358 Contributions to the 



with the human. We see also that in both man and ape the 

 greatest weight of the body is placed nearest the organs of 

 support, which is a further proof of the inability of the for- 

 mer to climb, and of the latter to walk, with ease ; and the 

 depressed head of the ape, and the proportions of the neck, 

 which is shorter than in man compared with the length of 

 the arms, also offer the least hindrance to the free suspen- 

 sion and movement of the trunk by the arms. The great 

 length of the ape's arm, especially below the elbow, how- 

 ever useful in climbing, deprives him in a measure of the 

 facility we possess of touching with the fingers every por- 

 tion of the body ; and we should hardly wish our arms so 

 long as to render the most convenient way of scratching 

 the middle of the back, passing the hand between the 

 legs, and up behind to the point desired, as has been said 

 of one species. 



So far as the arras are concerned, the climbing of the 

 ape consists in their alternate extension towards and con- 

 traction from some point above, thus elevating the body 

 to it. The shoulder is much more movable than in man, 

 and has an additional elevator, Levator claviculcB. It is de- 

 pressed by the lower part of the Trapezius^ by the Serratus 

 mcii^mis, Subclavius, and Pectoralis minor; this latter is 

 quite variable in its insertion, which is sometimes into the 

 coracoid process as in man, and sometimes into the great 

 tuberosity of the humerus ; in this Chimpanzee the former 

 was the case on the left side, but the latter on the right 

 side. In the Gorillas of Profs. Wyman and Duvernoy 

 the muscle was composed of two portions, of which the 

 upper was inserted into the coracoid process, and the lower 

 into the tendon of the short head of the Biceps^ so that 

 when the arm was raised, it might act as a flexor of both 

 humerus and fore-arm. In the lower species, the muscle 

 is generally longer than in man, and more or less sub- 

 divided, and its insertion is usually into the humerus. 



