_Ateles ater_ (Le Caijou), F. Cuvier, Mamm., i., pl. xxxix. (1823);
Sclater, P. Z. S., 1872, p. 5; Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 42
(1870); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 170 (1876).
_Sapajou ater_, Slack, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1862, p. 510.
CHARACTERS.--Entirely black; fur silky, and longer on the head and tail
than on the body; fur on top of head directed from behind forwards, falling
over the forehead, meeting the backwardly directed hairs of the forehead
and forming a tuft. Face black, the upper part naked; chin with stiff black
hairs mixed with a few white ones. Ears oval and human-like in form, the
upper part movable at will. Thumbs entirely wanting. Length of body, 19
inches; tail, 26 inches.
Distinguished from _A. paniscus_, which it closely resembles, by the black
colour of its face, and the direction of the hairs on the forehead.
YOUNG.--Lighter in colour than the adults; sometimes brown on the back and
the outer side of the limbs.
DISTRIBUTION.--The Black-Faced Spider-Monkey ranges from Panama, through
the United States of Colombia to Eastern Peru.
HABITS.--Entirely arboreal, living in large troops, and feeding on fruits.
{242}VII. THE GRIZZLED SPIDER-MONKEY. ATELES GRISESCENS
_Ateles grisescens_, Scl. MSS.; Gray, P. Z. S., 1865, p. 732; id. Cat.
Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 42 (1870); Scl., P. Z. S., 1871, p. 223; Schl.,
Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 168 (1876).
CHARACTERS.--Hair of forehead elongate. Fur in general moderately long,
black, with greyish-white hairs intermingled, giving it a grizzled
appearance; under side of tail grey. Similar to _A. ater_ and _A.
paniscus_, but distinguished by the intermixture of grey hairs, and by the
colour of the under side of the tail. Thumbs absent.
YOUNG MALE.--Rather lighter in colour, especially on the under side of
body; tail black above, grey beneath. Length of body, 14 inches; tail, 16
inches.
DISTRIBUTION.--The habitat of this species is not certainly known. Dr.
Sclater considers it probable that it will turn up in some part of the
Central American or the Colombian coast.