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CHIMPANZEE (Chimpanzi)
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See also:CHIMPANZEE (Chimpanzi) , the See also:vernacular name of the highest See also:species of the See also:man-like apes, forming the typical representatives of the genus Anthropopithecus. Chimpanzees, of which there appear to be at least two species, range through the tropical See also:forest-See also:zone of See also:Africa from the See also:west See also:coast to See also:Uganda. The typical A. See also:troglodytes has been See also:long known to See also:European See also:science, Dr Tyson, a celebrated surgeon and anatomist of his See also:time, having dissected a See also:young individual, and described it, as a pigmy or Homo sylvestris, in a See also:book published in 1699. Of this baby chimpanzee the See also:skeleton may be seen in the Natural See also:History See also:branch of the See also:British Museum alongside the See also:volume in which it is described. It was not, however, till 1788 that the chimpanzee received what is now recognized as a scientific name, having been christened in that See also:year Simia troglodytes by the naturalist Johann See also:Friedrich See also:Gmelin. In his See also:classification it was included in the same genus as the orang-utan; and it has recently been suggested that the name Simia pertains of right to the chimpanzee rather than to the orang-utan. Between the typical West See also:African chimpanzee and the See also:gorilla (q.v.) there is no difficulty in See also:drawing a distinction; the difficulty comes in when we have to See also:deal with the aberrant races, or species, of chimpanzee, some of which are so gorilla-like that it is by no means easy to deter-mine to which See also:group they really pertain. In height the adult male chimpanzee of the typical See also:form does not exceed 5 ft., and the See also:colour of the See also:hair is a full See also:black, while the skin, especially that of the See also:face, is See also:light-coloured; the ears are remarkably large and prominent, and the hands reach' only a See also:short distance below the knees. The See also:head is rounded and short, without prominent See also:beet-See also:ling ridges above the eyes, or a strong See also:crest along the See also:middle See also:line of the back of the See also:skull; and the tusks of the old See also:males are of no very See also:great length and prominence. Moreover, there is no very marked difference in the See also:size of the two sexes. Gentleness and docility are specially characteristic of the species, even when full-grown; while in the native See also:state its habits are thoroughly arboreal. In central Africa the chimpanzees assume more or less marked gorilla-like traits. The first of these aberrant types is See also:Schweinfurth's chimpanzee (Anthropopithecus troglodytes schweinfurthi), which in-habits the Niam-Niam See also:country, and, although evidently belonging to the same species as the typical See also:race, exhibits certain gorilla-like features. These traits are still more See also:developed in the bald chimpanzee (A. tschego) of See also:Loango, the See also:Gabun, and other regions of See also:French See also:Congo, which takes its See also:English name from the sparse covering of hair on the head. The most gorilla-like of all the races is, however, the See also:kulu-kamba chimpanzee (A. kulu-kamba) of du Chaillu, which inhabits central Africa. The celebrated See also:ape " Mafuka," which lived in the See also:Dresden zoological gardens during 1875, and came from Loango. was apparently a member of this species, although it was at one time regarded as a hybrid between a chimpanzee and a gorilla. These gorilla-like traits were still more pronounced in "Johanna," a femalechimpanzee living in See also:Barnum & See also:Bailey's show in 1899, which has been described and figured by Dr A. See also:Keith. The heavy ridges over the brow, originally supposed to be distinctive of the gorilla, are particularly well marked in "Johanna," and they would doubtless be still more noticeable in the male of the same race, which seems to be undoubtedly du Chaillu's kulu-kamba. Still the large size and prominence of the ears proclaim that both "Mafuka " and " Johanna " were chimpanzees and not gorillas. A gorilla-like feature in " Johanna " is, however, the presence of large folds at the sides (See also:ala) of the nostrils, which are absent in the typical chimpanzee, but in the gorilla extend down to the upper See also:lip. Chimpanzees exhibit great docility in confinement, where, however, they seldom survive for any great length of time. They likewise display a much higher degree of intelligence than any of the other man-like apes. (See See also:PRIMATES.) (R. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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