We remained under the Serra dos Parentins all night. Early the
next morning a light mist hung about the tree-tops, and the
forest resounded with the yelping of Whaiapu-sai monkeys. I went
ashore with my gun and got a glimpse of the flock, but did not
succeed in obtaining a specimen. They were of small size and
covered with long fur of a uniform grey colour. I think the
species was the Callithrix donacophilus. The rock composing the
elevated ridge of the Parentins is the same coarse iron-cemented
conglomerate which I have often spoken of as occurring near Para
and in several other places. Many loose blocks were scattered
about. The forest was extremely varied, and inextricable coils of
woody climbers stretched from tree to tree. Throngs of cacti were
spread over the rocks and tree-trunks. The variety of small,
beautifully-shaped ferns, lichens, and boleti, made the place
quite a museum of cryptogamic plants. I found here two exquisite
species of Longicorn beetles, and a large kind of grasshopper
(Pterochroza) whose broad fore-wings resembled the leaf of a
plant, providing the insect with a perfect disguise when they
were closed; while the hind wings were decorated with gaily-
coloured eye-like spots.
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