CHAPTER VII. 



POSITION OF ANTHROPOIDS IN THE ZOOLOGICAL 

 SYSTEM. 



The racial history of apes can only be traced with 

 any certainty up to the Miocene period. The fact 

 of the contemporary existence of apes and pachy- 

 dermata has been frequently asserted, but it is still 

 too far from being established to merit further con- 

 sideration here. Traces of the slender ape (Semno- 

 pithecus) have, however, been found in the Miocene 

 of Greece, Wurtemburg, the mountains of Sewalik, 

 and in the region bordering on the Himalayas. The 

 name given to one of these fossil species {Serrmopi- 

 thecus subhimalayanus) seems to establish its locality. 

 The numerous remains of Mesopithecus Pentelici in 

 Attica have, however, given rise to controversy. 

 Gaudry and Beyrich were disposed to assign these 

 specimens exclusively to the slender ape, but Gaudry 

 has since declared that, while the structure of the 

 skull and teeth is that of Semnopiihecus, the struc- 

 ture of the limbs is that of a macaca. He regards, 



