[Illustration: THE PROBOSCIS MONKEY.]
{141} _Cercopithecus nasicus_, Desmar. et Virey, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist.
Nat., xv., p. 574 (1817); Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. i., p. 102,
pl. x.B (1840).
_Semnopithecus nasicus_, Desmoul., Dict. Class. d'Hist. Nat., vii., p.
570 (1825); Schinz, Syn. Mamm., i., p. 43 (1844); Wagner in Schreb.
Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 35 (1855).
_Nasalis recurvus_, Vigors et Horsf., Zool. Journ., iv., p. 109 (1828-9;
head of young figured); Martin, P. Z. S., 1837, p. 71.
_Semnopithecus larvatus_, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 16 (1829); Martin,
Mammif. An., p. 453, figs. 279, 280-2 (1841).
_Rhynchopithecus larvatus_, Dahlb., Stud. Zool., p. 93, pl. iv. (1856).
_Semnopithecus_ (_Nasalis_) _larvatus_, Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped.
Yun-nan, p. 42 (1878; with full synonymy).
CHARACTERS.--Face cinnamon-brown; ears blackish, as also the palms and
soles; upper surface of the head, neck, back and sides yellowish-brown,
conspicuously marked with reddish-brown and white; rump, tail and limbs
yellowish-grey; tails of old specimens quite white; sides of face yellow,
and a stripe of the same colour on the shoulders. Under surface
yellowish-white.
Hair on the head, which is parted down the centre, on the sides of the
face, neck and shoulders, long; the chin full-bearded and the tail tufted;
ears small; the nose the most conspicuous feature of the face, produced
into a proboscis capable of dilatation, with large nostrils opening
downwards, separated from each other by a septum of thin cartilage
extending to the extremity. In old males the point of the nose reaches
quite below the lowest part of the chin; it is pear-shaped, and furrowed
down the middle, giving it the {142}appearance of being double tipped; it
is widest in the middle of the free portion. The proboscis is fully
developed only at an advanced age in both sexes, being much shorter in the
young, and turned upwards. Vigors and Horsfield described their _N.
recurvus_ from a specimen which appeared to them to be perfectly adult. The
forehead is low; the eyes are wide apart, and the neck is short and much
dilated from the presence of a very large laryngeal sac. Length of the
body, 29½ inches; of the tail, 26 inches.
FEMALE.--Similar to the male, but it is smaller, and wants the greyish rump
markings; while the proboscis is somewhat less developed.
YOUNG.--Have the face blackish and the cheeks wrinkled; the back of the
head, down to the shoulders and upper part of the fore-limb is dark
reddish-brown. "Through a series of changes during which the red-brown of
the upper parts first increases in strength, and the grey-brown of the hips
and upper side of the tail change to yellowish-white, the adult pelage is
reached." (_Anderson._)
This extraordinary animal presents all the structural characters of the
genus _Semnopithecus_; but the lower border of the nasal bones, forming the
entrance to the nasal chamber, extends considerably below the lower border
of the eye-sockets. The facial portion of the skull does not much exceed
the brain-case.
The Proboscis Monkey has the sacculated stomach already described in the
Langurs.
DISTRIBUTION.--The Proboscis Monkey is confined to the island of Borneo.
Mr. Hornaday found it along the west bank of the Sarawak river, both near
the sea and two miles below the {143}town. It occurs also in some abundance
on the Batang Lupar river. Mr. Hose says that it is chiefly found near the
mouths of the rivers in Southern Sarawak.
HABITS.--The Proboscis Monkey, variously called Blanda (or White Man) and
"Rasong" by the natives, is an arboreal creature living in small troops.
"As usual," writes Mr. Hornaday, "they were over water, and, being swift
climbers and quite shy, were hard to kill. I saw altogether, during my
ramblings in the forests of Borneo, perhaps a hundred and fifty Proboscis
Monkeys, and, without a single exception, all were over water, either
river, lake, or submerged forest. As long as they are in sight they are
very conspicuous objects, choosing the most commanding positions in open
tree-tops. Once I saw thirteen in one tree, sitting lazily on the branches,
as is their habit, sunning themselves and enjoying the scenery. It was the
finest sight I ever saw in which Monkeys played a part. The cry of the
'Blanda,' is peculiar and unmistakable. Written phonetically it would be
'Honk,' and occasionally 'Kec-honk,' long drawn and deeply resonant, quite
like the tone of a bass viol.... The Proboscis Monkey is a large animal of
striking appearance both in form and colour. Taken altogether, _Nasalis
larvatus_ is, to the hunter-naturalist, a very striking object of pursuit,
and were he not partially eclipsed by the Orang he would be the most famous
Quadrumane in the East Indies."