74 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
in periodic changes during day and night. 
Messrs. Keeble and Gamble in their description 
of the species, tell us that “ every evening, as 
darkness comes on, Hippolyte gradually loses 
its distinctive diurnal colour. In summer 
this change begins at about 9 p.m., in winter 
about 5 p.m. . . ., as darkness falls Hippolyte 
is seen to become of a wonderful azure blue 
colour and absolutely transparent, except in 
the region of the liver and stomach. . . .” 
A quite distinct phase of colour transforma¬ 
tion to that which we have so far reviewed is 
the seasonal change that takes place in 
certain animals. 
Among the mammals that are thus in¬ 
fluenced, the stoat may be taken as a typical 
example. During the summer its fur is mostly 
of a brown tint, but in the colder part of its 
habitat the pelage of the creature changes to 
white at the approach of winter, the tip of 
the tail, however, remaining black at all 
seasons. 
It is a curious fact that, although the animal 
grows a new coat in the autumn, it is not always 
the case that the change in the colour of the fur 
coincides with the actual shedding of the same, 
a great deal depending upon the atmospheric 
conditions at that period. For instance, 
should the weather be somewhat warm when 
