95 



as in the Pongo, by several large foramina. Tlicre is one principai 

 and t\vo very small infraorlntal /orffmfna on either side ; the uppcr 

 maxillary bones are relatively smaller, as compared -vvith the other 

 bones of the face, and especiallythe intermaxiUaries, than in thePongo; 

 a structure which coincides with the smaller proportional develop- 

 ment of the canine teeth. The nasal aperture has the šame form as 

 in the adult Simia Wurmhu, being more elongated than in the imma- 

 ture Orang, 



The main and characteristic diiference then between the Simia 

 Morio and the Pongo, whether of Borneo or Sumatra, obtains in 

 the size of the laniary or canine teeth, to the smaller development of 

 ■which in the S. Morio, almost all the other difFerences in the cranium 

 are subordinate or consequent. The laniary teeth, it may be ob- 

 serv'ed, have little relation to the kind of food habitual to the Orangs; 

 had they been so related they would have been accompanied -tt-ith a 

 structure of the glenoid cavity fitting them, as in the true Carnivora, to 

 retain a hving prey in their gripe, till its life was extiiiguished or resist- 

 ance efFectufdly ąuelled. But the flattened surfaces on which the con- 

 dyles of the lower jaw rotate are in subserviency to the flattened tu- 

 berculate molars, showing the mastication of vegetable substances to 

 be the habitual business of the jaws, and the appUcation of the lani- 

 aries to be occasional, and probably defensive in most cases. We 

 perceive the utility of formidable canine teeth to the Orangs, w'hose 

 stature makes them conspicuous and of easy detection to a carnivo- 

 rous enemy; such weapons, in connexion with the general muscular 

 strength of the Pongos, enable them to oflfer a successful defence 

 against the Leopard, and may render them formidable opponents even 

 to the Tiger; but in the smaller species, which we have been describing, 

 to which concealment would be easier, the canines are of relatively 

 smaUer size, and those of the lower jaw are so placed as to be worn 

 do\vn by the lateral incisors of the upper jaw ; they were reduced in 

 the specimen described, to the level of the other teeth ; and the points 

 of the upper canines were also much worn. The size, forms, and 

 proportions of the teeth which relate more immediately to the food 

 of the Orangs, viz. the molars and incisors, show indisputably that 

 the Simia Morio derives its sustenance from the šame kind of food as 

 the larger Orangs. The singular thickness or antero-posterior dia- 

 meter of the incisors, vvhich are worn dovm. to a flattened surface, 

 likę molar teeth, sho\v that they are ])ut to rough work ; and it is 

 probable that their comraon use is to tear and scrape away the tough 

 fibrous outer covering of the cocoa-nut, and, perhaps, to gnaw through 

 the denser shell. 



With respect to muior ditfcrcnces not noticcd in the description, 

 these may be deduced from the subjoined table of comparative ad- 

 measurements. 



