Professor Schlegel has (Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 47) separated a specimen from Singapore, and closely related to S. femoralis, as a distinct species, under the name of S. neglectus. It is easily distinguished, as he points out, by the general hue of its fur being black turning insensibly into greyish-brown, speckled here and there with white; in the middle line of the chest, on the lower belly, and on the inner side of the fore-arm, and thighs alone, is there any white; this and the uniformly dark tail distinguish S. neglectus from S. femoralis and S. chrysomelas.
XX. THE MAROON LANGUR. SEMNOPITHECUS RUBICUNDUS.
Semnopithecus rubicundus, Müller, Tijdschr., Nat. Gesch., v., p. 137, cum tab. (1838); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 473 (1841); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 17 (1870); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 33 (1878; with synonymy); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 36 (1876); Hose, Mamm. Borneo, p. 9 (1893).
Characters.—Differs from S. rubicundus in its rich deep maroon-red colour, the radiating hair on the forehead, and its compressed, semi-erect, crest. As Dr. Anderson points out, it is the only species with radiating hair on the forehead.
Habits.—Mr. Hose observes: "This handsome red Monkey is called by the Dyaks of Sarawak, 'Jellu merah,' and by the Kayans 'Kaladi,' and is common everywhere. It is usually seen in large numbers, and some thirty or forty often pass one in the jungle, darting from branch to branch and making a tremendous noise. They will sometimes, when barked at by a dog, attack it and inflict a very bad bite. They ascend the mountains to the height of 3,000 feet; but at that height the colour of their hair becomes of a much deeper red. They are very destructive in the fruit gardens."
XXI. THE NATUNA LANGUR. SEMNOPITHECUS NATUNÆ.
Semnopithecus natunæ, Oldfield Thomas and Hartert, Nov. Zool. i., p. 652 (1894).
Characters.—Adult Male.—Size, proportions, and coloration showing a general resemblance to the S. femoralis group, the prevailing colours being black and white. While, however, the forehead, the fore-arms and hands, lower legs and feet, and tail (both above and below) are all deep glossy black, the back itself, with the occiput, nape, and shoulders, is brown. Thighs along a narrow strip on their outer aspect, ashy grey, darkening distally into the black of the lower legs, but their posterior aspect, continuous with their inner sides, is perfectly white, giving a very peculiar and characteristic appearance to the animal, and one which is quite unlike any species known to us, with the one exception that M. siamensis has whitish patches in somewhat the same position. Whole of under surface, with the sides of the neck, the hairs on the inside of the ears, and lines down the inner sides of the arms and legs, pure creamy white. Face thinly haired throughout, the hairs black, except those on the nose, where there is a whitish patch. Forehead with the hairs radiating outwards and backwards from a single central point about half or three-quarters of an inch behind the eyebrows; posteriorly these hairs are much lengthened, as are those on the occiput, the latter being directed forwards and upwards in such a way that the black hairs of the forehead and the brown ones of the occiput meet to form a high crest on the crown. (Oldfield Thomas and Hartert, l.c.).
Young.—Messrs. Oldfield Thomas and Hartert describe a new-born specimen as follows: "Middle line of dorsal surface from crown to anus, and whole of tail, deep black, the breadth of the black on the back being about an inch and a half; the outer sides of the shoulders greyish, and also the backs of the hands and feet commencing to become black. The whole of the rest of the animal, including the forehead, arms, and legs, wholly pure white."
"Although among the many closely allied species of Semnopithecus it is difficult to be at all sure of their mutual affinities, it would seem that S. natunæ is most nearly related to S. femoralis, Horsf., and S. siamensis, M. and S. Both of these have a similar arrangement of the hairs on the crown and nape; and, on the other hand, the former possesses the wholly black hands, feet, and tail of S. natunæ, and to a certain extent the browner tint of the back, while, on the other, S. siamensis has its whitish under side and light thigh-patch, although united with a widely different coloration."