MEANING OF JAGUAR AND LEOPARD ROSETTES 107 



points, such as the joints, where function changes. Mr. Tylor 

 says : ' If we take highly decorated species that is, marked by 

 alternate dark or light bands or spots, such as the Zebra, some 

 Deer, or the carnivora, we find, first, that the region of the spinal 

 column is marked by a dark stripe ; 1 secondly, that the regions 

 of the appendages or limbs are differently marked ; thirdly, that 

 the flanks are striped or spotted, along or between the regions of 

 the lines of the ribs ; 2 fourthly, that the shoulder and hip regions 

 are marked by curved lines ; fifthly, that the pattern and the 

 direction of the lines or spots change at the head, neck, and every 

 joint of the limbs ; and lastly, that the tips of the ears, nose, tail 

 and feet, and the eye, are emphasised in colour. In spotted 

 animals the greatest length of the spot is generally in the direction 

 of the largest development of the skeleton.' 



Then at p. 289, still quoting from Coloration in Animals and 

 Plants, Dr. Wallace says that * Mr. Tylor was of opinion that the 

 primitive form of ornamentation consisted of spots, the confluence 

 of these in certain directions forming lines or bands ; and these 

 again sometimes coalescing into blotches, or into more or less 

 uniform tints covering a large portion of the surface of the body. 

 The young Lion and Tiger are both spotted ; and in the Java Hog 

 (Sus vittatus] very young animals are banded, but have spots over 

 the shoulders and thighs. These spots run into stripes as the 

 animal grows older ; then the stripes expand, and at last, meeting 

 together, the adult animal becomes of a uniform brown colour.' 



And on p. 290, Dr. Wallace says : ' So many of the species of 

 Deer are spotted, when young, that Darwin concludes the ancestral 

 form from which all Deer are derived must have been spotted. 



1 Sometimes it is white, as in certain Antelopes, and also in the Kerry breed of cattle. 



2 Undoubtedly the markings often cross the ribs, as in the Ocelots and the Viverridce, 

 the Paca, etc. 



