Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/132

 124: QUADRUMANA QUAESTOR vested with a coat of enamel. The platyrrhini, American monkeys, are distinguished from the catarrhini, or monkeys of the old world, by several well marked characters, the most prom- inent of which is the broader development of the nasal septum. They also differ from them in the universal presence of a tail, which is generally prehensile, and in their dental for- mula, which is, incisors |if, canines f_^, pre- molars fig, and molars fc-=38. The mar- mosets form a sole exception to the general rule of dentition, in possessing but two molars in each side of both jaws, thereby reducing the total number of teeth to 32. The catar- rhini have the dental formula corresponding to that of man, namely, incisors jf, canines $~fa premolars fif, and molars J_-J=32. In this family the meatus auditorius eiternut is osseous, and the pollex is, with one excep- tion (colobus), always opposable, circumstances which would be by themselves almost sufficient to separate the monkeys of the old from those of the new world. The catarrhini have been divided into tho subfamilies cynomorpha and anthropomorpha. The former (baboons, ma- caques, &c.), which are essentially quadrupe- dal, are all possessed of ischial callosities, and in the majority of cases cheek pouches, serv- ing as temporary receptacles for food, are present ; the latter comprise tho anthropoid apes, which, like the gorilla, assume a semi- erect attitude. The skull in the quadrumana presents an extraordinary amount of diver- gence. It rarely assumes the rounded form observed in man, owing to tho disproportion- ate size of the face as compared to that of the brain case. The facial portion attains its greatest development in the dog-faced baboon (cynocephaliis) of Africa, where the jaws are prodigiously extended. The squirrel monkey (chrysothrix) of South America presents the opposite extreme, in having the face relatively smaller even than in man. In no instance does the absolute size of the brain approach that of the human subject. The cranial capacity, which is seldom as much as 26 or 27 cubic inches (orang and chimpanzee), reaches its maximum, 35 inches, in the gorilla. The num- ber of vertebrae entering into the composition of the dorso -lumbar region of the spinal col- umn is 17 in the orang, chimpanzee, and goril- la, 18 in ateles and hylobatfs, 22 in nyctipithe- cu, and 19 in the remaining monkeys; in the lemurs the number varies from 19 (typical) to 24 in stenops tardiyradits. The caudal verte- brae are susceptible of a much greater variation, ranging from 3 in tho Barbary ape to 33 in the spider monkey. The muscular system of the quadrumana closely resembles that of man, differing most widely in the long-tailed mon- keys, where the muscles answering to the coccygeal in the human form are very greatly developed. The respiratory system presents some curious modifications, especially noticea- ble in the singular structure of the larynges. These are in many cases provided with air sacs, numbering five in the howlers, whereby the intensity of sound is greatly increased. The quadrumana are very extensively distrib- uted over the tropical regions of both hemi- spheres. The catarrhini inhabit almost the entire continent of Africa, a large portion of southern Asia, and most of the islands consti- tuting the Indian archipelago. It is a singular fact that Papua, an island rich in animal and vegetable forms, and presenting climatal and terrestrial conditions almost analogous to those of Borneo, Sumatra, or Java, should be en- tirely destitute of a monkey population ; nor is it less remarkable that Australia has thus far furnished not a single representative of this family. But one species, the macacut inuus, is found native of Europe. Brazil is pre-emi- nently the homo of the American monkeys, which however extend from Mexico to the 30th parallel of S. latitude. The West India islands present the same peculiarity as Papua. The limit of the vertical distribution of the quad- rumana appears to be about 1 1,000 ft. No une- quivocal remains of a monkey have as yet been discovered in any formation dating anterior to the miocene. The best known fossil forms are the dryopithecui and pliopithecus, from the fresh-water deposits of France. It is worthy of remark that the present divisions of catar- rhini and platyrrhini seem to have been as clearly defined in former ages as they are now, no representative of either family having as yet been found in the hemisphere other than that to which it is peculiar. The exact posi- tion of the quadrumana is still unsatisfactorily determined. Their close relationship to the bimana is obvious, but, as Mivart remarks, it may bo doubted whether, if the animal man had never existed, the highest point in the scale of perfection would have been conceded to the apes. The transition to the quadrumana from the lower orders is effected through the (jaleopithecus, a lissencephalous insectivore, in- habiting the Indian archipelago. For detailed descriptions of the different families, see the articles APK, ATE- ATE, BABOON, CHIMPANZEE, GIBBON, GORILLA, LEMUR, LORI, MACAQUE, MARMOSET, MONKEY, and ORANG-OUTANG. See also Owen, " Anatomy of Vertebrates," vols. i. and ii. (18G6-'8); Huxley, "Man's Place in Nature" (18fi3), and "Anatomy of Vertebra- ted Animals" (1872); Darwin, "Descent of Man" (1871); and the article "Ape" by St. George Mivart in vol. ii. of the " Encyclopae- dia Britannica " (9th ed., 1875). Ql.ESTOR (Lat., from quaerere, to seek), the name given to two classes of officers at Rome, the qucettores parricidii and the qucextores clat- sici. The former have sometimes been con- founded with the perduellionis duumriri, who had their origin in the time of the kings. Their duty was to bring accusations of capital of- fences, and to execute the sentence. After the establishment of the republic, qitcestoret parricidii were elected regnlarly^every year by the curise. After the decemvirate they