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PROBOSCIS, the trunk of an elephant (Gr. rrpol3ovic1s, rrpo, before, (3oanew, to feed), the long flexible snout of the order of Mammalia called Proboscidea (q.v.), which embraces the elephant and its extinct allies the mammoths and mastodons. The term is also applied to the snout of the tapir and of the " kahan " or proboscis-monkey (Nasalis larvatus), and more particularly to the elongated parts of the mouth of various insecto, such as the rostrum or beak of a rhynchophorus beetle, the antlia of Lepidoptera, the sucking mouth of the house-fly, &c. Various worms possess a tubular structure which can be extended at the anterior portion of the body, and some gastropods a sucking tongue, to both of which the name " proboscis " is applied.
PROBOSCIS-MONKEY, a large, long-tailed, red Bornean species characterized by the extraordinary prolongation of the nose of the adult male, which hangs, however, down in front of the upper lip and does not stand straight out from the face in the manner commonly represented in pictures. From this feature the species, which is the only representative of its genus, derives its name of Nasalis larvatus. In females and young the nose is much less developed, with a tendency to turn upwards in the latter. This monkey is a leaf-eater, nearly allied to the langurs, as typified by the sacred ape of India. (See