He found at Calcutta that the _Macacus cynomolgus_ menstruated regularly
on the 20th of December, 20th of January, and about the 20th of February.
The _Cynocephalus porcaria_ and the _Semnopithecus entellus_ both
menstruated each month for about four days. In the _Macaci rhesus_ and
_cynomolgus_ at menstruation "the nipples and vulva become swollen and
deeply congested, and the skin of the buttocks swollen, tense, and of a
brilliant-red or even purple color. The abdominal wall also, for a short
space upward, and the inside of the thighs, sometimes as far down as the
heel, and the under surface of the tail for half its length or more, are
all colored a vivid red, while the skin of the face, especially about the
eyes, is flushed or blotched with red." In late gestation the coloring is
still more vivid. Something similar is to be seen in the males also.
Distant, who kept a female baboon for some time, has recorded the dates of
menstruation during a year. He found that nine periods occurred during the
year. The average length between the periods was nearly six weeks, but
they occurred more frequently in the late autumn and the winter than in
the summer.[93]
It is an interesting fact, Heape noted, that, notwithstanding
menstruation, the seasonal influence, or rut, still persisted in the
monkeys he investigated.
In the anthropoid apes, Hartmann remarks that several observers have
recorded periodic menstruation in the chimpanzee, with flushing and
enlargement of the external parts, and protrusion of the external lips,
which are not usually visible, while there is often excessive enlargement
and reddening of these parts and of the posterior callosities during
sexual excitement.
Pages:
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191