364 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



edited by Elliott Coues, M. D. ; " Mammals of the Adirondacks," C. 

 Hart Merriam, M. D. ; "A Naturalist's Rambles about Home," Dr. 

 C. C. Abbott. 



Man ( Hemimda). General Characteristics. Man (Homo 

 sapiens) stands as the exponent of the highest perfection of 

 animal life, unique and distinct from all preceding forms 

 as regards his mental organization. In structure (Fig. 

 379) he differs but little from other primates. The gen- 

 eral physical differences are his erect position, the span of 

 the arms equaling the height. The forehead or cranial 

 box in man overhangs the orbits ; in the gorilla (Fig. 

 381) the forehead is hollowed out. The brain in man is 

 more than twice the size of that of the gorilla, its capacity 

 being from seventy-five to ninety-two cubic inches, while 

 in the latter it is only thirty-five cubic inches. The brain 

 of the former shows a greater number of convolutions ; 

 and, finally, man alone possesses a perfect vocal commu- 

 nication, known as language. 



The present human population of the globe is 1,433, - 

 887,500. Man represents but a single genus and spe- 

 cies. The different races are divided in accordance with 

 certain external peculiarities ; thus, according to Huxley, 

 two primary divisions are noticed : i. The races with 

 crisp or woolly hair, UlotricJii, represented by the Afri- 

 can negro (Fig. 382, i, 2, 3), the Bushmen of ultra-Saharal 

 Africa, the Negritos of the Malay Peninsula and Archi- 

 pelago, and those of the Papuan Islands. They are char- 

 acterized by yellow, brown, or black skins ; the lower 

 part of the face protrudes, the waist is broader than in 

 the white race, and the fore-arm, hand, foot, and leg are 

 sometimes longer in proportion than Europeans. This 

 is also true of the Australians. The legs are a little less 

 than half the height, and the thigh-bone is flattened from 

 side to side as in the gorilla. The heel of the negro, 

 contrary to general opinion, is not longer in proportion 

 to the foot than in white races, the projections seen being 



