On the sole of the foot we find the region of the heel, the ball
of the great toe, in this case resembling the ball of a thumb, the
roots and tips of the toes, together with pads consisting of muscles,
tendons, and skin. The several divisions of these padded balls are
separated from each other by furrows which are longitudinal, oblique,
and transverse, and more or less distinct from each other. The black
skin which covers the sole of the foot is thick and horny, but provided
with a series of papillæ. The whole skin of an aged animal is of a deep
black colour, somewhat glossy, and covered with intersecting wrinkles.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--The same animal at a still earlier age.]
The young male gorilla does not essentially differ from the old male
in its general and external appearance. Its skull is, however, without
the crest which characterizes the latter animal, and is still of a
rounded form in the region of the crown and occiput. At this age the
head is not so high at the back and on the top as in aged males. The
orbits are less prominent, the general aspect of the face is not so
decidedly prognathous, and the bridge of the nose is shorter. The lines
of the body in the young male are softer and less exaggerated, and the
expression of the face is less ferocious than in an aged male. The
horny callosities on the hands and feet are altogether wanting or only
faintly indicated, and the hands, fingers, and toes have not arrived at
the powerful development which we observe in the older animal. (Comp.
Figs. 3 and 4.)
Considerable differences may be observed in the whole structure of the
adult female gorilla. The animals of this sex are smaller and weaker
than males of the same age. The skull of the female is smaller and
more rounded than that of the male, and the great bony crests are also
absent. The orbits are less prominent, and a front view of the head
gives the impression of a trapezoidal form. The coronal arch rises
above this trapezoid. In the male, on the contrary, the crown seems to
lengthen above and behind into a pyramidal form. In the aged female
the bridge of the nose is generally shorter than in the aged male,
but even in this particular there is great variation in different
individuals. Sometimes the bridge of the nose in a female is much
depressed, and then the interval between the orbits and the end of the
nose is shorter: I intentionally avoid the term _tip_ of the nose, on
account of the blunted form of this organ. Even when the bridge of the
nose is more prominent, the interval between its end and the orbits is
sometimes very short.
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