48 STUDIES IN LIFE AND SENSE. 



large. Whilst the baboons possess well-developed thumbs, and 

 whilst the legs are nearly of equal length, they seem to walk on 

 all-fours more persistently perhaps than any other apes. In habits 

 they are fierce and predatory, and are said to associate themselves 

 together in bands, which make common cause in the case of attack 

 upon or defence from an enemy. 



The second and higher division of the Catarhine Apes introduces 

 us to four forms, ranked by naturalists under three genera. These 

 forms are the Gorilla and Chimpanzee (Troglodytes), the Orang 

 (Pithecus\ and the Gibbon (Hylobate$\ The two former inhabit 

 Western Africa, whilst the orang is found only in Borneo and 

 Sumatra, and the gibbons in Eastern Asia and the Malay Archipelago. 

 Of the three groups, the gibbons are those most nearly related to the 

 other monkeys of the Old World. They alone possess seat-pads, 

 and only the nails of the great toes and thumbs are broad. 

 The orang, gorilla, and chimpanzee do not possess " seat-pads," and 

 all the fingers and toes possess flat nails. Regarding the higher apes, 

 including the gibbons, as a whole, we see in these animals a tendency 

 towards the semi-erect posture which is not habitual in other mon- 

 keys. When an orang or gorilla assumes the posture in question, it 

 supports the weight of its body upon the knuckles of the fingers ; 

 and it is in the higher apes alone that this highly characteristic 

 position is assumed. No tail is developed in these apes, and it is 

 important to note that the muscles of the tail are of rudimentary 

 nature ; this latter fact indicating that the modification of the caudal 

 appendage has been by no means a recent event in the history of 

 these apes. The thigh and leg are shorter than the arm and forearm 

 respectively. The teeth do not merely resemble those of man in 

 number and arrangement, but even present a close likeness in the 

 special development and proportions of the human teeth above and 

 below. The gibbons themselves are most notable for the extra- 

 ordinary length of their arms. The tips of the fingers touch the 

 ground when the animal stands erect. These apes not merely stand 

 erect with ease, but run swiftly and without effort. Like the spider 

 and howler monkeys of the New World, the gibbons spend their exist- 

 ence amongst the forests of Eastern Asia and the adjacent Archipelago. 

 Their long arms enable them to swing from one branch to another 

 with the greatest possible ease ; and we may thus observe how 

 Nature adapts different creatures by varied means for a similar or allied 

 life. It is chiefly to the prehensile tail that the New World monkeys 

 owe their dexterity in their forest flights ; whilst the equally agile 

 gibbons, possessing no tail, find in their elongated limbs the necessary 

 adjuncts for an existence amongst the trees. 



The orang is perhaps one of the most celebrated of apes. The 

 average height is about four feet and a half. The arms are relatively 



