The Cacomistle of Mexico (Bassaris astuta), one of the raccoon family, has a grey body and long black-and-white ringed tail, just like the ring-tailed Lemur of Madagascar (Lemur catta); both are arboreal and about the same size, and this lemur’s colouration is exceptional in its family.
The banded Duiker-buck of West Africa (Cephalophus doriae), has the same very unusual colouration as the thylacine or marsupial wolf of Tasmania, light brown, with bold black bands across the hinder part of the back, and the animals are about the same size.
The dormouse of Europe closely resembles a small American Opossum (Didelphys murina), and a larger opossum (D. crassicaudata) is very like the Siberian Mink (Mustela sibirica).
The Flying Squirrel of North America (Sciuropterus volucella) is closely copied by the Flying Phalanger (Petaurus breviceps) of Australia.
It will be readily seen that in no one of these cases can the likeness be of utility to either the “model” or the “copy.”
False Batesian Mimicry among Birds
There are many instances of this phenomenon among birds. The New Zealand Cuckoo (Urodynamis tritensis) shows a far closer resemblance to the American Sparrow-hawk (Accipiter cooperi) than to any New Zealand hawk, and in fact closely mimics this quite alien bird.
The stormy petrel, a purely oceanic bird, closely resembles in size, colour, and style of flight the Indian Swift (Cypselus affinis), a purely inland creature; both are sooty black, with a conspicuous white patch on the lower back.
The Pied Babbling Thrush (Crateropus bicolor) of Africa is singularly like the Pied Myna (Græulipica melanoptera) of Java, both being of about the same size, with white body and black wings and tail quills. This, we may add, is a very unusual colouration among small birds.
The black-headed Oriole (Oriolus melanocephalus) of India is very similar in appearance to the common Troupial (Icterus vulgaris) of Brazil; indeed, the troupials, a purely American group, are so like the old world orioles in colour that they usurp their name in America.