CHARACTERS OF THE MONKEY TRIBE. Ill 



sary to explain clearly what creature I mean to designate 

 by that name ; and the more so, as two distinct species, 

 and sometimes jicrhaps more, have been confounded under 

 tliat common appellation. This is the case even with Lin- 

 N^us, BuFFON, and Erxleben ; in whom the mistake is 

 easily accounted for by the rareness of the animals, both of 

 which are very seldom seen in Europe. Blumenbach 

 has pointed out and rectified the error, both in his Manual 

 of Natural History^ and in his Delineations of Objects in 

 Natural History, 



All the simias, and the lemurs likewise, are quadruma- 

 nous; that is, they possess opposable members, or thumbs 

 on the hind as well as on the fore limbs : they have perfect 

 clavicles ; perfect pronation and supination of the fore-arm ; 

 long and flexible fingers and toes ; hence, they have the 

 power of imitating many human actions ; hence too, they 

 are excellent climbers. On the other hand, they cannot 

 easily stand or walk upright ; because the foot rests on its 

 outer edge, the heel does not touch the ground, and the 

 narrowness of the pelvis renders the trunk unsteady ; con- 

 sequently, they are neither biped, nor strictly quadruped. 

 They resemble man in the general form of the cranium, and 

 in the configuration of the brain ; of which, liowever, the 

 cerebral hemispheres are greatly reduced. The face is 

 turned forwards; the optic axes are parallel; the orbits 

 complete, and separate from the temporal fossae. The nose 

 is flat (hence the name siriiia, from simus, ^flat-nosed'), 

 and has a single triangular os nasi. 



In this auADRUMANous order there is a constantly in- 

 creasing deviation from the human structure, by increased 

 elongation of the muzzle, and advances to the quadruped 

 attitude and progression. They have the same number 

 and kinds of teeth as man ; and an alimentary canal very 

 much like the human. Their pectoral mammae and loose 

 penis are other approximations. 



In so large a family as the monkeys, we shall expect to 

 meet with considerable varieties of form ; and to find 

 that the human character is strongly expressed in some 



