300 SEXUAL SELECTION : MAMMALS. [Part IL 



cerned, has prevailed far more extensively with mammals 

 than with birds ; but in regard to weapons, such as horns 

 and tusks, these have often lieen transmitted either exclu- 

 sively, or in a much higher degree, to the males than to 

 the female. This is a surprising circumstance, for as the 

 males generally uSe their weapons as a defence against 

 enemies of all kinds, these weapons would have been of 

 service to the females. Their absence in this sex can be 

 accounted for, as far as we can see, only by the form of 

 inheritance which has prevailed. Finally, with quadru- 

 peds the contest between the individuals of the same sex, 

 whether peaceful or bloody, has with the rarest excep- 

 tions been confined to the males ; so that these have been 

 modified through sexual selection, either for fighting with 

 each other or for alluring the opposite sex, far more com- 

 monly than the females. 



