;^OOLOGT OF THE BRTSTOT, MUSEUM, 85 



0f tUt W^mUl M^mm. 



BY S. H. SWATNE, M.R.C.S. 



Mr. Swayne having on a former occasion read a paper on the 

 Anthropoid Apes, the Gorilla, Chimpanzee and Orang, now 

 described some other typical forms of the Quadrumana, viz., the 

 Gibbons, the Spider Monkeys, and the Loris, illustrated by 

 specimens from the Museum, three of these being recent 

 additions to the collection. 



The first of these, the Gibbons, like the Anthropoid Apes, are 

 destitute of a tail, but in the Spider Monkey this organ is 

 perhaps its most important characteristic. In the Anthropoid 

 Apes we found an absence of callosities on the hind quarters; 

 and in the Gibbons they are present only in a very slight degree ; 

 whilst in the Baboons they are a very striking feature. Like 

 the Anthropoid Apes, the Gibbons seem capable of assuming the 

 erect posture, although with difficulty. In comparing the 

 relative length of the arms with that of the whole body, we find 

 that the Gibbons exceed the Anthropoid Apes in the length of 

 this member, as the fingers touch the ground when the creature 

 is erect. The generic name of the Gibbon, "Hylobates," or 

 " Tree-goer," seems veiy suitable to its habits of taking long 

 bounds from tree to tree in its native forests. 



