PART III 



MEANING OF THE JAGUAR AND LEOPARD ROSETTES 

 AND OF THE MARKINGS OF OTHER MAMMALS 



THE groups of spots, or rosettes as they are called, which these 

 two animals present, are so characteristic that they must have some 

 meaning, which hitherto, as far as I am aware, has not been worked 

 out, or perhaps not worked out according to what, in my opinion, 

 is the true meaning of the rosettes. What can that meaning be ? 



The Leopard spots, as we have seen, are merely contractions 

 of those of the Jaguar ; and may be the Cheetah spots are still 

 further contractions and modifications of those of the Jaguar. 



The larger rosettes of the Jaguar consist, as we have seen, of a 

 certain space enclosed by a polygonal ring of spots (Fig. 4). The 

 space enclosed has either one or several still smaller spots, 1 and 

 sometimes none ; and its colour is often different from the general 

 ground colour. 



In Fig. 59 I have given a number of variations of Jaguar and 

 Leopard rosettes, and also some groups of Cheetah markings. 



It is perfectly clear to me that in Nos. 10 to 13, and others, a 

 fusion of some of the ring-spots has taken place, and a larger irre- 

 gular patch has been the result ; that in Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7 and 14, a 



1 Ordinary Leopard skins sometimes show a few rosettes with specks in the enclosed 

 space. 



