Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/164

150 APE [SIMIAD.E. long. It Is the most man-like of tlie latisternal apes in the proportions of its arms, as these only reach a little below the knees when the body is placed upright. It is of moderate stature, never appearing to exceed 5 feet in height. In disposition it is lively and intelligent, and its playfulness in captivity contrasts greatly with the lethargy Fio. 3. The Gorilla (Troglodytei gorilla}. From Tram. Zool Society, vol. iv. pi. 43. of the orang. The forehead is not rounded, but a bony, supra-orbital ridge extends transversely above the eyes. Its ears are very large, and it has distinct eyebrows, eye lashes, and whiskers. The pollex reaches nearly or quite to the base of the first phalanx of the index of the hand, and the hallux to the proximal end of the second phalanx of the index of the foot. There is no 05 intermedium in the carpus. The laryngeal sacculus may, as in the orang, extend downwards to the axilla. There are thirteen pairs of ribs. The gorilla (T. gorilla) is also West African, but has a less extended range than the chimpanzee, namely, between the Cameroon and Congo rivers only. It is the largest ape known, attaining a bulk of body considerably exceed ing that of man, though, on account of the shortness of its legs, it never seems to exceed the height of 5 feet 6 inches. It was first made known to moderns by Dr Thomas Savage, but it appears to have been seen by Hanno of Carthage, 1 in his voyage south of the pillars of Hercules. The gorilla has not such dark hair as has the chimpanzee, being blackish-dun in colour, and becoming grey when old. Its skin, hoAvever, is black. Its arms are longer than those of its congener, reaching half-way down the shin. Its pollex reaches but very little beyond the proximal end of the first phalanx of the index of the hand (slightly further than in the chimpanzee), and its hallux to about the distal end of the proximal phalanx of the index of its foot. The fingers and toes, however, are curiously syndactyle, being bound together by the integument to the ends of the proximal phalanges. The forehead is not rounded, the supra-orbital crest being more prominent than even in the 1 See Pliny, Nat. Ilist., ii. 169, v. 8, vi. 200, ed. Sillig. - - chimpanzee; the ears too are smaller relatively. The larynx is provided with enormous air-sacs, communicating with the ventricles and meeting over the trachea, and extending to the axilla with age. There is no os intermedium in the carpus, and there are thirteen pairs of ribs. FIG. 4. The Entellus-like Gibbon (Uylobatcs entelloida). From Archives dv Museum, vol. ii. pi. 29. The gibbons, or long-armed apes, form the genus Ilylo- bates, confined in the present day to the south-eastern continent of Asia and the Indian Archipelago. There- are several species, but individual variation and sexual difference in colour are so great that their limits are not yet well defined. One well-marked species, the largest of the genus, is the siamang (II. syndaclylus) of Sumatra, which is remarkable as being the ape with the best de veloped chin and widest breast-bone. It has also the second and third toes united by skin down to the last joint of each. Another well-marked form is the hoolock of Assam (II. hoolock). In the gibbons we first find that part upon which the body rests in sitting provided with naked callous spaces, termed (from that part of the haunch bone to which they are applied, the ischiiim) " ischial callosities ; " they are, however, still small. Though vege table feeders, the gibbons are probably less exclusively sothon are the yet higher apes before noticed. In captivity their manners are gentle, although their activity is surprising ; especially remarkable are the enormous distances they can swing themselves by their long arms. In spite of this length of arm, which seems to render their bodily proportions so unlike those of man, the length of leg, when compared with the length of the trunk of the body, is more human than in either of the two preceding genera. Another point in which they approach nearest to man, is the quality of voico which at least some of the species (e.g. II. hoolock) possess. None of the gibbons have any rudiment of a tail, and they have no cheek pouches, but the canines are elongated and tusk-like. When the body is erect, the arms are so long that they reach the ground. The hallux is well de veloped, reaching to the middle or end of the proximal phalanx of the index of the foot, while the pollex only

attains to, or reaches a little beyond, the proximal end of the