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."
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.
I. THE SILKY TAMARIN. MIDAS ROSALIA.
Simia rosalia, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 41, pl. i. (1766).
Midas rosalia, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 121 (1812).