QUADRUMANA. 



of the. flexor muscles of the fingers ; the whole of the muscular struc- 

 ture, indeed, is such as to render the foot a most vigorous organ of 

 prehension. 



Dissected foot of Orang. 



The conditions of the posterior limbs and feet of the Orang, which 

 render the animal so free among the trees, produce the very opposite 

 effect when on the level ground. Here the Orang is awkward, con- 

 strained, and vacillating in his movements. Instead of resting fairly on 

 the soles of the feet, as the Chimpanzee does, he treads on their external 

 edge, doubling up the fingers, as if the instinctive impulse to grasp could 

 not be overcome, and the limbs are bowed, like those of a cripple, be- 

 neath him ; leaning forward upon his knuckles, the arms acting like 

 crutches, he swings the body forward between them, raising the legs 

 for that purpose, and replacing them on the ground again, only in order 

 to advance the arms for the next effort. This, however, is not his 

 exclusive mode of progression. He can walk on the hind limbs 

 alone, touching the ground with his knuckles, first on one side and then 

 on the other, partly to give impulse to his movements, and partly to 

 keep his body balanced. Sometimes, also, he elevates the arms, throw- 

 ing them back as a counterpoise to the forward inclination of the body, 

 whilst he waddles briskly along. This attitude, however, cannot be long 

 sustained. 



The physiognomy of the Orang, of which figure 269 is characteristic, 

 is grave, melancholy, and even apathetic ; but, in the adults, not unaccom- 

 panied by an expression of ferocity ; the huge callous protuberances on the 

 sides of the face adding an air of brutish grossness. The head leans 

 forward on the chest ; the neck is short ; and loose, folded] skin hangs 

 round the throat, except when the extensive laryngal air-sacks are in- 

 flated ; this loose skin is then swollen out, like a naked, shining tumour, 

 extending up along the sides of the face, under the small angular ears, 

 filling up the interspace between the chin and chest, and encroaching upon 

 the latter ; the lips are wrinkled, and possess extraordinary mobility ; 

 the animal can protrude them in the form of a snout, or proboscis, con- 

 tracting the mouth to a circular orifice, or, on the contrary, draw them 

 back, or turn them in various directions ; the breadth of the chest and 



