with the utmost facility; notwithstanding they
adequately serve the wants of these animals, and
harmonize with their general economy. It is
therefore in accordance with their arboreal habits,
that the hinder graspers of the Simiæ are as hand-like as the anterior, perhaps more so; for in these
latter organs, the thumb is far more developed;
never, indeed, becoming rudimentary, even in
those instances in which it is the most reduced in
the anterior graspers."
The principal food of these animals is fruit; of which abundance is ripe at all seasons in the tropical forests: they also occasionally prey upon the young and eggs of birds, upon lizards, and insects.
The order Quadrumana consists of three Families, Simiadze, Cebidze, and Lemuride. The first of these is scattered over the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, including the great Indian islands; the second belongs to South America; while the third is nearly confined to the great island of Madagascar, where it alone represents the Order.
Famity I. Simiadæ.
(Monkeys of the Old World.)
The distinctive characters of the Simiadz are as follows:—Teeth, as in Man; viz. Incisors 44; canines 1—11—1; false molars 2—22—2; true molars 3—33—3 :=32. Nostrils separated by a very narrow division. Mamme two, pectoral. The majority possess also cheek-pouches, and callosities on the posterior part of the body, but to this there are exceptions in the highest animals of the series. Some have a membranous sac on the throat, connected with
