POSTSCRIPT 131 



That, is from \b&.priwitiix. markings of Professor Eimer's theory. Quite so,, 

 but, as I have shown, it is not so incredible ; that both the .coloration of, 

 the Giraffe and of the Zebra, as well as those of the ' dappled Horse and 

 of the Zebu, should have been evolved from, in my opinion, the oldest 

 coloration of all, viz,., the rosettes^ similar to those of the Jaguar. 



Mr. Lydekker in conclusion says that it is not improbable that there 

 may be a certain substratum of truth in. Professor Eimer's theory. , : :; > 



' What we may call the " longitudinal-spotted-transverse-uniform " theory of 

 coloration, we submit that in its present guise it cannot adequately explain the 

 whole evolution of "spots and stripes in mammals."' 



j - ' - -' -'<... - 



Mr. Lydekker's paper on .this .subject in KnowUdge.'is very well worth 

 the attention of students of the coloration of mammals. It is, moreover,, 

 accompanied by the most beautiful illustration of the Snow Leopard that 

 I have yet seen. 



.Now, may I be allowed to put forth in concluding this P.S. my 

 theory, of the whole question, as succinctly as I can as Carlyle might 

 have said, the theory of a poor simple creature? 



The Glyptodonts, or other armoured mammals of a .similar, nature, 

 were the originals from which all existing mammals, including marsupials, 

 descended. 



.. The Jaguar, .for some reason or. other, has retained the most primitive 

 type of coloration, due to the characters of the ancestral armour-//^/^ 

 a sort of picturation of the carapace^ after this had been. wholly got rid of. 

 ;A11 other spotted mammals whether longitudinally, or transversely, 

 or diagonally are modifications of those of the Jaguar. 



Then the striped whether longitudinal, transverse, or diagonal- are 

 fusions of lines of spots or of rosettes. This seems clear from the spotting 

 of certain Cheetahs, certain Horses, and certain. Tigers with twin-stripes. 



The markings of the Ocelots, Clouded Leopards, and Marbled Cats 

 area fusion and modification of groups of rosettes, either longitudinally 

 disposed, or grouped in irregular patches. 



The piebalding of the Dog seems to be made up of fusions and 

 agglomerations of spots, as may be seen in certain Dalmatian and other 

 Dogs. 



Then in the self-coloured mammals, it is evident there is, for some 

 reason, a total obliteration of all special marking, although they now and 



