150 



LECTURE VI. 



The pointed crowns are frequently grooved, so that in some 

 baboons they resemble short, curved daggers. They rise above 

 the level of the other teeth, so that it would be impossible for 

 the mouth to be perfectly closed were there not gaps for the 

 reception of the projections of the canine teeth : indeed, in the 

 upper jaw of all ape-skulls there is a gap, or diastema, between 

 the canine tooth and the incisors ; in the lower jaw there is a 

 diastema between the canine and the first molar tooth; and 

 even where the canine tooth is least developed, as in the chim- 

 panzee, this gap is plainly seen ; but is very large in the 

 goriUa and in the baboon. At the same time the prominence 

 of the muzzle towards the nose indicates the comparatively 



Fig. 51. Base of a Kafiir Skull, with a Simian Diastema. 



large and strong root of the canine tooth. But as there is 

 great variation in the general structure of the ape, so shall we 



