56 THE MAN-LIKE APES j 



In Borneo the Orang-Utan of the Malays goes 

 by the name of " Mias " among the Dyaks, who 

 distinguish several kinds as Mias Pappan, or 

 ZimOy Mias Kassu, and Mias Rambi. Whether 

 these are distinct species, however, or whether 

 they are mere races, and how far any of them are 

 identical with the Su mat ran Orang, as Mr. 

 Wallace thinks the Mias Pappan to be, are 

 problems which are at present undecided ; and 

 the variability of these great apes is so extensive, 

 that the settlement of the question is a matter 

 of great difficulty. Of the form called " Mias 

 Pappan," Mr. Wallace l observes, 



"It is known by its large size, and by the lateral expansion 

 of the face into fatty protuberances, or ridges, over the temporal 

 muscles, which have been mis-termed callosities^ as they are 

 perfectly soft, smooth, and flexible. Five of this form, meas- 

 ured by me, varied only from 4 feet 1 inch to 4 feet 2 inches in 

 height, from the heel to the crown of the head, the girth of the 

 body from 3 feet to 3 feet 7J inches, and the extent of the out- 

 stretched arms from 7 feet 2 inches to 7 feet 6 inches ; the width 

 of the face from 10 to 13| inches. The colour and length of 

 the hair varied in different individuals, and in different parts of 

 the same individual ; some possessed a rudimentary nail on the 

 great toe, others none at all ; but they otherwise present no ex- 

 ternal differences on which to establish even varieties of a 

 species. 



"Yet, when we examine the crania of these individuals, we 

 find remarkable differences of form, proportion, and dimension, 

 no two being exactly alike. The slope of the profile, and the 

 projection of the muzzle, together with the size of the cranium, 



1 On the Orang-Utan, or Mias of Borneo, Annals of Natural 

 History, 1856. 



