150 
ORDER QUADRUMANA.— GENUS HYLOBATES. 
The Chimpansee “ ate readily every sort of vegetable food ; but at first 
did not appear to relish flesh, though it seemed to take pleasure in suck- 
ing the leg-bone of a fowl. At that time it did not relish wine, but af- 
terwards seemed to like it, though it never could endure ardent spirits. 
It once stole a bottle of wine, which it uncorked with its teeth, and be- 
gan to drink. It shewed a predilection for coffee, and was immoderately 
fond of sweet articles of food. It learned to feed itself with a spoon, to 
drink out of a glass, and shewed a general disposition to imitate the ac- 
tions of men. It was attracted by bright metals, seemed to take pride 
in clothing, and often put a cocked hat on its head. It was dirty in its 
habits, and never was known to wash itself. It was afraid of fire-arms ; 
and, on the whole, appeared a timid animal.”' 
GENUS III. HYLOBATES GIBBONS. 
Syn. Les Gibbons. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 90. 
HYLOBATES (iX)}, wood, fixrs;, bates, wandering). — Illig. Prodr. 
Beitr. — Temra. Mon. Mam. — Isid. Geoff, in Belang. Voy. 
Sl.MlA (in part). — Linn. Gmel. — Erxl Ksch. Syn. Mam. 
PiTHECUs (Obang) in part — Geoff. An. Mus. XIX Desm. Mam. 
GENERIC CHARACTERS. 
The Muzzle short. The Superciliary Ridges prominent. The 
Ears medium size. 
The Pectoral Limbs excessively long, reaching to the hinder-hands. 
The H.ands pentadactylous. The J'ingees long and narrow. 
The Nails of the thumbs flat j the remainder convex and semi-cylin- 
drical. 
The Cheek-pouches and Tail wanting. 
The Callosities always present, and more or less prominent. 
The Hair very dense. 
Inhabit Sumatra, Java, the Sonda, and Molucca Islands, Borneo, and 
some parts of Hindoostan. 
The Gibbons must be distinguished from the species already 
described. They have the long arms of the Orang-Outang, and 
the low forehead of the Chimpansee, with the callosities of the 
Guenons ; but they differ from the latter in being destitute of a tail 
or cheek-pouches. They are found only in the most secluded 
parts of India and the Eastern Archipelago. 
This genus contains five species." Two have long been known, but 
specimens of the remainder have only very recently been sent to Europe 
for the first time, by MM. Diard and Duvaucel. 
The Gibbons compose a most natural and well-defined group in the 
order of Quadrumanous animals. They resemble the preceding genera 
in having no tail or cheek-pouches, while they preserve the rudimentary 
forehead of the Chimpansee ; yet the existence of well-defined callosities 
exhibits a descent in the scale of organized being, connecting them more 
nearly with the lower genera of Apes. The most striking peculiarity in 
the countenances of the_ Gibbons arises from their having the chanfrin, 
or ridge of the nose, concave, which in the Chimpansee is convex and 
very prominent. They are covered by a dense coat of hair, having the 
same direction on the fore-arm as in the succeeding genera. 
The dentition of the Gibbons has been examined in three species (2, 
4, and 5). In the upper jaw, the first incisor terminates in a straight 
line, slanting obliquely inwards; the second, smaller than the first, slopes 
towards the canine. The latter is very long, greater in breadth than in 
thickness, trenchant on its external margin, having two longitudinal fur- 
rows on its internal surface, separated by a projecting crest, the hinder 
furrow broader and deeper than the anterior one. The second false 
molar is larger than the first, both with two blunt tubercles, the one on 
the internal margin being smaller than that on the external. The three 
true molars go on increasing in size from the first to the third. Each is 
composed of four tubercles, two of equid size on the external margin, and 
two on the internal, the hinder tubercle being much smaller than the one 
before it. These tubercles are formed by furrows dividing the tootli into 
unequal portions. In the lower jaw, the first incisor is small, terminated 
by a straight line ; the second is rounded on its internal surface, and ter- 
minates in a point. The canine is more sijuare than in the upper jaw, 
and terminates behind by a heel ; its internal surface having the two fur- 
rows and crest as in the opposite jaw. The first false molar placed ob- 
liquely has only a single point; the second has two, one within, the 
other without. Three real molars follow, increasing in size. Their sur 
faces have five tubercles, two in front, and three behind, arranged trian 
gularly. Here we find the first instance of this kind of molar. 
1. HYLOBATES ALBIMAKUS WHITE-HANDED GIBBON. 
Syn. Le Gibbon nOir. — C uv. Reg. Anim. 1. 90. 
Le Gibbon aux mains blanches Geoff. Cours." Le;. 7, p. 3.3. 
SiMlA ALBIMANA — Vigors and Horsfield iii Zool. Jour. XIII. 107. 
HYLOBATES ALBIMANUS. — Isid. Geoff, in Belang. Voy. p, 29. 
SiMiA Lar. — Linn. Gmel. 7. 27. — Fisch. Syn. Mam. Suppl. p. 534. 
SiMlA LONGIMANA. — Schreb. Saiigth. 
Long-armed Ape. — Penn. Quadr. 99. — Sliaw, Gen. Zool. I. 12. 
Gibbon — Ham. Smith, Syn. 
Common Gibbon and White-handed Gibbo.n. — Jard. Syn. 
Icon. Le Gibbon. — Audeb. Sing. 
Le Grand Gibbon. — Buff. Hist Nat. XIV. pi. 2. 
SPEciPic characters. 
Hair whitish on the hands ; a whitish circle round the face ; black or 
dusky brown elsewhere. 
Callosities small. 
Inhabits the East Indies. 
This animal is covered with thick dark hair, and its face is sur- 
rounded with a whitish circle. 
But its more important distinction from the other Gibbons consists in 
the whitish patches of hair upon the backs of all the hands, from which its 
specific name is derived. 
The arms of this Gibbon are so long, that, when seated, it can place the 
elbows upon the ground, and, resting its head between its hands, goes 
quietly to sleep. It always moves in an erect posture, even when resting 
on all the four hands, as the arm is nearly as long as the body and legs 
taken together. Its eyes are large but sunken ; its ears naked ; its face 
^t, of a deep tan-colour, and rather resembling that of Man. 
The manners of this Gibbon are mild and quiet. Its movements 
are not precipitate like those of the lower Apes, and it eats with gentle- 
ness its food, consisting of bread, fruits, or nuts. It seems very deli- 
cate, avoiding cold and moisture, and does not long survive an absence 
from its native country. The height of the adult is between tlirce and 
four feet. It is found more particularly on the Coromandel Coast, Ma- 
lacca, and the Molucca Islands. 
2. HYLOBATES VARIEGATUa— VARIED GIBBON. 
Syn. Le Gibbon bhun — C uv. Reg. Anim. T. 90. 
Le Wouwou (Hylobates agilis) — F. Cuv. Diet, des Se. Nat. XXXVI. 
288. 
Pithecusvariegaids.— G roff. Ann. Mus. XIX. 88.— Desm. Mam. 51. 
SiMiA vabiegata.— Fisch. Syn. Mam. II. 
Hylob.ates variegatds. — Kuhl, Beitr. 6. 
Little Gibbon and Active Gibbon Ham. Smith, Syn., and Jard. 
Syn. 
Icon. Vouvou. Male, fern., et petit — Geoff, et F. Cuv. Hist Mam. 
Petit Gibbon — B uff. Hisu Nat. XIV. pi. 3. 
specific chabacters. 
the adult male. 
Hair on the back, loins, thighs, and hinder part of the head, yellow or 
dear brown ; round the face greyish white; elsewhere brown. 
Callosities small. 
the adult female. 
Hair whitish only on the eyebrows ; otherwise resembling the male. 
the young. 
Hair of a uniform clear yellow. 
Inhabits Sumatra. 
Their agility is extreme; they live in pairs; and the Malayan 
name Wouwou is derived from their cry. 
Ihe height of the Varied Gibbon, when erect, is about three feet. R* 
hair is of the same nature throughout, dense and apparently woolly. R® 
thighs, which are much shorter than the arms, are very much turned 
outwards. The fingers of the hinder.hands are sliort, the thumbs long 
and capable of bending backwards ; in the fore-hands, the fingers are long 
and the thumb very short. The nose has this peculiarity, that the nos- 
trils open upon the sides; so as almost to form an exception to the cha- 
racter of the tribe Catarrhina. • 
The manner in which the colours of these Gibbons vary with the sex 
and age of the individual, render a minute description of their tints use- 
less, if not impossible. They live rather in isolated couples tlian in fami- 
' Observations on the Anatomy of the Orang-Outang (Chimpinsee), bv Dr TR-.n,— o. . . 
III. Edinburgh, 1817-20. ^ homas Stewart Traill, in the Ulcmoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society, 
" The Baron Cuvier (Reg. Anim.) admits onlv four species, but he confounds tho n r t? , r, • . 
as being well known, and one as doubtful. Desmai-est (Mam. et Suppl.) describes five i “r Tcmminck (Mon. Mara.) admits 
and Isid. Geoff. (Belang, Voy.) enumerate five. Sir William Jardino fNaturalist’s LilJarv i*'''* identical. Fischer (Syn. Ma 
3 Groff. Cours.— Cours dc I’Histoire Naturelle des Maramiferes, par M. Geoffrey St HUidre ^^ p purely nominal. 
