48 



GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES 



of walking he always uses the hands, but does not 

 place the palm on the ground ; he uses the backs of 

 the fingers instead, sometimes only the first joints 

 are placed on the ground, resting on the nails ; at 

 other times the first and second joints are used, 

 while at others the backs of all the fingers from the 

 knuckles to the nails serve as a base for the arm. 

 The integument on these parts is not callous, like 

 that of the palm ; the colour pigment is distributed 

 the same as on other exposed parts of the body, 

 which shows that the weight of the body is not 

 borne on the fore limbs, as it is in the case of a true 

 quadruped, but indicates that the hand is only used 

 to balance the body and shift the weight from foot to 

 foot, while in the act of walking. The weight is 

 not equally distributed between the hands and the 

 feet. 



His waddling gait is caused by his short legs, 

 stooping habit and heavy body. All bipeds with 

 stout bodies and short legs are predisposed to a 

 waddling motion, which is due to the wide angle 

 between the weight and the changing centre of 

 gravity. 



The chimpanzee is neither a true quadruped, nor 

 a true biped, but combines the habits of both. It 

 appears to be a transition state from the former to 

 the latter, and a vestige of this habit is still to be 

 found in man, whose arms alternate in motion with 

 his legs in the act of walking, which suggests the 

 idea that he may, at some time, have had a similar 

 habit of locomotion. Such a fact does not show 



