PART VII 



IS NATURAL SELECTION THE SOLE FACTOR IN 

 THE COLORATION OF MAMMALS? 



In studying this intricate subject the reader should not mind a 

 Httle repetition, as it may be needed to emphasise certain points. 



In searching for a cause of the spotting of certain mammals, it 

 is not sufficient to say, in a vague way, that it has been brought 

 about by ' natural selection,' through which it was made to har- 

 monise with its surroundings,^ for there are in existence certain 

 facts which do not seem in the least to admit of such an 

 explanation. 



In the Science and Art Museum of Edinburgh, there is a speci- 

 men of the Great Armadillo {Priodontes maximus). Its abdomen 

 is studded with separate rosettes, composed of very minute plates ; 

 and here I would wish again to emphasise the fact that the hind 

 feet of this Armadillo are ungulate, in the fashion of those of the 

 Rhinoceros and American Tapir, and very different from its fore- 

 feet, which have long claws. 



Curiously enough, the Peba Armadillo ( Tatusia Pebaf has no 



'' Where the black and spotted Jaguars are common, they can hardly both harmonise 

 with their surroundings. Dr. Wallace (^Travels on the Amazon, p. 317) says: 'In 

 some localities the black Jaguar is unknown, while in others it is as abundant as the 

 ocellated variety. ' On the other hand Mr. Saunderson says that the black Leopard in 

 India, is confined to heavy forest tracts, while the ocellated variety frequents open 

 country and rocky localities. 



^ Science and Art Museum, Edinburgh. 



