APE (AS. apa, Ger. A ffe). A monkey; any quadrumanous animal, especially one of large size, and belonging to the Old World. (See below.) Thus, the "apes of Gibraltar," or "Bar bary apes." are macaques (q.v.) and some "sa cred apes" are baboons. (See BAnnoN MACAQUE: Most:nr, etc.) More particularly the word nowa days applies to simians (family Simiidte), called "anthropoid apes," because they most resemble mankind.
The Anthropoid Apes consist of the chimpan zees, gorilla, and °rang. and the various gibbons, together with various extinct and fossil species; but the three forms first mentioned are those usually in the mind of those wbo use the term in its popular sense. All approach, and some may exceed, man in size, frequently assume an erect attitude (though none are so much at ease in this position as are some gibbons), and resemble him in structure more closely than they do the apes and monkeys of other families. This is much more marked in young examples, however, than in the adults, which in advanced age be come more and more brutish. This is particu larly true of the characteristics of the skull, where huge, bony "crests" and super-orbital ridges develop, the canine teeth become greatly en larged, and a revolting expression of face reveals the essentially savage and intractable nature of the animal, which, enforced by gigantic strength, renders these apes among the most formidable and ugly of wild beasts. The skeleton is sub stantially similar to the human skeleton, differ ing from it in greater size and Weight. and in certain proportions: the arms also are relatively much longer, and the legs shorter. and the great toe is longer and opposable only to a very limited degree. The spine lacks those curvatures in its lower part which enable man to stand erect with ease. In the flatness of the sternum and the absence of a certain small bone in the wrist. these apes agree with man and differ from the monkeys. The skull is thicker, has in age
great bony ridges, and projects at the muzzle; the teeth are of the same number and character as man's, but they are not set in a horseshoe form, but more nearly on three sides of a square, the front teeth making a decided angle with the teeth, where the canines are developed into great tusks. The brain-case is smaller, and the bulk of the brain far less than that of man. Thus, according to Mivart, a nor mal human brain never measures less than 55 cubic inches, while that of the chimpanzee (the nearest) measures only cubic inches; the cerebrum is also relatively shorter. In its gen eral form and structure, however. the brain of these apes is like that of man, and it is richly convoluted. There are no important differences in the soft parts of the body or their functions.
Externally, all the anthropoid apes are covered with black, brown, or reddish coarse hair, on all parts of the body except the face and palms, where the skin is dark. leathery, and wrinkled ; the naked patches and callosities so frequently found upon the buttoeks of the lower apes are absent or very small; nor are there any cheek-pouches. There is no trace of a tail. The chimpanzee and gorilla are closely related to one another, but the orang is as distinct in structure from them as it is widely removed in habitat. All are inhab itants of the equatorial regions of the Old World, and restricted to forests, where they live in the trees, building rude sleeping platforms and shelter, and feeding wholly upon vegetable food —chiefly fruits. See CHIMPANZEE; GIBBON; Go mm. A ; GRANG-UTAN ; and and plate Of ANTHROPOID APES.
Consult: R. Hartmann, The Anthropoid Apes, illustrated (New York, 1886) ; Huxley, Males Place in Nature (New York, 1393).