TheSimiidæ—the most intelligent of the animal kingdom—are all diurnal animals, and essentially arboreal. Many of the members of the family have, when walking, a tendency to tread on the outer edge of the foot, turning, therefore, the toe inward on account of the free motion which is possible between the various bones of its ankle, whereas, in the human foot, these bones are more solidly bound together. When climbing, the power of turning in the sole is, as is evident, of the greatest advantage to the Ape. Their food is chiefly vegetable; a few species exhibit slight carnivorous tendencies.
"Of the various genera of theSimiidæ, the Gibbons are most remote from Man. The Orangs come nearest in the number of the ribs, the form of the cerebral hemispheres, and certain other characters of the brain and skull; but they differ from him much more widely in other characters, especially in the limbs, than the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee do. Of the Chimpanzees the Gorilla is more Man-like in the proportions of the leg to the body, and of the foot to the hand; and likewise in the size of the heel, the curvature of the spine, and the absolute capacity of the cranium. The true Chimpanzees approach Man most closely in the skull, dentition, and proportionate length of the arms." (Huxley.)
TheSimiidæare confined to the Ethiopian and Indian Regions. The Gorillas and Chimpanzees live exclusively in the Tropical Regions of Western and Central Africa; the Gibbons range into all the four provinces of the Indian Region; while the Orangs are confined to two islands of the Indo-Malayan Sub-region.
THE GIBBONS. GENUS HYLOBATES.
Hylobates, Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm., p. 67 (1811).
Hylobates, Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm., p. 67 (1811).
The group of Tree-walkers, as the termHylobatessignifies,embraces the smallest-sized, the slenderest-bodied, the longest-limbed, and the most perfectly arboreal of all the Man-like Apes. All are covered with thick woolly hair, which, on the arms and fore-arms, converges (except inH. agilis) towards the elbow.
Their head is small and round, and the face compressed. Except the Orangs, the Gibbons have the longest arms of all the Apes, so long that when they stand erect the points of their fingers can touch the ground. Compared with the spinal column, their arms are as 19 to 11, while the legs are one-third longer than it. The fore-arm is much longer than the arm itself; the hand is longer than the foot, and the thumb is very long in proportion to the hand. The knee is free from the side of the body, and the great-toe is well developed and nearly one-half the length of the foot. The nails of both the thumb and the great-toe are flat. Callosities, which are wanting in all the other genera, are present inHylobates, but are very small.
In the skull the occiput is convex; the orbits are very large and deep, and the supra-orbital ridges prominent. The canine teeth are much larger than the others, and equally large in both sexes. They are generally the last of the permanent teeth to come in, but in the Gibbons they generally precede, or are developed along with, the last molar.
The vertebral column is nearly straight, presenting but little of the spinal curvature seen in Man; it has also in the dorso-lumbar region one vertebra more than in the human skeleton. The articulating head of the arm-bone (humerus) loses the direction it had among the Monkeys, and looks upward and forward as in Man. The wrist (carpus) has nine bones, as in the lowerAnthropoidea. The skeleton of the hand is morethan half the length of the spine, and the foot is slightly under half its length. The Gibbons have two pairs of ribs more than Man. The ends of the ischial bones are much everted to support the callosities.
With regard to the brain, this genus is remarkable for the great reduction of the occipital lobes of the cerebrum.
The tongue is very similar to that in Man, but it is furnished with a sub-lingual process like that already described among some of the Lemuroids. The Gibbons (except the Siamang) have no laryngeal sacs. The stomach closely resembles the human organ.
The Gibbons are very delicate, and rarely live long in confinement, even in their own country. They are in general highly intelligent, very gentle, and become most affectionate and engaging animals if kindly treated. They are, however, occasionally irascible and ill-tempered, especially when adult.
Their feats of climbing and leaping are almost proverbial. It would be impossible to excel them as acrobats. When walking on the ground they assume the erect posture, putting the soles of their feet to the ground, separating the thumb and the great-toe widely from the neighbouring digits.
"They walk erect, with a waddling or unsteady gait, but at a quick pace; the equilibrium of the body requiring to be kept up, either by touching the ground with the knuckles, first on one side then on the other, or by uplifting the arm so as to poise it. As with the Chimpanzee, the whole of the narrow, long sole of the foot is placed upon the ground at once and raised at once, without any elasticity of step." (Martin.)
Their voice is very powerful and can be heard at a great distance, especially when they are howling in chorus. TheWau-Wau and the Siamang, the one without, and the other with, a laryngeal sac, are equally vigorous in this respect.
The female produces but a single young one at a birth, of which she takes the greatest care. She carries it about, clinging to the under side of her body, for many months. It is said that she even takes it to the waterside from time to time, and with much solicitude, and in spite of its cries and resistance, washes its face.
The Gibbons frequent the great upland forests; but the Siamang (H. syndactylus) may be met with at quite low levels and close to the coast. Their food consists of fruit, leaves, and insects, eggs of birds, and apparently birds and lizards, and especially spiders. They drink either by putting the mouth down to the water, or by dipping in their hands and thus carrying it to their mouths.
The Gibbons are confined to two Sub regions of the Indian Region. With the exception of the Siamang, all the so-called species ofHylobatesare so closely allied to each other, and differ by characters of such slight importance, that they seem to be hardly worthy of specific distinction. (Thomas.)
I. THE AGILE GIBBON. HYLOBATES AGILIS.
Pithecus lar(nec L.), Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 88 (1812).Hylobates agilis, F. Cuv., Hist. Nat. des Mammif., Sept. 1821, pls. v., vi.; Müller, Tijdschr. Nat. Gesch., ii., p. 326 (1835); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 416 (1841); Fry, P. Z. S., 1846, p. 11; Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 12 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 17 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 9 (1878; with full synonymy).Pithecus agilis, Desmar., Mamm., p. 532 (1820).Simia lar(nec L.), Raffl., Tr. Linn. Soc., xiii., p. 242 (1822).Hylobates lar(nec L.), F. Cuv., Hist. Nat., Mamm., pls. 7, 8 (1824); Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xliv., ex. no., p. 2 (1875).Hylobates variegatus, Temm., Monogr. Mamm., i., p. xiii. (1827); Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. v., p 16 (1855); H. O. Forbes, Nat. Wand. East. Arch., p. 156 (1885).Hylobates rafflesii, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 8 (1851); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 11 (1870).Hylobates pileatus, Gray, P. Z. S., 1861, p. 136, pl. xxi.; id., Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 10 (1871); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 6 (1878).
Pithecus lar(nec L.), Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 88 (1812).
Hylobates agilis, F. Cuv., Hist. Nat. des Mammif., Sept. 1821, pls. v., vi.; Müller, Tijdschr. Nat. Gesch., ii., p. 326 (1835); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 416 (1841); Fry, P. Z. S., 1846, p. 11; Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 12 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 17 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 9 (1878; with full synonymy).
Pithecus agilis, Desmar., Mamm., p. 532 (1820).
Simia lar(nec L.), Raffl., Tr. Linn. Soc., xiii., p. 242 (1822).
Hylobates lar(nec L.), F. Cuv., Hist. Nat., Mamm., pls. 7, 8 (1824); Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xliv., ex. no., p. 2 (1875).
Hylobates variegatus, Temm., Monogr. Mamm., i., p. xiii. (1827); Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. v., p 16 (1855); H. O. Forbes, Nat. Wand. East. Arch., p. 156 (1885).
Hylobates rafflesii, Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 8 (1851); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 11 (1870).
Hylobates pileatus, Gray, P. Z. S., 1861, p. 136, pl. xxi.; id., Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 10 (1871); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 6 (1878).
Characters.—Face black; colour entirely black, but becoming brown on the back and sides, and with a white superciliary band, and sometimes ashy-grey cheeks.
This is the typical form of the species in Mid-Sumatra, where the present writer had the opportunity of examining it alive. It was with difficulty distinguished fromH. syndactylus, except from its size and the presence of the white superciliary band.
Other specimens (but none of them met with to the south of the Moesi river by the present writer) have been described, with the occiput, the back from immediately behind the shoulders, the flanks, the hips, and the outer surfaces of the fore- and hind-limbs, pale yellow. The shoulders, chest, and belly, and the inside of the limbs and feet dark brown; eyebrows and whiskers pale grey. (Anderson.)
The variety described asH. pileatusis distinguished by a black cap-like patch on the top of the head; the chest, throat, and belly black; the back of the head, the upper surface of the body, the limbs and area round the black cap grey. This variety may also be entirely white, except for the coronal capand chest being black, and the back brown; or the pervading colour may be brown, the sides of the face and the under surface black, and the whiskers white. The index and middle fingers are occasionally webbed together.
All the hairs on the arm and fore-arm converge towards the wrist.
Distribution.—This species is confined to Sumatra and to Siam. In the former country it is known by the name of "Ongka" by the Malays, who, with the keen powers of observation they possess in regard to all natural objects, recognise two varieties, the white or yellow variety—"Ongka putih," and the black one—"Ongka itam" (H. rafflesi). The capped variety (H. pileatus) with its variously coloured forms inhabits Siam.
Habits.—The habits of the "Ongka" are very similar to those of the Wau-wau, or the Siamang (H. syndactylus). The natives, however, aver that it is much more silent, rarely howling as either of these other two species do. They are also seen generally in quite small troops, and often in pairs only.
"It is almost impossible," writes Mr. Martin of a specimen that lived formerly in the Zoological Gardens, "to convey in words an idea of the quickness and graceful address of her movements: they may, indeed, be termed aërial, as she seems merely to touch, in her progress, the branches among which she exhibits her evolutions. In these feats her hands and arms are the sole organs of locomotion; her body hanging as if suspended by a rope, sustained by one hand (the right, for example), she launches herself by an energetic movement to a distant branch, which she catches with the left hand. But her hold is less than momentary; the impulse for the nextlaunch is acquired; the branch then aimed at is attained by the right hand again, and quitted instantaneously, and so on, in alternate succession. In this manner spaces of twelve and eighteen feet are cleared with the greatest ease, and uninterruptedly for hours together, without the slightest appearance of fatigue being manifested; and it is evident that if more space could be allowed, distances very greatly exceeding eighteen feet would be as easily cleared.... Sometimes on seizing a branch in her progress, she will throw herself, by one arm only, completely round it, making a revolution with such rapidity as almost to deceive the eye, and continue her progress with undiminished velocity. It is singular to observe how suddenly this Gibbon can stop, when the impetus given by the rapidity and distance of her swinging leaps would seem to require a gradual abatement of her movements. In the very midst of her flight a branch is seized, the body raised, and she is seen, as if by magic, quietly seated on it, grasping it with her feet.... A live bird was let loose in her apartment; she marked its flight, made a long swing to a distant branch, caught the bird with one hand in her passage, and attained the branch with her other hand; her aim, both at the bird and the branch, being as successful as if one object only had engaged her attention. It may be added, that she instantly bit off the head of the bird, picked its feathers, and then threw it down, without attempting to eat it."
II. THE WAU-WAU GIBBON. HYLOBATES LEUCISCUS.
A.Javan Race(H. leuciscus).
Simia leucisca, Schreber, Säugeth. i., pl. iii. b. (1775).Pithecus leuciscus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 89 (1812).Hylobates leuciscus, Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 6 (1820); Desmar. Mamm., p. 51 (1820); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 416 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 7 (1851); Wagner, Schreb., Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 16 (1855); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 15 (1870); H. O. Forbes, Nat. Wand. East. Arch., p. 70 (1875); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 19 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 7 (1878; with full synonymy).
Simia leucisca, Schreber, Säugeth. i., pl. iii. b. (1775).
Pithecus leuciscus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 89 (1812).
Hylobates leuciscus, Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 6 (1820); Desmar. Mamm., p. 51 (1820); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 416 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 7 (1851); Wagner, Schreb., Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 16 (1855); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 15 (1870); H. O. Forbes, Nat. Wand. East. Arch., p. 70 (1875); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 19 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 7 (1878; with full synonymy).
B.Bornean Race(H. concolor).
Simia concolor, Harlan, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil., v., p. 229 pl. ii. (1827).Hylobates harlani, Less., Bull. des Sc. Nat., xiii., p. 111 (1827).Hylobates concolor, Schl., Essai Phys. Serp., p. 237 (1837); S. Müller, Verhand. Gesch., p. 48 (1841); Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., x., p. 838 (1841); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 417 (1841); Fry, P. Z. S., 1846, p. 15; Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 17 (1855; in part); Schleg., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 20 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 11 (1878).Hylobates mülleri, Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 444 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 7 (1851); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 21 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 8 (1878; with full synonymy); Hose, Mammals of Borneo, p. 6 (1893).Hylobates funereus, Is. Geoffr., C. R., xxxi., p. 874 (Dec., 1850); Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 18 (1855).? Hylobates fuscus, Winslow Lewis, Bost. Journ. N. Hist., i., pt. i., p. 32, pls. i., ii. (1834).
Simia concolor, Harlan, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil., v., p. 229 pl. ii. (1827).
Hylobates harlani, Less., Bull. des Sc. Nat., xiii., p. 111 (1827).
Hylobates concolor, Schl., Essai Phys. Serp., p. 237 (1837); S. Müller, Verhand. Gesch., p. 48 (1841); Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., x., p. 838 (1841); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 417 (1841); Fry, P. Z. S., 1846, p. 15; Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 17 (1855; in part); Schleg., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 20 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 11 (1878).
Hylobates mülleri, Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 444 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 7 (1851); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 21 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 8 (1878; with full synonymy); Hose, Mammals of Borneo, p. 6 (1893).
Hylobates funereus, Is. Geoffr., C. R., xxxi., p. 874 (Dec., 1850); Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. Suppl. v., p. 18 (1855).
? Hylobates fuscus, Winslow Lewis, Bost. Journ. N. Hist., i., pt. i., p. 32, pls. i., ii. (1834).
Characters.—Fur thick, long and woolly. General colour ashy-grey, paler on the lower back and rump; hair roundthe face grey; superciliary streak white; top of the head black; fingers and toes black.
This species has been found to possess occasionally a supernumerary finger on each hand.
Distribution.—The Indo-Malayan Sub-region. Java, Borneo, and the Sulu Archipelago between Borneo and the Philippines.
Habits.—The Wau-Wau—the Malay name for this Gibbon—is one of the first of the Quadrumana that makes its presence known to the traveller in Java, when he reaches its upland forest regions. In the evening, just about sundown, and more especially in the early morning commencing before sunrise and finally ceasing when the sun is above the tops of the trees, he will be surprised by a sudden outbreak of what appears to be now the loud plaintive wailings of a crowd of women, now the united howling of a band of castigated children. The present writer's first acquaintance with this charming genus of Monkeys was made among the Kosala hills in Western Java, and it will ever remain with him as one of many most pleasant recollections of a long tropical sojourn. Their "woo-oo-ut—woo-ut—woo-oo-ut—wut-wut-wut—wŭt-wŭt-wŭt," always more dolorous on a dull heavy morning previous to rain, is just such a cry as one might expect from the sorrowful countenance so characteristic of the species ofHylobates. The Wau-Wau has a wonderfully human look in its eyes; and it was with great distress that the writer witnessed the death of the only one he ever shot. Falling on its back with a thud on the ground, it raised itself on its elbows, passed its long taper fingers over the wound, gave a woeful look at them and at his slayer, then fell back at full length—dead—"saperti orang" (just like a man), as his Malay companion remarked. He kept in captivity for a short time a specimen which was brought to him by a native, and itbecame one of the most gentle and engaging creatures possible; but when the calling of its free mates reached its prison house, it used most pathetically to place its ear close to the bars of its cage and listen with such intense and eager wistfulness that it was impossible to retain it in durance any longer. It was accordingly set free on the margin of its old forest home. Strange to say, its former companions, perceiving perhaps the odour of captivity about it, seemed to distrust its respectability, and refused to allow it to mingle with them. Amid the free woods we may hope that this taint was soon lost and that it recovered all its pristine happiness.
In general habits it in no way differs from the other species ofHylobatesalready described.
In regard to the Bornean specimens of this species, Dr. Anderson makes the following observations: "This species varies from grey to dark yellowish-brown, but the grey tint in certain lights appears pure ashy, and in others of a brownish tint. In some the chest and abdomen are frequently yellow, and this seems to be the character of individuals met with on the west coast of Borneo, while those inhabiting the meridional parts of the island have the hands and fore part of the body of a black-brown or reddish-brown. In both of these varieties there is a yellowish-white superciliary streak. The last of them leads into the varieties ofHylobatesfrom the neighbouring islands of Sulu, to the north-east of Borneo, in which the upper parts of the body are either grey or brownish, the lower part of the back and the loins being a little more clear than the rest." The outer surface of the limbs, the back part of the head, the supercilium, and the sides of the face are more or less pure ashy-grey. "Specimens of this Gibbon obtained by me," writes Mr. Charles Hose, who is well known for his Bornean researches,"at Claudetown, and now in the British Museum, show that the colouring in different parts of the body must be considered of little importance, as I obtained eleven specimens, five of which were in the same troop and the other six from the same locality, varying in colour as much as it is possible for them to do; some had yellowish backs and black chests, others black backs with yellowish chests, and some were nearly black all over; whilst others were almost a complete silver-grey. I, therefore, come to the conclusion thatH. muelleriandH. leuciscuscannot be separated. The peculiar bubbling noise they make is similar. I think it very unlikely that two distinct species should be so constantly found together as they are in Sarawak.
"The natives call the silver-grey variety 'Emplian' or 'Wa-Wa,' and the dark one, 'Emplian arang' (coal), because of its colour."
III. THE WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON. HYLOBATES LEUCOGENYS.
Hylobates leucogenys, Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 20; Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., x., p. 838 (1841); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 445,cum fig.(1841); Is. Geoffr., C. R., xv., p. 717 (1842); id., Arch. Mus., ii., p. 535 (1843); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 11 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 13 (1876); Scl., P. Z. S., 1877, p. 679, pl. lxx.; Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 6 (1878; withsynonymy).
Hylobates leucogenys, Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 20; Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., x., p. 838 (1841); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 445,cum fig.(1841); Is. Geoffr., C. R., xv., p. 717 (1842); id., Arch. Mus., ii., p. 535 (1843); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 11 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 13 (1876); Scl., P. Z. S., 1877, p. 679, pl. lxx.; Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 6 (1878; withsynonymy).
Characters.—Fur glossy, thick, and woolly; the hair of the upper and back part of the head standing vertically erect; the face, chin, and ears black; round the face from the level of the eyes and meeting below the chin runs a white border, formingwhiskers and beard; elsewhere the colour is entirely black. Length of the body, 26 inches.
Distribution.—Siam.
Habits.—This rare species is very active and gentle in confinement. It will hang suspended, as Martin observed in the first specimen brought to Europe, from a branch for the whole day, except when asleep or reposing.
The type specimen was described in 1840,—its skin being preserved in the British Museum; but it was not till 1877—after a lapse of thirty-seven years—that a second specimen was brought to this country. It was sent to the Zoological Gardens by Mr. W. H. Newman, H.B.M. Consul at Bankok.
IV. THE WHITE-HANDED GIBBON. HYLOBATES LAR.
Homo lar, Linn., Mantiss. Plant., App., p. 521 (1771).Simia longimana, Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. i., p. 66, pl. iii., figs. 1, 2 (1775); Erxl., Syst. Reg. An., p. 9 (1777).Simia lar, Bodd., Elench. An., p. 55 (1785); Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 12 (1829; in part).Pithecus lar, Latr., Hist. Nat. Buff., xxxvi., p. 276 (1809).Pithecus varius, Latr.,op. et loc. cit.Pithecus variegatus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 88 (1812).Hylobates lar, Illig., Abhandl. Akad. Berl., p. 88 (1815); Martin, Mammif. Anim., pp. 416, 433 (1841); Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., x., p. 838 (1841); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 10 (1870); Scl., P. Z. S., 1870, p. 86, pl. v.; Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 15 (1876); Anders., Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 5 (1878; with full synonymy); Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm., p. 7 (1891).Hylobates variegatus, Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 5 (1820; young); Desmar., Mamm., p. 51 (1820); Is. Geoffr., Zool. Bélang. Voy., p. 27 (1834).Simia albimana, Vig. et Horsf., Zool. Journ., iv., p. 107 (1828).Simia variegatus, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 11 (1829).Hylobates albimanus, Is. Geoffr., Zool. Bélang. Voy., p. 29 (1834).Hylobates entelloides, Is. Geoffr., C. R., xv., p. 717 (1842).Hylobates leuciscus, Cantor, Ann. and Mag. N. H., xvii., p. 338 (1846).
Homo lar, Linn., Mantiss. Plant., App., p. 521 (1771).
Simia longimana, Wagner in Schreb. Säugeth. i., p. 66, pl. iii., figs. 1, 2 (1775); Erxl., Syst. Reg. An., p. 9 (1777).
Simia lar, Bodd., Elench. An., p. 55 (1785); Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 12 (1829; in part).
Pithecus lar, Latr., Hist. Nat. Buff., xxxvi., p. 276 (1809).
Pithecus varius, Latr.,op. et loc. cit.
Pithecus variegatus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 88 (1812).
Hylobates lar, Illig., Abhandl. Akad. Berl., p. 88 (1815); Martin, Mammif. Anim., pp. 416, 433 (1841); Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., x., p. 838 (1841); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 10 (1870); Scl., P. Z. S., 1870, p. 86, pl. v.; Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 15 (1876); Anders., Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 5 (1878; with full synonymy); Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm., p. 7 (1891).
Hylobates variegatus, Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 5 (1820; young); Desmar., Mamm., p. 51 (1820); Is. Geoffr., Zool. Bélang. Voy., p. 27 (1834).
Simia albimana, Vig. et Horsf., Zool. Journ., iv., p. 107 (1828).
Simia variegatus, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 11 (1829).
Hylobates albimanus, Is. Geoffr., Zool. Bélang. Voy., p. 29 (1834).
Hylobates entelloides, Is. Geoffr., C. R., xv., p. 717 (1842).
Hylobates leuciscus, Cantor, Ann. and Mag. N. H., xvii., p. 338 (1846).
Characters.—Male.—Everywhere deep black, except the face, which is reddish-brown, with the thick hair round it light grey or white, and the hands and feet, which are pale yellow or white; superciliary ridges, whiskers and beard, white. The hair on the fore-arm is nearly erect, with only a very slight forward inclination. The species is subject to great variation, and may be of all shades, from deep black to entirely whitish-yellow (H. entelloides).
Head round; the eyes large; the cheeks flat and depressed; the nose slightly projecting, its tip furrowed, and its nostrils small and converging; the upper lip is divided in the centre by a vertical furrow. In very young individuals the top of the ear is markedly pointed.
Skull with the orbital ridges larger, the muzzle shorter, and the teeth smaller than inH. hoolock; the second and third toes sometimes united by a membrane.
Female.—Generally similar to the male, but more frequently entirely pale yellow, with the hands and feet paler.
Distribution.—Aracan, Lower Pegu, Tenasserim, and the Malay Peninsula.
Habits.—The White-handed Gibbon inhabits the uplandforests as high as 3,500 feet above the sea; living in troops numbering from ten to twenty-five. Its habits are very similar to those of other Gibbons, although Tickell observed that they were less light and active than the Hoolock, and had a different voice. It is said to drink, as the Siamang does, by dipping its hands into the water, and not to put its mouth down to it like the Hoolock. "So entirely does it depend on its hands for locomotion amongst trees," remarks Dr. Blanford, "that it carries everything in its feet. Tickell, from whom I take these details, says that he has seen a party ofH. larescape thus with their plunder from a Karen garden in the forest." "The young are born in the early part of the cold season," continues Dr. Blanford, "and each sticks to the body of its mother for about seven months, after which it begins gradually to shift for itself."
V. THE HOOLOCK. HYLOBATES HOOLOCK.
Simia lar, Phil. Trans., lix., p. 607 (1769.)Simia hoolock, Harlan, Tr. Am. Phil. Soc., iv. (n. s.), p. 52, pl. 2 (1834.)Hylobates coromandus, Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1837, p. 689; Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 415 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., ii. P. 535 (1843); Blyth, J. As. Soc. Beng., xiii., p. 464 (1844.)Hylobates hoolock, Waterh., Cat. Mamm. Mus. Zool. Soc., p. 3 (1838); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 416 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., ii., p. 535 (1843); id., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 9 (1851); Sclater, P. Z. S., 1860, p. 86, pl. v.; Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 11 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 14 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 1 (1878; with full synonymy); Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm., p. 5 (1891).Hylobates hulok, Wagner, in Schreb., Säugeth. Suppl., v., p. 20 (1855.)Hylobates niger, Harlan; Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 21.
Simia lar, Phil. Trans., lix., p. 607 (1769.)
Simia hoolock, Harlan, Tr. Am. Phil. Soc., iv. (n. s.), p. 52, pl. 2 (1834.)
Hylobates coromandus, Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1837, p. 689; Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 415 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., ii. P. 535 (1843); Blyth, J. As. Soc. Beng., xiii., p. 464 (1844.)
Hylobates hoolock, Waterh., Cat. Mamm. Mus. Zool. Soc., p. 3 (1838); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 416 (1841); Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., ii., p. 535 (1843); id., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 9 (1851); Sclater, P. Z. S., 1860, p. 86, pl. v.; Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 11 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 14 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 1 (1878; with full synonymy); Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm., p. 5 (1891).
Hylobates hulok, Wagner, in Schreb., Säugeth. Suppl., v., p. 20 (1855.)
Hylobates niger, Harlan; Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 21.
Characters.—Black all over, except a frontal band, continuous or interrupted, above the eyes. There is a good deal of variation in this species, more in the female than in the male, the black being in many individuals of a brownish tinge.
Young Males.—Often of a brownish-black, like many of the females.
Female.—With the black generally of a brownish tinge, but often pale or greyish-yellow; sometimes the upper parts are pale yellow and the under parts and side of the head brown, and the area round the nude parts of the face white. (Anderson.)
Distribution.—Lower ranges of Bhutan—its furthest western range—(Pemberton); hill ranges of Upper Assam (Blyth), Sylhet, Chittagong, Aracan.
Habits.—"I first met with this species in Upper Burma," Dr. Anderson relates, "in passing through the magnificent defile of the Irawaddy, below Bhamo, where the river is enclosed by high hills, covered with dense forest, for about fifteen miles of its course. It was early morning, and the air was resonant with the loud cries of this Gibbon; large troops were answering each other from the opposite banks, and the hills echoed and re-echoed the sound. The Hoolock is also common on the Kakhyen hills, on the eastern frontier of Yun-nan; and there, too, my attention was called to them at daybreak, when they passed up from their sheltered sleeping-ground in the deep and warm valleys to heights of about 4,000 feet. We, in the middle distance, first caught a faint murmur of voices, butevery minute it became more and more distinct, till at last the whole troop rushed past in a storm of sound, vociferatingWhoko! whoko!and in a few more minutes their cry was heard far up the mountain-side. Considering that their progress is almost exclusively arboreal, the rapidity with which they make their ascent is wonderful.
"Associated with this arboreal habit of progression, we find thatH. hoolockderives its nourishment from leaves, insects, eggs, and birds, the essential features of sylvan life." It also eats the leaves ofFicus religiosa, the aquatic Convolvulus (Ipomœa reptans), and the brilliant red flowers of theCanna indica. It "has a marked partiality," continues the same naturalist, "for Spiders and their webs, which become tangled in its long slim fingers, and Orthopterous insects are regarded by it with special favour, and over which it utters its peculiar cry of satisfaction. Eggs also are to it abonne bouche. It was first in the Calcutta gardens that I become aware of the circumstance that small living birds were devoured by it with a method and eagerness which has left no doubt in my mind that this species, in its natural state, must be a scourge to the feathery tribe."
The Hoolock lives in large flocks as a rule, keeping chiefly to the hill forests. Sometimes, however, an old male may be discovered living by himself.
They move chiefly by means of their long arms, by which they swing themselves for prodigious distances from branch to branch, and from tree to tree. They descend hill-sides at a surprising pace, their descent being accomplished by grasping bamboos or branches that bend beneath their weight, and allow them to drop until they can seize the ends of other bamboos or branches lower on the slope and take another mightyswing downwards. They also ascend with great rapidity, swinging themselves from tree to tree. (Blanford.)
When walking on the ground the Hoolock rests on its hind feet alone, with the sole flat on the ground and the great-toe widely separated from the other digits. "They walk erect," writes Dr. Borrough, "and when placed on the floor, or in an open field, balance themselves very prettily by raising their hands over their head and slightly bending the arm at the wrist and elbows, and then run tolerably fast, rocking from side to side; and if urged to greater speed they let fall their hands to the ground and assist themselves forward, rather jumping than running, still keeping the body, however, nearly erect."
VI. THE HAINAN GIBBON. HYLOBATES HAINANUS.
? Hylobates pileatus, Swinhoe, P. Z. S., 1870, p. 224 (nec Gray).Hylobates hainanus, Thomas, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), ix., p. 145 (1892).
? Hylobates pileatus, Swinhoe, P. Z. S., 1870, p. 224 (nec Gray).
Hylobates hainanus, Thomas, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), ix., p. 145 (1892).
Characters.—Very closely related toH. hoolock, but differs by the entire absence of the white superciliary streak, the animal being jet black all over.
Distribution.—The island of Hainan.
Habits.—This species has not been seen alive in its native haunts by any European naturalist. Consul Swinhoe made many efforts to obtain a living specimen in the island of Hainan, but was unsuccessful. "I never ceased," he says, "to enquire after it. Every one knew that such an animal did exist, and many had seen it; but they all spoke of the great difficulty of keeping it alive. At Taipingsze (Central Hainan) the wonderful stories that were told about it showed that the Yuen was not often seen there. The magistrate of that district assured me,with a serious face, that it had the power of drawing into its body its long arm-bones, and that when it drew in one arm, it pushed out the other to such an extraordinary length, that he believed the two bones united in the body; and he said that the bones of the arm were used for chop-sticks." Mr. Swinhoe, however, published, in 1870, some curious extracts from the Chinese gazetteer of the Kiung-shan district of Hainan, which with little doubt relate to this interesting animal, of which skins have, since he wrote, been received at the British Museum, while a young individual lived for some months in 1893 in the Zoological Gardens of London, where it attracted much attention. The gazetteer says as follows: "Yuen: male black, female white; like a Macaque but larger, with the two fore-arms exceedingly long. Climbs to tree-tops and runs among them backwards and forwards with great agility. If it falls to the ground, it remains there like a log. Its delight is in scaling trees, as it cannot walk on the ground. Those desiring to rear it in confinement should keep it among trees; for the exhalations of the earth affect it with diarrhœa, causing death; a sure remedy for this, however, may be found in a draught made of the syrup of fried Foo-tsze (seeds ofAbrus precatorius, Linn.)." The gazetteer then continues: "Hainan has also the Rock Yuen. It is small, about the bigness of one's fist. If allowed to drink water, it grows in size. This is also called Black Yuen, and is now likewise difficult to obtain."
Those who had an opportunity of observing the specimen that lived in the Zoological Gardens, will recall its extraordinary acrobatic feats, which were performed with marvellous precision and certainty, either with one or with both hands, and yet with the most careless air. It offered a striking contrast to an Orang-utan, which occupied the adjoining cage. This morerobust Ape exhibited in its arms equally perfect powers of climbing; but it moved with the greatest circumspection, deliberation, and composure, exhibiting none of the volatile activity so characteristic of the Gibbons; but moving only one pair of its limbs at a time, and only when the other pair had firm hold of some support.
VII. THE SIAMANG GIBBON. HYLOBATES SYNDACTYLUS.
Pithecus syndactylus, Desmar., Mamm., p. 531 (1820).Hylobates syndactylus, F. Cuv., Hist. Nat. Mammif., pl. iv. (1821); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 9 (1851); Bennett, Wanderings in N. S. Wales, ii., p. 151 (1834); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 420 (1841); Flower, Nat. Hist. Rev., 1863, p. 279 (cum fig.); Giebel, Z. Ges. Nat., p. 186 (1866); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 22 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 10 (1878; with full synonymy).Simia syndactylus, Raffl., Tr. Linn. Soc., xiii., p. 241 (1822).Siamanga syndactyla, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 9 (1870), id.,op. cit., p. 9 (1870); H. O. Forbes, Nat. Wand. East. Arch., p. 129 (1885).(Plate XXXVIII.)
Pithecus syndactylus, Desmar., Mamm., p. 531 (1820).
Hylobates syndactylus, F. Cuv., Hist. Nat. Mammif., pl. iv. (1821); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 9 (1851); Bennett, Wanderings in N. S. Wales, ii., p. 151 (1834); Martin, Mammif. An., p. 420 (1841); Flower, Nat. Hist. Rev., 1863, p. 279 (cum fig.); Giebel, Z. Ges. Nat., p. 186 (1866); Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 22 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Res. Exped. Yun-nan, p. 10 (1878; with full synonymy).
Simia syndactylus, Raffl., Tr. Linn. Soc., xiii., p. 241 (1822).
Siamanga syndactyla, Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 9 (1870), id.,op. cit., p. 9 (1870); H. O. Forbes, Nat. Wand. East. Arch., p. 129 (1885).
(Plate XXXVIII.)
Characters.—This is the largest species of the genus, measuring more than three feet; it is stouter thanH. hoolock, and its hair is entirely glossy black, having no white hairs anywhere; the face is black, as is also the distensible skin of the large bare patch on the throat, which overlies its great laryngeal pouch. The second and middle toes are united by a web as far as the last joint. The hair on the arms and fore-arms converges towards the elbow.
The skulls in most of the species of this genus closely resemble each other; that of the Siamang is distinguished by its larger size, and in having the supra-orbital ridges more developed, while the occipital region is more truncated, and there is at the symphysis of the lower jaw a true, though slight, chin.
PLATE XXXVIII.
Plate XXXVIII.THE SIAMANG GIBBON.
THE SIAMANG GIBBON.
THE SIAMANG GIBBON.
The frontal lobes of the brain are broad and much flattened, and not full and rounded as in the Orang. The olfactory bulbs project forward, slightly beyond the frontal lobes of the cerebrum; the occipital lobes are much reduced, while the large cerebellum projects distinctly backwards from below the cerebrum—characters in which this very highly organised member of the genus shows a retrogressive development, thus differing from all the other Man-like Apes, in all of which the cerebrum entirely covers both the olfactory lobes in front, and the cerebellum behind.
The large laryngeal sac, communicating by two openings with the larynx, and formed by the extension of the thyro-hyoid membrane, distinguishes this from all the other Gibbons.
Distribution.—The Siamang is confined to the island of Sumatra. It has been recorded from Malacca and Tenasserim; but some doubt exists as to the accurate determination of the individuals referred to, no really authentic specimen having yet been obtained out of Sumatra.
Habits.—The Siamang is gregarious, frequenting the great forest-trees from 200 to 300 feet above the sea up to 3,000 or 4,000 feet.
I made the acquaintance of this species in Southern Sumatra, and during my stay in that island had various opportunities of observing many of them in their homes. It was not uncommon to come suddenly on a colony of them both in the forest and among the tall isolated outliers, when they happened to be covered with fruit. The satiated members of the companymight then be often seen hanging by one arm from a bare branch, with perhaps eighty unobstructed feet between them and the ground, making the woods resound with their loud barking howls, uttered apparently for pure love of making a noise. On one occasion a young one, found clinging to its mother, which had been shot, was brought in alive. It had been only stunned by a pellet on the head, and had no bones broken. In a very short time it became a most delightful companion. The following observations in reference to it are taken from the writer's Journal: "Its expression of countenance is most intelligent and often very human; but in captivity it generally wears a sad and dejected aspect, which quite disappears in its excited moods. With what elegance and gentleness it takes with its delicate taper fingers whatever is offered to it! Except for their hairiness, its hands, and, in its youth at all events, its head, seem to me more human than those of any other Ape's. It rarely, however, brings its thumb into opposition with the other fingers, but usually clasps the whole hand, without that digit, on an object. It will never put its lips to a vessel to drink, but invariably lifts the water to its mouth, by dipping in its half-closed hand and then awkwardly licking the drops from its knuckles. It generally sits with its arms crossed over its chest, and its fingers overlaid behind its head. The gentle and caressing way in which it clasps me round the neck with its long arms, laying its head on my chest, and watching my face with its dark brown eyes, uttering a satisfied crooning sound, is most engaging. Although it often inflates its laryngeal sac, it rarely gives utterance to more than a yawn-like noise or suppressed bark; but this dilatation has no reference apparently to its good or bad temper, although, when very eager andimpatient for anything, a low pumping bark is uttered. Every evening it makes with me a tour round the village square, with one of its hands on my arm. It is a very curious and ludicrous sight to see it in the erect attitude on its somewhat bandy legs, hurrying along in the most frantic haste, as if to keep its head from outrunning its feet, with its long free arm see-sawing in a most odd way over its head to balance itself, and now and again touching the ground with its finger-tips or its knuckles. That they can leap the great distances from tree to tree ascribed to them is no doubt an accurate observation; but they appear to be sometimes terror-stricken and unable to perform these feats to save their lives. During the felling of the forest near this village, a small colony of Siamangs got isolated on a tree separated from the next clump by some thirty feet or so. They scampered up and down in the crown of the tree howling in the most abject terror at every stroke of the axe; yet they would not venture to leap the intervening space, and even, when the tree was falling, they did not attempt to save themselves by springing to the ground, but perished in its downfall.
"When teething my companion suffered severely—as the human infant so often does—both locally and constitutionally, as indicated by boils and inflamed finger-tips. On lancing and poulticing the latter, and extracting some of its obstructing teeth, the poor creature seemed greatly relieved, and I was delighted to watch it recover, without contracting for me any antipathy for the pain I had inflicted on it, but rather the reverse." At a later date the following extract occurs:—
"During my march to the coast my Siamang accompanied me, occupying, with the most grave demeanour, a seat on one of the packages carried in the rear, near to myself. Here itsheltered its head, to the amusement of all whom we met, under a Chinese umbrella, which I had bought for it to protect it from the midday sun, and for which, after every halt, it held out its hands in the most knowing way, screaming lustily if the porters dared to move on before it had comfortably arranged itself. To my intense regret, a misadventure put an end to a most charming existence, before I could send it to London."
THE ORANG-UTANS. GENUS SIMIA.
Simia, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 34 (1766); Erxl., Syst. Régne An., p. 6 (1777; part).Pithecus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 87 (1812); Huxley, Anat. Verteb. An., p. 403.Pongo, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 89 (1812).
Simia, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 34 (1766); Erxl., Syst. Régne An., p. 6 (1777; part).
Pithecus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 87 (1812); Huxley, Anat. Verteb. An., p. 403.
Pongo, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 89 (1812).
This genus contains one species, well known as
THE ORANG-UTAN. SIMIA SATYRUS.
Simia satyrus, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 34 (1766); Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 4 (1820); Schreb., Säugeth., i., p. 54, pls. 2, 2 B. (1775); Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 9 (1829); Owen, Tr. Z. S., i., p. 344, pls. 49, 53-56 (1835); Wallace, Malay Archip., i., p. 62 (1869); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 8 (1870); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 9 (1876).Simia agrias, Schreb. Säugeth, i., pl. 2, ii. B et ii. C (1775).Pongo wurmbii, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 89 (1812); Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 21 (1820).Papio wurmbii, Latr. Singes, i., p. 196.
Simia satyrus, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 34 (1766); Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 4 (1820); Schreb., Säugeth., i., p. 54, pls. 2, 2 B. (1775); Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 9 (1829); Owen, Tr. Z. S., i., p. 344, pls. 49, 53-56 (1835); Wallace, Malay Archip., i., p. 62 (1869); Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 8 (1870); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, vii., p. 9 (1876).
Simia agrias, Schreb. Säugeth, i., pl. 2, ii. B et ii. C (1775).
Pongo wurmbii, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 89 (1812); Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 21 (1820).
Papio wurmbii, Latr. Singes, i., p. 196.
PLATE XXXIX.
Plate XXXIX.THE ORANG-UTAN.
THE ORANG-UTAN.
THE ORANG-UTAN.
Pithecus satyrus, Blumenb., Abbild., Naturh. Geg., fig. xii. (1810); Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 88 (1812); Latr., in Buff. Hist. Nat., xxxv., p. 166, pl. 3; xxxvi., p. 276; Cuv. et Geoffr., Hist. Nat., Mamm., livr. xlii.; Desmar., Mamm., p. 50 (1820); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 388 (1841); Owen, Tr. Z. S., iv., p. 82, pl. 29 (1862).Simia wurmbii, Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 21 (1820); Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 32 (1829); Owen, Tr. Z. S., ii., p. 165, pls. 30-32 (1841); Brooke, P. Z. S., 1841, p. 55 (Mias Pappan).Pithecus wurmbii, Owen, Tr. Z. S., iv., p. 95, pl. xxxiii. (1862).Pongo abelii, Clarke, Asiat. Res., xvi., 489 (1826); id., Edinb. Phil. Journ., p. 375 (1827).Simia abelii, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 10 (1829; Sumatra).Simia morio, Owen, P. Z. S., 1836, p. 92; id., Tr. Z. S., ii., p. 168, pls. 33, 34 (1838); Brooke, P. Z. S., 1841, p. 55 (Mias Kassar); Wallace, Malay Archip., i., p. 84 (1869); Sclater, P. Z. S., 1891, p. 301; Beddard, Tr. Z. S., xiii., p. 20 (1893; Sumatra and Borneo).Pithecus morio, Martin, Mammif. An., p. 395 (1841).Simia gigantica, Pearson, J. A. S. Beng., x. (2), p. 660 (1841).Pithecus bicolor, Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., Paris, ii., p. 526 (1841; Sumatra).Pithecus owenii, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xxii., p. 375 (1853).Pithecus curtus, Blyth,op. cit., xxiv., p. 525 (1855).(Plate XXXIX.)
Pithecus satyrus, Blumenb., Abbild., Naturh. Geg., fig. xii. (1810); Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 88 (1812); Latr., in Buff. Hist. Nat., xxxv., p. 166, pl. 3; xxxvi., p. 276; Cuv. et Geoffr., Hist. Nat., Mamm., livr. xlii.; Desmar., Mamm., p. 50 (1820); Martin, Mammif. Anim., p. 388 (1841); Owen, Tr. Z. S., iv., p. 82, pl. 29 (1862).
Simia wurmbii, Kuhl, Beitr. Zool., p. 21 (1820); Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 32 (1829); Owen, Tr. Z. S., ii., p. 165, pls. 30-32 (1841); Brooke, P. Z. S., 1841, p. 55 (Mias Pappan).
Pithecus wurmbii, Owen, Tr. Z. S., iv., p. 95, pl. xxxiii. (1862).
Pongo abelii, Clarke, Asiat. Res., xvi., 489 (1826); id., Edinb. Phil. Journ., p. 375 (1827).
Simia abelii, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 10 (1829; Sumatra).
Simia morio, Owen, P. Z. S., 1836, p. 92; id., Tr. Z. S., ii., p. 168, pls. 33, 34 (1838); Brooke, P. Z. S., 1841, p. 55 (Mias Kassar); Wallace, Malay Archip., i., p. 84 (1869); Sclater, P. Z. S., 1891, p. 301; Beddard, Tr. Z. S., xiii., p. 20 (1893; Sumatra and Borneo).
Pithecus morio, Martin, Mammif. An., p. 395 (1841).
Simia gigantica, Pearson, J. A. S. Beng., x. (2), p. 660 (1841).
Pithecus bicolor, Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., Paris, ii., p. 526 (1841; Sumatra).
Pithecus owenii, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xxii., p. 375 (1853).
Pithecus curtus, Blyth,op. cit., xxiv., p. 525 (1855).
(Plate XXXIX.)
Characters.—The Orangs are large and heavy in build, with the head set on a very thick neck, the hair long and directed forward, and the abdomen round and protuberant. The naked face is melancholy. On each side of the face there is, in thefull grown male, but not in the female, a large, soft, smooth tumour-like and flexible expansion, which gives a remarkable breadth to the visage. The forehead is nude and purplish in colour; the middle of the face across the nose is sooty-brown. The lips are broad, extremely mobile, and of the colour of the skin—generally of a yellowish brown; and, when eating and drinking, the animal thrusts them far out. The lower jaw retreats at once from the lips, and there is therefore no chin, as so recognised in Man. The ears are more like those of Man, small and flat. The arms are very long, reaching to the ankles in the erect posture, their span being twice the animal's height. The arm is equal in length to the fore-arm; the hands are long and narrow. The fingers are united by a web; the thumb short and often without its terminal joint. The back of the hand is but slightly haired. The hair on the arm is directed downwards and that on the fore-arm upwards, so as to meet at the elbow. The legs are very short and bowed at the ankles; the long and narrow foot, which is articulated obliquely to the leg, is longer than the hand and (except in the Gorilla) is longer than in any other Ape. The great-toe is very short and is often destitute of a nail.
The cranium is very variable in form; the crown is high and pointed, the forehead round and elevated, and the occipital region convex. No two individuals are exactly alike. "The slope of the profile, the projection of the muzzle, together with the size of the cranium, offer differences as decided as those existing between the most strongly marked forms of the Caucasian and African crania in the human species. The orbits vary in width and height; the cranial ridge is either single or double, either much or little developed, independent of age, being sometimes more strongly developed in the lessaged animal." (Wallace.) The supra-orbital ridges are prominent, without being particularly so. The contour of the head is more human in form, however, in youth than in age, when the forehead is large and convex. The canine teeth are very large and tusk-like in the male, but smaller in the female. The upper molars exhibit on their crowns complex rugosities; they have four cusps and an oblique ridge, as in Man, from the front inner, to the hind outer, cusp; the lower molars are five-cusped. The permanent canine teeth sometimes appear before the last permanent molar has come into place.
The thigh-bone (femur) has no round ligament binding its articular head into its socket in the pelvis, a disposition which, while it affords greater flexibility and freedom to the hind-limbs in climbing, gives it much less firmness in walking on the ground. The proportionate length of the foot to its limb is greater in this genus than in any other of theAnthropoidea. The ankle (tarsus) is very short, and the bones (phalanges) of the toes form the longest part of the foot. The great-toe is especially short and divergent, its terminal bone being often absent, while the bones of the digits are long and curved. On account of the form of certain bones of the tarsus and their inter-mobility the foot is set obliquely to the leg through the action of one of its muscles (thetibialis anticus), so that the sole is pulled to the inside when walking. The outer edge of the foot, with the upper side of the fourth and fifth toes, is therefore applied to the ground in the act of progression, while the spread thumb supports most of the animal's weight. The wrist (carpus) contains the complete number of nine bones, as it possesses theos centralewanting in Man and the Chimpanzees.
The breast-bone in the Orang is composed of ossificationsarranged in pairs, instead of being formed of only two bones, as in the other members of the family.
Between the neck and the complex and solid sacral bone there are sixteen vertebrae, and there are twelve pairs of ribs, as in Man. The vertebral column presents slight but distinct indications of the curvature so characteristic of Man, and is nearly as much concave forward in its dorso-lumbar region as in a child.
The Orang-utan has no uvula as in Man and in the Chimpanzees. It possesses enormous air sacs—dilatations of the lateral cavities (ventricles) of the larynx, found in Man—which extend over the throat, the top of the chest, and as far as the arm-pits; these may even unite in the middle line. Its great-toe and thumb lack the long flexor muscles which are present in Man and in the Chimpanzees.
"Of all Apes, the Orang has the brain which is most like that of Man; indeed, it may be said to be like Man's in all respects, save that it is much inferior in size and weight, and that the cerebrum is more symmetrically convoluted and less complicated with secondary and tertiary convolutions." (Mivart.) The cerebral hemispheres are higher in proportion to their length than in any otherAnthropomorpha, but they are elongated and depressed, as compared with Man. (Huxley.)
The colour of the hair of the Orang is a brick- or yellowish-red all over, but in old males it is sometimes darker on the limbs. Its length (twelve to sixteen inches) is greatest, and its character coarsest, on the arms, thighs, and shoulders; the face, ears, and throat are bare, and the skin of a reddish- or yellowish-brown colour; but there is a thin beard on the chin. The back of the hand and fingers are also thickly haired; onthe arms the hair grows towards the elbow, as on the fore-arm, both meeting in a point at the elbow.
Between childhood and middle age the skin varies in colour from dark yellowish in the younger individuals to blackish-brown, or black, in the adults (the latter colour largely predominating). Very often the face and neck are almost or quite black, the palms light brown, and the breast and abdomen mulatto-yellow. (Hornaday.)
In size also the Orang varies greatly; the males being larger than the females. The largest male shot by Wallace measured 4 feet 2 inches. Hornaday, however, shot several exceeding 4 feet 4 inches, his tallest being 4 feet 6 inches, and one male was 3 feet 10½ inches; while his largest female measured 4 feet, and the smallest adult female 3 feet 6 inches. The breadth across the face in males varies from 11½ to 13½ inches, and in females 5½ to 6 inches. The young at birth is large in comparison with the size of the female. A male weighs often from 120 to 160 lbs.
Distribution.—The Orang-utan is confined to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, in the East Indian Archipelago. In Sumatra it is far less common than in Borneo, and is found on the lowlands of the eastern coast, in the Palembang Residency, and the Djambi Sultanate. As far as I could ascertain, the natives of the southern portion of Palembang and of the Lampongs were quite ignorant of the animal, except as a name. In Borneo it inhabits the low forest-covered swamplands between the coast and the interior mountains, from the north of the island, round the west, southern, and eastern coasts, as far as the Mahakkam river, if not round the entire coast, as is most likely. In the dry season they retire into thedepths of the forest. In the fruit season they come nearer to the coast, while at the height of the rains they frequent the river banks.
Habits.—The Orang-utan, the "forest-living Man" of the Malays, and the "Mias" of the Bornean natives, lives solitary in the leafy tops of the trees in the forests, except at the pairing season. A female is generally accompanied by one of her progeny, sometimes by two, the one always an infant, and the other a more or less grown but immature individual of a previous birth; for her young—of which she has only one at a birth—do not shift for themselves before they are approaching two years of age. At what age they attain maturity is unknown, but it is probably not before twelve to fifteen years. The infant clings by its arms to its mother when she is climbing, by grasping the hair of her arm-pits, while its legs embrace her sides above the hip. As already observed, the Orangs have none of the marvellous agility of the Gibbons. They are slow and deliberate in their movements; "surprisingly awkward and uncouth," according to Sir James Brooke; but their long and extremely powerful arms and hook-like fingers, which close with an amazing rigidity of grip, and their mobile legs and hand-like feet, enable them to lift and swing their bodies with great precision from branch to branch and tree to tree. "I have frequently seen them," says Hornaday, "swing along beneath the large limbs as a gymnast swings along a tight rope, reaching six feet at a stretch. When passing from one tree to another, the Orang reaches out and gathers in its grasp a number of small branches that he feels sure will sustain his weight, and then swings himself across." On the ground all this is very different. He walks very badly and unsteadily; he uses his arms as crutches, leaning his weight upon them with his fingers as already described, andswings himself forward on them. On the ground the Orang does not move, according to Sir James Brooke, so fast as to preclude a man keeping up with him easily through a clear forest. "The very long arms, which, when he runs, are but little bent, raise the body of the Orang remarkably, so that he assumes much the posture of a very old man bent down by age, and making his way along by the help of a stick." (Huxley.) The Orang, however, rarely comes to the ground of his own accord.
Mr. Martin gives the following account of a specimen which lived in the Zoological Gardens in London many years ago:—"Its attitudes were as varied as can be imagined, its actions slow and deliberate; excepting, indeed, on one or two occasions when it wished to follow its keeper, who had opened the door of its cage; even then it did not bound from branch to branch like a Monkey, but stretching out its arms, and grasping the branches within its reach, it swung itself onward, and so descended to the floor, along which it hobbled awkwardly and unsteadily. One thing, as respects both the hands and feet of this Orang, could not be overlooked; namely, that their mode of application to the branches, during the arboreal evolutions of the animal, was hook-like; and, from the power of the adductor muscles of the thumb, and flexor muscles of the fingers, tenacious and enduring, rather than tight and fixed. This observation is especially applicable to the feet; in these the shortness of the thumb, though capable in itself of firm and close application, renders it rather a fulcrum, against which the long fingers oppose their stress, than, by folding upon them, an adjunct to them in the act of prehension; and hence, though admirably fitted for the movements of the animal among the trees of the forest, and the kindof hold necessary for freedom and security, the foot of the Orang is, perhaps, less energetic in the grasp than that of the semi-arboreal Chimpanzee, in which the hind-thumb is proportionately longer, and the foot broader, than in the Orang."
The Orang drinks by dipping its fingers into the water, as the Siamang does, and sucking the water off its knuckles, or dropping it into its protruded trough-like lower lip.
"The rudehutwhich they are stated to build in trees, would be more properly called a seat or nest, for it has no roof or cover of any sort. The facility with which they form this nest is curious, and I had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches together and seat herself within a minute." (Sir James Brooke.) "The Orang usually selects," writes Mr. Hornaday, "a small tree, a sapling, in fact, and builds his nest in its top, even though his weight causes it to sway alarmingly. He always builds his nest low down, often within twenty-five feet of the ground, and seldom higher than forty feet. Sometimes it is fully four feet in diameter, but usually not more than three, and quite flat at the top. The branches are merely piled crosswise. I have never been able to ascertain to a certainty, but it is my opinion that an Orang, after building a nest, sleeps in it several nights in succession, unless he is called upon to leave its neighbourhood." In this nest he sleeps during the night or lies spread out on his back during the day, with his hands and feet grasping the nearest branches. The food of the Orang-Utan—whose eating-time is during the middle of the day—consists of leaves and nuts, especially of the durian, the rambutan, and the mangosteen.
The Orang-Utan is of a very shy and uncertain disposition. If captured when full-grown, it is wild and ferocious; whenyoung it is easily trained; but never lives in captivity to attain maturity. When attacked and hard driven by human enemies, and it gets to close quarters with them, it can be a formidable and dangerous antagonist, and has been known to fatally injure its assailants. It will rarely, unprovoked, attack a man. "In one case," as Dr. A. R. Wallace has recorded, "a female Mias on a durian-tree kept up for at least ten minutes a continuous shower of branches and of the heavy spined fruits as large as 32-pounders, which most effectively kept us clear of the tree she was on. She could be seen breaking them off and throwing them down with every appearance of rage, uttering at intervals a loud, pumping grunt, and evidently meaning mischief." They fight and defend themselves with their hands, and appear to seize and bite each other's fingers. Many of the specimens shot in the forest of Borneo have lost one or more of their fingers or toes; and present scars on the face (especially on the lips) and bodies from the teeth of their antagonists.
"When wounded he betakes himself to the highest attainable point of the tree, and emits a singular cry, consisting at first of high notes, which at length deepen into a low roar, not unlike that of a panther. While giving out the high notes, the Orang thrusts out his lips into a funnel shape; but in uttering the low notes he holds his mouth wide open, and at the same time the great throat bag, or laryngeal sac, becomes distended." (Huxley.)
The name given by the Dyaks to the larger species is "Mias Pappan." There is, however, a smaller variety, which they designate "Mias Kassu," of which Dr. Wallace has given an excellent and detailed account. These Mias Kassu have no tumour-like expansions on the sides of the head; the median crest isabsent from the skull, for the muscular ridges remain some distance apart; the teeth are very large, especially the canines and the middle upper incisors. The females, which are smaller than the males, are also without the cheek-swellings and the prominent crests of the male, and have smaller canine teeth. This variety, namedSimia morioby Sir R. Owen, bears a close similarity to that found in Sumatra. It has been considered a distinct species both by Owen and Wallace, but the variation, as the latter naturalist himself admits, is so very great in just those characters which have been considered to separate "Mias Kassu" from "Mias Pappan," that it is highly probable that both are of the same species, but of different ages. Mr. Beddard found that an Ape exhibited in the Zoological Gardens as an adult example ofS. moriowas in reality immature.
THE GORILLAS. GENUS GORILLA.