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Show 40 Whether these are distinct species, however, or .whet~er t~ey d how far any of them are 1dentlcal w1th are mere races, an M" h S t Orano- as Mr wallace thinlts the 1as t e uma ran o' · . Pappan to be, are problems which are a~ present un~eCided; an d t h e var1. a b"1l "I t y of the·s e great apes IS so extensive, t.h at the settlement of the question is a matter of great diffi-culty. Of the form called "Mias P~ppan," Mr. Wallace* observes, "It is known by its large size, and by the l~teral expansion of the face into fatty protuberanc~s, or ndges, over the temporal muscles, which have been mis-t~rmed c~llosities, as they are perfectly soft, smooth, and flexible. ~lVe of this form, measured by me, varied only from 4 feet 1 Inch to 4 feet 2 inches in height, from the heel to the cr~wn of the head, the girth of the body from 3 feet to 3 feet 7 ~ 1~ches, and the extent of the outstretched arms from 7 feet 2 Inches to 7 feet 6 inches; the width of the face .from .10 ~o 1~! · h The colour and length of the hair varwd 1n dif- Inc es. · d" ferent individuals, and in different parts of the same In I-vidual · some possessed a rudimentary nail on the great toe, others 'none at all; but they otherwise present no ext~rnal differences on which to establish even varieties of a species. Yet, when we examine the crania of thes~ individua~s, we find remarkable differences of form, proportiOn, and dimension, no two being exactly alike. The slope of the p~ofile, and the projection of the muzzle, together with the si.ze. of th cranium offer differences as decided as those ex1sting e ' . between the most strongly markeCl 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, and the zygomatic aperture varies considerably in size. This variation in t~e proportions of the crania enables rts satisfactorily to explain the marked difference presented by the single-crested and • On the Orang-Utan, or Mias of Borneo, Annals of Natw·al History, 1856. 41 do~ble-crested skulls, which have been thought to prove the existence of two large species of Orang. The external surface of the skull varies considerably in size, as do also the zygomatic aperture and the temporal muscle; but they bear no necessary relation to each other, a small muscle often existing with a large cranial surface, and vice versa. Now, those skulls which have the largest and strongest jaws and the widest zygomatic aperture, have the muscles so large that they meet on the crown of the skull, and deposit the bony ridge which separates them, and which is the highest in that which has the smallest cranial surface. In those which combine a large surface with comparatively weak jaws, and small zygomatic aperture, the muscles, on each side, do not extend to the crown, a space of from 1 to 2 inches remaining between them, and along their margins small ridges are formed. Intermediate forms are found, in which the ridges meet only in the hinder part of the skull. The form and size of the ridges are therefore independent of age, being sometimes more strongly developed in the less aged animal. Professor Temminck states that the series of skulls in the Leyden Museum shows the same result." Mr. Wallace observed two male adult Orangs (Mias Kassu of the Dyaks), however, so very different from any of these that he concludes them to be specifically distinct; they were respectively 3 feet St in. and 3 feet 9-} inches high, and possessed no sign of the cheek excrescences, but otherwise resembled the larger kinds. The skull has no crest, but two bony ridges, It inches to 2 inches apart, as in the Simia morio of Professor Owen. The teeth, however, are immense, equalling or surpassing those of the other species. The females of both these kinds, according to Mr. Wallace, are devoid of excrescences, and resemble the smaller males but are shorter by lt to 3 inches, and their canine teeth ar~ comparatively small, subtruncated and dilated at the base as in the so-called Simia morio, which is, in all probability, ~he skull of a female of the same species as the smaller males. |