The great family of the Monkeys, or the "Monkey tribe," as it is usually
called, is divided by naturalists into two large groups--the "Monkeys of
the Old World," or those that inhabit Africa, Asia, and the Asiatic
islands; and the "Monkeys of the New World," or those that belong to
America. This classification is neither scientific nor natural, but as
it serves to simplify the study of these quadrupeds--or _quadrumana_, as
they are termed--it is here retained. Moreover, as there is no genus of
monkey, nor even a species, common to both hemispheres, such a division
can do no harm.
The number of species of these animals, both in the Old and New Worlds,
is so great, that to give a particular description of each would fill a
large volume. It will be only possible in this sketch to point out the
countries they inhabit, and to say a word or two of the more remarkable
kinds.
In point of precedence, the great _Ourang-outang_ contests the palm with
the _Chimpanzee_. Both these creatures often attain the size of an
ordinary man, and individuals of both have been captured exceeding this
size; while, at the same time, in muscular strength, one of them is
supposed to equal seven or eight men. It is remarkable how little is
known of the habits of either. This is accounted for by the fact that
they both inhabit regions still unexplored by civilised man, dwelling in
thick impenetrable forests, where even the savage himself rarely
penetrates.
Although many exaggerated stories are told of these great satyr apes,
and many of these are only "sailors' yarns," yet it is easy to believe
that animals approaching in structure, and even in intelligence, to man
himself, must possess habits of the most singular kind. There is little
more known of them than there was hundreds of years ago--indeed, we
might say thousands of years; for it is evident that the Carthaginians
came into contact with the chimpanzee on the western coast of Africa,
and through them the Romans became acquainted with it; and no doubt it
was this animal that gave origin to most of their stories of satyrs and
wild men of the woods.
The chimpanzee is found only in the forests of tropical Africa--more
especially along the west coast, the banks of the Gaboon, and other
rivers. The ourang-outang is exclusively Asiatic--inhabiting Borneo,
Sumatra, the peninsula of Malacca, Cochin China, and several others of
the large Oriental islands. Of the ourang-outang there are two
species--perhaps three--differing very little, except in point of size
and colour.
A group of large tail-less apes, usually denominated _Gibbons_, or
Long-armed Apes, come next in order. These are neither so large nor
human-like as the ourang or the chimpanzee; nevertheless, they are
capable of walking upon their hind legs, after the manner of bipeds.
They are all long-armed apes, and generally use their fore-arms in
walking, but more to assist them in clinging to the branches of trees,
and swinging themselves from one to the other.
The gibbons are all Asiatic monkeys, and inhabit the same countries with
the ourang, viz., the tropical forests of India and the Indian
Archipelago. There are at least a dozen species of them, nearly half of
which are found in the Island of Sumatra alone.
The _Proboscis_ monkeys follow the gibbons. These are also long-armed
apes, but with tails and sharp proboscis-like snouts, from which their
name is derived. Only two species are known--both belonging to the
great Island of Borneo, so rich in varieties of these human-like
mammalia. One of the species of proboscis monkeys has also been
observed in Cochin China. Another large tribe of Asiatic apes,
containing in all nearly twenty different species, has been constituted
into a genus called _Semnopithecus_. These also inhabit the Indian
continent and the great islands; but they are not so exclusively
tropical in their habits, since several of the species extend their
range northward to Nepaul, and other districts among the Himalaya
Mountains. It is a species, or more than one, of these ugly apes that
is venerated by the Hindus; and they are permitted to live without
molestation in the sacred groves and temples, though they often prove
most troublesome protegees to their fanatical benefactors.
In Africa, the representatives of this last-mentioned tribe are found in
the _Colobus_ monkeys. Of these there are about a dozen species; and
from several of them are obtained the long-haired monkey skins of
commerce. They are all tropical animals, and inhabit the middle zone of
Africa--their range extending from Abyssinia to the shores of the
Atlantic.
Another very large tribe, containing in all as many as thirty species,
and belonging exclusively to Africa, are the _Guenons_. They are
closely allied to the colobus monkeys, but yet sufficiently different
from them in habits and conformation to be classed into a separate
genus. Most of the guenons inhabit the central regions of Africa; but
they are not exclusively tropical, since several kinds belong to
Kaffraria, and that region indefinitely called the Cape of Good Hope.
The _Macaco_ apes constitute another genus, which forms the link between
the guenons and the baboons, or dog-headed monkeys. They are neither
exclusively African nor Asiatic monkeys, since species of macacoes are
found in both these continents. They are usually subdivided into the
macacoes with long tails, and those with short tails; and there is one
species which wants this appendage altogether. This is the Magot--
perhaps the most noted of all the macacoes, since it was the earliest
known to European nations, and is, in fact, the only species that is
indigenous to Europe. It is the magot that inhabits the Rock of
Gibraltar. Much has been written as to whether this monkey is really
indigenous to Europe--some naturalists alleging that it reached
Gibraltar from Africa, where it is also common. But it is not generally
known that, on European ground, the magot is not confined solely to the
Gibraltar Rock. It is also found in other parts of the south of Spain;
and, it is likely enough, has existed there long enough to claim the
character of a native.
In the chain of natural affinities, the _Baboons_, or dog-headed
monkeys, stand next to the macacoes. These are more of a quadruped form
than any yet mentioned; and, both in a moral and physical sense, they
are certainly the ugliest of animals. The hideous Drills and Mandrills,
so well-known in our menageries, belong to this genus; as also the
Chacma, or great dog-monkey of the Cape.
There are, in all, seven or eight species of baboons, and most of them
inhabit Africa. One of the most singular of them, the Hamadryas,
extends its range into Arabia; while another, the Black Baboon, is an
inhabitant of the Philippine Isles.
With the baboons we close our list of the Monkeys of the Old World; but,
in order to complete the account of these quadruped mammalia, it is
necessary to find a place for those strange creatures usually known as
Lemurs. These are usually grouped by themselves, and in a
classification succeed the American monkeys--to some of which they have
a greater resemblance than to those of the Old World; but, as they are
all exclusively inhabitants of the latter, they may appropriately be
noticed here.
The _Lemurs_ are animals having very much the appearance and habits of
monkeys, but with long snouts or muzzles, resembling that of the fox.
Hence they are sometimes called fox-apes. There are many kinds of them,
however; and, although classed in a group called lemurs, they differ
exceedingly from one another, some of them having the appearance of
foxes, others more resembling squirrels, and still others like flying
squirrels--being possessed of a similar wing-like appendage, and
capable, like them, of extended flight. They are known under different
appellations, as Makis, Indris, Loris, Galagos, Tarsiers, Ay-ays,
etcetera, and naturalists have subdivided them into a great number of
genera. They are found both in Africa and Asia; but by far the greater
number of them, as the Makis and Ay-ays, belong to the Island of
Madagascar. The last are not to be confounded with an animal bearing
the same name--the ay-ay of America. The latter is the singular
creature known as the sloth, of which there are several distinct
species, all inhabitants of the great forests of tropical America.
Of the lemurs, at least thirty different kinds are known, more than half
of which belong to the Island of Madagascar. A few species are found on
the west coast of Africa: and the others inhabit the Oriental islands--
Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Timor, Mindanao, and the Philippine Archipelago.