In Borneo the Orang-Utan of the Malays goes by the name of "Mias" among
the Dyaks, who distinguish several kinds as 'Mias Pappan', or 'Zimo',
'Mias Kassu', and 'Mias Rambi'. Whether these are distinct species,
however, or whether they are mere races, and how far any of them are
identical with the Sumatran Orang, as Mr. Wallace thinks the Mias Pappan
to be, are problems which are at present undecided; and the variability
of these great apes is so extensive, that the settlement of the question
is a matter of great difficulty. Of the form called "Mias Pappan," Mr.
Wallace* observes, ([Footnote] *On the Orang-Utan, or Mias of Borneo,
'Annals of Natural History', 1856.) "It is known by its large size,
and by the lateral expansion of the face into fatty protuberances,
or ridges, over the temporal muscles, which has been mis-termed
'callosities', as they are perfectly soft, smooth, and flexible. Five
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 crown of the head, the girth
of the body from 3 feet to 3 feet 7 1/2 inches, and the extent of the
outstretched arms from 7 feet 2 inches to 7 feet 6 inches; the width
of the face from 10 to 13 1/4 inches. The colour and length of the hair
varied in different individuals, and in different parts of the same
individual; some possessed a rudimentary nail on the great toe, others
none at all; but they otherwise present no external differences on which
to establish even varieties of a species.
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