OEDEES OF MAMMALS— APES AND MONKEYS 



The Apes. — The three great man-like (or 

 au'thro-poid) apes — gorilla, chimpanzee and 

 orang-utan — are so much like human beings 

 that, to most persons, they are the most won- 



By permission of J. F. G. Uml 

 SKELETON'S OF MAN AND GORILLA. 



cervical vertebrae, 



collar bone, 



humerus. 



sternum, 



ribs, 



rib cartilages, 



dorsal vertebrae, 



lumbar vertebrae, 



pelvis, 



radius, 



ulna. 



12, carpals. 



13, metacarpals, 



14, phalanges, 



15, cavity of pelvis, 

 10, sacrum, 



17, femur, 



18, patella, 



19, fibula, 



20, tibia, 



21, tarsals, 



22, metatarsals, 



23, phalanges. 



derful of all living creatures below man. Their 

 points of resemblance to man are so many and 

 so striking that they are a source of wonder even 

 to savages. 



As will be observed from a comparison of 

 the skeletons of man and gorilla, below the 

 skull their parallelism is remarkably close. 

 Both in kind and in number the bones are 

 the same, and they differ only in their pro- 

 portions. The hands and feet of the gorilla 

 are designed for a life that is half terrestrial 

 and half arboreal, while those of man 

 are for life on the ground. The long 

 thumb and great toe of the gorilla are far 

 superior to those members in the chim- 

 panzee and orang-utan. 



The widest differences between man and 

 the gorilla are in their skulls. In the 

 gorilla, the high forehead and intellectual 

 faculties so characteristic in man are totally 

 wanting, indicating a very low order of 

 intelligence. The long and powerful canine 

 teeth are alone sufficient to proclaim the 

 savage wild beast. 



To many persons it seems strange that 

 notwithstanding the seemingly wide dif- 

 ferences between the various races of men, 

 all mankind be referable to a single species. 

 In spite of the vast differences in intellect 

 between the native Australian — not yet 

 out of the stone age — and a Caucasian 

 philosopher, both belong to Homo sapiens, 

 and between them there is not even a sub- 

 specific difference. 



Even if the great apes could talk as well 

 as the Veddahs of Ceylon, whose vocabu- 

 lary consists of about two hundred words, 

 their anatomical differences from the genus 

 Homo would separate them quite as widely 

 as they now are. To segregate a species 

 requires a structural difference that is con- 

 stant. 



The Gorilla 1 is the largest, the ugliest, 

 the most fierce in temper, and by reason 

 of its shorter arms and longer legs, it 

 is really the nearest to man. It is the 

 only ape that walks erect without being 

 taught, and that spends a considerable por- 

 tion of its life upon the ground. In bulk 

 it is larger than an average man, and its 

 1 Go-ril'la gorilla. 



