_Semnopithecus priam_, Elliot, MSS.; Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xiii, p. 470
(1844).
_Semnopithecus pallipes_, Blyth, Ann. and Mag. N. H., 1844, p. 312.
_Presbytis priamus_, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xvi., pp. 732, 1271, pl. liv.
(1847); xx., p. 313 (1851); id., Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus., p. 12 (1863);
Kelaart, Prod. Faun. Zeylan., p. 3 (1852); Jerdon, Mamm. India, p. 7
(1867).
_Semnopithecus albipes_, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 14 (1851);
Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 15 (1870); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped.
Yun-nan, p. 18 (1878).
_Semnopithecus priamus_, Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm., p. 31 (1891);
Anderson, Zool. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 19 (1878; with full synonymy).
{109}_Presbytis thersites_, Tennent, Ceylon, p. 132, plate, fig. 1
(1860).
CHARACTERS.--Nearly allied to _S. entellus_. Hair on head indistinctly
radiated; back of head crested longitudinally; supra-orbital hairs very
long and projecting forward; ears large, not hidden by the whiskers. Fur
long; face and ears black; back, sides, outer aspect of fore-limbs, upper
part of the thigh, and the tail, ashy-grey, or earthy-brown, sometimes
slightly washed with purple; sides of the head, nape, lower half of the
thighs, hands, and feet, yellowish, as also the under surface of the body
and inside of the limbs. Length of body, 21 inches; tail, 28 inches.
DISTRIBUTION.--The Coromandel coast of India, ascending to 6,000 feet;
Ceylon, from the north as far as the Kandyan hills in the south.
HABITS.--The same as those of _S. entellus_ and _S. schistaceus_.
This species inhabits the northern and eastern provinces of Ceylon, and the
wooded hills which occur in these portions of the island. In appearance it
differs both in size and in colour from the common Wanderoo, being larger
and more inclined to grey; and in habits it is much more reserved. At
Jaffna, and in other parts of the island, where the population is
comparatively numerous, these Monkeys become so familiarised with the
presence of Man as to exhibit the utmost daring and indifference. A flock
of them will take possession of a Palmyra palm; and so effectually can they
crouch and conceal themselves among the leaves that, on the slightest
alarm, the whole party becomes invisible in an instant. The presence of a
Dog, however, excites such an irrepressible curiosity that, in order to
watch his movements, they never fail to betray themselves. {110}They may be
frequently seen congregated on the roof of a native hut.
The Singhalese have the impression that the remains of a Monkey are never
to be found in the forest; a belief which they have embodied in the proverb
that "he who has seen a white Crow, the nest of a paddi bird, a straight
coco-nut tree, or a dead Monkey, is certain to live for ever." This piece
of folk-lore has evidently reached Ceylon from India, where it is believed
that persons dwelling on the spot where a Hanuman Monkey, _Semnopithecus
entellus_, has been killed, will die, and that even its bones are unlucky,
and that no house erected where they are hid underground can prosper; and
Buchanan observes that "it is perhaps owing to this fear of ill-luck that
no native will acknowledge his having seen a dead Hanuman."