THE MIMICEY AND DECEPTION OBSERVED 
AMONG THE LOWER ANIMALS. 
At the evening meeting of the Zoological Society, 
November 15, 1870, Dr. Mnrie read a j)aper upon the 
Anatomy of the Manatee,” and ]3ointed out its remark- 
able form and its resemblance to other aquatic mammalia ; 
in some respects it is after the fashion of the porj3oise. 
In calling attention to this subject, it maybe said that the 
porpoise is a sham fish, or only a disguised mammal, 
having assumed the form and general colouring of a fish, 
and thus disguised he is enabled to swim and 2 ^ass his 
time among the finny tribes, preying u|)on them with im- 
pLinity. This is doubtless the fact, for no other form is 
better adapted to answer the purpose of the rapid motion 
required to cajrture the active and swift-swimming fishes 
upon which the porj)oise is destined to live. We have an 
indication of the fish-like form in the otters and seals, and 
in some of the latter the arrangement of the colour, the 
dark back and white belly ; but in the porpoise we have 
the external resemblance to the fish most complete, even 
to the dorsal fin. 
Much has been written upon the subject of mimicry. 
Mr. Alfred Wallace, Mr. Bates, and others have called 
attention to the close resemblance of insects to leaves, 
sticks, and other inanimate and animate things ; of one 
family of birds aj^pearing to belong to another family ; and 
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