Composite photograph of Argus secondary wing feather left and right Fig 56. Page 143 Vol II of Charles Darwin \The Descent of Man and Selection in Rel
Composite photograph of Argus secondary wing feather left and right Fig 56. Page 143 Vol II of Charles Darwin \The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex\" 1871. Darwin was fascinated by the detailed perfection of the Argus pheasant's ocelli spots which he considered were unique in resembling balls in sockets. The illustration from his book on sexual selection (on the right), compared to a real feather on the left, reveals the accuracy he demanded. On page 141 Vol II he notes \"That these ornaments should have been formed through the selection of many successive variations, not one of which was originally intended to produce the ball-and-socket effect, seems as incredible, as that one of Raphael's Madonnas should have been formed by the selection of chance daubs of paint made by a long succession of young artists, not one of whom intended at first to draw the human figure\"."
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Photo credit: © PAUL D STEWART/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: argos, argus, artwork, bird, darwin, descent, eye, feather, illustration, man, marking, mimicry, natural, ocelli, pattern, peacock, pheasant, scientific, selection, sexual, spot
