ARMOUR-PLATING AND SKIN PICTURES 



157 



carapace of certain land Tortoises. The black dabs on the scales 

 of Serranus are as distinct from the skin as the ocelli in the 

 Peacock's feathers, yet where the scales are 

 suppressed, the black dabs remain. 



A striking example of stamps remaining 

 on the skin after plate-armour has disappeared 

 is to be seen in Serranus hexagonatus} All 

 over the surface it has hexagonal markings 

 independent of the scales. These markings 

 forcibly recall the hexagonal armour-plates 

 of the Ostracions. Then Serranus Merra has 

 the marks passing into confluent blotches, 

 ^MAis. S.Sonneratii, PI. vii., Fig. i, has similar 

 hexagonal marks, but only on the fore part 

 of the body and head, being totally obliter- 

 ated on the rest of the body. 



The singular markings of these species 

 of Serranus are quite paralleled by the 

 markings of the fully dappled and the 

 partially dappled Horses. 



Then in the York Museum I found an 

 Ostracion, with plates shown in Fig. 66 {b). They were marked 

 with six dark spots. Well, this fish on its tail had no plates, but 

 only the black spots. 



Then if we look at the back of the Dinosaur, with rows of 

 detached plates along its spine, as restored by Mr. Hutchinson 

 (Fig. 73), we shall see that if the plates disappeared, rows of spots 

 might be the "result, like those along the back of certain Leopards. 

 .■ I know that there are puzzlers among the markings^ of fishes, 

 such as the Leopard markings of Trygon uarnak, and the Giraffe 



' 'Fishes of India, by Francis Day, PI. ii., Part. i. Fjg. 3. 



Fig. 73. — Back of Scelido- 

 sazirits Harrisoni, as re- 

 stored in Hutchinson's 

 Extinct Monsters, pi. 8. 



