THE COLOURS OF COWRIES 355 



coloration met with among cowries, it has been shown in 

 an earlier article that among mammals spots and stripes are 

 frequently met with in the young which disappear in the 

 adult. Many species of deer and swine, for instance, which 

 are spotted or striped with white in youth become more or 

 less completely uniform in mature age; while the lion and 

 the puma frequently exhibit traces of dark spotting in the 

 cub stage. In these animals, therefore, it is evident that 

 a spotted or striped coat is the original type, and a uniform 

 tint the more advanced form. In cowries, on the other 

 hand, it seems that transverse dark banding was the original 

 type of coloration, and that from such banded type two 

 later modifications have taken place. In the one of these, 

 spotting of various kinds has resulted, while in the other 

 a more or less uniform colour has been the final result. 

 The primitive banded type serves to connect the cowries 

 with less specialised shells, a young Surinam-toad cowry 

 being strikingly like a melon-shell, both in form and 

 colouring, while the faint banding observable in young 

 specimens of Scott's cowry recalls the colours of many of 

 the wing-shells, to which, as already mentioned, the former 

 approximates in form. 



The proof that banding was the original type of cowry 

 coloration is easy, seeing that it prevails in the young of 

 the great majority of species. In its young condition, for 

 instance, the Surinam-toad cowry is striped, while in the 

 adult, as already said, it has chestnut spots on a dark 

 ground in the central area of the upper surface. Take, 

 again, the adult and immature conditions of the common 

 lynx cowry, the former of which is variously spotted, while 

 the latter still retains distinct transverse dark and light 

 bands. Still more striking is the difference between the 

 immature and adult conditions of the lesser false Argus 



