_Simia hamadryas_, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 36 (1766).
_Le tartarin_, F. Cuvier and Geoffr., Mamm., vol. i., livr. 5 (1819).
_Cynocephalus hamadryas_, Fr. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. Mammif., p. 129, pl. 46
([male]).
_Papio hamadryas_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 103 (1812); Schl., Mus.
Pays Bas, vii., p. 129 (1876, in part).
_Hamadryas ægyptiaca_, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 34 (1870).
CHARACTERS.--MALE.--Size of a large Pointer Dog; muzzle long; nose slightly
longer than the upper lip; nostrils terminal, separated by a furrow above
and in front; face naked, the ridges parallel to the nose, and far less
prominent than in the Mandrill or Drill; eyes deep-set; brows overhanging;
ears naked; a large mane, mantle-like, on the throat, neck, {273}shoulders
and middle of the back; whiskers long, directed backwards, almost
concealing the ears; hair on the lower back, arms, thighs and legs short;
callosities large, and the surrounding part of the buttocks nude; tail
slightly shorter than the body, arched at the basal third, then descending
perpendicularly to its termination, which is tufted; under surface of body
and inner aspect of limbs thinly haired; fourth finger and second toe
strongly clawed.
Face flesh-coloured, darker round the margins of the mouth, lighter round
the eyes; snout, chin, eyebrows, ears, and naked parts of the hands and
feet, dark flesh-colour; general colour of the fur over the body ashy-grey,
lightly washed with greenish--the hairs being ringed with alternate bars of
black and greyish-green; the head, the mane on neck and shoulders, and the
front part of the body ashy-grey, washed with greenish; whiskers
greyish-white; hind part of body paler than the fore; forearms and legs
greyish-black or almost black; under side of body greyish-white; tip of
tail darker; callosities and neighbouring nude parts bright scarlet. Length
of body, 26 inches; of tail, 15 inches; height, when standing erect, 4
feet; when sitting, 2½ feet.
FEMALES AND YOUNG MALES.--Similar to adult males in coloration, but having
no mane; the females of the same size as the males.
Both sexes possess laryngeal pouches or air-sacs, extending down the neck
nearly to the arm-pits, and connecting with the windpipe by a single
opening above the larynx.
Facial portion of skull proportionately larger than the cranial. Top of
skull and forehead flattened; brain-case and front of cerebrum small and
intruded on by the orbits; the latter directed forwards and outwards.
{274}DISTRIBUTION.--Arabia, from the plains up to 9,000 feet; Abyssinia,
and the Soudan.
HABITS.--The Arabian Baboon, or "Tartarin," as it is often called, is
gregarious like its allies, occurring in troops of from two hundred and
fifty to three hundred individuals. When full-grown, they are very bold and
ferocious. They feed on fruits, berries, and the tubers of an edible grass;
but their chief food consists of insects, and such small animals as they
find under stones, or among the rocky cliffs and ravines, where they
usually dwell, for they seem to avoid the wooded country.
They have a loud voice, uttered as a grunting bark. They are said to be
extremely intelligent, "astonishingly clever fellows," as one traveller
records:--having chiefs whom they obey implicitly, and possessing a regular
system of tactics in war, with the posting of sentinels on pillaging
expeditions. They have variously modulated cries, to warn, to indicate
safety or false alarm, or to direct the general movements or conduct of the
troop. "The old males," as Mr. Blanford narrates, "are always most
conspicuous animals, all the fore part of their body being covered with
long hair. They usually take the lead when the troop is moving; some of
them also bringing up the rear; others placing themselves on high rocks or
bushes and keeping a sharp look-out after enemies. A troop collected on a
rocky crag presents a most singular appearance. I several times saw large
numbers assembled around springs in the evening in the thirsty Shoho
country.... On such occasions every jutting rock, every little stone more
prominent than the rest, was occupied by a patriarch of the herd, with the
gravity and watchfulness befitting his grizzled hair, waiting patiently
until the last of his human rivals had slaked his thirst and that of his
cattle. Around, the females were mainly occupied in taking {275}care of the
young, the smaller Monkeys amusing themselves by gambolling about." The
Arabian Baboon climbs heavily, but when moving quickly on the ground has a
regular steady gallop.
This is the Sacred Monkey of the ancient Egyptians, and its likeness is
often found engraved on their various temples and monoliths. "The
Cynocephalus Ape," as Sir Gardner Wilkinson writes, "which was particularly
sacred to Thoth, held a conspicuous place among the sacred animals of
Egypt, being worshipped as the type of the God of Letters, and of the Moon,
which was one of the characters of Thoth.... Sometimes a Cynocephalus
placed on a throne as a god, holds a sacred Ibis in his hand; and in the
judgment-scenes of the dead it frequently occurs, seated on the summit of a
balance, as the emblem of Thoth, who had an important office on that
occasion, and registered the account of the actions of the deceased. The
place where this animal was particularly sacred was Hermopolis, the city of
Thoth. In the necropolis of the capital of Upper Egypt, a particular spot
was set apart as the cemetery of the Sacred Apes."