<P> Pattern based algorithms compare the basic fingerprint patterns (arch, whorl, and loop) between a previously stored template and a candidate fingerprint . This requires that the images can be aligned in the same orientation . To do this, the algorithm finds a central point in the fingerprint image and centers on that . In a pattern - based algorithm, the template contains the type, size, and orientation of patterns within the aligned fingerprint image . The candidate fingerprint image is graphically compared with the template to determine the degree to which they match . </P> <P> Some other animals have evolved their own unique prints, especially those whose lifestyle involves climbing or grasping wet objects; these include many primates, such as gorillas and chimpanzees, Australian koalas and aquatic mammal species such as the North American fisher . According to one study, even with an electron microscope, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the fingerprints of a koala and a human . Koalas' independent development of fingerprints is an example of convergent evolution . </P> <P> Mark Twain's memoir Life on the Mississippi (1883), notable mainly for its account of the author's time on the river, also recounts parts of his later life, and includes tall tales and stories allegedly told to him . Among them is an involved, melodramatic account of a murder in which the killer is identified by a thumbprint . Twain's novel Pudd'nhead Wilson, published in 1893, includes a courtroom drama that turns on fingerprint identification . </P> <P> The use of fingerprints in crime fiction has, of course, kept pace with its use in real - life detection . Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story about his celebrated sleuth Sherlock Holmes which features a fingerprint: "The Norwood Builder" is a 1903 short story set in 1894 and involves the discovery of a bloody fingerprint which helps Holmes to expose the real criminal and free his client . </P>

When did fingerprinting start in the united states