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 
