Group II. Catarrhina

The Catarrhine Apes are divisible into three or perhaps only two families, the Cercopithecidae and the Simiidae, to which must be added the Hominidae. The Simiidae are sometimes spoken of as the Anthropoid Apes.

Fam. 1. Cercopithecidae.—Of the Cercopithecidae there are eight genera (perhaps nine) to be recognised, which may be distributed into two sub-families. The first of these two sub-families, that of the Cercopithecinae, has the following characters:—There are cheek pouches in which the animals store food temporarily. The stomach is simple and globular; this corresponds with a mixed diet. The tail is long or short, or practically absent.

Fig. 268.—Tcheli Monkey. Macacus tcheliensis. × 1⁄6. (From Nature.)

The most familiar genus is undoubtedly Macacus. This includes all the common so-called Macaques, the Bonnet Monkey, the Pig-tailed Monkey, etc. In this genus we find that the males are larger than the females, and have stronger canine teeth. Ischial callosities are well developed. The genus is purely Asiatic, reaching as far east as Japan, with the exception of the Barbary Ape, M. inuus, also known as the Gibraltar Ape. There are altogether some seventeen species.

Macacus inuus is doubtfully indigenous to Gibraltar. It is, however, definitely established there at present, and is carefully fostered. It is a large Ape with no external tail, in which particular it is unique among the members of its genus. At one time its extinction on the "Rock" was nearly accomplished, but three individuals being known. In 1893 the Governor of Gibraltar informed Mr. Sclater that he had himself counted as many as thirty in one herd. Its depredations seem to have led to the expression of a wish in some quarters that the numbers should be thinned; but feeling on the opposite side appears to be stronger, so that whatever was the actual mode of its introduction on to the "Rock" it will at any rate remain there unmolested for the present.

M. tcheliensis is a species found in the Yung-ling Mountains in North China. It is, with the possible exception of M. speciosus, the most northerly form of Monkey. It is interesting on account of the fact that like the Tiger of those regions it has put on an extra coating of fur to enable it to combat with the bitter winters. It is doubtful whether it is more than a variety of the Rhesus Monkey (M. rhesus).

M. nemestrinus, "the Pig-tailed Macaque," is trained by the natives of the east to climb cocoa-nut palms and to carefully select and throw down only the ripe fruit. Sir Stamford Raffles apparently was the first to report upon this useful intelligence of the animal, and Dr. Charles Hose of Borneo has confirmed him.

The Japanese Macaque (M. speciosus) is well known from the work of Japanese artists. It is the only species of Monkey found in Japan, and goes very far north.

A rather rare form is M. leoninus. It has a short tail, and occurs in Burmah. M. silenus is distinguished by a ruff of long light-coloured hair surrounding the face. It is sometimes called the Wanderoo; but this is apparently quite inaccurate, since that term is used by the Ceylonese for a Semnopithecus. For those who wish a "pseudo-vernacular" name Dr. Blanford suggests Pennant's name of "Lion-tailed Monkey."

The commonest species of the genus are M. cynomolgus, M. sinicus, and M. rhesus.

The genus Cercocebus, including those Monkeys known as Mangabeys, is confined to West Africa. They have always a long tail, quite as long as the body. The upper eyelids are pure white in colour. The ischial callosities are more pronounced than in the Macaques. In the Mangabeys also the hairs are not ringed with differently coloured bars, as is the case with both Macaques and Cercopithecus, giving to them the greenish hue which characterises so many of the last two genera. There are no laryngeal air sacs as in the Macaques. There are not more than seven species.

The genus Cercopithecus (the Guenons) represents in Africa the Oriental and Palaearctic Macaques; the genus has a long tail. The cheek pouches are larger than in the genus Macacus. The ischial callosities are less extensive than in that genus. A tooth character also distinguishes this genus from Macacus; the last molar of the lower jaw has, as a very general rule, only four cusps instead of the five which are found in Macacus. The supraciliary ridges in the skull are by no means so marked as in the allied genera.

One species, the Talapoin, C. talapoin, has been separated into a distinct genus, Miopithecus, on account of the fact that the lower molars have only three tubercles instead of the usual four. But if this be done, then Cercopithecus moloneyi, which has a lower molar with five tubercles, should also be separated.

Fig. 269.—Diana Monkey. Cercopithecus diana. × 1⁄6.

The genus Cercopithecus is limited to Africa, and its numerous species have often a very limited range. They are frequently rather brightly coloured, with blue and white patches on the face. The Diana Monkey has a pointed white beard. Of the Vervet Monkey (C. lalandii) a curious fact was noticed at the Zoological Society's Gardens a year or two back: the young was observed to take both teats of the mother into its mouth at once. Mr. Sclater in a recent list of the group allows forty-seven species, of which thirty-three were examined by himself. Subsequently, however, the list has been reduced to forty by the same authority. One of the rarest species is C. stairsi, first described from a skin stripped from a specimen which lived for a short time at the Zoological Gardens.

The genus Cynocephalus (or Papio) includes the Baboons; and the scientific name indicates the Dog-like aspect of these animals, due to the projecting snout. Cynocephalus is confined to Africa and Arabia. Several of the species of the genus are well known. The Mandrill, C. mormon (or maimon), has blue ridges on the muzzle, the bridge of the nose being red. The animal lives in herds, and is ferocious and omnivorous. The Chacma Baboon, C. porcarius, is the largest of Baboons. It lives in South Africa in large herds. The Arabian Baboon, C. hamadryas, is the Sacred Baboon of the Egyptians. The names of two other species, C. thoth and C. anubis, serve also to remind us of the ancient Egyptians. There are altogether eleven species of Cynocephalus.

Gelada (or Theropithecus) is separated as a distinct genus. Though regarded as a Baboon, Garrod has pointed out many points of likeness to Cercopithecus. The two species are, like the other Baboons, African.

Cynopithecus niger is a small black Baboon from Celebes. It has swellings on the muzzle as in other Baboons, but differs from them in being a more amiable creature as well as in its smaller size. It has a rudimentary tail, smaller even than the small tail of the typical Baboons. It has, like them, ischial callosities.

In the second sub-family, Semnopithecinae, the following characters are distinctive:—All the Apes of this group are slender in form, with a long tail. There are no cheek pouches. The stomach is sacculated; it is divided into three portions. This is accompanied by an apparently more exclusively vegetarian diet than characterises other Apes, which mingle with their diet of fruit a large proportion of insects, eggs, etc.

Fig. 270.—Black Celebesian Ape. Cynopithecus niger. × 1⁄5.

The first with which we shall deal is Colobus, containing the Monkeys known as Guerezas. These creatures are entirely confined to the African continent, and they are arboreal in habit. It has been attempted to show that their affinities are more with the Platyrrhines than with the group in which they are really to be placed. In favour of regarding them as nearer akin to the American monkeys are only two facts of importance: the first is the practical absence of the thumb, which of course recalls the condition characteristic of Ateles; in the second place, the nostrils in their wideness somewhat resemble those of the Platyrrhines. They are slender Monkeys with well-marked callosities. They have a complex sacculated stomach, resembling the large intestine of some other animals; it is not divided into distinct chambers like the stomach of a Ruminant or of a Whale. Correlated apparently with this large stomach is the small development of the cheek pouches. This genus, of which there are about ten species, is characterised by beautiful skins, which are largely collected. The Arabs have a legend to the effect that one species, when wounded, and seeing its capture and the removal of its skin inevitable, carefully tears the latter, that its captors may not profit by it. The species of this genus are most abundant on the west coast of Africa. It is interesting that one species, C. kirki, is limited to the Island of Zanzibar, where, however, it is nearly extinct.

The "Holy Apes," or Langurs, genus Semnopithecus, are allied to the last, but they are Asiatic in range. The thumb is better developed, but still shorter than in other Cercopithecidae; the callosities are small, and the cheek pouches are absent. There is a single large laryngeal sac, and the stomach is complex.

This genus is, like the Tiger, often quoted as an example of a race supposed to be characteristically tropical, existing habitually in the coldest climate. A species of Semnopithecus has been observed climbing snow-laden branches at a height of 11,000 feet in the Himalayas. There are some thirty species, which extend as far east as Borneo.

Fig. 271.—Entellus Monkey or Hanuman. Semnopithecus entellus. × 1⁄6.

The name Semnopithecus is derived from the fact that the Hanuman is regarded as sacred by the Hindus. The best-known species of Semnopithecus is this Langur or Hanuman, S. entellus. Being regarded as a sacred animal, and with the advantage thus gained, it has become a fell nuisance in gardens and to crops. Though the veneration with which the Hindoos regard these animals will not allow them to slay them, they are exceedingly thankful to a European who will enable them to commit a sin vicariously. This Ape has immense powers of leaping—a space of 20 to 30 feet can be cleared by them if one side, that from which the leap is taken, be considerably higher than the other. They are useful to the Tiger hunter, as they follow and hoot at this, their deadly enemy. S. schistaceus is a species which lives at great heights, not less than 5000 feet, in the Himalayas.

The genus Nasalis is hardly separable from the genus Semnopithecus. It is a Bornean animal, and is distinguished by a comical long nose, which not only suggests, but goes beyond, the aquiline nose of the human species. It is no doubt on this account that the Borneans, unconsciously imitating our habit of comparing "natives" in general to Monkeys, call it by a name which signifies "white man." Rhinopithecus has also a long, but a more definitely upturned nose.

Fossil Monkeys.—Several of the existing genera of Old-World Apes are also known to have existed in past times; in some cases their past distribution indicates a greater range. Thus Macacus is now represented—and that doubtfully—in Europe by the Barbary Ape alone. But from Montpellier have been unearthed the remains of M. priscus, from Pliocene beds. The Asiatic Semnopithecus is known to have lived during the Pliocene period; its remains are discovered in France and Italy, as well as in Asia. In addition to these existing forms, a number of totally extinct Old-World genera are known. The rich formation at Pikermi near Athens has produced Mesopithecus pentelici; this Monkey has a skull which recalls that of Semnopithecus, while the stout limbs are rather Macaque-like. As is the case with many living Catarrhines, the males have stronger canines. The animal had a long tail.

An analogous annectent character is shown by the Italian fossil, Oreopithecus bambolii. This animal was referred by one palaeontologist to the Man-like Apes, by another to the Cercopithecidae. It suggests a common ancestral form, and is Middle Miocene in horizon.

Just as there are no Platyrrhine Apes in the Old World so there are no Catarrhines met with in a fossil condition in the New World; the two great divisions of the Apes were as distinct in the past, so far as we know, as they are now—a strong argument in favour of those who would derive them from two sources. The existing genera, Cebus, Mycetes, and Callithrix, now living in South America, are also known in a fossil state. The extinct genus Homunculus is known from the Tertiary strata of Patagonia, and an apparently allied form is Anthropops. These creatures, however, are at present far from exhaustively known.

Fam. 2. Simiidae.—The Anthropoid, or Man-like Apes, may be separated from the lower Apes as a group, Simiae, or perhaps better, on account of the after all slender points of difference, a family Simiidae, which has the following distinctive characters.

Though arboreal creatures for the most part, these Apes, when they come to the ground, progress in at least a semi-erect fashion. Moreover, when they, as is usually the case, put their hands upon the ground to aid in walking, they do not rest as do the lower Apes upon the flat of the hand, but upon the back of the fingers. None of the Anthropoids has a tail, or cheek pouches. Ischial callosities are only seen in the Gibbons. There is commonly a laryngeal pouch, which is of large size, and aids in the production of the generally loud voice of these creatures. The hair is rather more scanty than in the Cercopithecidae, which is an approach to Man. The placenta differs in detail from that of the lower Apes, and is exactly like that of Man. These Apes show as further differences from the underlying Cercopithecidae, the greater length of the arms as compared with the legs, and the presence of a vermiform appendix to the caecum. In the latter but not the former character they agree with Man, whom we shall place in a separate family, Hominidae. The Anthropoid Apes are entirely Old World and intratropical in range at the present time.

The Gibbons, genus Hylobates, stand quite at the base of the series of existing Anthropoid Apes. They are the smallest and the most purely tree-frequenting of all the members of that group. Connected with this habit is the structural peculiarity that their arms are proportionately longer than in the other Anthropoids. The affinity of the Gibbons to the Catarrhines is proved by the presence of distinct but small ischial callosities. The arms are so long that when walking upright the hands reach the ground. The hallux is well developed. The ribs are thirteen pairs. In the skull the chief noteworthy character as compared with other Anthropoids is the fact of the large size of the canines, which are of equal or nearly equal size in the two sexes. The molars on the other hand have been particularly compared to those of Man. The brain is simpler than in the higher forms. But it is not clear that this may not be a case of diminished complexity of convolution going hand in hand with smallness of size.

Fig. 272.—Hoolock. Hylobates hoolock. × 1⁄6.

The Gibbons range through south-eastern Asia from Assam and Burmah to Hainan. The number of species is a little doubtful. It is clear that in the first place we may distinguish the Siamang, H. syndactylus, which indeed some regard as a separate genus. It is mainly to be defined by the syndactylous character of the second and third toes; they are united by skin as far as the last joint. The Hainan species, H. hainanus, is probably distinct, and the following names have been given to various other species or races, viz. H. agilis, H. leuciscus, H. leucogenys, H. lar, H. hoolock. These animals can walk erect; and when they do so, the big toe is separated as in unsophisticated or at least unbooted man. The voice is well known to be loud, and it is a curious fact that the Siamang, which has a large laryngeal pouch, is not excelled in this respect by species in which this sac is not developed.

Fig. 273.—Cerebrum of the Gibbon (Hylobates). (Lateral aspect.) c.c′, c.c″, Anterior and posterior central convolution; fi, interparietal fissure; fr, frontal lobe; f.s, Sylvian fissure; oc, occipital lobe; pa, parietal lobe; s.c, fissure of Rolando; tp, temporal lobe; *, fronto-orbital fissure. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

Of Gorillas, genus Gorilla, there is but one species, which must apparently and rather unfortunately be called Gorilla gorilla.

The misfortune is double: in the first place the repetition of the same word as both generic and specific appellation is tiresome to the ears and barbarous in its suggestion; in the second place it is now well known that the "Gorilla" of Hanno, observed by that Carthaginian voyager on an island off the African coast, was not a Gorilla at all as the word is now understood, but probably a Baboon. The external aspect of this great Anthropoid is familiar from many reproductions. The male, as is usual, is larger than the female, and his characters are more pronounced.

The face is naked and black, and the skin generally is deep black, even at birth. The ear is comparatively small, and is adpressed to the side of the head; it is altogether more human in form than that of the Chimpanzee, and this statement applies also to the rudimentary condition of the muscles of the ear, which are more rudimentary than in the Chimpanzee. The nose has an obvious median ridge, and is thus pronounced as an external feature; the nostrils are very wide. The hands and feet are short, thick, and broad; the digits are webbed. In the foot the heel is more apparent than in other Anthropoids. It is not, however, so marked as in Man, and the phrase "Ex pede Herculem" has been aptly supplemented by "Ex calce hominem." The hair upon the head forms a kind of crest, which can be elevated when the animal is enraged. The neck is thick and short, and the beast has massive shoulders and a broad chest.

Fig. 274.—Gorilla. Gorilla gorilla, ♀. × ⅛.

If it were not for the fewness of the Anthropoid Apes, and their nearness to Man, it is doubtful whether the Gorilla would be ranked as a distinct genus, for in internal structure it is very near the Chimpanzee. The microscopic character of the investigations into the anatomy of Man have somewhat dimmed the proper sense of perspective, and have tended to throw into greater prominence than seems necessary the divergences of structure seen in the Gorilla. Dr. Keith has recently summed up and commented upon these divergences, and the following account of this Anthropoid is mainly deduced from his memoir.

The cranial capacity of the Gorilla is greater than that of the Chimpanzee. It is not possible, however, to decide from this point of view whether a given skull is that of one or of the other of these Apes. Some Chimpanzees are higher in capacity than some Gorillas. But the average is undoubtedly as stated. It is to be noted that there is a correspondence between cranial capacity and size of palate, the correspondence being converse, i.e. the greater the brain the smaller the palate. This applies to Man as compared with his Ape-like relatives, but does not apply so accurately to the Gorilla, which has a more extensive palate than the Chimpanzee; its "brute development" is much greater than that of the Chimpanzee. Not only is the palate larger, but the molar teeth, slightly different in form, are also larger and stronger. This is so plainly marked that "one may say almost with certainty, that any upper molar tooth over 12 mm. in length is that of a Gorilla, and under 12 mm. is that of a Chimpanzee." In the skeleton generally it may be said that the crests for muscular attachments upon the bones are greater in the Gorilla. The nasal bones are more like those of lower Apes in their length, and they have a sharp ridge more marked than in the Chimpanzee, which, however, disappears in aged animals. It is a curious fact that Gorillas often have a "cleft palate," owing to the failure of the palatal part of the palatine bones to meet completely. The general conformation of the skull is less brachycephalic in the Gorilla.

The limbs show a number of small differences, which are associated with a more completely arboreal life in the Chimpanzee as compared with the Gorilla. The latter is approaching the human way of life. In spite, however, of these differences, no hard and fast lines of divergence can be laid down between the two African Anthropoids, for it appears from the many memoirs that have been written upon both that "there is scarcely a feature in any muscle or bone found in one animal which is not also found in the other." The heel of the Gorilla has already been referred to. This is, of course, associated with a plantigrade and therefore non-arboreal mode of progression. Certain of the muscles of the calf of the leg attached to the heel show a more human arrangement in the Gorilla than in the Chimpanzee. It is interesting to find that the muscles of the little toe are diminishing in the Gorilla as in Man. This is most clearly due to terrestrial progression and we may apply the same explanation to Man and ignore tight boots! The arm of the Gorilla is less adapted to arboreal progression. Its proportions differ from those of the arm of the Chimpanzee in that the fore-arm is shorter. In both animals the thumb is not of much use, and this digit is more retrograde in the Gorilla, not only in proportionate length but in its muscular supply. The hip girdle tells the same tale. It is broader in the Gorilla, and the glutaei muscles are more prominent, all these features being connected with the more erect gait.

The brain of both animals have been studied, but not in the case of the Gorilla from a sufficiently large number of examples to make any generalisations of great value. On the whole, the Gorilla has the larger brain, but this must be discounted by the fact that it also has the larger body. It is a remarkable fact that the Gorilla's liver is much more like that of lower Apes than the liver of other Anthropoids. It has, as has the Chimpanzee, laryngeal sacs. The general conclusion concerning the relative position of the two African Anthropoids seems to be that the Gorilla is the more primitive; and as thus it must approach more nearly to the original parent than does the Chimpanzee, it may be said that it also comes rather nearer to Man, since the Chimpanzee has travelled away from the common stock on another line. The detailed likenesses to Man, however, are not to be unduly dwelt upon; for they mainly come from a tendency to assume the plantigrade mode of progression.

In mental characteristics there is the widest difference between the two Apes that we are considering. The Chimpanzee is lively, and—at least when young—teachable and tameable. The Gorilla, on the other hand, is gloomy and ferocious, and quite untameable. When angry the Gorilla beats its breast, a statement that was originally made, we believe, by M. du Chaillu, but which has been disputed, though it appears to be perfectly true. A young Gorilla, exhibited some time since in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, could be observed to do so. The cry of the Chimpanzee is different from the "howl" of the Gorilla. An immense amount has been written upon the ways of this animal in its own home, including much that is legendary. The Gorilla has been said to lurk in the depths of the forest, and to stretch down a prehensile foot to grasp and strangle an unfortunate black man passing below. It is said, too, to vanquish the Elephant by hitting it hard upon the trunk with a stout stick, and to crumple up the barrel of a rifle with its powerful teeth.

Apart from the doubtful "Pongo" and "Engeco" of Andrew Battel, our first intelligence concerning the Gorilla is due to Dr. Savage, after whom, indeed, the late Sir Richard Owen called the animal Troglodytes savagei, a name which has to be abandoned in favour of an earlier name.

The Gorilla is limited in its distribution to the forest tract of the Gaboon. It goes about in families, with but one adult male, who later has to dispute his position as leader of the band with another male, whom he kills or drives away, or by whom he is killed or driven away. The animal is said to make a nest in a tree like the Orang; but this statement has been questioned.

It feeds upon the berries of various plants, and upon other vegetable substances; there is apparently not so marked an inclination for animal food as is exhibited by the Chimpanzee. In search of their food they wander through the forest, walking partly upon the bent hand, and progressing with a shuffling gait. It is noteworthy that the Gorilla has been said to walk upon the palm of the hand and not upon the back, as is the case with the Chimpanzee. It can readily assume the upright posture, and, in this case, balances itself largely with its arms. Professor Hartmann, however, states that the back of the hand is also used. Unlike most or many wild beasts, the Gorilla exhibits no desire to run away when he views a human enemy. Dr. Savage remarks that "when the male is first seen, he gives a terrific yell, that resounds far and wide through the forest, something like kh-ah! kh-ah! prolonged and shrill." This is accompanied by offensive tactics, which the natives do not willingly encounter. When making an attack the Gorilla rises to his feet, and as a full-grown animal reaches a height of some five feet, he is a most formidable antagonist. The attack of one of these animals is said to be made with the hand, with which he strikes his adversary to the ground, and then uses the powerful canines. The beating of the breast which heralds an attack is a statement made by M. du Chaillu. It has been denied with a vigour and asperity quite incommensurate with the importance of the matter.

Fig. 275.—A, Cerebrum of a female Chimpanzee two years old. × ½. (Dorsal aspect, showing asymmetrical development.) c.c′, c.c″, Anterior and posterior central convolutions; f.i, interparietal fissure; f.l, the longitudinal fissure; f.po, parieto-occipital fissure; fr, frontal lobes; oc, occipital lobes; s.c, sulcus centralis. B, Brain of a female Chimpanzee two years old. × ½. (Lateral aspect.) cb, Cerebellum; c.c′, c.c″, anterior and posterior central convolutions; fr, frontal lobe; f.s, fissura Sylvii; is, island of Reil; md, medulla oblongata; oc, occipital lobe; pa, parietal lobe; s.c, sulcus centralis; tp, temporal lobe. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

The Chimpanzees, genus Anthropopithecus (or Troglodytes), are to be distinguished from the Gorilla by the characters mentioned in the account of the latter animal. Briefly summed up they are mainly as follows:—The ears are large, and generally stand out from the head; but there are exceptions to be noted presently. The pigmentation of the body is not always so pronounced as in the Gorilla. The nasal bones are shorter. The skull as a whole is more brachycephalic, and the molar teeth are smaller. The hands and feet are much longer, the animal being more purely arboreal than the Gorilla. The female Chimpanzee is slightly smaller than the male, but the great disparity observable in the Gorilla does not characterise its ally. The animal, like the Gorilla, has large air sacs.

Fig. 276.—Skull of Chimpanzee. Anthropopithecus troglodytes. × ⅓. (After de Blainville.)

Chimpanzees are entirely restricted to Africa, and though they appear to extend rather farther east than the Gorilla, the forest-clad region of the equatorial belt is their home.

It has been mentioned in treating of the Gorilla that the main feature of this animal, which affords a constant difference from the Chimpanzee, is its gloomy and ferocious manner. The Chimpanzee, on the other hand, is lively and playful, though often maliciously so, and quite tameable, as many instances—particularly the notorious "Sally" of the Zoological Gardens—show. The earliest mention of animals that are probably Chimpanzees is to be found in a work upon the Kingdom of Congo, published in 1598. In a cut illustrating that work, and of which a part is reproduced in Professor Huxley's essay referred to below, the Apes, which correspond roughly in their appearance to Chimpanzees, are represented as being captured by the device of limed boots, which the Apes are putting on. This idea has been subsequently imitated and acted upon. A little later, Andrew Battel wrote of the Pongo and of another creature the Engeco. This latter, whatever may be the case with the former, is in all probability the Chimpanzee, since the word 'Nchego, now applied to those creatures, seems to be the same word. From this seems also to be derived the sailor's term "Jacko." Whether there are or are not more than one species of Chimpanzee, is a matter which has exercised and perplexed naturalists. That there are plain differences of external features, at any rate between individuals, is perfectly clear. We are justified in recognising three forms, but the question of their specific distinctness may for the present be held in reserve. The commonest of these is the variety known as A. troglodytes. This is frequent in menageries, though the specimens on view are nearly always young and small. The face and the hands are flesh-coloured, and the ears are very large. The black hair gets a reddish tinge on the flanks. The second variety is that which was termed by du Chaillu Troglodytes kooloo-kamba. This animal appears to be also the T. aubryi of MM. Gratiolet and Alix, and to be identical with two Apes known by the names of "Mafuca" and "Johanna." The former of these was exhibited in Dresden, the latter at Messrs. Barnum and Bailey's show. The two animals have been carefully studied. They differ from the common Chimpanzee by the dark colour of the face, and in the case of Mafuca the ear was Gorilline in form. So too was the ear of A. aubryi, while Johanna has a larger one. These features have led to the suggestion that the Kooloo-kamba was the result of a mésalliance between a Gorilla and a common Chimpanzee.

It has at any rate been stated that the two Anthropoids do go about in company; but there seems to be little doubt that there is no question here of a hybrid. Dr. Keith's careful studies upon Johanna have demonstrated the impossibility of regarding this Ape as anything but a Chimpanzee. The animal has the ways and manners of the Chimpanzee; has a cry exactly like that of A. troglodytes; does not beat her breast like a Gorilla when annoyed. Anatomical knowledge, however, of this specimen is at present wanting.

Fig. 277.—Young Orang-Utan. Simia satyrus. Zeitschrift für Ethnologie (Anthropolog. Gesellschaft), Bd. viii. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

Anthropopithecus calvus seems to be at least as much entitled to distinction as the last. It was originally described by du Chaillu; but Dr. Gray who examined the skins thought that the baldness was accidental, and then after this wise caution proceeded to describe, under the name of A. vellerosus, perhaps the "worst" species of Chimpanzee that has been added to the unnecessarily long list of "species" of Chimpanzees. To this variety belonged "Sally" of the Zoo, whose intelligence has been celebrated by the late Dr. Romanes. The form is characterised by its intense blackness, the red reflection of other Chimpanzees not being visible; also by the bald head, whence of course the name. The nostrils of this Ape, as of Johanna, were somewhat expanded, and thus present a certain likeness to the Gorilla. But there can be no suggestion that A. calvus is the product of a union between the two African Anthropoids. As is the case with Johanna, Sally was given and enjoyed animal food on occasions. It is a curious fact that both Sally and Johanna appear to have been colour-blind.

Fig. 278.—Young Orang-Utan. Simia satyrus. Zeitschrift für Ethnologie (Anthropolog. Gesellschaft), Bd. viii. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

The Orang Utan, genus Simia, has but one definable species, viz. S. satyrus. The supposed species of Owen, S. morio, cannot be satisfactorily defined. Plenty of other specific names have also been given to what is in all probability but a single species of large Anthropoid Ape inhabiting the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

Fig. 279.—Skeleton of Orang. Simia satyrus. (After de Blainville.)

The name Orang-Utan, now applied exclusively to the subject of the present description, was formerly applied also to the Chimpanzee, and to that animal, moreover, under the latinised version of Homo sylvestris. The Orang is a large and heavy Ape with a particularly protuberant belly and a melancholy expression. The face of the old male is broadened by a kind of callous expansion of naked skin at the sides. The colour of the animal is a yellow brown, varying in the exact shade. The ears are particularly small and graceful in appearance, pressed closely to the sides of the head. The head is very brachycephalic. The arms are very long, and when the animal is in the erect posture they reach as far as the ankle. The hallux is very short and usually destitute of a nail. It is a curious fact that the head of the thigh bone is unattached by a ligament to the socket of the pelvis in which it articulates, a state of affairs which may give the limb greater freedom in movement, but does not add to its strength; indeed, the Orang has been described as moving with laborious caution.

This Ape inhabits flat and forest-clad ground, and lives mainly in the trees. The male leads a solitary life except at the pairing season, but the female goes about with her family. On the ground the Orang walks with no great ease, and uses his arms as crutches to swing the body along. Even on trees the rate of progress is not rapid, and is accomplished with careful investigations as to the capabilities of the branches to bear his weight. The "Man of the Woods" has been stated to build a hut in trees. This is an exaggeration of the fact that it constructs a temporary nest.

Fig. 280.—A, Skull of a young Orang-Utan. Simia satyrus. (One-third natural size.) B, Skull of an adult Orang-Utan. (One-third natural size.) (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

One of these nests has lately been described elaborately by Dr. Moebius. It was found (by Dr. Selenka) on the fork of a tree at a height of 11 metres from the ground. Every night, as it appears, or every second night, the animal constructs a new nest for himself, abandoning the old one. So numerous, therefore, are these nests in localities frequented by Orangs, that a dozen can be readily found in a day. The particular nest which Dr. Moebius examined was 1.42 metres long, and at most .80 metre broad. It was built of about twenty-five branches, broken off and laid for the most part parallel to each other. Above this framework a number of loose leaves lay. There is no doubt, therefore, that these nests are not by any means elaborate structures, and that they only serve as sleeping-places, and not as nurseries for the upbringing of the young, as has been asserted.

The Orang seems to be usually of a fairly mild disposition; it will rarely attack a man unprovoked. But Dr. Wallace, who has accumulated a large number of observations upon these animals, describes a female Orang who "on a durian tree kept up for at least ten minutes a continuous shower of branches, and of the heavy-spined fruits as large as 32-pounders, which most effectually kept us clear of the tree she was on. She could be seen breaking them off and throwing them down with every appearance of rage, uttering at intervals a loud pumping grunt, and evidently meaning mischief." The name given by the Dyaks to the Orang is Mias Pappan.

Fossil Anthropoid Apes.—Undoubtedly the most interesting of fossil Anthropoids is the now famous Pithecanthropus erectus. Our knowledge of it is due in the first place to Dubois. But there is hardly an anatomist or an anthropologist who has not had his say upon this regrettably very incomplete remnant. The creature is only known by a calvarium, two separate teeth, and a femur. And the femur, moreover, is diseased. M. Dubois discovered these remains in the island of Java in andesite tufa of Pliocene or at least early Pleistocene age. The remains were found in company with Stegodon, which is now extinct, and Hippopotamus, which is no longer found in that part of the world. The name Pithecanthropus was given to it by the discoverer in order to furnish with a definite habitation and a name the theoretical Pithecanthropus of Haeckel. Even the most particular of students of mammalian nomenclature will hardly object to the utilisation of a name for a second time which is with some clearness a nomen nudum! The animal when erect must have stood 5 feet 6 inches high. The contents of the cranium must have been 1000 cm., that is to say 400 cm. more than the cranial capacity of any Anthropoid Ape, and quite as great as or even a trifle greater than the cranial capacity of some female Australians and Veddahs. But as these latter are not 5 feet in height, the Ape-like man had really a less capacious cerebral cavity. The skull in its profile outline stands roughly midway between that of a young Chimpanzee (young in order to do away with the secondary modifications caused by the crest) and the lowest human skull, that of Neanderthal Man. This creature is truly, as Professor Haeckel put it, "the long searched for 'missing link,'" in other words represents "the commencement of humanity."

The remains of Apes, more distinctly Apes than Pithecanthropus, are known from Miocene strata of France. Two genera, Pliopithecus and Dryopithecus, are known. The former appears to be close to Hylobates. Dryopithecus is more Man-like than any other, and seems to have been as large as a Chimpanzee. The incisors are human in their relatively small size. But it has been pointed out that the long and narrow symphysis of the lower jaw is a point of likeness to the Cercopithecidae.

Fam. 3. Hominidae.—Apart from Pithecanthropus, which perhaps is a member of this family, but whose remains permit us to leave it among the Simiidae, at least for the present, the family Hominidae contains but one genus, Homo, and probably but one species, H. sapiens. The characters of the family may therefore be merged in those of the genus.

Though it is easy enough to distinguish a Man from an Ape, it is by no means easy to find absolutely distinctive characters which are other than "relative." As Professor Haeckel has pointed out, there are really only four characters which differentiate Man: these are the erect walk, and the consequent modification of the fore- and hind-limbs to that position; the existence of articulate speech; the faculty of reason. Whether one body of psychologists are right who argue that reason is a distinctive human attribute, not to be confused with the apparent reasoning powers of lower animals, or whether others are justified in separating Man only in degree from the lower animals, it is clear that this very diversity of opinion prevents us for the present from utilising such characters as absolute differences. In any case the discussion of these matters is beyond the scope of the present book.

Fig. 281.—Skull of Immanuel Kant. (After C. von Kupffer.) The great size of the cranium is a noteworthy feature. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

Anatomically there are a number of small points which distinguish Man; but they are mainly due to the erect gait. It is sometimes attempted to divide Man as a naked animal. But this is an apparent difference only; the hair is not so much developed upon the body as in the Apes, save in occasional abnormalities, such as the various hairy men and women who can be seen in travelling shows, and to a less extent the Japanese Ainos, but it is present everywhere, as is shown by microscopical investigation of the skin. The skull in Man "is a smooth and imposing, rounded or oval bony case," which contrasts with the smaller and deeply ridged skull of the Anthropoid Apes. The shape of the skull is largely in accord with the large brain. The face does not project so much as in the Anthropoid Apes, though this character must not be insisted upon too strongly, as in some American Monkeys the face is as little projecting. Still we are now comparing Man with his undoubtedly nearest relatives the Simiidae. In the lower jaw the anterior line at the symphysis is an approximately straight one, that is at right angles to the long axis of the jaw, while Apes have a more retreating chin. The "beautiful sigmoid curve formed by the lumbar and dorsal vertebrae" is more pronounced in Man, but exists not only in the Anthropoids, but in other Apes.

Fig. 282.—Foot of Man, Gorilla, and Orang of the same absolute length, to show the difference in proportions. The line a′a′ indicates the boundary between the tarsus and metatarsus; b′b′, that between the latter and the proximal phalanges; and c′c′ bounds the ends of the distal phalanges. as, Astragalus; ca, calcaneum; sc, scaphoid. (After Huxley.)

Fig. 283.—Skeleton of the left pes of a Chimpanzee. (Dorsal aspect.) as, Astragalus; cb, cuboid; cl, calcaneum; ec, ectocuneiform; en, endocuneiform; ms, mesocuneiform; nv, navicular; I-V, digits. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

The fore-limbs are relatively short, the extreme length of the arm being such that the outstretched hand does not reach the knee. The thumb is a large and useful digit in Man, much more so than in the Anthropoids. On the other hand the hallux is not opposable. This is, of course, correlated with the upright attitude, as is also the greater relative thickness of that digit, upon which the greatest stress is laid in walking. As to muscles, the glutaeus maximus is more developed in Man—the Ape which most nearly approaches him being the Gorilla, in which animal the life is less thoroughly arboreal than in some others. The so-called "scansorius" is only present in Man as an occasional occurrence. The rudimentary character of the ear muscles for the movement of the external ear in Man has often been insisted upon, as also their occasional functional activity. But here and elsewhere, so numerous are the abnormalities, that "the gap which usually separates the muscular system of Man from that of the Anthropoids appears to be completely bridged over." These are words of Professor Wiedersheim quoted from Testut, and express a final summary of the matter of muscles in Man and the Apes.

Fig. 284.—The hard palate, A, of a Caucasian; B, of a Negro; C, of an adult Orang-Utan, showing the differences in shape of the bones. The palate of the Negro represents a type transitional between that of the Caucasian and that of the Orang. mx, Maxilla; pl, palatine; p.mx, premaxilla. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

In his teeth Man differs by the small exaggeration of the canines, which hardly, if at all, differ in the two sexes. There is also a complete absence of a diastema. The teeth are also on the whole weaker than in the Anthropoids, though Hylobates is very human in this particular.

Fig. 285.—Human Larynx in frontal section. cr, Cricoid cartilage; sn, sinus of Morgagni; t.c, first tracheal cartilage; th, thyroid cartilage. (From Wiedersheim's Structure of Man.)

There is a tendency in Man towards the disappearance of the upper outer incisors, and more markedly still of the wisdom teeth, which appear very late, and are often imperfect. In a large number of cases the tooth does not appear at all. In the larynx there is no great development of the great throat pouches of the Anthropoids. The minute diverticula of that organ, known to human anatomists as the ventricles of Morgagni, alone remain to testify to a former howling apparatus in the ancestors of Man.