MAMMALIA. 



447 



Order p. Primates (first or highest}. With the exception 

 of man the primates are arboreal in habit. In adaptation to 

 this the thumb and great toe are usually opposable to the 

 other digits, as in the human hand. The digits are armed 

 with nails which are in some cases claw-like. The cerebrum is 

 large and in higher forms much convoluted. Mammae chiefly 

 thoracic (abdominal in some lower forms). The group em- 



FIG. 240. 



FIG. 240. Hand and foot of Chimpanzee. From Home and Country Magazine. 



Questions on the figure. Which is hand, and which foot ? In what re- 

 spects do they differ? How do they differ from the hand and foot of 

 man? In which is the difference from the human condition greater? 

 What is the functional meaning of these differences? 



braces the lemurs, monkeys of various kinds, baboons with 

 non-prehensile tails, the tailless apes most like man, and man 

 himself. Man is to be distinguished from the higher apes by 

 having shorter arms, better developed legs, more erect pos- 

 ture, non-opposable great toe; in the greater size and com- 

 plexity of the brain, and especially in mental and moral capa- 

 bilities (Fig. 240). 



The primates below man are found chiefly in tropical regions 

 and more abundantly south of the equator. They feed largely 

 on fruit and insects, though some eat birds and other small 

 animals. Many of them are social, or at least gregarious, and 



