The Descent of Man

ted, though lurid tints, and these become more
vivid during the breeding-season. The male, for
instance, of our common little newt (Triton
punctatus) is "brownish-grey above, passing
into yellow beneath, which in the spring becomes
a rich bright orange, marked everywhere
with round dark spots." The edge of the crest
also is then tipped with bright red or violet.
The female is usually of a yellowish-brown
colour with scattered brown dots, and the lower
surface is often quite plain. (44. Bell, 'History
of British Reptiles,' 2nd ed., 1849, pp. 146,
151.) The young are obscurely tinted. The ova
are fertilised during the act of deposition, and
are not subsequently tended by either parent.
We may therefore conclude that the males have
acquired their strongly-marked colours and
ornamental appendages through sexual selection;
these being transmitted either to the male
offspring alone, or to both sexes.
ANURA OR BATRACHIA.