Darwinism (1889): An exposition of the theory of natural selection, with some of its applicationsWallace, Alfred Russel
Science
Darwinism (1889): An exposition of the theory of natural selection, with some of its applications
Wallace, Alfred Russel
Evolution; Natural selection
In frogs and toads the colours are usually alike, or a little more
intense in the males, and the same may be said of most snakes. It is in
lizards that we first meet with considerable sexual differences, many of
the species having gular pouches, frills, dorsal crests, or horns,
either confined to the males, or more developed in them than in the
females, and these ornaments are often brightly coloured. In most cases,
however, the tints of lizards are protective, the male being usually a
little more intense in coloration; and the difference in extreme cases
may be partly due to the need of protection for the female, which, when
laden with eggs, must be less active and less able to escape from
enemies than the male, and may, therefore, have retained more protective
colours, as so many insects and birds have certainly done.[125]
In mammalia there is often a somewhat greater intensity of colour in
the male, but rarely a decided difference. The female of the great red
kangaroo, however, is a delicate gray; while in the Lemur macaco of
Madagascar the male is jet-black and the female brown. In many monkeys
also there are some differences of colour, especially on the face. The
sexual weapons and ornaments of male mammalia, as horns, crests, manes,
and dewlaps, are well known, and are very numerous and remarkable.
Having thus briefly reviewed the facts, we will now consider the
theories to which they have given rise.
_Sexual Selection by the Struggles of Males._
Among the higher animals it is a very general fact that the males fight
together for the possession of the females. This leads, in polygamous
animals especially, to the stronger or better armed males becoming the
parents of the next generation, which inherits the peculiarities of the
parents; and thus vigour and offensive weapons are continually increased
in the males, resulting in the strength and horns of the bull, the tusks
of the boar, the antlers of the stag, and the spurs and fighting
instinct of the gamecock. But almost all male animals fight together,
though not specially armed; even hares, moles, squirrels, and beavers
fight to the death, and are often found to be scarred and wounded. The
same rule applies to almost all male birds; and these battles have been
observed in such different groups as humming-birds, finches,
goatsuckers, woodpeckers, ducks, and waders. Among reptiles, battles of
the males are known to occur in the cases of crocodiles, lizards, and
tortoises; among fishes, in those of salmon and sticklebats. Even among
insects the same law prevails; and male spiders, beetles of many groups,
crickets, and butterflies often fight together.
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