. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE CAPUCIN. 23 a golden lustre when a brighter ray of light than usual plays over its surface. The beard which so thickly decorates the chin, throat, and neck, is of a deeper colour than that of the body. Few animals deserve the name which they bear so well as the Howling Monkeys. Their horrid yells are so loud, that they can be heard plainly although the animals which produce them are more than a mile distant; and the sounds that issue from their curiously-formed throats are strangely simu- lative of the most discordant outcries of various other anima
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE CAPUCIN. 23 a golden lustre when a brighter ray of light than usual plays over its surface. The beard which so thickly decorates the chin, throat, and neck, is of a deeper colour than that of the body. Few animals deserve the name which they bear so well as the Howling Monkeys. Their horrid yells are so loud, that they can be heard plainly although the animals which produce them are more than a mile distant; and the sounds that issue from their curiously-formed throats are strangely simu- lative of the most discordant outcries of various other animals—the jaguar being one of the most favourite subjects for imitation. Throughout the entire night their dismal ululations resound, persecuting the ears of the involuntarily wakeful traveller with their oppressive pertinacity, and driving far from his wearied senses the slumber which he courts, but courts in vain. In order that an animal of so limited a size should be enabled to produce sounds of such intensity and volume, a peculiar structure of the vocal organs is necessary. The instrument by means of which the Howlers make night dismal with their funestral wailings, is found to be the " hyoid bone," a portion of the. THE CAPUCIN.—(Cebus Apella ) form which is very slightly developed in man, but very largely in these monkeys. Jn man, the bone in question gives support to the tongue and is attached to numerous muscles of the neck. In the Howling Monkeys it takes a wider range of duty, and, by a curious modification of structure, fonns a bony drum which communicates with the windpipe and gives to the voice that powerful resonance which has made the Alouattes famous. The Capucin Monkeys, an example of which is here given, are active little animals, lively and playful. In habits, all the species seem to be very similar, so that the description of one will serve equally for any other. In consequence of their youth and sportive manners they are frequently kept in a dom
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
