276 



BRANCH VERTEBRATA. 



ORDER BIMANA (bl ma'na). 



This order comprises only one genus and a single 

 species ; thus, 



OKDER. 



BIMANA. 



GEN OS. 



HOMO, 



SPECIES. 



sapiens. 



EXAMPLE. 



Man. 



FIG. 479 



Man the lord of the Animal Kingdom is constructed 

 after the same type as the cat that purs at his feet, the 

 ox that he eats, the horse that bears his burden, the 

 bird that sings in his gilded cage, the snake that crawls 



hissing across his pathway, the 

 toad that hides in his garden, 

 and the fish that swims in his 

 aquarium. All are modifications 

 of one creative thought, show- 

 ing how the Almighty Worker 

 delights in repeating the same 

 chord, with infinite variations. 

 There are marked physical pe- 

 culiarities, however, which dis- 

 tinguish man from the other 

 mammals. Thus, the position of the spinal opening in 

 the middle third of the base of the skull, thereby bal- 

 ancing the head and admitting an upright posture ; the 

 sigmoid S-curve of the vertebral column ; the ability of 

 opposing the well-developed thumb to the fingers; the 

 shortened foot, the sole resting flat on the ground; the 

 size and position of the great toe ; the length of the 

 arms, reaching half-way from the hip to the knees ; the 

 relatively great development of brain ; the freedom of 

 the anterior extremities from use in locomotion, and the 

 consequent erect and biped position. In addition, man 

 is the only mammal that truly walks; that is endowed 



a, Monkey's Hand and Foot. 

 h, Human Hand and Foot. 



