The Doctrine of Evolution: Its Basis and Its ScopeCrampton, Henry Edward
Science
The Doctrine of Evolution: Its Basis and Its Scope
Crampton, Henry Edward
Evolution
Passing to the true anthropoids, or man-like primates and man himself, the
first forms encountered are the little marmosets, which are like the
lemurs in some ways, but in other respects they resemble the familiar
tailed monkeys. They are peculiar in having three premolars and two molars
on either side of both upper and lower jaws, and also in the fact that the
"thumb" is not opposable to the other fingers, while all the digits except
the "great toes" bear claws instead of manlike nails. The proportion of
brain-case and face does not differ much from that in the lemurs and even
lower forms like cats, for the brain has not increased greatly in total
mass, though the cerebrum is more convoluted than in the lower forms.
The true monkeys, or Cebidae, are more interesting, and at the same time
they are much more familiar to every one, as they are the commonest
anthropoids of the menagerie and circus. Their wonderful agility and
sureness in climbing about is partly due to the perfect grasping power of
the lower limb. To all intents and purposes the foot is a hand; the first
toe is shorter than the others, and its free motion is unrestricted as in
the thumb of the hand. These animals usually possess a long tail which
they can use as a prehensile organ, curling it about the branch of a tree
with hand-like ease and grasp. When they run on all fours, they plant the
palms and soles flat upon the ground. The feature of primary importance in
a comparative sense is the advanced structure of the skull. These
anthropoids are much more intelligent than the lower forms, which is a
correlate of their larger and more convoluted brains. The increase in the
total bulk of the brain has wrought considerable change, not only in the
head, but also in the relation of head to the trunk. The cranium, or
brain-case of bone, is relatively larger than the "face," and it bulges
upward so as to lie no longer behind the latter as it does in the lower
mammalia. In consequence of this cranial enlargement, the face and eyes
are swung downward, as it were, so that the line of vision is not straight
ahead, but depressed below the horizontal. In order to look to the front
and to the immediate foreground to which it is progressing or to where its
food or enemies may be, the monkey must bend back its head; if it is
still, it finds greater ease in the upright sitting posture which it
assumes readily and naturally.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account