AVAENING COLOBATIOX. 191 



has a pair of curions marks — the thumb-marks of St. Peter, 

 according to the legend — on each side of the body ; these can 

 hardly be seen in the fish when exposed for sale in a fish- 

 monger's window, but are very conspicuous during life. An 

 «nemy, whose attention was drawn to these spots, would 

 inflict a very serious injury upon the fish if it attempted to 

 take a bite at this place. So, also, with regard to the bright 

 eye-like markings upon a species of shrimp figured * a good 

 many years ago by the late Mr. Spence Bate. 



It will be noticed that some of these instances of attractive 

 •coloration are absolutely opposed to the theory of warning 

 ■colours; this is, of course, especially so with the Yellow Under- 

 wings. In these moths the black bands upon the yellow 

 ground-colour present us with precisely that contrast of colours 

 which is believed to be so efficacious in protecting the wasp 

 and the Cinnabar Moth caterpillar from being interfered with. 

 This is a serious dilemma. Any one ignorant of the fact that 

 the Yellow Underwing is quite palatable to, or at any rate 

 pursued by, birds, would regard the insect as affording a 

 remarkable combination of protective and warning coloration; 

 the warning colours, it might be argued, are displayed only 

 after the protective colours have failed to play their part with 

 ■enough success. 



Bright Colours and large Size of the Fins in Certain Fish may 

 have a Protective Value. 

 At the moment of writing there are a number of specimens 

 of one of the most beautiful of British fishes — the grayling — 

 in the fish house at the Zoological Gardens. The beauty is 

 chiefly in the fins, which are of large size and shot with iri- 

 descent green and red. They remind one, in a very striking 



■* Fro,: Zoo?. Soc, 1863, PI. XL., fig. 1. 



