FACTS ABOUT THE OEANG-UTAN^. 399 



all those portions which are covered by lofty virgin forests seem to 

 present the same features. In the Territory of Sarawak the orang, 

 or "mias," as it is called by the natives, is found along the rivers 

 Batang Lupar and Sadong and their small tributaries, such as the 

 Lingga and Simujan. It does not occur at all along the Sarawak 

 or Samarahan rivers, but farther west it is found, though more 

 rarely, from the river Sambas to the Kapooas, which latter lies di- 

 rectly under the equator. It is also found in Kotei near Samariuda, 

 at the mouth of the Mahakkam, and also on the Tewah River, which 

 flows into the Barito from the east, almost dii'ectly under the equa- 

 tor. 



Leaving the genus homo out of the question, the orang occu- 

 pies the third j^lace from the highest in the animal kingdom. The 

 gorilla [Troglod'des gorilla) is given the highest place, next in order 

 is the chimpanzee {T. niger), after which comes the orang-utan 

 {Simia Wurmhii and satyrus), followed by the Siamavga syiidactyla, 

 the hnk between the orangs and the gibbons [Hylohatea). The 

 orang' well deserves the place it occupies. It agrees with the go- 

 rilla and chimpanzee in positive size and quality of the brain, but 

 its fore-limbs, as compared with the hind ones, are longer than 

 theu-s, while they are also proportionally shorter than those of 

 Siamanga and Hylohates. The heel-bone (calcaneum) is proportion- 

 ally longer in Simia than in Ilylobates, and its thumb is also better 

 developed than that of the gibbons. Among the higher apes, 

 the orang comes nearest to man in the number of ribs (twelve paii's) 

 and form of the cerebral hemispheres, but differs from him in 

 other respects, esj)ecially in the limbs, more than do the gorilla 

 and chimpanzee. 



The chimpanzee approaches man most closely in the character 

 of its cranium, its dentition, and the proportional size of its arms. 

 The gorilla is more manlike in the proportion of the leg to the 

 body, size of the heel, curvature of the spine, form of pelvis and 

 absolute capacity of the cranium. In its habits the orang resem- 

 bles the gorilla and chimpanzee, which are not gregarious, while 

 the gibbons are. 



The most striking featvire of the orang is its great size and gen- 

 eral resemblance to man. The chest, arms and hands are espe- 

 cially human in their size and general outline. Since the animal 

 depends mainly upon these members for the means of locomotion 

 they are necessarily of massive proportions. The natural position 

 of the human hand at rest is with the fingers slightly bent, but 



