Like all rudimentary organs (organs, that is to say, which continue to be transmitted in the absence of any discoverable physiological function), the external ear (pinna, or auricle) exhibits all possible variations. Among these variations, two only appear to be of importance in relation to criminal anthropology—viz., the handle-shaped and projecting ear (German _Henkelohr_) and the Darwinian tipped ear,[14] which are met with comparatively often in criminals, the former being found in 328 among 1,568 criminals examined, and the latter in 189 out of 1,187; rare in comparison with these is the so-called Morel’s ear, in which the external margin of the auricle (the helix) is not folded upon itself. Morel’s ear is a sign of a congenital tendency to severe nervous troubles, and it is a remarkable fact that this character is common in prostitutes. According to my own observations, in addition to the two abnormalities in the shape of the external ear already mentioned, we sometimes find in criminals other strongly marked malformations of the ear; and as in the case of other abnormal characters in criminals, so also in the case of those of the ear, the anomalies are met with more frequently in proportion as the crime for which the man was condemned was grave in character, and in proportion also to the intensity with which the criminal tendency has been manifested in the course of life. The length of the auricle is also subject to great variations in criminals. In Europeans the normal length of the ear lies between 51 and 60 millimetres (2 and 2·36 inches); it is longer than this in Mongols and Indians, shorter in Malays, Papuans, and Australians; shortest in Nubians, Negroes, and Bushmen. In this respect also (_i.e._, in the greater range of variation) criminals resemble savage races rather than civilized. According to the measurements of Frigerio, great length of the external ear is in thieves and robbers even more characteristic than great length of fingers, which latter, however, is also something more than proverbial merely.[15]