C HAP. XVIII. 
SPOTS AND STRIPES. 
305 
the lion and puma from the open nature of the localities 
"'hi ch they commonly haunt, to have lost their stripes, 
a 'id to have been thus rendered less conspicuous to their 
P r ey ; and if the successive variations, by which this 
6 nd was gained, occurred rather late in life, the young 
"'ould have retained their stripes, as we know to be the 
c ase. In regard to deer, pigs, and tapirs, Fritz Muller 
has suggested to me that these animals by the removal 
through natural selection of their spots or stripes would 
have been less easily seen by their enemies ; and they 
"'ould have especially required this protection, as soon 
a « the carnivora increased in size and number during 
the Tertiary periods. This may be the true explana- 
tion, but it is rather strange that the young should 
»ot have been equally well protected, and still more 
strange that with some species the adults should have 
’'stained their spots, either partially or completely, 
during part of the year. We know, though we cannot 
explain the cause, that when the domestic ass varies and 
becomes reddish-brown, grey or black, the stripes on the 
s houlders and even on the spine frequently disappear. 
Very few horses, except dun-coloured kinds, exhibit 
8 tripes on any part of their bodies, yet we have gopd 
reason to believe that the aboriginal horse was striped 
°n the legs and spine, and probably on the shoulders . 42 
htence the disappearance of the spots and stripes in our 
a dult existing deer, pigs, and tapirs, may be due to a 
change in the general colour of their coats ; but whether 
this change was effected through sexual or natural se- 
lection, or was due to the direct action of the conditions 
°f life, or some other unknown cause, it is impossible 
llJ decide. An observation made by Mr. Sclater well 
dlustrates our ignorance of the laws which regulate the 
12 ‘ The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ 
l8 68, vol. i. p. 61-64. 
VOL. II. 
X 
