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APELLES 203 APERTTTRE pelago. In all, about a dozen species have been described with more or less definiteness. It is recognized by anato- mists that all the attempts to establish a fundamental distinction, on anatomical grounds, between the physical structure of the higher apes and that of man are futile. Generic differences, indeed, there are in abundance, but these establish only a difference of degree, and not of kind. Thus, in man, the great toe is not opposable to the others for grasping purposes, the angle between the face and the top of the skull does not exceed 120°, the teeth form an uninterrupted series, and so on; while the strong spines on the back of the gorilla's neck, the very marked eyebrow ridges in gorilla and chimpanzee, the especially long arms of the gibbon, and the protruding jaws of all of the anthropoids, are equally characteristic adaptations to different ways of life. The difference of structure between the lowest monkeys and the higher are far greater than those be- tween man and any anthropoid ape. On the other hand, while it is im- possible to establish any fundamental distinction in physical structure between homo and the anthropomorpha, there is among evolutionists an equal consensus of opinion as to the impossibility of re- garding an ape of any existing anthro- poid species as in the direct line of human ancestry. As regards brain structure, the most man-like ape is the orang, while the chimpanzee has the most closely related skull, the gorilla the most human feet and hands, the gibbon the most similar chest. APELLES (a-pel'ez), the most famous of the painters of ancient Greece and of antiquity, was born in the 4th century B. c, probably at Colophon, Ephorus of Ephesus was his first teacher, but, at- tracted by the renown of the Sicyonian school, he went and studied at Sicyon. In the time of Philip he went to Macedonia, and there a close friendship between him and Alexander the Great was established. The most admired of his pictures was that of Venus rising from the sea and wring- ing the water from her dripping locks. His portrait of Alexander with a thun- derbolt in his hand was no less cele- brated. His renown was at its height about B. c. 330, and he died about the end of the century. APENNINES (ap'en-Ins), a prolong- ation of the Alps, forming the "backbone of Italy." Beginning at Savona, on the Gulf of Genoa, the Apennines traverse the whole of the peninsula and also cross over into Sicily, the Strait of Messina being regarded merely as a gap in the chain. The average height of the moun- tains composing the range is about 4,000 feet, and nowhere do they reach the limits of perpetual snow, though some summits exceed 9,000 feet in height. Monte Como, called also Gran Sasso d'ltalia (Great Rock of Italy), which rises among the mountains of the Ab- ruzzi, is the loftiest of the chain, rising to the height of 9,541 feet, Monte Majella (9,151) being next. Monte Gargano, which puts out into the Adriatic from the ankle of Italy, is a mountainous mass upward of 5,000 feet high, completely separated from the main chain. On the Adriatic side the mountains descend more abruptly to the sea than on the W. or Mediterranean side, and the streams are comparatively short and rapid. On the W. side are the valleys of the Amo, Tiber, Garigliano, and Vol- turno, the largest rivers that rise in the Apennines, and the only ones of impor- tance in the peninsular portion of Italy. They consist almost entirely of limestone rocks, and are exceedingly rich in the finest marbles. On the S. slopes volcanic masses are not uncommon. Mount Ve- suvius, the only active volcano on the continent of Europe, is an instance. The lower slopes are well clothed with vege- tation, the summits are sterile and bare. APEPI (ap-a'pe) , in heathen mythol- ogy, the Great Serpent or Typhon, the embodiment of evil. APERIENT, a medicine which, in moderate doses, gently but completely opens the bowels; examples, castor-oil Epsom salts, senna, etc. APERTURE, in anatomy, zoology, botany, etc.: (a) The aperture of a univalve shell is the opening or mouth. In mollusks which feed on vegetable matter it is entire; while in those which are animal feeders it has a notch or canal. In some families it has an oper- culum or cover. The margin of the aperture is called the peristome, (b) Any other opening. In optics, the diameter of the object- glass of a refracting telescope, or the speculum or mirror of a reflector. The larger the aperture (i. e., the area of the surface through which the light is trans- mitted, or from which it is reflected), the greater is the power of the telescope to penetrate into space and consequently bear higher magnifying powers. The great refractor at the United States Ob servatory at Washington has an aperture of 26 inches. In recent years silver- glass parabolic mirrors of the New- tonian form have been constructed with large apertures and short focal