'208 GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES 



as they remained apes ; but it is possible that such 

 a result would follow in the course of time. 



One thing which tends to lessen this in the gorilla 

 is the size of the muscles about the ankle and the 

 flexibility of that joint. Also the joint of the knee, 

 being much larger in proportion to the leg, makes 

 the calf appear smaller than it really is. 



The corresponding part of the arm is more like 

 that part of the human body. 



In a sitting posture the gorilla rests his body upon 

 the ischial bones, with his legs extended or crossed, 

 while the chimpanzee usually squats, resting those 

 bones upon his heels. He sometimes sits, but more 

 frequently squats. When in these attitudes, both 

 usually fold their arms across their breasts. 



The hair of the gorilla is irregular in growth. It 

 is more dense than that of the chimpanzee, but less 

 uniform in size and distribution. On the breast it is 

 very sparse, on the arms, long, and on the back, 

 dense, and interspersed with long coarse hairs. The 

 ground of colour is black, but the extreme end of 

 the hair is tipped with pale white. This is so in 

 •early youth, and with age the white encroaches, 

 until, in extreme age, the animal is quite grey. The 

 top of the head is covered with a thick growth of 

 short hair, of a dark tan colour, which looks almost 

 like a wig. This mark seems to be peculiar to 

 certain localities, but is uniform among those captured 

 in the Fernan Vaz basin. 



A white trader living on this lake claims to have 

 seen a gorilla which was perfectly white. It was 



