How the Snake Lost Its Legs the leopard/elephant/camel got its spots/trunk/hump". Held's ability to captivate the reader's imagination compares to the mischievousness of Kipling's pourquoi stories," but the reader, "is also encouraged to extrapolate from general principles by the constant reminder that animals use a conserved set of developmental genes to construct their bodies." Martin finds evo-devo fascinating, "inherently colorful and well placed to fulfill the dual goal of etiological myths: explaining origins and causes while also stirring imagination and awe. Overall, the latest opus by Lewis Held Jr. fits that niche nicely, and shines by its ability to span essential concepts and empirical work with
Leopard the belly to about . Juveniles have woolly fur, and appear dark due to the densely arranged spots. The leopard is often confused with the cheetah; however, the cheetah is marked with small round spots instead of the larger rosettes. Moreover, the leopard lacks the facial tear streaks characteristic of the cheetah. Other similar species are the clouded leopard and jaguar. The clouded leopard can be told apart by the diffuse "clouds" of spots compared to the smaller and distinct rosettes of the leopard, longer legs and thinner tail. The jaguar has rosettes that typically have spots within them, while