154 GENERAL CHARACTERS OF QUADRUMANA. 



144. There are very marked differences among the different 

 tribes of this order, as to the degree in which they approach 

 Man in their general conformation ; some of them bearing a 

 strong resemblance to him in structure, aspect, and gait ; whilst 

 others are but little removed from the type of the ordinary 

 Mammals. The difference between the young and adult form 

 is very considerable, especially as regards the shape of the head ; 

 this is seen in a very striking manner in the Orang Outan ; of 

 which the young specimen has been placed at the head of the 

 order, being supposed to form the nearest approach to Man ; 

 whilst the old one, supposed to be altogether a different animal, 

 has been degraded below the level of the Baboons, on account of 

 the great diminution in its facial angle. 



145. There are also considerable differences among them, as 

 to food and habits. As a general rule, they may be said to be 

 omnivorous^ that is, disposed to eat anything, or to subsist on 

 a mixed diet. The Apes, Monkeys, and Baboons, search after 

 and devour the eggs of birds, locusts, and even small lizards, with 

 great diligence and appetite ; and in confinement they devour 

 animal flesh with great delight. But their natural tastes lead 

 them to mingle their animal prey with fruits or other succu- 

 lent vegetable substances ; and if they are kept from these 

 when in confinement, they become unhealthy. In regard to 

 their habits of life, too, there is great variety. Some of them 

 live solitarily, or in pairs ; others, and these the larger propor- 

 tion, in societies. Some go in search of their food by day ; but 

 the greater proportion are nocturnal in their activity. For the 

 most part, they inhabit trees ; but some species live on the 

 ground; and others among rocky and almost inaccessible 

 heights. 



146. The order seems to be most properly subdivided into 

 three families, which present well-marked differences in struc- 

 ture, and which are also most curiously limited in their geogra- 

 phical distribution. The first is that of SIMIAD.E, which includes 

 the Apes, Monkeys, and Baboons, of the Old World ; these 

 have the same number of teeth as Man, and for the most part 

 have thumbs on both pairs of extremities. The second is that of 



