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The Descent of Man

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guished by colour, even by the dealers in wild<br />

beasts. Mr. Wallace believes (39. 'Westminster<br />

Review,' July 1, 1867, p. 5.) that the striped coat<br />

<strong>of</strong> the tiger "so assimilates with the vertical<br />

stems <strong>of</strong> the bamboo, as to assist greatly in concealing<br />

him from his approaching prey." But<br />

this view does not appear to me satisfactory.<br />

We have some slight evidence that his beauty<br />

may be due to sexual selection, for in two species<br />

<strong>of</strong> Felis the analogous marks and colours<br />

are rather brighter in the male than in the female.<br />

<strong>The</strong> zebra is conspicuously striped, and stripes<br />

cannot afford any protection in the open<br />

plains <strong>of</strong> South Africa. Burchell (40. 'Travels in<br />

South Africa,' 1824, vol. ii. p. 315.) in describing<br />

a herd says, "their sleek ribs glistened in the<br />

sun, and the brightness and regularity <strong>of</strong> their<br />

striped coats presented a picture <strong>of</strong> extraordinary<br />

beauty, in which probably they are not<br />

surpassed by any other quadruped." But as<br />

throughout the whole group <strong>of</strong> the Equidae the<br />

sexes are identical in colour, we have here no

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