THE MAMMALS 227 



the Behring sea. As the animals showed little fear of man 

 they were entirely exterminated in the eighteenth century 

 by hunters who killed them for food. Another species 

 occurs on the coast of Florida and a few others in the old 

 world. 



The Primates which comprise the lemurs, monkeys, 

 apes and man constitute the highest of the mammals. 

 The higher primates approach man in the general form 

 of the body, the occasional upright position, opposable 

 thumb which permits the foot to be used as a hand, and 

 in many other features of structure. The lower primates, 

 the lemurs, generally go on all fours and have a protruding 

 muzzle like that of a dog. The lemurs are confined to 

 Africa, the Orient and Madagascar, being most numerous 

 in the latter island where they constitute a large part of 

 the mammalian fauna. 



The primates of the new world have a broad nose and 

 usually a long tail which is employed to wrap around the 

 branches of trees from which the monkeys frequently 

 suspend themselves. There are many species of rather 

 small size confined to South and Central America, but 

 none occur native in the United States. 



The old world primates are much more varied in char- 

 acter. While they include many interesting forms, the 

 chief interest attaches to the large, anthropoid (man-like) 

 apes which are of all animals the most closely related to 

 man. The anthropoids include the gorillas, chimpanzees, 

 orangutans and the gibbons, the latter being the lowest 

 and most monkey-like of the group. The orangs are con- 

 fined to Borneo and Sumatra where they live mainly in 

 trees. The chimpanzees are natives of Africa living mostly 

 in wooded regions. While commonly walking on all fours 

 chimpanzees are capable of walking erect and they use their 

 hands in a very human way. They are known to throw 



