536 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
CONSCIOUS PROTECTIVE RESEMBLANCE. 
By Guy A. K. Marsnaun, F.Z.S. 
In the second portion of his ‘ Biological Suggestions’ (Zool. 
(1899) pp. 289, 341, 448, 529; (1900) p. 116), Mr. Distant has dealt 
at some length with the pheuomena of animal colouration, generally 
described under the terms of Protective and Aggressive Resemblance. 
It is not altogether obvious why these phenomena should have been 
ranked by him under the term Mimicry. Iam aware that this latter 
word, as first used by Kirby and Spence at the beginning of the 
century, included all cases of resemblance of what kind soever; but 
seeing that, with our increasing knowledge of the subject, students of 
animal colouration have found it both useful and advisable to dis- 
eriminate between resemblance in order to attract attention (Mimicry) 
and resemblance in order to obtain concealment (Protective and 
Aggressive Resemblance), there seems to be no sufficient reason why 
we should revert to an earlier and less exact definition, which is only 
apt to cause confusion.t (These numerals refer to some concluding notes 
by Prof. Poulton.) In his review of the matter, Mr. Distant has 
brought together a large number of interesting facts and observations 
bearing on the subject of general and special resemblance (a distine- 
tion, however, which he overlooks), containing examples from all 
classes of animal life. A consideration of these facts has led him to 
offer the suggestion that ‘‘animals of their own volition, and in their 
efforts to avoid their enemies, place themselves where possible in such 
adaptation to their surroundings, that protective resemblance and some 
forms of mimicry are due to animal intelligence, and not so entirely 
to what is generally understood as the unconscious process of natural 
selection”’ (/.c. 1899, p. 465). It is proposed to designate this 
conscious action by the somewhat unsatisfactory name of “ active 
mimicry”’ ;* it seems doubtful whether any special name is really 
required for this process, but, if it be so, I would suggest that ‘‘ con- 
scious resemblance ”’ is more suitable and more in conformity with the 
recognised terminology. t 
*The term ‘active’? was not invented, but adopted from Kirby and 
Spence (cf. 1899, p. 464).—Ep. 
+ ‘‘Conscious mimicry” was also a term stated to have been proposed 
by Prof. Henslow (cf. ib. p. 465).— Ep. 
