Callitrix is a term made use of by Homer to express in general
the beautiful colour of the hair of animals. It was not till many
ages after Homer's time, that the Greeks applied this name to some
particular kinds of monkeys, and which, from the propriety of such
application, we must suppose to be the animal in question (_fig.
208._). The body is of a fine green colour, the neck and belly white,
and the face of a beautiful black. He is found in Mauritania, and in
Ancient Carthage; so there is reason to suppose he was known to the
Greeks and Romans; and that he was one of the long-tailed monkeys, to
which they gave the name of _callitrix_. There is also a species of
white monkeys in the adjoining provinces of Egypt, both on the side of
Ethiopia and of Arabia, which the ancients have also described by the
name of callitrix. Prosper Alpinus and Pietro della Valle, speak of
this white monkey, but we have never seen this species, which, perhaps,
is only a variety of the green monkey, or the mona, which is very
common in those countries.
The callitrix, or green monkey, appears to be known in Senegal, as well
as in Mauritania and in the Cape Verd islands. M. Adanson relates,
that the woods of Ponor, along the river Niger, are filled with green
monkeys. "I discovered these animals, (says this author) only by their
breaking off the branches of trees, and throwing them down; for they
were so very quiet and nimble in their tricks, that it was scarcely
possible to perceive them. I did not walk far, before I killed three
of them without in the least terrifying any of the rest: however, when
numbers felt themselves wounded, they began to retreat; some concealing
themselves behind large branches, and others descending to the ground
and running away; but the greatest number leaped from the top of one
tree to another. During this bustle I kept firing at them and killed
about twenty-three in less than an hour, without any of them uttering a
single cry, although they several times assembled together, and made an
appearance of attacking me."
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The callitrix has pouches on each side of his cheeks, and callosities
on his posteriors. The tail is much longer than both the head and body.
The head is small, the muzzle long, and the face and ears are black:
instead of eyebrows, he has a narrow stripe of black hairs across the
forehead. The body is of a fine green mixed with a little yellow. He
walks on four feet; and the length of his body, including the head,
is about fifteen inches. The female is subject to the periodical
emanation.