Mammalia / by Frank Evers Beddard.

Frank Evers Beddard

Date:: 1902

Credit: Mammalia / by Frank Evers Beddard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$be called brightly coloured. The Bats of the genus ICerivoula have been compared to large butterflies, and some of the Flying Squirrels have strongly-marked contrasts of reddish brown, white, and yellow. The same may be said of the spines of certain Porcupines. But we find in the hair no bright blues, greens, and reds such as are common among birds. There are certain general facts about the coloration of mammals which require some notice here. Next to the usually sombre hues of these animals the general absence of secondary sexual coloration is noteworthy. In but a few cases among the Lemurs and Bats do we find any marked divergences in hues between males and females. Secondary sexual characters in mammals are, it is true, often exhibited by the great length of certain hair-tracts in the male, such as the mane of the Lion, the throat- and leg-tufts of the Bar¬ bary Sheep, and so forth \ but apart from these, the secondary sexual characters of mammals are chiefly shown in size, e.g. the Gorilla, or in the presence of tusks, e.g. various Boars, or of horns, as in the Deer, etc. The coloration of mammals frequently exhibits conspicuous patterns of marking. These are in the form of longitudinal stripes, of cross-stripes, or of spots; the latter may be “ solid ” spots, or broken up, as in the Leopard and Jaguar, into groups of smaller spots arranged in a rosette-fashion. We never find in mammals the complicated “ eyes ’ and other mark¬ ings which occur in so many birds and in other lower \ erte- brates. It is important to note that in the Mammalia whose sense of sight is quite keen there should be a practical absence of secondary sexual colours. As to the relationship of the \ arious forms of marking that do occur, it seems clear that there ^ has been a progression from a striped or spotted condition to uniform coloration. For we find that many Deer have spotted young; that the young Tapir of the New World is spotted, while its parents are uniform blackish brown ; the strongly-marked spot¬ ting of the young Puma contrasts with the uniform brown of the adult; and the Lion cub, as every one knows, is also spotted, the adult lioness showing considerable traces of the spots. The seasonal change in the colours of certain mammals is a subject upon which much has been written. The extreme of this is seen in those creatures, such as the Polar Hare and the Arctic Fox. which become entirely blanched in the winter, leco’vering$

Mammalia / by Frank Evers Beddard.

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