586 MAMMALIA. 



species, and which their name indicates {a.v6punros, Man, fiop(f>r], 

 form). Anthropomorphous signifying that which has the form of 

 Man. 



These Monkeys have no tail. Their sternum is wide and 

 flattened, and their anterior members are much longer than the 

 posterior. Their body is consequently inclined and not vertical. 

 It is only when stationary that they can erect themselves like 

 Man. With regard to their dentition, they are characterised by 

 the crowns of their molar teeth having small rounded tubercles. 



The tribe of Anthropomorphous Monkeys comprises four 

 genera : the Gibbons, the Orangs, the Gorillas, and the Chim- 

 panzees. 



Gein(s Gibbon. — The Gibbons are the only genus among the 

 Anthropomorphous Monkeys which possess gluteal callosities. 

 They are recognised by their slender limbs, their very long digits 

 — especially the anterior ones, and by their thick coat. Some 

 species offer the curious peculiarity of having the second and 

 third toes succeeding the great toe joined to each other bj' a 

 narrow membrane, throughout the entire length of the first 

 l^halanx ; one of these phalanges has, for this reason, received 

 the name of syndadyki. 



These Monkeys are the least intelligent of the group we are 

 now examining : the structure and volume of their brain, as well 

 as their actions while in a state of captivity, put this fact beyond 

 a doubt. But it would not be just to say, as some naturalists 

 have done, that they are destitute of all intellectual faculties. 

 The results of experience are opposed to this assertion. 



The Gibbons are generally quiet and timid. As their height 

 scarcety exceeds forty inches in the largest species, and as their 

 means of defence are very limited, they are able to offer but little 

 resistance. In order to pass from one tree to another, when 

 the distance is great, having obtained a certain height, they 

 seize the extremity of a flexible branch, swing with it three or 

 four times to obtain impetus, and then, by an energetic muscular 

 movement, shoot themselves forward to another branch, sometimes 

 clearing a space of thirteen or fourteen yards. 



The Gibbons live in numerous troops or families in the great 

 forests of Cochin-China, the kingdom of Siam, and the islands 

 of Sunda, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. They are omnivorous, 



