Volume 2, Plate XXIX / Mammalia (Mammals)

Leonine Tamarin

Midas leonina

Discovered by Humboldt and Bonpland in South America, this very rare little monkey inhabits only the plains of Mocoa bordering the eastern Cordilleras, never ascending to temperate districts, and measures about seven or eight inches with a tail nearly equalling the body. Extremely elegant, playful yet easily angered, it bristles the hair of its neck when enraged to heighten its lion-like look, and utters a cry resembling the chirrup of a small bird.