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Show 1887.] NOMENCLATURE OF INDIAN MAMMALS. 621 *** 3. In the twelfth edition of the ' Systema Naturae,' vol. i. p. 36, Simia silenus is described thus:-" S. caudata barbata nigra, barba nigra prolixa. Habitat in Egypto. Species obscurior, ignotis. Pedum unguibus, aliisque plurimis attributis." Neither the colour of the beard nor the locality agrees with the Malabar Monkey. Two references are given by Linnaeus thus :- " Simia Callitriches magnitudine Cynocephalorum. Alp. aegypt. " Cercopithecus barbatus niger, caesarie prolixa faciem cingente. Briss. Quad. 209." Brisson's account was, however, taken from Prosper Alpinus's work, to which the first reference in Linnaeus applied. It is thus manifest that the S. silenus of Linnaeus is founded solely on P. Alpinus's description. His work is entitled " Prosp. Alpini Hist. iEgypti naturalis pars prima. Lugduni Batavorum, M D C C X X X V ." At p. 242 are several descriptions of Monkeys, but bearded species are only described towards the bottom of the page. The work is rare (the only copy I have seen is in the British Museum), so I append a somewhat lengthy extract. " *** Tertius est ex iis qui vulgo Monichi vocantur caudati, & barbati: ex Ethiopia? locis conterrninis in iEgyptum deducuntur, *:lD- x x suntque admodum cicures, & mundi, non tamen eo ingenii acumine, ut alii Cynocephali donati sunt. At ut feles naturam ingenii hahent, atque haec de Simiis Cynocephalis a facie canina vocatis sufficiant. Sequuntur has Simiae caudatae & barbatae, quas Callitriches Aristoteles voeavit, qua? prioribus admodum dissimiles cer-nuntur. Quaedam maximorum Canum magnitudinem habent, & quaedam mediocris sunt magnitudinis. Raro has Simiae hipedes incedunt, sed quadripedes brutorum modo. Habent alias differ-entias quibus interstinguuntur; etenim aliquae ex iis toto corpore figura ad leones accedentes, crinitasque jubas veluti leones habere videntur, sed pilis nigris pendulas. f Hie simius in pectore crassior apparet, & circa ilia subtilior, ut leones. Caudam latam pilis longis, prolixisque cubitalem, & ampliorem habet: facies vero ad leoninam quadantenus inclinat, ore & dentibus itidem proximis. Barba ex mento pendet longa, lata, nigris pilis obsita. Aures humanis longiores cernuntur, totaque facies nigerrimo splendet colore. Hie Simius haud injuria a nobis Callitriches leonino corpore dictus est." With regard to the figures, tab. xx. fig. 3 represents an animal with a thin beard, below the chin alone, and with a rather long tail; tab. xx. fig. 2 shows a Monkey drawn so as to resemble a Lion as much as possible. Neither figure has any resemblance to the Malabar Monkey. It should, however, be observed that a note of interrogation occurs after the number of the page in Linnaeus's reference, and I have no doubt that the animal to which it was intended to refer was one described by Prosper Alpinus on p. 244 in the following terms ;- " Quaedam Simiae ex Callitrichis visuntur magnitudine magnorum PKOC. ZOOL. Soc-1887, No. XLI. 41 |