MIMICRY. 449 



imagine of what advantage it can be for the Bassaricyon to be 

 mistaken for a Kinkajou.* The Cape Hunting- Dog (Lycaon 

 pictus) has a superficial resemblance to the Spotted Hyaena of the 

 same country, which has been suggested as a case of mimicry. 

 As Mr. Lydekker has observed: — "It is, however, very difficult 

 to see what advantage a strong animal hunting in packs, like the 

 present species, can gain in being mistaken for a Hysena, as it is 

 in every respect fully qualified to take care of itself. If, how- 

 ever, we could suppose that the Hunting-Dog was originally a 

 solitary animal, which had subsequently become gregarious, then 

 perhaps the resemblance to the Hysena might have been an 

 advantage to it."t The same authority believes that in the 

 resemblance of the South African Weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) 

 to the Cape Polecat (Ictonyx zorilla) we may have " another 

 instance of true mimicry among mammals." I The African 

 Monkey (Colobus occidentalis) is covered with a long silky fur 

 arranged in alternate stripes of black and white, so handsome 

 that the skin is much prized by the Masai for making head 

 ornaments. The contrast of black and white is so marked that 

 at first sight, as Dr. Gregory remarks, " it would seem to pre- 

 clude concealment, but its value is at once evident when the 

 animal is seen at home. This Monkey lives in the high forests 

 of Abyssinia, Kenya, Kilima Njaro, and Settima, where the trees 

 have black trunks and branches, draped with long grey masses of 

 beard-moss or lichen. As the Monkeys hang from the branches 

 they so closely resemble the lichen that I found it impossible to 

 recognize them when but a short distance away."§ 



The tabby Cat, the original progenitor of which may have 

 been " a distinct natural variety which no longer exists as a wild 

 animal," has been thus described : — When " curled up asleep, the 

 dark bands arranged themselves in concentric circles, or rather 

 in a closely set spiral, strongly suggesting the appearance of a 

 coiled serpent." This is considered as a probable remarkable 

 instance of "protective mimicry." || 



Mr. S. E. Peal, writing from Assam, has launched the following 



* ' Proc. Zool. Soc. 1 1880, pp. 397-99. 



f 'Royal Nat. Hist.' vol. i. p. 571. J Ibid. vol. ii. p. 70. 



§ ' The Great Rift Valley,' p. 272. 



|| Louis Robinson, ' Wild Traits in Tame Animals,' pp. 240-1. 

 Zool. Mh ser. vol. HI., October, 1899. 2 g 



