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The Descent of Man

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ted in their transmission. Nevertheless it is improbable<br />

that the diversified, vivid, and contrasted<br />

colours <strong>of</strong> certain quadrupeds, for instance,<br />

<strong>of</strong> the above monkeys and antelopes, can<br />

thus be accounted for. We should bear in mind<br />

that these colours do not appear in the male at<br />

birth, but only at or near maturity; and that<br />

unlike ordinary variations, they are lost if the<br />

male be emasculated. It is on the whole probable<br />

that the strongly-marked colours and other<br />

ornamental characters <strong>of</strong> male quadrupeds are<br />

beneficial to them in their rivalry with other<br />

males, and have consequently been acquired<br />

through sexual selection. This view is strengthened<br />

by the differences in colour between the<br />

sexes occurring almost exclusively, as may be<br />

collected from the previous details, in those<br />

groups and sub-groups <strong>of</strong> mammals which<br />

present other and strongly-marked secondary<br />

sexual characters; these being likewise due to<br />

sexual selection.

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