_Semnopithecus cruciger_, Thomas, Ann. N. H. (6), x., p. 475 (1892); id.,
P. Z. S., 1893, p. 3; Hose, Mamm. Borneo, P. 15 (1893).
CHARACTERS.--Fur long and soft on the head and shoulders; hairs of the
crown standing upright everywhere, but somewhat longer in the median line;
crown chestnut; sides of the body from the axillæ, the haunches, and the
outer aspect of the legs to the ankles, brilliant red, paler on the lower
legs; shoulders and outer side of the fore-limb, the hands, nape, and
median dorsal line, deep glossy black, sometimes broken with red and black
hairs; eyebrows black; short facial hairs, whiskers, hair of the ears, the
sides of the neck, chin, and the whole of the under side of the body, and
lines down the inner sides of the limbs, glossy white, washed with yellow;
tail at the base above, black, and duller at the tip.
The young are marked like the adults.
DISTRIBUTION.--Borneo; Bakam, in the Baram district of Sarawak, where it
was discovered by Mr. Charles Hose. He has since obtained it on the Batang
Lupar river, in Western Sarawak.
{122}XIV. THE URSINE LANGUR. SEMNOPITHECUS URSINUS.
_Presbytis ursinus_, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xx., pp. 155, 182 (1851);
id., Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus., p. 13 (1863); Kelaart, Prod. Faun.
Zeylan., p. 2 (1852).
_Semnopithecus ursinus_, Anderson, Rep. Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 24
(1878); Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 36 (1891).
CHARACTERS.--Very nearly allied to _S. cephalopterus_, but larger; hair on
the sides very long. Hair more rufous on the top of the head; the back of
the head greyish; the lower back and thighs wanting the grey colour;
whiskers, beard, throat, and chest, whitish; beneath, of the same colour as
the back.
DISTRIBUTION.--The island of Ceylon, where it is confined to the mountains.
HABITS.--For an account of the habits of this species, we have again
recourse to the pages of that delightful historian, Sir E. Tennent:--
"The low-country Wanderoo," he records, "is replaced in the hills by the
larger species, _P. ursinus_, which inhabits the mountain zone. The
natives, who designate the latter the 'Maha,' or Great Wanderoo, to
distinguish it from the 'Kaloo,' or black one, with which they are
familiar, describe it as much wilder and more powerful than its congener of
the lowland forests. It is rarely seen by Europeans, this portion of the
country having, till very recently, been but partially opened; and even now
it is difficult to observe its habits, as it seldom approaches the few
roads which wind through these deep solitudes. At early morning, ere the
day begins to dawn, its loud and peculiar howl, which consists of a quick
repetition of the sounds '_How, how!_' may be frequently heard in the
{123}mountain jungles, and forms one of the characteristic noises of these
lofty situations. It was first captured by Dr. Kelaart in the woods near
Nuera-ellia, and from its peculiar appearance it has been named _P.
ursinus_ by Mr. Blyth."