Subfamily SEMNOPITHECINÆ.
The members of this subfamily are easily distinguished by their slender form, and by the absence of cheek-pouches. They are more purely herbivorous than the Macaque monkeys, and a considerable portion of their food consists of leaves and young shoots. Their digestive organs are much modified, and the stomach bears some resemblance to that of ruminant ungulates, being large in size and divided into three portions. In consequence probably of the more restricted nature of their food, these monkeys are far more delicate than the species of Macacus, and are less easily kept alive in confinement. They are consequently not nearly so well represented in European museums, and they have been less studied by European naturalists. Very little is known of their breeding-habits or of their life-history in general.
The only Indian genus is Semnopithecus, which is found almost throughout the Oriental region. The corresponding African genus Colobus is distinguished by having the thumb of the hand rudimentary.
For descriptions of the anatomy, see Otto, Acad. Cæs. Leop. Nova Acta, xii, 1825, p. 505 (a partial translation of this appeared in the 'Zoological Journal,' vol. iii, p. 249); Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. i, p. 65; and Murie, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 740.
Genus SEMNOPITHECUS[1], F. Cuvier, 1821.
Syn. Presbytis, Eschscboltz.
Body and limbs slender. Tail long, exceeding in length the head and body together in all Indian, Ceylonese, and Burmese species. Thumb short, but well developed. A row of long stiff black hairs across the eyebrows. Vertebræ: C.7, D.12, L.7, S.3, C.25-30.
Dentition: i.44, c.1—11—1 pm. 2—22—2, m. 3—33—3.
The skull is rounder than in the Macaques, the breadth of the brain-case being relatively greater and the development of the muzzle less. The facial angle is consequently higher, although the intelligence is certainly not superior, and is apparently lower.
- ↑ Both the genera Semnopithecus and Presbytis were proposed in the same year, 1821, the former, in the French form Semnopithèque, for S. entellus and S. melalophos (Hist. Nat. des Mammifères), the latter for S. mitratus (Kotzebue's 'Entdeckungs Reise,' iii, p. 196). The latter species is somewhat aberrant. The name Semnopithecus has been more widely used than Presbytis, and is accordingly adopted here.
