AGGRESSIVE RESEMBLANCES, ETC. 73 



tion by Wallace, and they are some of the most m- 

 teresting of all forms of Aggressive Eesemblance. 



An Asiatic lizard, Phrynocephalus mystaceus, is a 

 good example. Its general surface resembles the 

 sand on which it is found, while the fold of skin at 

 each angle of the mouth is of a red colour, and is 

 produced into a flower-like shape exactly resembling 

 a little red flower which grows in the sand. Insects, 

 attracted by what they believe to be flowers, approach 

 the mouth of the lizard, and are of course captured. 

 Professor C. Stewart kindly brought this instance 

 before me, and showed me a specimen of the lizard 

 in the Museum of the Eoyal College of Surgeons. 



Similar examples are to be found among fishes. 

 The Angler, or Fishing Frog (Lophius piscatorius) , pos- 

 sesses a lure in shape of long slender filaments, the 

 foremost and longest of which has a flattened and 

 divided extremity. The fish stirs up the mud so as 

 to conceal itself, and waves these filaments about : 

 small fish are attracted by the lure, mistaking it for 

 worms writhing about in the muddy water ; they 

 approach and are instantly engulphed in the enormous 

 mouth of the Angler. This interesting habit has been 

 known since the days of Aristotle. Certain deep-sea 

 forms allied to Lopliius behave in a similar manner, 

 but as the depths of the sea are dark, they have a 

 special * phosphorescent organ, which probably illu- 

 minates the play of the tentacles which serve to 

 allure other creatures.' In some of these fish (certain 



