semnopithecus

(Greek semnos=sacred, and pithēkos =an ape.] 1. Zool.: Sacred monkeys, Sacred apes; the type of the Semnopithecinæ, distinguished from Colobus by the presence of small functional thumb and their absence from Africa. The species numerous, spread over almost the whole of the Orient am ers per there are They extend along the Him a lay as to beyond Simla; on the west of India they are not found north of 14° N. lat., on the east they extend into Arakan, and to Borneo and Java, bet apparently not into Siam or Cambodia. One species ( Semnopithecus rozellana) was discovered by Père David at Moupin, in East Thibet, where the winters are severe, and the whole vegetation is pale arctic. The monkeys of this genus vary much in size, the largest are bigger than a pointer; the body in all long and slightly made, and the tail pendulous. The most important species are described in this Dictionary under their popular names. 2. Palæont.: From the Upper Miocene of Greece and the Sivalik Hills, and the Pliocene of the South of France and Italy.