76 STUDIES IN THE EVOLUTION OF ANIMALS 



permanent, although, looked at superficially, much alteration may 

 not be noticed during the life of the same animal after reaching 

 the adult stage. We know that in the Lion, the Puma, and various 

 other animals the spotting alters so much, that in the adult it is 

 on the verge of total obliteration. 



In the dappled Horse the spots certainly tend to coalesce into 



o 





^ 



0.' 







/ 



X 



Fig. 43. — Various forms of rosettes seen on Horses : — {a) from flank of grey dappled 

 Horse ; (5) seen on both sides of a grey Horse, near the root of the tail ; {c) from a Horse of 

 the Great Northern Railway Company ; (d and e) from dappled Horses ; (/and g) from hind- 

 quarters of an omnibus Horse ; {A, i, and 7) Horse-rosettes breaking up. 



frond-like patches, or to break up into star-like or other small spots, 

 and even into minute specks, preparatory, it would seem, to total 

 obliteration. 



In Fig. 43 I have given several groups of spots — rosettes, we 

 might call them — taken from various horses, which will elucidate • 

 what I have said above. 



In this figure, it will be seen that in (A) the scolloped edges of 

 the patch break up into an aggregation of a number of dots, as in 



