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The Descent of Man

The Descent of Man

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tional importance by supporting certain internal<br />

parts and in other ways; and their modification<br />

is directly connected with the erect or semi-erect<br />

attitude <strong>of</strong> man and the anthropomorphous<br />

apes. This conclusion is the more trustworthy,<br />

as Broca formerly held a different<br />

view, which he has now abandoned. <strong>The</strong> modification,<br />

therefore, <strong>of</strong> the basal caudal vertebrae<br />

in man and the higher apes may have been effected,<br />

directly or indirectly, through natural<br />

selection.<br />

But what are we to say about the rudimentary<br />

and variable vertebrae <strong>of</strong> the terminal portion<br />

<strong>of</strong> the tail, forming the os coccyx? A notion<br />

which has <strong>of</strong>ten been, and will no doubt again<br />

be ridiculed, namely, that friction has had something<br />

to do with the disappearance <strong>of</strong> the<br />

external portion <strong>of</strong> the tail, is not so ridiculous<br />

as it at first appears. Dr. Anderson (92. 'Proceedings<br />

Zoological Society,' 1872, p. 210.)<br />

states that the extremely short tail <strong>of</strong> Macacus

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