.”
_L. onça_, var. _nigra_. The Black Jaguar. Jauarité pixuna, L. G. Tigre
(Spaniards).
_L. pictus_ and _L. griseus_. Tiger Cats. Maracajá, L. G.
The jaguar, or onça, appears to approach very nearly in fierceness and
strength to the tiger of India. Many persons are annually killed or
wounded by these animals. When they can obtain other food, they will
seldom attack man. The Indians however assert that they often face a
man boldly, springing forward till within a few feet of him, and then,
if the man turns, they will attack him; the hunters will sometimes meet
them thus face to face, and kill them with a cutlass. They also destroy
them with the bow and arrow, for which purpose an old knife-blade is
used for the head of the arrow; and they say it is necessary not to
pull too strong a bow, or the arrow will pass completely through the
body of the animal, and not do him so much injury as if it remains in
the wound. For the same reason, in shooting with a gun, they use rough
leaden cylinders instead of bullets, which make a larger and rougher
wound, and do not pass so readily quite through the body. I heard of
one case, of a jaguar entering an Indian’s house, and attacking him in
his hammock.
The jaguar, say the Indians, is the most cunning animal in the forest:
he can imitate the voice of almost every bird and animal so exactly, as
to draw them towards him: he fishes in the rivers, lashing the water
with his tail to imitate falling fruit, and when the fish approach,
hooks them up with his claws. He catches and eats turtles, and I have
myself found the unbroken shells, which he has cleaned completely out
with his paws; he even attacks the cow-fish in its own element, and an
eye-witness assured me he had watched one dragging out of the water
this bulky animal, weighing as much as a large ox.
A young Portuguese trader told me he had seen (what many persons had
before assured me often happened) an onça feeding on a full-grown live
alligator, tearing and eating its tail. On leaving off, and retiring
a yard or two, the alligator would begin to move towards the water,
when the onça would spring upon it, and again commence eating at the
tail, during which time the alligator lay perfectly still. We had been
observing a cat playing with a lizard, both behaving in exactly the
same manner, the lizard only attempting to move when the cat for a
moment left it; the cat would then immediately spring upon it again:
and my informant assured me that he had seen the jaguar treating the
alligator in exactly the same way.
The onça is particularly fond of dogs, and will carry them off in
preference to any other animal. When one has been committing any
depredations, it is a common thing to tie a dog to a tree at night, the
howling of which attracts the onça, who comes to seize it, and is then
shot by a person concealed for the purpose.
It is a general belief among the Indians and the white inhabitants of
Brazil, that the onça has the power of fascination. Many accounts are
given to prove this; among others, a person informed me, that he had
seen an onça standing at the foot of a high tree, looking up into it:
on the top was a guariba, or howling-monkey, looking down at the onça,
and jumping about from side to side, crying piteously; the onça stood
still; the monkey continued descending lower and lower on the branches,
still uttering its cries, till at length it fell down at the very feet
of the onça, which seized and devoured it. Many incidents of this kind
are related by persons who have witnessed them; but whether they are
exaggerated, or are altogether imaginary, it is difficult to decide.
The belief in them, by persons best acquainted with the habits of the
animal, is universal.
Of the smaller Tiger-cats, there are several kinds, but having lost
my collection of skins, I cannot ascertain the species. The Puma
is considered much less fierce than the jaguar, and is very little
feared by the inhabitants. There are several varieties of the jaguar,
distinguished by the Indians by different names. The black variety is
rarer than the others, and is generally thought to be quite distinct;
in some localities it is unknown, while in others it is as abundant as
the ocellated variety.
Many small rodent animals—squirrels, rats, etc.—complete the
terrestrial mammalia of the Amazon district.
The waters of the Amazon, up even to the base of the Andes, are
inhabited by several species of true _Cetacea_, of which however we
have as yet but very scanty information.
Two, if not more, species of Dolphins are common in every part of the
Amazon, and in almost all of its tributaries. They are found above the
falls of the Rio Negro, and in the Cassiquiare and Upper Orinooko.
They vary in size and colour, and two of them have distinct Indian
names,—Piraiowára (Fish-dog), and Tucuxí.
D’Orbigny mentions their being killed by the inhabitants of Bolivia
to make oil. In the Lower Amazon and Rio Negro they are scarcely
ever caught, and I was unable ever to obtain a specimen. The species
described by D’Orbigny is probably distinct, as he mentions their
being twenty feet long, whereas none I have seen could have exceeded
six or seven.
Herbivorous _Cetacea_ are also found in the Amazon; they are called by
the Brazilians, Peixe boi, or cow-fish, and by the Indians, Juarouá.
It has not yet been ascertained, whether the cow-fish of the Amazon is
the same as the _Manatus_ of the West Indies and the coasts of Guiana,
or a distinct species. All the accounts of the _Manatus Americanus_
mention it as being twelve or fifteen feet long on the average, and
sometimes reaching twenty. Those of the Amazon appear to average seven
or eight feet only; of five or six specimens I have myself seen, none
have exceeded this; Lieutenant Smyth saw one on the Upper Uaycali, of
the same size; and Condamine describes the one he saw as not being
larger.
The inhabitants of the Amazon give accounts of three kinds, which they
seem to consider distinct, one smaller, and one larger than the common
kind, and differing also in the shape of the tail and fins, and in the
colour.
The West Indian species is always described as having external nails on
the edge of the fin, or fore-arm. This I never observed in the Amazon
species; though in cutting the edge of the fin to take out the bones
entire, I must have noticed them, had they been at all so prominent as
usually described; neither does Lieutenant Smyth mention them, though
he could hardly have overlooked so singular an external character.
I am therefore inclined to think that the Amazon possesses one or two
distinct species. Having carefully prepared a skin and skeleton of a
fine male (which, with the rest of my collections, was lost on the
voyage home), I did not describe it so minutely as I otherwise should
have done, but have some notes, referring to male and female specimens,
which I will now give:—
_Manatus_ of the Amazon.
Peixe boi, of the Portuguese.
Vaca marina, of the Spaniards.
Juarouá, of the Indians’ Lingoa Geral.
_Dimensions of full-grown male and female specimens from the Rio
Negro and Amazon._
FT. IN.
Total length of male and female 7 0
Snout to the base of the fins 1 6
Snout to the penis in the male 2 9½
Snout to the testicles in the male 4 1
Snout to the vagina in the female 4 1
Snout to the anus 4 7
Snout to the root of the tail 5 3
Circumference at the fins 3 8
Circumference in middle of body 5 4
Circumference at the anus 4 9½
Circumference at the root of the tail 2 6
Breadth of the tail 1 9
Length of the fins 1 2
Opening for exsertion of penis, in length 0 2
6—6
Teeth, M. ———
6—6
The mammæ of the female, one close to the base of each fin behind. The
muzzle is blunt, fleshy, and covered with numerous stiff bristles; the
nostrils are on the upper part of it, and lunate. The lips, thick,
fleshy, and bristly, and the tongue rough. The skin is lead-colour,
with a few pinkish-white marblings on the belly; others have the whole
of the neck and fore-part of the body beneath cream-colour, and
another spot of the same colour on the underside of the tail. The skin
is entirely smooth, resembling India-rubber in appearance, and there
are short hairs scattered over it, about an inch apart; it is an inch
thick on the back, and a quarter of an inch on the belly; beneath it,
is a layer of fat, of an inch or more in thickness, enveloping every
part of the body, and furnishing from five to ten gallons of oil.
The intestines are very voluminous. The lungs are two feet long, and
six or seven inches wide, very cellular, and when blown up, much
resemble a Macintosh air-belt. The ribs are each nearly semicircular,
arching back from the spine, so as to form a ridge or keel inside, and
on the back there is a great depth of flesh. The bone is excessively
hard and heavy, and can scarcely be broken. The dung resembles that of
a horse.
The cow-fish feeds on grass on the margins of the rivers and lakes. It
is captured either with the harpoon, or with strong nets, placed at the
mouth of some lake, whence it comes at night to feed.
Though it has very small eyes, and minute pores for ears, its senses
are very acute; and the fishermen say there is no animal can hear,
see, and smell better, or which requires greater skill and caution
to capture. When caught, it is killed by driving a wooden plug up
its nostrils. The Indian fills his canoe full of water, and sinks it
beneath the body; he then bales out the water, and paddles home with
a load which requires a dozen men to move on shore. The meat is very
good, and both for it and for the oil the animal is much sought after.
It ascends most of the tributaries of the Amazon, but does not pass the
falls or rapids.
_B._ BIRDS.
The birds of the Amazon district are so numerous and striking, that
it is impossible here to do more than mention a few of the most
interesting and beautiful, so as to give some general idea of the
ornithology of the district.
Among the birds of prey, the most conspicuous are the King Vulture
(_Sarcorhamphus papa_), and the Harpy Eagle (_Thrasaëtos harpyia_),
both of which are found in the whole district of the lower Amazon.
There is also a great variety of eagles, hawks, kites, and owls, and
probably between twenty and thirty species may be obtained in the
country around Pará.
Those two fine eagles, the _Spizaëtus ornatus_ and the _Morphnus
Guianensis_, inhabit the Upper Amazon.
Among the smaller perching-birds, the yellow-breasted tyrant shrikes
immediately attract attention, perched upon dead trees in the open
grounds. In the forests the curious notes of the bush-shrikes
(_Thamnophilinæ_) are often heard, and the ever-recurring vociferous
cries of the great grey flycatcher (_Lipaugus simplex_).
Several pretty little tanagers are found about Pará; but the exquisite
little seven-coloured tanager (_Calospiza tatao_), and the scarcely
less beautiful scarlet and black one (_Rhamphocelis nigrogularis_), do
not occur till we reach the Rio Negro and the Upper Amazon.
The Chatterers form one of the most splendid families of birds, and we
have on the Amazon some of the finest species, such as the _Cotinga
cayana_, _C. cærulea_, _Phœnicurus carnifex_, and _P. militaris_, which
are found at Pará, and the _C. Pompadour_ a and _P. nigrogularis_ on
the Upper Amazon and Rio Negro.
The hang-nest Orioles, species of _Cassicus_, are numerous, and by
their brilliant plumage of yellow or red and black, and their curious
pendulous nests, give a character to the ornithology of the country.
Woodpeckers, kingfishers, and splendid metallic jacamars and trogons,
are numerous in species and individuals. But of all the families
of birds that inhabit this country, the parrots and the toucans
are perhaps the most characteristic; they abound in species and
individuals, and are much more frequently seen than any other birds.
From Pará to the Rio Negro I met with sixteen species of toucans, the
most curious and beautiful of which is the _Pteroglossus Beauharnasii_,
or “curl-crested Araçari,” whose glossy crest of horny black curls is
unique among birds.
Of parrots and paroquets I found at least thirty distinct species,
varying in size from the little _Psittaculus passerinus_, scarcely
larger than a sparrow, to the magnificent crimson macaws. In ascending
the Amazon, large flocks of parrots are seen, every morning and
evening, crossing the river to their feeding- or resting-places; and
however many there may be, they constantly fly in pairs, as do also the
macaws,—while the noisy little paroquets associate indiscriminately in
flocks, and fly from tree to tree with a rapidity which few birds can
surpass.
Though humming-birds are almost entirely confined to tropical America,
they appear to abound most in the hilly and mountainous districts,
and the level forests of the Amazon have comparatively few and
inconspicuous ones. The whole number of species I met with in the Lower
Amazon and Rio Negro, does not exceed twenty, and few of them are very
handsome. The beautiful little _Lophornis Gouldi_, found rarely at
Pará, and the magnificent _Topaza pyra_, which is not uncommon on the
Upper Rio Negro, are however exceptions, and will bear comparison with
any species in this wonderful family.
Probably no country in the world contains a greater variety of birds
than the Amazon valley. Though I did not collect them very assiduously,
I obtained upwards of five hundred species, a greater number than can
be found all over Europe; and I have little hesitation in saying that
any one collecting industriously for five or six years might obtain
near a thousand different kinds.
_C._ REPTILES AND FISHES.
Like all tropical countries, the Amazon district abounds in reptiles,
and contains many of the largest size and most singular structure. The
lizards and serpents are particularly abundant, and among the latter
are several very venomous species; but the most remarkable are the boa
and the anaconda, which reach an enormous size. The former inhabits the
land, and though it is often found very large, yet the most authentic
and trustworthy accounts of monstrous serpents refer to the latter, the
_Eunectes murinus_ of naturalists, which lives in or near the water.
The Indians are aware of the generic distinction of these creatures,
for while they call the former “Jiboa,” the latter is the “Sucurujú.”
The largest specimens I met with myself were not more than from fifteen
to twenty feet long, but I have had several accounts of their having
been killed, and measured, of a length of thirty-two feet. They have
been seen very much larger, but, as may be supposed, are then very
difficult to kill or secure, owing to their tenacity of life and their
aquatic habits. It is an undisputed fact that they devour cattle
and horses, and the general belief in the country is that they are
sometimes from sixty to eighty feet long.
Alligators of three or four distinct species abound in the Amazon,
and in all its tributary streams. The smaller ones are eaten by the
natives, the larger often devour them in return. In almost every
village some persons may be seen maimed by these creatures, and many
children are killed every year. The eggs of all the different kinds are
eaten, though they have a very strong musky odour. The largest species
(_Jacare nigra_) reaches a length of fifteen, or rarely of twenty feet.
The most interesting and useful reptiles of the Amazon are however
the various species of fresh-water turtles, which supply an abundance
of wholesome food, and from whose eggs an excellent oil is made. The
largest and most abundant of these is the Tataruga, or great turtle of
the Amazon, the Jurará of the Indians. It grows to the length of three
feet, and has an oval flattish shell of a dark colour and quite smooth;
it abounds in all parts of the Amazon, and in most places is the common
food of the inhabitants.
In the month of September, as soon as the sand-banks begin to be
uncovered, the females deposit their eggs, scraping hollows of a
considerable depth, covering them over carefully, smoothing and beating
down the sand, and then walking across and across the place in various
directions for the purpose of concealment. There are such numbers
of them, that some beaches are almost one mass of eggs beneath the
surface, and here the Indians come to make oil. A canoe is filled with
the eggs, which are all broken and mashed up together. The oil rises
to the top, and is skimmed off and boiled, when it will keep, and is
used both for light and for cooking. Millions of eggs are thus annually
destroyed, and the turtles have already become scarce in consequence.
There are some extensive beaches which yield two thousand pots of
oil annually; each pot contains five gallons, and requires about two
thousand five hundred eggs, which would give five millions of eggs
destroyed in one locality.
But of those that remain, a very small portion only can arrive at
maturity. When the young turtles issue from the egg, and run to the
water, many enemies are awaiting them. Great alligators open their jaws
and swallow them by hundreds; the jaguars from the forest come and feed
upon them; eagles and buzzards, and the great wood ibises attend the
feast; and when they have escaped all these, there are many ravenous
fishes which seize them in the stream.
The Indians catch the full-grown turtles, either with the hook, net,
or arrow. The last is the most ingenious method, and requires the most
skill. The turtle never shows its back above water, only rising to
breathe, which it does by protruding its nostrils almost imperceptibly
above the surface: the Indian’s keen eyes perceive this, even at a
considerable distance; but an arrow shot obliquely would glance off
the smooth flat shell, so he shoots up into the air with such accurate
judgment, that the arrow falls nearly vertically upon the shell, which
it penetrates, and remains securely fixed in the turtle’s back. The
head of the arrow fits loosely on to the shaft, and is connected with
it by a long fine cord, carefully wound round it; as the turtle dives,
they separate, the light shaft forming a float or buoy, which the
Indian secures, and by the attached cord draws the prize up into his
canoe. In this manner almost all the turtles sold in the cities have
been procured, and the little square vertical hole of the arrow-head
may generally be seen in the shell.
Besides the great tataruga (_Podocnemis expansa_), there are several
smaller kinds, also much used for food. The Tracaxa (_Emys tracaxa_,
Spix) and the Cabeçudo (_E. macrocephala_, Spix) have been described
by the French naturalists, Duméril and Bibron, as one species, under
the name of _Peltocephalus tracaxa_; but they are quite distinct, and
though their characters are perhaps not easy to define, they could
never be confounded by any one who had examined them in the living
state. They are found too in different localities. The tracaxa is
abundant in the Amazon, in the Orinooko, and in the Guaviare, all
white-water rivers, and very scarce in the Rio Negro. The cabeçudo
is very abundant in the Rio Negro and in the Atabapo, but is not
found in the Guaviare or the Amazon, appearing to be confined to the
black-water streams. I obtained ten distinct kinds of river tortoises,
or _Chelydidæ_, and there are also two or three kinds of land-tortoises
inhabiting the adjacent district.
As might be expected in the greatest river in the world, there is a
corresponding abundance and variety of fish. They supply the Indians
with the greater part of their animal food, and are at all times more
plentiful, and easier to be obtained, than birds or game from the
forest.
During my residence on the Rio Negro I carefully figured and described
every species I met with; and at the time I left, fresh ones were every
day occurring. The soft-finned fishes are much the most numerous,
and comprise some of the best kinds for food. Of the _Siluridæ_
I obtained fifty-one species, of _Serrasalmo_ twenty-four, of
_Chalceus_ twenty-six, of _Gymnotus_ ten, and of spinous-finned fishes
(_Acanthopterygia_) forty-two. Of all kinds of fishes I found two
hundred and five species in the Rio Negro alone, and these, I am sure,
are but a small portion of what exist there. Being a black-water river,
most of its fishes are different from those found in the Amazon. In
fact, in every small river, and in different parts of the same river,
distinct kinds are found. The greater part of those which inhabit the
Upper Rio Negro are not found near its mouth, where there are many
other kinds equally unknown in the clearer, darker, and probably colder
waters of its higher branches. From the number of new fishes constantly
found in every fresh locality and in every fisherman’s basket, we may
estimate that at least five hundred species exist in the Rio Negro and
its tributary streams. The number in the whole valley of the Amazon, it
is impossible to estimate with any approach to accuracy.
_D._ INSECTS.
To describe the countless tribes of insects that swarm in the dense
forests of the Amazon, would require volumes. In no country in the
world is there more variety and beauty; nowhere are there species
of larger size or of more brilliant colours. Here are found the
extraordinary harlequin-beetle, the gigantic _Prioni_ and _Dynastes_;
but these are exceptions to the great mass of the _Coleoptera_, which,
though in immense variety, are of small size and of little brilliancy
of colour, offering a great contrast to the generally large-sized and
gorgeous species of tropical Africa, India, and Australia. In the
other orders the same rule holds good, except in the _Hymenoptera_,
which contain many gigantic and handsome species. It is in the lovely
butterflies that the Amazonian forests are unrivalled, whether we
consider the endless variety of the species, their large size, or their
gorgeous colours. South America is the richest part of the world in
this group of insects, and the Amazon seems the richest part of South
America. This continent is distinguished from every other, by having a
most extensive and peculiar family, the _Heliconiidæ_, of which not a
single species is found in either Europe, Asia, Africa, nor even North
America (excepting Mexico). Another family, still more extensive, of
exquisitely beautiful small butterflies, the _Erycinidæ_, is also
almost peculiar to it, a few species only, being found in tropical Asia
and Africa. In both these peculiar families the Amazon is particularly
rich, so that we may consider it as the head-quarters of South American
_Lepidoptera_.
Pará itself, for variety of species, is perhaps the best locality for
diurnal _Lepidoptera_; six hundred distinct kinds may be obtained
within a day’s journey of the city. At Santarem I had increased my
collection to seven hundred species, at Barra to eight hundred,
and I should have brought home with me nine hundred species had my
collections arrived in safety. Mr. Bates, who has paid more exclusive
attention to insects, states that he has now obtained twelve hundred
species,—a wonderful collection to be made by one person, in a country
without any variation of climate or of physical features, and no part
of it elevated five hundred feet above the level of the sea.
_E._ GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
There is no part of natural history more interesting or instructive,
than the study of the geographical distribution of animals.
It is well known that countries possessing a climate and soil very
similar, may differ almost entirely in their productions. Thus Europe
and North America have scarcely an animal in common in the temperate
zone; and South America contrasts equally with the opposite coast of
Africa; while Australia differs almost entirely in its productions
from districts under the same parallel of latitude in South Africa
and South America. In all these cases there is a wide extent of sea
separating the countries, which few animals can pass over; so that,
supposing the animal productions to have been originally distinct, they
could not well have become intermixed.
In each of these countries we find well-marked smaller districts,
appearing to depend upon climate. The tropical and temperate parts of
America and Africa have, generally speaking, distinct animals in each
of them.
On a more minute acquaintance with the animals of any country, we
shall find that they are broken up into yet smaller local groups, and
that almost every district has peculiar animals found nowhere else.
Great mountain-chains are found to separate countries possessing very
distinct sets of animals. Those of the east and west of the Andes
differ very remarkably. The Rocky Mountains also separate two distinct
zoological districts; California and Oregon on the one side, possessing
plants, birds, and insects, not found in any part of North America east
of that range.
But there must be many other kinds of boundaries besides these, which,
independently of climate, limit the range of animals. Places not more
than fifty or a hundred miles apart, often have species of insects and
birds at the one, which are not found at the other. There must be some
boundary which determines the range of each species; some external
peculiarity to mark the line which each one does not pass.
These boundaries do not always form a barrier to the progress of
the animal, for many birds have a limited range, in a country where
there is nothing to prevent them flying in every direction,—as in
the case of the nightingale, which is quite unknown in some of our
western counties. Rivers generally do not determine the distribution of
species, because, when small, there are few animals which cannot pass
them; but in very large rivers the case is different, and they will, it
is believed, be found to be the limits, determining the range of many
animals of all orders.
With regard to the Amazon and its larger tributaries, I have
ascertained this to be the case, and shall here mention the facts which
tend to prove it.
On the north side of the Amazon, and the east of the Rio Negro, are
found the following three species of monkeys, _Ateles paniscus_,
_Brachiurus satanas_, and _Jacchus bicolor_. These are all found
close up to the margins of the Rio Negro and Amazon, but never on the
opposite banks of either river; nor am I able to ascertain that either
of them have ever been found in any other part of South America than
Cayenne or Guiana, and the eastern part of Venezuela, a district which
is bounded on the south and west by the Amazon and Rio Negro.
The species of _Pithecia_, No. 14 of my list, is found on the west side
of the Rio Negro for several hundred miles, from its mouth up to the
river Curicuriarí, but never on the east side, neither is it known on
the south side of the Upper Amazon, where it is replaced by an allied
species, the _P. irrorata_ (_P. hirsuta_, Spix), which, though abundant
there, is never found on the north bank. These facts are, I think,
sufficient to prove that these rivers do accurately limit the range of
some species, and in the cases just mentioned, the evidence is the
more satisfactory, because monkeys are animals so well known to the
native hunters, they are so much sought after for food, and all their
haunts are so thoroughly searched, and the localities for the separate
kinds are so often the subject of communication from one hunter to
another, that it is quite impossible that any well-known species can
exist in a particular district, unknown to men whose lives are occupied
in forming an acquaintance with the various tenants of the forests.
On the south side of the Lower Amazon, in the neighbourhood of Pará,
are found two monkeys, _Mycetes beelzebub_ and _Jacchus tamarin_,
which do not pass the river to the north. I have never heard of
monkeys swimming over any river, so that this kind of boundary might
be expected to be more definite in their case than in that of other
quadrupeds, most of which readily take to the water.
Towards their sources, rivers do not form a boundary between distinct
species; but those found there, though ranging on both sides of the
stream, do not often extend down to the mouth.
Thus on the Upper Rio Negro and its branches, are found the _Callithrix
torquatus_, _Nyctipithecus trivirgatus_, and _Jacchus_ (No. 21), none
of which inhabit the Lower Río Negro or Amazon; they are probably
confined to the granitic districts which extend from Guiana across the
sources of the Rio Negro towards the Andes.
Among birds it cannot be expected that we should find many proofs of
rivers limiting their range; but there is one very remarkable instance
of a genus, the three known species of which are separated by rivers,
namely, the three species of the genus _Psophia_, _P. crepitans_
(Linn.), _P. viridis_ (Spix), and _P. leucoptera_ (Spix). The _P.
crepitans_ is the common trumpeter of Guiana; it extends into the
interior all over the country, beyond the sources of the Rio Negro and
Orinooko, towards the Andes, and down to the Amazon, both east and west
of the Rio Negro, but is never found on the south side of the Amazon.
The _P. viridis_ is found in the forests of Pará, at Villa Nova, on the
south bank of the Amazon, and up to the Madeira, where it is found at
Borba, on the east bank.
The _P. leucoptera_, a most beautiful white-backed species, is found
also on the south bank of the Amazon, at São Paulo, at Ega, at Coarí,
and opposite the mouth of the Rio Negro, but not east of the Madeira,
where the green-backed species commences. These birds are all great
favourites in the houses of the Brazilians, and all three may sometimes
be seen domesticated at Barra, where they are brought by the traders
from the different districts in which they are found. They are
inhabitants of the dense forests, and scarcely ever fly; so that we see
the reason why the rivers should so sharply divide the species, which,
spreading towards each other from different directions, might otherwise
become intermingled. It is not improbable that, if the two Brazilian
species extend as far as the sources of the Madeira, they may be found
inhabiting the same district.
Of the smaller perching-birds and insects, which doubtless would
have afforded many interesting facts corroborative of those already
mentioned, I have nothing to say, as my extensive collection of
specimens from the Rio Negro and Upper Amazon, all ticketed for my
own use, have been lost; and of course in such a question as this, the
exact determination of species is everything.
The two beautiful butterflies, _Callithea sapphira_ and _C. Leprieuri_,
which were originally found, the former in Brazil, and the latter in
Guiana, have been taken by myself on the opposite banks of the Amazon,
within a few miles of each other, but neither of them on both sides of
that river.
Mr. Bates has since discovered another species, named after himself,
on the south side of the Amazon; and a fourth, distinct from either of
them, was found by me high up in one of the north-western tributaries
of the Rio Negro, so that it seems probable that distinct species of
this genus inhabit the opposite shores of the Amazon.
The cock of the rock, _Rupicola cayana_, is, on the other hand, an
example of a bird having its range defined by a geological formation,
and by the physical character of the country. Its range extends in a
curving line along the centre of the mountainous district of Guiana,
across the sources of the Rio Negro and Orinooko, towards the Andes; it
is thus entirely comprised in the granite formation, and in that part
of it where there are numerous peaks and rocks, in which the birds make
their nests.
Whether it actually reaches the Andes, or occurs in the same district
with the allied _R. Peruviana_, is not known, but personal information
obtained in the districts it inhabits, shows that it is confined to the
narrow tract I have mentioned, between 1° south and 6° north latitude,
and from the mountains of Cayenne to the Andes, south of Bogotá.
Another bird appears bounded by a geological formation. The common
red-backed parrot, _Psittacus festivus_, is found all over the Lower
Amazon, but, on ascending the Rio Negro, has its northern limit about
St. Isabel, or just where the alluvial country ends and the granite
commences; it also extends up the Japura, but does not pass over to the
Uaupés, which is all in the granite district.
The fine blue macaw (_Macrocercus Maximilianus?_) inhabits the borders
of the hilly country south of the Amazon, from the sea-coast probably
up to the Madeira. Below Santarem, it is sometimes found close up to
the banks of the Amazon, but is said never to cross that river. Its
head-quarters are the upper waters of the Tocantíns, Xingú, and Tapajoz
rivers.
As another instance of a bird not crossing the Amazon, I may mention
the beautiful curl-crested Araçarí (_Pteroglossus Beauharnasii_), which
is found on the south side of the Upper Amazon, opposite the Rio Negro,
and at Coarí and Ega, but has never been seen on the north side. The
green Jacamar of Guiana also (_Galbula viridis_) occurs all along the
north bank of the Amazon, but is not found on the south, where it is
replaced by the _G. cyanocollis_ and _G. maculicauda_, both of which
occur in the neighbourhood of Pará.