_Simia argentata_, Linn., Syst. Nat., p. 40 (1766), albino var.
_Jacchus melanura_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 120 (1812); Gray, P. Z.
S., 1865, p. 734.
_Jacchus argentatus_, Geoffr., t. c. p. 120.
_Hapale melanura_ (nec Kuhl); Wagner in Schreb., Säugeth., i., p. 127,
fig. 36 (1840), and Suppl. v., p. 15, fig. 13 (1855); Scl., P. Z. S.,
1875, p. 419, pl. l.; Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 267 (1876).
_Midas argentatus_, Bates, Nat. Amaz., i., p. 162 (1863).
{137}_Mico melanurus_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 64 (1870).
_Hapale argentata_, Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 268 (1876).
CHARACTERS.--Face naked, flesh-coloured; ears naked, flesh-coloured,
exposed; no ear-pencils, as in _H. chrysoleuca_; tail uniform black; head
and fore-limbs pale brown; front of the body paler; front edges of the
thighs, and a band across the loins, white. Length, 7 inches, without the
tail. Some varieties have the body entirely covered with long, white, silky
hairs.
DISTRIBUTION.--Bolivia and Brazil. Mr. Bates says that the Black-tailed
Marmoset is one of the rarest of the American Monkeys. He did not hear of
its being found anywhere in Amazonia except near Cametá, on the River
Tocantins.
HABITS.--Little is known of the habits of this species, few naturalists
having had the good fortune to observe it in its native state. Mr. Bates,
however, once saw three individuals together, running along a branch, and
looking like white Kittens. "I afterwards saw a pet animal," he says in his
book, "of this species, and heard that there were many so kept, and that
they were esteemed as choice treasures.... It was a most timid and
sensitive thing. The woman who owned it carried it constantly in her bosom,
and no money would induce her to part with her pet.... The nervous little
creature would not permit strangers to touch it. If anyone attempted to do
so, it shrank back, the whole body trembling with fear, and its teeth
chattered, whilst it uttered its tremulous, frightened tones. The
expression of its features was like that of its more robust brother, _Midas
ursulus_; the eyes, which were black, were full of curiosity and mistrust,
and it always kept them fixed on the person who attempted to advance
towards it."
{138}THE TAMARINS. GENUS MIDAS.
_Midas_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 120 (1812).
This genus differs from the preceding only in the characters of some of the
teeth. The canine teeth in the lower jaw are longer than their neighbouring
incisors; but, as has been pointed out by Prof. St. George Mivart, it is a
question whether this generic distinction can be maintained, as an
intermediate condition exists in some forms.
For the convenience of description the species of this genus have been
divided into two groups--(_a_) those with long hair on the head and neck,
and (_b_) those with short hairs on the back of the head. The number of
species in the latter group is greater than in the former; and they are
further divided into those with, and those without, white lips.