30 MAN --AN ADAPTIVE MECHANISM 



same adaptability. Creatures that commonly haunt 

 the night, such as mice, moles and bats, have a dusky 

 hue. The fishes that swim along the coral reefs in 

 tropical waters have gorgeous tints which mingle with 

 their environment. Certain marine organisms that 

 float on the surface of the water are tinged to accord 

 with the scenery above and below their habitat, so that 

 from above they appear blue, in harmony with the 

 color of the ocean, while to their enemies below they are 

 white, harmonizing with the clouds and the foam as 

 seen from below. 



Many animals, conspicuous when they are out of 

 their native haunts, are practically invisible in their 

 natural habitats. The vividly striped zebra, and the 

 tiger with its yellow and black markings, when seen 

 in the midst of the tall grasses and reeds of their natural 

 environments are so identically a part of the light and 

 shadows as to be scarcely noticeable. The giraffe, 

 with its knotty head and blotchy skin, when standing 

 in the thickets of its native forest, is a perfect match 

 for the blanched and broken branches of dead trees. 



Among the small creatures of our own forests and 

 plains, concealing and revealing coloration is a constant 

 source of surprise and interest to the beholder. It is 

 not its coloring alone but also its shape and its manner 

 of holding itself in relation to the object upon which 

 it rests, that secures for an animal the resemblance 

 which is its protection against enemies which are 

 often of similar color and shape. Down in a cool spot 

 near a stream in the woods one may see a green frog 

 poised for a fly, the fly so colored as to be scarcely 

 visible over the surface of the water, while above hangs 



