_Macacus cyclopis_, Swinh., P. Z. S., 1862, p. 353, pl. xiii., 1864, p.
380; Sclater, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 711 (woodcut); Anderson, Zool. Exped.
Yun-nan, p. 87 (1878; with synonymy).
{29}_Macacus sancti-johannis_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys, Brit. Mus. App., p.
129 (1870; in part); Scl., P. Z. S., 1871, p. 222.
_Macacus rhesus_, Scl., P. Z. S., 1871, p. 222.
_Macacus erythræus_, pt. Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 112 (1876).
CHARACTERS.--Allied to _M. rhesus_, but the head round; the face flat, and
round; supra-orbital region bare, as in other species; cheeks
dark-whiskered; ears small and haired; a strong ruff-like beard; tail
stout, thickly haired and tufted, 12 inches long. Fur thick and woolly;
hair behind the mouth, and below and behind the ears ringed; hair not
longer on the shoulders than on the rest of the body.
General colour olive-grey, or slaty; the hairs finely freckled with yellow;
no rufous on the lower back and hind quarters; legs dark, and a distinct
black line along the top of the tail.
The characters of the head, face, whiskers, beard, and the thick tail, and
the absence of the rufous colour distinguish it from _M. rhesus_. _M.
assamensis_ is redder than _M. rhesus_ or _M. cyclopis_, and has a long
head, projecting face, and a short tail.
FEMALE.--Smaller and rather lighter coloured than the male. At the
love-period the naked posterior parts with the thighs and tail become
excessively swollen, and florid.
DISTRIBUTION.--The island of Formosa, where it is the only known species of
Monkey.
HABITS.--The late Consul Swinhoe was the discoverer of this interesting
animal. He has given an account of its habits in the "Proceedings of the
Zoological Society," from which we quote the following: "The Formosan
Rock-Macaque affects rocks and declivities that overhang the sea, and in
the solitary {30}caverns makes its abode. On the treeless mountain in the
south-west, called Apes' Hill, it was at one time especially abundant, but
has since almost entirely disappeared. About the mountains of the north and
east it is still numerous, being frequently seen playing and chattering
among the steep rocks, miles from any tree or wood. It seems to be quite a
rock-loving animal, seeking the shelter of caves during the greater part of
the day, and assembling in parties in the twilight, and feeding on berries,
the tender shoots of plants, Grasshoppers, Crustacea, and Mollusca. In the
summer it comes in numbers during the night, and commits depredations among
the fields of sugar-cane, as well as among fruit-trees, showing a
partiality for the small, round, clustering berries of the Longan
(_Nephelium longanum_). In the caverns among these hills they herd; and in
June the females may frequently be seen in retired parts of the hills with
their solitary young one at their breasts. These animals betray much
uneasiness at human approach, disappearing in no time, and skulking in
their holes till the intruder has passed. They seem, too, to possess
abundance of self-complaisance and resource; for I have frequently seen a
Monkey seated on a rock by himself, chattering and crying merely for his
own amusement and gratification. Whatever Mr. Waterton may say of the
tree-loving propensity of Monkeys in general, it is very certain that this
species shows a marked preference for bare rocks, covered only with grass
and bush; for if he preferred the forest he might very easily satisfy his
desire by retiring a few miles further inland, where he could find it in
abundance. But, on the contrary, in the forest he is only an occasional
intruder, resorting thither when food fails him on the grassy hills by the
sea, where he loves to make his home. The Chinese have a fanciful idea that
the tail of the {31}Monkey is a caricature of the Tartar pendant into which
they twist their long black hair, and they invariably chop it off any
Monkey that comes into their possession. Hence the difficulty of procuring
Monkeys in China with perfect tails."