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CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
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1980

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DEPAKTMKNT OF THE INTERIOR

D. 8. GEOLOGICAL AND GKOOIIAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE TEBaiTOBIBS
F. V. IIAYDEN, Oroi.oowt-in-Ohabo*

MISCELLANEOUS FUBLICATIONB-No. 12

HISTORY

ISrORTH AMERIOA-ISr

PINNIPEDS

A MONOfiKAIMI or THE

WALRUSES, SEA-LIONS, SEA-BEARS
SEALS

NORTH AMERICA.

Bv JOEL ASAPH ALLEN

AisMantin lln Mimeiim of Comparative Zoology at Cambridgi
Special Collaborator of the Survey

WASlMNCiTON
GOVERNMENT I'llINTINO OFFICE

18S(»

<• ^

:• :

PIIEFA'I'ORV NOTE.

United States Geological and
Geograpuioal Survey of the Teuritories,

Washimiton, D. C, 'fitly 1, 1880.

Tlii' picsciit si'iies ol' iDonofiiaplis of the North Anit'ricHii
Piiiinji(<li((, l»v yiv. J. A. Alien, may he coiisidcnMl ps a second
iiistalliiieul of the systematic History ot North American ]\Iam-
mals, of which the Fiir-Uearini;- Animals by ])r. Elliott Cones,
V. S. A., Ibrminji No. S of the Miscellaneous Publications of
tiie Survey, was published as a .si)ecimen fasciculus. The lirst
monoji'iaph of this series, treating;' of the Walruses, was])re]»ared
nearly three years since for pnblittation in the Bnlletin of the
Survey, but before it was ipiite ready for the press. Dr. ("ones,
owinji' to his ]»ressing enj;ay'ements in other directions, invited
Mr. Allen to extentl hi treatise toend)race the entire suborder
of the rinnipeds, to wi..ch he had already j^iven special atten-
tion, with a \ iew to its ineorporati(Mi as a i)art of ttn- proposed
;;'enei'al Llistory of Ncnth American jMammals. Since, how-
ever, considerable ti;ne must elap.se betbre the whole work can
l)e completed, it has been thon,uht best uot to delay the i>nl>li-
cation of the part already i)repared relatinji' to the Peiniipeds,

As nearly all of the K])ecies belonjiinj^' to this {:ronp foinid in
the nortlunii lienMsjdiere are nuMubers of the North American
fauini, the ]n'esent treatise is virtually a mono}.';raph ol all the
species occurring;' north of the ecpiator, an<l inchules incidentally
a revision of tho.se of other seas. The literature' of the whole
jiToup is uot only reviewed at lenj-th, but the eeonomi<' i)liase
of the .subject is treate<l in ihitail, eud)racin}i, in fact, a ^ucneral
history of the Sealing industiies of tlu' world. The technical
treatment of the subject is ba.sed mainly on the rich mate;iiil
of the National Mu.seum, supplemented at many imp<»rtant
points by that of the Museum of Comparative Zoiilojiy of (Jam-
bridge, whii'h, through the kindness of the directors »f the.st!
institutions, was geueronsly i)laced at the author's di.s])o.sal.
That contained in the ()thei princi(»al nuLseum.s of the country

publislictl, the work may be (umsideicd as a t'Oiii])('n(liuiii of
our ])re.seiit knowiedfio of the sul)ject.

Ill regard to the need of a work like the ])reseiit, it may be
stated that with thecxceptioii of Dr. Theo(h)re dill's iinjxutaiit
"J'rodi'ome" of a projiosed moiioyTai)h of Noith Amerieau
riiini])eds, ]mblished in 18(50, there has been no general treat-
ment ()f the species sinee the excellent compilations of Drs.
Harlan and (lodman a))i)eared, now moiv than half a century
ago. liesi)ecting foreign works, n«)thing has been recently
published coveiing the ground " .e taken bcyoiul a very gen-
eral synopsis of the technical i)hases of the subject. The best
accounts oi' the si)ecies ocuuirring along the shores of Europe
are in other languages than English, while no general history
of the economic relations of the subject exists. In 'elation to
the important Fur Seal Fisheiies of Alaska, the author has been
able to present in externa the results of Captain Cinules Bryant's
long ex])erience at the l-'nr Seal Islands, where for nearly ten
years he was the government agent in charge of the islands.
Altiiough not received until the article on this species had
been transmitted to the ]>rinter, it i»roves to be, to only a small
degree, a rei>etitioii of the account given by ]Mr. Elliott, also
rejuoduced at length. The history Captain liryant gives of
the changes in the numbers and relations of the different
classes of these animals at the rookeries, under the present
system of management of tl>e Fur Seal business, forms a valu-
able l)asis for generalization in regard to the future regulation
of this industry, and is aiso an important contxibution to the
life-history of the species.

The cuts, some thirty in munber, illustrating the cranial char-
uctt'rs of the Walruses, were drawn for the present work by Mr. J.
H. Blake, of Cambridge, and engraved by ^lessrs. Bussell and
Eichardson, of Boston. The Survey is indebted to Professor
Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, for aseries of six-
teen original tigui'es, engraved «y Mr. H. H. Nichols, of Washing-
ton, from photographs on y «M,d. vllustrating the skulls of CaWoWti-
nus ?( rsin MS, Peale's ^'■Haiivhwmaantarcticuii,''^ (Jystophora crLstata,

^-^.»f-^^f-:rf*f-,^

(»f London for electros of (7 ray's ^^HalUyon richardsi," and of a
seri''H yf historic tignres of the walrus i>ublished in the Society's
»' l»roceedinj;s," Ity tiie late Dr. Gray, and to the proprietors of
"Science (Jossii),"for electios of the full-lenj;th figures of seals.
These were reci'ived throuyh Dr. Cones, who also furnished the
full-length \iews of EnmetopiaN .stelleri and CaUorhinus ursinns.
Mr. Allen desires nie to express, in tiiis connection, acknowl-
edgnients of liis indebtedness to IMof. Si)encer F. Bdrd, Secre-
tary of the Smithsonian Institution, and to Prol". Alexander
Agassiz, Director of the iNluseum of Comparative Zooh)gy, for
the liberality with which they have placed at his service the
rich material relating to this gTon]) of aninuds <!ontained in the
museums respectively under their charge ; to l*rof. Henry A.
Ward, of Rochester, X. V., for tlie use of much valuable
material relating to the Walruses that he would not otherwise
have seen ; and to Captain Charles Bryant, late special agent
of the Tnited States Treasury Department, for his reiujrt,
kindly prepared at th«' authoi's lecjuest, for the t)resent work.
Also to Dr. Elliott Cones, Secretary of the Survey, for the use
of many of the cuts, for valuable suggestions during the prepa-
tion and printing of the monograph, and revision of tiie proof-

slieets.

F. V. UAYDEN,

United States Geologist.

LETTER OF TKAXSMHTAL.

rA.MHiiiBGK, Mass.,

May 2,% 1880.
Sik: I have the luiiior to transiiiiT licicwitli tor approval
and for publieatioii the "History ofNortli Aiiiericaii Piuuipeds,"
bo.iiiK a nu)iioi,aapli of the Walruses, Sea-Lions, Sea-Bears, and
Seals of North Ameiica.

Very respectfully, your obedient servaiit,

J. A. ALLEN.

F. V. llAVDFN,

Wofihinyl'm, I). C\

TABLE OF C0NTP:NTS.

Page.

Thle I

I'ri'fttt^irv uotn Ill

Lt'tti-r of trausiuiltiil V

Tubltt of CDIltl'IltH VII

List (il'illuHti:itioiis XIII

Olinnulcrft ol' tlir I'inmckiha 1

Kiinily Ol >( )lt.K.\ 1 1 >.K— Wiilnmcs 5-180

Sjuniiviiiy .I

tii'Uriiil olMcrvatiiuis iuid cliiinicteM of the j^roiip 5-12

(Jfiicia 12-14

S.Miii|i»i.-( III till- iii'iina 14

til'IIUS (•IHIII.EM > 14

S.viniiiyiiiv anil lii.stmv 14-17

Species 17-23

( M)Oiia;m s KosM Alii s— Atlantic Wi'lrus 23-147

Syuoiiviuy anil liililiii!;iai>liii'al ict'iTcnces 23-20

Kxtcrnal iliarartcis 2()-;)8

Srxnal ilill.Ti iiics 3S-43

Inii'.iilual viiiiat inns anil vaiiatiouH dcprmlL'Ut npou age 43-45

McaHiilrnirnts 111 .sliiills 40

Unutitii)n 47-37

l''o«sil ri'iiiains ."i7-fl5

(rfogiapliiral ilistrilmliim. pivsrnt ami pUHt 05-79

f '(last lit Ndi til Ainriira Oi5-71

("oast lit' Kniopc 71-79

NoinciiclatuiT 80

EtyuKdoiiy bO-82

Litcratiiiv . , 82-107

( icnt ral history 82-92

Fi)j,nivs 92-107

Habits and tlu« cliaBe 107-133

Products 133-134

Food 134-137

Fiiui'tiiins of the timks 137-1""

Knciiiics 13H-

Diiincstiiation 140-

Oiioha;m K oiiKsif—l'acitlc Walrus 147-.'

Synonymy and liildiiijiiaphical references 1

Kxlenial iliaraeters and skeleton 147-1

Measurements of ' deton 14!»-1

Measinenielits ot . ..tills 15

Uill'ereiitial eliaracters 150-171'

Nomenclature . .. 170-171

General history 171-172

Figures 172-174

< teou;rapliical distribution 174-178

llaliits, food, commercial products, and the chase 178-180

Family tVl'AKI ID.K— Fared Seals 187-411

Synonymy and characters of the group 187

Technical history 188-207

Higher gi-oups 188-190

(leuera 190-193

Species ia3-207

■j.iii
•j;i7-j:is

J44

X TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page.

t'li.aiirliT.H 111' I he I'lNMl'KIH \--('()ntuiiir(l.

KmiiiUv OTxVIUIDJ:— KmitiI ScalH.

S\ iiiipsiH of till, ^iiiiia unci .spiicics 2U8-ai3

M.vlhic.'il :iu(i uiiilitiiiiiiMiibli' spcciea 2U->l(i

tliDm^liliical ilistiiliiilion 216

f'o»,sil ( Itiiiics ''l?.-!'"!

Milk (Iciititidii 2''l-2"4

•Infj,'iiliiiilips of (Iciititimi ^24

I'lLsition of (h,. 1,181 upper piriiiiincnt mou.r ^iri

(rfui rill oliaervationn "ja.'i-'J''"

Habits ""' .„"-

J J 1

Products .,.,g

Pestrurlioii of Fur Si iils for tiirir peltries i;'Ji*-J31

Genus Ml MKTOIMA.S ._i;j1

Ei;Mi:roi'iA.s biklleui— StfUci s Sea-Lion 2;i'j-274

S.vuou.viiiy iiml l)il)lio-raphi(Ml n iVjicncos L':)2

Kxtt'ina! cliaraclir.s

Extoriial niia.surt'uicnts

Skull ' '"

.McaauriTiiiiits of skulls ..

TlM'l ll ^rji,

Sk(li't(Mi 24(1-241

ili'a.siiiriUfUt.s of skrlt'ton 212-244

Sexiuil, ailolfsifut, ami iuilividual variation 244

Gpofir.ipliiial \ aiiatiou

Comparison with allied .speeies 244-24

.McasiiiTiiii ills of skulks of OTAiilA JliDATA 247

Geouiapliical iKsiiiliiiliuu 248

General bistm y and nonienelature 248-254

Habits 254-274

Genus ZAUii'iirs 275

Zai.01'hi-,s ( Ai.itniiMANrs— Califcuiiiau Sea-Lion 27ii-;il2

Syuouyniv ami bibliosiiapbieal references 270

External eliaraelrrs ]'_' 27ii-27^

Younu .,7^

•'''l"!i'- 27b

Si^«; 27>^-28;i

External measurements 2711-280

Measuieiiients of skeleton (d' female 281-283

^"^"11 283-285

ileasnieiuenls of skulls 285

Dentition .jjjg

Sexual dirt'erenees 287

Variation with age 287-289

Coraparison with allied speiiies 289

Geographiealdistiibiition 280-291

General liistory and nomenclature 291-290

H"l"'« 296-312

Ge.nusOAi.LoimiNis 312-4l(i

UALi.oHHiiM s imsLNUb— Northern Fur Seal 3i;j

Synonymy and bibliographical references 313-314

External eharaetiTS ;j14

Color jjl^

Pelage ;j|,-,

Size 31»-319

External measurementa ... 319

Ears ;j2u

Fore limbs ;j2i)

Hind lindis 320

TAIJLK OF CONTENTS.

Page.

Chiira«tci sol' till- I'i.vmikiha— ('(intinind.

raniily OTAIillD.K— Kiiicd S.uls.
Gi'nuH('ALi.ij|;iii.Niis.

CAi.LOiiiil.Ni'8 UU8I.NLS — Northern Kur Seal.

Skull 820-323

Moasuvcmonts of skulls 323

Tc-etli 3i;4

Skclctdii 324-32t)

^Mtasiin nil Ills of ski'letun 325

Si'XUiil (lill'.iiniiH 325-327

Difl'iicnccH iiHuhiii;; frtiiii age 327

Inilividiiiil variiitioii 'S'JS

Comiiaiiwin with alliccl Hpocies 329-331

Mcasurciiu uts nf skulls of AliCTOCEPHALUB AUfiTIIALIS 331

Oi'Diiiniiliiral ilistriliution and niifiration 332-335

GeiH'i'al liistmy and ncninuclature 335-33'J

Fijiuii's 330-3 U

Ilalnts 341-371

Till' cliasi! 371-3Tr

Miidr lit Caiiluri- STl'-:;"-

llistiiiy aud pKisjiicts iif the Kur Seal business at the Prybilov

Islands 37H-3«1

EufUiifS (if llic I'm- Seals Ilj^l

History of tlie Kiir Seal Fishery at thi; I'rybllov Islauda, Alaska.

iVimi 186!) 1(1 1«T7, liy Ciiaui.hs Huyani' :)i?J-tll

I'reliiniuary aud acueral oliservatioiis ;ihj-:j:<.-

Kecelit ehauuis in the lialiits and relative uiimbers (d' the

ditlerellt classes (if Seals :il?>?-;i!(5

Cause (if tile eliani;es in I lie lialiits (if the Seals, &e 3ilh-4U2

Albinos and sexually almoriual individuals 4(13

Descriiition of the youni; ; vaiiatiou in eohn' with ago, &c. . . . 403

M.iltin.i.' 404

Sexual orj^aus, &e 405

I'ower (if siispendiug respiration 40G

Natural enemies 400

Eflbet of elimatie iutluences 407

Number of Seals reiiulred for the subsistence of tlie natives. . 409

Winter resorts aud habits of the Seals 410

Family PUUCIDiE—Karless Seals 412-7.10

Characters of the tirmiii 412

Technical liistory 412-4«li

Highet groups 412-414

Genera 414-421

Species 421^00

Classilication 400-407

Synopsis of sub-families and genera 401-463

Synon\ niatic list of the species 463-407

Geographical distribution 407-409

Fossil remains 409-481

North America 409-470

Europe 47(i-481

Milk dentition 481-484

General habits and instincts 484-486

Food 486

Enemies 487

Mitiratious 487-491

Locomo.^ion on land 481-490

Seal huutin); 490-540

XII

TAMLK OF CONTliNTH.

Chiini' HiH (il llic I'lNsirKiifA— Colli iiiiiiil.
F .iiiil.v I'llOCID.K- KiiiliHH SciiIh.

Si-aliiif; iliHii'iriN

WimI I in I'll III mi I

Nrw rdiiriilliiiiil

illin MllMTl 111 "(Mrl'lllllllll ' SlIlM

Niivii /I'liililii ami Kiini Sni

Wllltr Sill

('aH|iiiiii Sisi

Niirlli I'acilii

Son III rarilir ami A iilanl ii' Siiim

MiIIioiIh of i:i|iliiii , ,V 1

Slioif liiiiiliii^

l')Hii|iiniaii\ iiiiilioilH

Hv tlliMlls ilT IlrlH. .

'Jill' HI -a I I io\ , ..... ...

'I'll!' .sfal lioiik

'I'llr ■ SKiiiikla"

Ici' liiiiil ill'.:

In llii' liiiHol' liolliiiia

(Ill I 111' 1 oa.sl 111 Si'uli. Ilami

In I III' .Ian Mavi II Slim

|laii;:i'i K anil iiinri tajnlir.s ol' \ir liiiiiliiii;

.SpcrirH liniilril

Alililiilaiii 1 III' Si alH III |iai I Iriilai liM'iilllirH

I'rodinlH . .

I'li'iiiiralion 111' llii' |iioiliirlM

WiiHli Till ili'Hli III linn 111' Siiils

Di'i'i'i'iiHi' rriiiii in.jiiilii'i'iii.s liiinUiit;

Si'iii.s anil Sral liiliilili); in llirnlilrii llinr in llir ( iiilt' ill' St. laiwri'iici'

Sub-Ciiinily I'liiii in.i,

fii'nim I'liiii ,\

I'jioi A VII I i.iNA— Ilailinr Si'iil

S\iionwii> anil liililii>nia|iliiriil 11 Iii'iihth

K\ 111 nil I I'liarai Ins

HlHlini'livi' rllllliU'll TH

Iliiliviiluiil iiml HI' X mil vaiialioii ... .

Mt'iiMiii'1'tnrnln iif (lie HkiillH

<iiin ral lilslors iiiiil ininii'm liilini'

Oi'(((ira|iliiral iliHliiliiiliiin

llabilH

I'llocA (I'l MA) MlllliA— Kiii;;i'il Sial

S\ niiiiviii" mill lilliliiii;i:i|iliiral irt'iirini'H ...

Kxiri'iial rliaiarli'i.s

liiiliviiliiiil vaiialliin iiml varialiniiH ilcjiciidi'iil upon hi'.x anil agii

Mi'itMini'inrnlN III' III!' Hkiill

DlU'iri'iilial rliararliivi

I'hiiea ( J'linii ) iimpii'ti

I'lioai (t'uKii) nilnriiM

(i<'(i(;iapliiral iliMliilmtioii

(icinriil liiNliiiv mill iioiiiriK'latiii't^

UubilH

I'm MA (I'Al.dl'llll.l !•! i.lKl.M.AMlll A'— Harp Sl'Ill

SvmiiiN niv and liililiofiiapliiral irfrniiifH

K.\lriiial rliaiarli'iH

Si'Mial anil inilividnal viiiiiilioii and variiitlnhH dcpi'iidcii' iipuli

ilBf

Mi'aHiiirnii iilM 111' I 111' hK nil

(irnri'iil IiImIoi \ and iiiinirmliiliirr

r»Kci.

•I!t7-'i!t0

.mil .Ml

.'■I!

.■•ill .■.i:t
.■ii;i-.".i7

'•.17

.".i7-.-.:''j

.VJL'-.'illll
."iJX

r.'jii

.■|2«

.Miii-.''.:i4

6;i4-.''i4(l

Mil :'i4:;

f)4(>-r)4»

.')41l-,'^^,0l

:.::.{

.■i.'.:!-.",.-.7

.-,.''.7

.V)7-.'i,-.!)
.'"i.''ili-.'"i(i7

.")i!.*>-ri7 1

liTI-.W!

.-.74

r>7.''>-.'>H4

.'H4'-.'iHH

,MI7-»K»
.SIt7-tlOI)

i>iHi-(iu:i

IID.'I-DU.'')
U(I6
01)7-1114
Ulilt-lllll
•11 -.Mil;!
IIM-Iiltl

uii) rdu

(illl-tlL'il
iYM-im

tw()-(i;rj
o:)'j-ii:i7

ii;i7
urn
ii;iu

TAIlLi: OK ('ONTKNTS.

CIlllliK I' IH III lll> riSMI'I'.IllA -('(llltlllUl'll.
I'.uuil.v I'llOClK.lv
Siili liiiiiil\ I'iKii l\.i:.
(Ic'lillH rilni A.

I'lKlc A ( I'Ai.cil'llll.l I l.l|c|„NI.ANI)|l'A— Illllp HiMtl.

<i(liyl;i|iliirill lli..tl ililllicpll

Mii;i;il Kill-- iiiiil liii I (liny hI;iI joiiH

ll;ihilM

Imii'IiiIih

I' I

Iliiiiliiiy :iiiil iiIihIimIh

Uci.u- I'lltH.S Mill s

I'Jdi.NAIIll .^ i;aku\ 1 1 h— llr;i|'<l<^il Sell

SviHili> tii> ;iiiil liililiii;;rapliiital icfi^iciKtoM

Kxiriiinl rliiiiai'lciM

SUiill and mLcIi lull

MraHiirriiii'iitH 1)1' I hi- Hki'li'tnn

MiaNiiii'iiii'iilH III' III! sKiill

(ii'lii'ial IiIhIiii V and iihiih nrlaliirr

• li'ii:;ia|ilil< al ili^l li lull inn

II aliil-i, iHiiiliirlM. anil liiiiilln;:

(JllllH lll^l ninriKir \

IIimHIIiiIIKh A I'Ahi I M A — Itiiiliiin Sial

Syiiiiii.Nins anil liililliij,'ia|iliiral 1 1 I'liinrrM

KxliTiial I liaiaili IN

Si/i-

tii'iii'ial liiHlni \

Iirii;:ra|iliiral iIInI i iliiillnii

lialiiK

(irllll^ II Mil IIH.Ill H -

< ii-ni-ral IiInIiii \ anil iliHriisMJun nl' the ''(ii-nim IN'ha " iit' Sropoli .

IlAI,|rl|i|;UI - i.in I'l ,■^— (ila\ Si al

S\ 111 my in \ anil liilillnurapliiral irrrri'iirnH

• lOsIri nal iliaiarli IH

MiaNlllrllH lit H III' mU nils

(li'iiV'iapliiral ilisli iliiil ion

(inirial li ill I II V anil niniii inlatiiK^

Ilaliils

(iriin« Mll.NArill n ..

Mi.NAi iii.s iiail'irAl.lH— WihI Inillan Siiil ...

(Miaiai Ills

I>anipli'i\s arriiiiiil

1 1 ills anil (iiissc .s ai riainlH. iKi:), I HP)!

(iiav H ai riinnlN. IXI'.I, |h7I

(■ill nil (llr W'rnl Inillall Sial.s. I Hid

Aiial\Mi« anil ili.siii.ssinii nl' I In Intiiiiniiii^

Alllnilli n nl' I III' .laniaiiaii oi I'liliii Siiil

( li'nL'l;i|illlr.ll ilisit ilillljiill

Sail rainih CVSl'orillilMllN.K

(il'llllrt ('Vhl'll'IMKA

(!VKHiriiiii!A I iii>i Ai \— llonilcd Sial .

S\ 111 iiiv Illy and lillilin;.'iaphi('al ii riTriir.tm

Kxiri nal rliarai lii.s

Skill Inn and sUiill

.Mrasiiii nnnl.-i 111' HiiiillK

MiiLsiininiiilti 111' till' Hliili'tiin

liin^iapliii m1 iIimI I IIiiiI inn and nii<ii'iiti(iiiH

(iinrial liiilni> mil nniiii'iirlatilKt

llalillM

Iliinliliu and jiiiidinls

XIII
Pa(jc<.

(14(1

(m-(M7

(M7 llal

(i.'il

(I,'.'J

flr.u-ii.'M
ll.-lj

(ir.,-i-(i7r.

(irir>-(i.';7
():.7

B,-.*<-(Itll
(ItiO

litii

(Kl'J lilili
lillll (170
(17n-(i7"i
117:1 -ii7ii
(17(MWJ
Ii7()
(I7(M17'<

tYjH
(17H-(iM|
(iKI-liK-.-

()«:;

(W'J-(i«!t

liH.'!- i;«:i

(lH!l-7lMi
(in'.l^li'.tll

(iiHi li'.i::
(IIM

(m.'i-(i!Hi

lillli-li'Jn

(i!lil-7il(i
707-7nx
7iiK.7'j:t

7llH

7(IH 710
7|ip 7l"i
17.". 7 M

-\H
7IK-7'JI)
(Un-TJl
7'J 1-723

7'j;i

7-j:i
7:'i-7»::

72.1 72(i

7'J(i 721*
7:111 7:1:1
7:12
7:i:t
7:1:1-7:17
7;w-71o
7ln-7H
741-712

XIV

TAIU.K OF CONTENTS.

Chara4'U)i'M of tin- I'inmi'I hia— Cciiitiiiiiril.
Family riKMID.K.

Sub- family— ('vi-i(pi'iii iiiiii.N a;.

<ii IIU8 Macuoiiiiimh 742

MAcitiiKiiiMh AMirHTiiiOHTiilM — (,'alit'nniinii Sou £Io|ibant 743

liililHi;it:i|ilii<iil iflrrcuci'H 743

Extii'ial (liiiMulriH 74;i-746

Skull 74<h74U

Ml a.suri'iixMitH of HkullH .. .. 748

Miiisi) iiciits of tliii Mkildtoii of Haerorhinut leoninun 748

Coiiiiinii.Miii) Willi I lie Soutlium Sru Klopbant 740-7.")l

(ji'oi;ia|(liiral ili.stiiliution 751-7.J:i

GciU'iiil liiHloiy 75'J-7')3

lliiliilM 7,")3-7')5

t'li:i^»i- uliil pKiiliit'tH . 75,'V-7."(i

APPENDIX.

A. Material cx(i)iiiiied 757-704

I-Miiiily OlMiU.v.MIMC 757-758

Uiliiliiinim iiisiiuiius 7.)8

(iiloljii-mis iibi-Miis 758

Fiiniily (II \i;;iii,i', 758-760

KiinMlopi.is sIclliTi 758

Zaliipliiis 1 alil'oriiianus "59

( 'alliiiluiiiis uiHiiillH 70u

Fnniih rii(irM>.i: 761-704

I'liuiij viliiliiia 761

Plioca fotiila 702

Plioca fiiii'iilaliillcu 701!

Eritfiiatlms liarlmlus .. 703

m.stiio|ilioia fasi'iata .. 703

Hulicliiiiiis ;;iy|iiiH 704

ryHli>|ilioia ri i.slata 764

.Mariorhiiiiisaiicim' 'mtris "04

B. Adtiitidiin iiiiU I'lncrtii. n 765-774

Family OlMiii.i,M!>.v, 705-7IW

(Moha'iiiiK riixiniirun — .\tlaiitlo WaJruB 765-708

.Ailditioiial iiliiiiiciH 705

Sizi anil rstiiiial ainicanilKM! 705

(ii'oniaiiliiciil ilistiihuliou 700-707

Nova Zi'inbla

Kraiiz-.Iomf Laud

Aliiiiiilaii' (' ill Wolatenhobne Sound

SpitzlMljirll, &c

lirlaiid

SiipiMiHi'il pi'cHi'Mi'i^ of Walraflos in the Autarotio Soaa .

'I'lw 'Wall iirt a foriiiiilalilt> nnta^oniHt

Ciiiiosiiv ami liailcHsncsH of thr Walrus

I/oi iiniotioii : iiHC of tin) UukH ill climbing

KiHuriH of till' Walrus

Odobcmiig obemin — I'aciQo Walrus ,

Disliiliiiiioii

Family OtaiiiidjE

( )tai iiH at t he (iolapagos Tslnnda

FoHHil Olarii'S

('apt nil- of Sea Lions for menafjerles

Zalophun cal{f<irnianiui — (/alilbmia Soa Lion

I'riiod of niKtaliou

Oallorhinun urginiis

liri'i'diiit: otf tlid co»8t of Washington TerrHory

Family Pikicida: ,

Ext inct species

706
706
700
766
766
706
707
707
707
768
768
768
769-774
769
770
770
771
771
772
772
778
778

LIST OF ILLUSriiATlONS.

Fiji. 1,|>.

41.

Fi};. 2, p.

4J.

Fie. 'M'-

4;).

Vig- 4.1>-

u:t.

Fi^:. r.,p

ii:i.

Fiji. O.p.

1)4.

Fif.'. T,p.

'.»4.

Fi«. H,p.

!t4.

Fin. l»,p.

!l."i.

Fiti. 1", p

'.Hi.

Fi«. ll.p.

Kill.

Fi};- 1-. !'•

101.

Fi-. r!,l>.

l.-.:i.

Fili. M, p.
I-'Im I."i II

i.-.(i.

1 ."i7 .

1 IL. !•'. P-

Fi;;. Ii-i. p.

i:.s.

Fi;;. 17. p.

i."i«.

Fi-. 1.S, p

l.-.!t.

Fi^;. l!".p

I.V.I.

Fi;;. Jii. p

ICO.

Fi^'.'Jl.p

Kil.

FiL'. -JJ, P

ll!J.

Fi^'.-J:i,i)

l(i^.

Fi.-. •-•4, P

i(i:i.

Fi;.. -J.-., p

IGli.

Fi«. -jr,. p

104.

Fii; -7, p

Km.

Vi'A--Jx.\<

II 10.

Fi-.21l, p

100.

Imk- :•<!. i>

107.

Fit'.iil.p

. 107.

Fi-. .'l^, p

lOK.

Fi-. ;)3, 1

. IIW.

Fi-. :;i, 1

. 101).

Fi;;. ;t.->, 1

. lO'.t.

Fi-. :ili. I

. i7;i.

Fi,;;. ;i7, |

. ;;,■>».

Fi-. -.iX, 1

.:ii7.

Fi;;. :i!l, 1

. :i'.'i.

Fi-. -li), 1

.:i'.'i.

Fi-. 41,1

:rj^'.

Fi;;. 4J. i

. :cj;;.

Fi-. lit, 1

. .')0:i.

Fi;;.4J. 1

. .V().

Fis.4.'-..|

. "iHO.

Fiu. 4(i, I

.581.

Fi-. 47, 1

. .182.

Fig.4H,|). '8:1

Fi(f. 4«, p. Udl .

Odvbimiwi rimmarut. skull nl' ((oinilf in pnilili' anil lowiT.juw from above.

OdAibniPuim rnnmariui, skull nl' fiiiiiilf fiDiii iilinvf.

Odob-iiiuH riiKiiKinin. .•^KuU nl !• miilr tVniii liclcw.

OlauH M;i-iiiis s " Udsuianis srii .Mnrsiis \iiivf;;icuH."

(•laiis MaLiiiiis's I'linus alniistniMis Ocriiui (li'nniiuici."

(H'Siii'i'.s '■ KiisMianis."

tiisiici s •■ Varca iiiaiiiia " (.\ililii)(ia tii Icoiifs .\iiiiiial).

(ii'sui r's •■ KoHiiianiM" (Innics Aniiiiill.. l.'iOli/.

l)r Vri'is 'Sia IIkisc," 100!I.

HisHil (Ji'iaiil's " \ValiU8s," lOia.

Martin's '• Wall-niss," 17ti.">.

l!llll'(ill's ■' I.r Mdl'Sl'.' 17*i."i.

OiliihiriiiiK iiIk^hhii, llilri- \ ii WH i)f licail.

(Mliihitiynim iilieiiit'<. sliiiU in imililc.

Odiilxi'iiiis riiKiiiiiniK, skull in pmliJi-.

Oil'ihifiniH iiJHiiinntn, skull liniii I'riiiit.

Oiliilni'iDiH ubi'siiK, skull rriiiii liniit.

(J(tiib(riiUK niHiiKirim. m ripilal viiw of xkuU.

(JduhiviiiiK iibexiin. iMii|iii.il \ ii-w nl' skull.

(Miihii'itiiH roHmaruH, skull IVom almvf.

(Jdiil'd'UUX (ibf.Kiis, m1;u11 I'l nil almvi-.

OdiihifiiiiH iibfKtiu. .Minn- skull fimii almvi'.

Odiibdniw nmiiKinin, Mnni- skull I'lnni above.

(Jddbunian obebitu, .miiiu- skull I'miu I'riiut.

Odobwnnn rumiMnui, .viniii.i; skull f'lniu t'niut.

Odobii'iiu.i riiKiiioruii, .skull I'lcmi liclovv.

OdiibiviiHH ohemix. skull riimi lirl.iw.

Odiihii'nnn rnKKinriiK. |ci«ir.j,,« ridiii aliiivi'.

Oddbiiuun (ibentin, lowri jaw I'linu abuvo.

Odobimius rimmaniH. Inwcijaw t'rnni side.

(JdnhiiiniH tilnKim, liiwci- jau I'lnni Bitlc.

nddbiiiitm riiHiitdiKu, liiwii .jaw nl' young from above*

Odvbd'uiiH (ihcKiiK, Inwi-r jaw nl \ nuug from nbovo.

Odulnriiiin riiniiiariDi, lower, j.iw nl' young from Hide.

OilnhirnuH iibi'xu)!, lower jaw nl' ynuiig I'rom Biilc

Odobd'iiiin ubt'sim. Cnnk'.s fl-ure of tlif aiiironl.

KumeUijniiH stelUri, li-uriB of animal

VaUi/rliiniin nrninun, li-urcM of animal.

(JaUurlii'ii^KK iiitiintin. skull nf fiinalr iu protilc.

('allurliiniig urtiiiniii, skull of I'l luiiln from ubovi-.

Cnlliirlnniin iimintiii, skull nf fiinali lower jaw.

('ulliiihuiiin iirniniiK. skull of finialr from below.

J'liiicd litiiliitii. auiinal.
. " llalichwriiM ant'irrliCHH," I'liiln, Hkull iu prollle.

" llulii'lidriin <(iiliir<:t.icuK," I'rali', okall from above.

" niilirliwrus iintdrctiKng," I'lule, Bkiill lioin below.

" Ilalichiernii antnrclicut" I'ealc, lower juw.

" tlalicyun richtirdgi" (iray. skull iu profile.

Fhiica firtida, uuinuil.

XVI

IJST OK IIJ.l'riTltAI lONH.

I'iu ■'", l>

n:i:i

Ki«.r.i,|.

)ll)l

Kili.V.M.

7'.' (

Klu.r.:i,|.

7-JH

V\H. M, |.

7211

Ki«. r,r., p

Tlsn

KiK. .'>«, I,

7;ii

KiK ■■•T, |.

711

Ki-. r.K, |,

71:.

KiU'. . ■■,!), p

7 Hi

Hlmio, p

717

t'Imrti ^fruliinflif-ii, ;ilMiii;il.
llntirliirniH 'iri^jiiiK. ;iiijiiiiil
('ilKliiiilinrii frinlii>ii. :iiiiiti;il
I'llHli'iiliiifii ••iiHldld mIuiII ill piiillli'.
I'liKfiiiiliinii irinldlii ^^liiill hciiii iiliiiviv
('jltiliiithdrii rrinldlii. sKiill ficiiij ImIuvv.
(hlKhi/iliiirii ftisliilii. lipHi r |ii»
Mnrriifliiiiiiii(iiiiiiiiiliriiHlr\H, hIiiiII in piiilll«.
MiirrnrliiniiH tiii;iiiiilini/ihin. hKiiII limii :iIm)V«.
Miifriirhiiiiix iiiiiiiiKlirdHhix. hUiiII ('miii lii'low.
Mdvriirhiddn dii'iUKtim/ilriii. lnwi r.jiiw.

HISTORY OV Till'] NORTH AMKRICAN

riNNIPKDS.

'i'lic l'iiiiii|>iMls, <)!• I'iiuilixtliti, niiliracin^ llic Seals iiiid Will-
riis<'s, iuv (■oiiiiiioiily r<'<'(><^iii/«'d by r«M'«Mi(, sysleriiiitiit wiitcrs
as coiislitiilinjf a siilxndcr ol" Mic order hWtv, or Oariiivoioiis
Matiiiiials. Tliey are, in slioit, ti'iie Cortniutni, iiiodiiied lor an
a<|iiatie existence, and have <-onse<|iieiitly l»eeti sometimes
termed '■'•Amphihinus ('antirnra.''^ Theii- whole I'orm is modilied
for life in the water, whieh element is their true liom«-. Ileie
they display extreme activity, lint on lan<l theii' movements
are eonlined and lahored. Thiy <-onse(|nently rarely leaNcthe
water, and ;;enerally (»nly lor sh<»rt periods, and are ne\er I'onnd
to move volnntarily more than ii tew yards i'rom the shore. Like
theother marine Mammalia, th(^ (Ulncid and Sirntio (Whales,
holphins, I'orpoises, Manatees, etc.), theii' l»odi<'s are more (»!■
less lish like in };eneral form, and their limits ar«> transi'ormed
into swimmin;;' orj;ans. As tiieir riiime impli(^s, they are Jin-
footed, (lencially speakin;^, the body may be compared to two
cones ioined basally. I'niikethe other niaiine mannnals, the
I'imiipeds arc all well clothed with hair, while several of them
ha\e, underneath the exterior coars<-r hair, a thick, soft, silky
nndcr liM. In contrasting' thetn with the ordinary or terrestrial
mammals, we note that the l)o(ly is only ex<'eptionally laiscd,
and the limbs are contined within the common internment to
beyond the knees ami elbows, and \\\v. hence to only a slight
dejirce sciviceabh^ for terrestrial locomotion.^ The first di^it of
the manns is generally lenj^thened and enlarj^cd, as arc both
the outer dibits of the pes. As compared with other Fcm\
they present, in osteolo;^ical characters, many ob\ioiis poinisof
dilVercnce, especially in relation to the strnctnrc of the sknii.
limbs, and pelvis, and in (h-ntition. The sknil is <lislinctiv<'iy
cliaracteriz<Ml by ^reatcompression or const lict ion of the inb-r
oibital port i(»ii. the lar^c si/c of the orbital fossa-, in the lachry-
mal bone bcin^ imperforate (wilhont a lachrymal canal) and
contained within the orbit, and in the presence, (;fenerally) of
Misc. i'nb. No. IL' -I 1

CIIAKACTKK'S o|- I'INMl'l.l »IA.

coiisidcriiblr \ :i<-iiiti(>,s hct wcfii tli<- piilatiiic iiiid Iron .<! boiH's
anil tin* tyinpiinic iiixl cxoccipital Ixmh-s. TIm' tlccidnons den-
tition is rudinH'ntiuy, n('\«'r to iiny yroat extent Innctionul, and
fjeqiicntly docs not persist beyond the lodd lite ot" the animal.
In the pernianeiit d<>ntition, the canines are j;i'catly de\eIoi)ed,
soinetiines enoiMKHisly so; the ](»\ver incisois aie never more
than tour in nnndter, an-' sometimes only two; the iippt-r incisors
usually nund>er six, hut sometimes only Ibui', or even two; the
jrrindin^ teeth (premolars and molars) are j;enerally simjile in
structure, and usually didei' from each other merely in resi)ect
to size, or the number of roots by which they are inserted. The
pelvis dilVei's from that of the teirestrial /'V/vr in the sliortness
of the iliac portion and the eversion of its anterioi- border; the
ischiac bones Itaiely meet tbi' a short distance in the male, and
arc usually widely separated in the female, the i»elvic ai'ch thus
remaining' in the latter permanentl,\ open \entrally.

The existing rinnipeds constitute three xcry distinct minor
iiroups or families, ditl'criii;^' ipiitc widely from each other in
importaid characfeis: these arc the Walruses, or Otlolxniithr, the
Eared Seals, or Ohirilthv, and the Marless Seals, or /'hociila: The
tirsi two arc far more nearly allied than arc cither of these with
the third, so that the (hlolxcnidic and (Htnilthr ma\ be together
contrasted with the I'hochUv. Tiie last named is the lowest oi
mo>l .i;cncralizcd yroup. while the others a[)pcar to stand on
nearly the same plane, and about e([ually iemot< from the Pho-
viiJd. The AValruscs arc really little more than thick, clumsy,
obese Ibrms of the Otarian type, Avith the canines «'normously
develo]>cd. and the whole skull i-orri'lat ively modilied. The
lind)-structiire. tin' mode of life, and the whole economy are
essentially the same in the two fiioups, and, aside iromthe cran-
ial modifications ])rescnted by the (hlohdiiuhv, wldeh ar<^ obvi
ously related t(» the development of thecauines as huj;(! tusks,
the Walruses are merely elephantiueOtariids, the absence or
presenee of an external ear beiuo- ju reality a feature of minor
importance.

The characters of the suborder and its three families amy be
more foriually stated as follows : *

"The (.■liiUiicf'.r.'s Iktc j;ivun uio in part tlioso collated !•>• 1 >r. I'licdddrc ».
Gill ill 187:'. (• Ariim;;('iii(Mit of tho rainilifs .>t' llir Mai iiiials.' Sniillisniiiaii
Mi<('('lliiiiciiiis ('(illcct ions. \o. ■.>:!(•. )i|i. ."iCi. (H, li",M. l'\ wlioiii I lir dist inctivc
t'latnicN ol' llirx uiiiii|is well' lirst loriiiiilati'i!. 'I'licv Jiav; , liowcvcr. been
<air|iill\ Miilii'il ami I'mtliri ilalioialcil liv tlir jiri sciil writer, wliili' llie
t'aiuilio ail' liiTi' iiuiic ilillriiiil !> ansncjaiiil.

CIIAIfACTKHS (»l' IMNMITlilA.

Limbs i>iniiil'iii'iii, cir iiinilHii'il intn >.\viiiiiiiiu;;' nruiins, ;iiiil ciirlnsril li> ni
Ix'yitiiil III!' I'lhiiws ,'tii(l ktii't's witliiii I lie I'lHiiiiiiiii hiti'^iiiiiriit.
Dij^ilsiil' till' liiiillM.s tlcircii.siii;; ill Iclljilll illltl si/c iVmii t Ik' I'iinI
to tilt' lil'lli; III' lliiisi' III' tilt' |M's, the lii'Nt, iiiiil lit'tli l;ir;;i'xt iiliil
lolly•('^*l , llir llircc iiiiililli' mil's .slioitiT iiiiil Miliri|ii;il. I't'lvis
with till' ilijir |iiiitiiiii MTV ^limt, ami tin' .iiili'iioi- Ipnriji'r iniiili
cvri'lt'il; isilijii liairl.N iiii'i'l iiiji l(\ a sliiirl >viii|(li\.siN (ncvrr
liucliylosrd) anil in tlir IViiiali' iisiiall.v wiilrly .sr|iaiali'il. Skull
P'lit'rally ;;ii'atly cDiiipirssi'il iiili'iitrliitally : I'arial |Miitii(ii
iiHiiiilly sliiirt anil ratliiT liri>ail, ami llir luain-iaM' aliiiiptly t'X-
pandi'il. liarliryiiial liuiir iiii|M'i'tbi'iitr ami Jiiiiii'il In tlir maxil-
lary, cncl'isi'il wliidly williin tlir nlliit. ralatiiirs usually si'pa-
ratril liya variiil.v, kIIiii nrnuisiilcralili' si/c rriuii llir tViuiials.
Tyiii|uinic lioni's si'parali'il alsoliya varuityrrom tlii'i'XDccipil-
als. Di'iititinii sini|ilr. jii'iH'i'ally unsprriali/ril, till' imdais all
.similar in striii'liirr. Itii'liliiuus dcnliiiiin riiiliim-nlary, iii'vcr
truly luni'tiiHial, and ^riirrally not jit'isisti'iit ltr,\iiiid tin- ln'tal
slaj,'r id' llir animal. I'rrniani'iit im'isius usually !; lu |. snmi-
times .] {('fiKUti'liiint and Miifi'inliiiiiis). nr rviii > ( Diliilm iiiik);

raniiics .; ; nndars- ;, ' , nr '; I 'INNiri",! )rA

A. llimi li';^sr;i>)ialdr id' Idillii I llltird tiU'waid and llsiil in li'l irstri.'ll jdi'o-
miiliiin. Nick lrii;;l liriH'd (isjii riallv in laiuilv ,1 1 i. .^kullwilli
till' masliiid proii's>i's lar^i- and salient ^espeeially in I In- mult.'S),
ami with disiinel .'liispliennid eaiials. Anteiinr I'eei nearly as
larjie as the )iipsteriiu'. tlieir di,i;its rajiidly deeicasiii'^ in lenntli
I'riim tile liisi Id the lillli, wiilniut ilistinet ela.\s, and with a
hroad earl i la;; i noils liorder ex I end in;; heyoiid I he di;;il-. Hind
Icct .sileepi ible of Mical expansion, I he I liiee iiiiddii' di^ils only
willi e laws, and all I he di;;ifs terminat in;;' in lon^i, narrow, i ar-
tilai;iiioiis tlaps. united li.'isally. I'eiiinr wiili the Irocliaiiter
ininiir well developed < !lii;,«SK;nAUA.

I. Witlioiit external ears. I'orm Ihiek and heavv. .\iiterior por-

tion of the skull <>reatly swollen, ffivin;:" support to the enor-
mously developed eaiiiiies, wliieh i'orm li>n>^, protrudiiiff tu.sl<H.
IiK'i.sors of decidiiou.s (fudal) dentition ^; of permanent denti-
tion 5. No postorbital i>roee.s.ses, ami tlie surface of the mastoid
processes contiiiuons with the auditory Imlhc Odolnvnldcc.

II. With small oxtonial ears. I'-orm slender and clon'^ated. Ante-
rior portion of the skull not uiin.siially swollen, anc' tlio canines
not highly sj)i'ci;ilized. Incisors of deciduous dentition -}, only
the outer on either side cuttinj^ the j^um ; of permanent denti-
tion 4, the two central pairs of tlus npi)cr with a transverse
irroove. I'ostorhital ]ii'()ce.sses strongly developed. Siirfteo
of the ma.^^i/id jiroeesses not eonfimious with the anditorj''
hnlhe Otarilda:

B. Hind li';;s not ca|>;ildi' of heiuf; tiirneil forward, and not sorvicoablo
for terrestrial locomotion. Neck short. Slcull with the mastoid

•Jr view of the uncertainty respecting the proper notation of the grind-
ing teeth, they will in the jiresent work be designated simply as molars,
"with noiiltemiit at distingnishiiig "premolars" from "molars.''

CIIAI.'ACTKKS or I'INNII'KDIA.

IH'iM'i'.s.si's swiillrii, lull IK 1 1 smIu'IiI, ,\\\i\ w it liiir' ilistiiicl ali,H|ilu'-
iioiii 1','iiiiils. Anli'iior iimli.s siiiiiiji'i' ijiim t hi' iioHtriltii', Ihr first.
ilit;it litllc, il'iiii\, liiiij;cr tliiiii tlir iirxl Niicccciiiii;; diics, all
iU'int'il with Nti'<)ii<; rhiw.s, \\ hicli jiii' tri'iiiiiiiil. liiiiil iVi'i I'a-
]itllil(' of iiioiii I'jitr <'\|iMiiMi()ii, shiil'l : (limits (iiHiiaJl.v) all aiiiinl
witii Niroii;;- claws, anil witJKMit icrmlnal laitilayiimiis llaps.
I'riiiiii with nil tiarr i>t' the ti'iM'haiilt'r niiimr. . . Iii:i'i iiiijAPA.*
III. Without cxtci'iial cat's, rostoi'liital ju'ori'SHcs watititi;;, m' very
small. Itn'isiits vaiialiji' (';, :|. i>i'}). lirridnoiis ili'titil ion not
|M'i'sislrnl licvotiil I'd'lal life I'limidii.

The riiiniptulH prcs'iit ii lii;;li drorcc of cci'dtriil ilcNclop-
ment, iiiul arc easily «loiiH'sti<'al('(l under liiv(»ial)le e<»ii<li(ion.s.
They Jiiaiiife.st stroiio- .social and |»ai«'n(al atleelion, and defend
their yonn;;' with ;;ieat ]M'r.sist«'ney and (•(nira;i('. 'I'liey are ear
nivorous (ahnost without exception), .siih.si.stin^i upon fishes,
molliislis, and cnista<'eans. of \vhi<'h tliey <-oiisiinie enornions
qnantities. The Wah'iises and ICared Seals are polynia iiiou-,
and the mah's oreatly exceed the feinah'S in size. 'I'he ordinary
or EarU'ss Seals aie connnoidy siippo.sed to he iiioiiooanioiis. and
there is j^-enerally little diU'erence in tln' si/e of the .sexes. The
Walruses and ICared Seals usually resort in larji'e iMinihi>rs to
certain favorite hreedino' oromids, and diirino' \]w .season of re
])rodnction !ea\<' the water, and pass a coiisideraltle period upon
land. The ICarle.ss Seals, on the other hand, with the exception
of the Sea I'Mcphants, do not so nniforiiily resort to |»articnlar
lireedin;; oronnds on land, and leave the water (»idy for very
short intervals. They nsiially hrinj;' forth their yonn;; on the
ice, most (»f the sp"cies l»«'inj;' conlined t<t the colder latilinles.
Oidy one of the vari<»ns species of the I'unilpcdla a]>]>ears to
be strictly tropical, and very few of them rauj^e into troi>ical
waters. As a i^ronp, the ['innipeds ari^ distinctively character-
istic- (tf the Arctic, Antarctic, and Temperate ])orti<tns oi" the
;4h)be, several of the ;i;'enera heinj;' strictly Arctic or Snharctic
in their distribution. The AValniscs are at present confined
mainly within tlie Arctic Circle, and have no representatives
south of the colder ]>ortions of the Northern iremisidiere. The
Otariidw and riiocida', on tlie other hand, are abumlantly
represented on both sides of the equator, as will be noticed
more in detail later.

*l''or the .suKj;osti()ii
to my friciid l>r. Kllio.

ho terms Grcsmgrada and UcpUgrada I am indiOiteil

^011f.S.

FAMILY ODOHyl^.NlDiK.

Wl»!r:j;;j:;.

'• 'J'rkhnidii, (iJt.w, l.niiiliMi Mfd. K'riius., If^-JI, ItiKl" (I'iirnil.v ). .lj(«(i Gray,
Jri(7»((7/((/ri, (iit.w, Ann. ol' I'liilos.. l^•,>^), :tl(i; Ann. and .M.ij;. Niil. Hint., ^d

H<T., .wiii, l-d*;, ^",'1»; iW., Itii iscr., iv, lH(i',», y);^; Sniipl. Cat. Srals

an<l Whal.'s, 1H71, :> (laniily).
Tiivhiciiia, (iu.VY, London's .Mai;. Nat. lli.st., i, 1K!7, r>:{H ; "Zotil. Krthiis and

Tt'n<)i',;r' (.sulil'aniily). Jn pait only, oi('x<ln,siv(« ol' IfuitcharKH,
Trkluchina, GitAY, Cat. .Mam. Brit. Mns., \>t. ii, 1850, 'ill; Cat. Srals and

WIialcK. H(i(i, :i:5 (snlifaniily). In jiart only _- Trichicina (jiny, 1837.
" Triihtrliiild stn Cuiiipodoiiliti, IfiiooKKs, Cat. Anal, and Zoiil. Muh. 18a8, 37."
Trirhnlioiilni, (iiKlii:!,. Fanna <ltr ^■(ll■\v(d(, i, 1K17. yjl : SiinK«'tli., 1855, 127

(I'aniily).
TrirlKiiiiii, TuKNlWi, I'roc. Zoiil. Soc. I.ond., Hl^^, K'), H-j (subla-iiily).
HoHiiKiriiliv, (Jir.i,, I'roc. J^shcx Inslitulc, v, l."^()ti, 7, II; rainilics of Mam.,

1H7',>. '27. (ill, 7(1 ( -.= " TtiihivhUhv MrooUcs, (irrvais").— Ai.i.r.x, Hnll.

,Mns. Comp. Zoiil.. ii. 1^70, *,M.
J!iiniii<iri>iili<i, (ill. I., I'am. .Mam., 11^7'^, 10 (••snpcrt'amily " =: /i'«.s/;(((ci(/(r (Jill).
Ilroia, L.\ri!i;ii.i,i:, I'am. \iijx. Anim., l^'J5, 51 (family).
A.s' .yorsis, V. Ccviiii. Drnlsdcs Mam.,1^'-J5, i>33; Diet. ."^iLNal., lix, l^'JO,

Iti.'i (family').

(|i;m;i;ai. ohsi'-uvations.

.Viiioiij; llic disliiictiv*' li'adin'.s ol" (lie (hlolnvnUkv iiio the
('iu»iiii()ii.s(l('v»'l(»|)iiM'iit of I he iij)i)cr('imiii('s, aiul tlie <'on.s»'quont
gic'iit rnliirjicinciit of tlu' aiilcrior ])(>rti<)n of tlic skull for their
reception jiihI sii])j)oit, tiie early losis of all the iiu'isors excej)t
the outer i)air of the upper jaw, the; caducous character of the
posterior molars, au<l tiu' uiolariforiu lower canines. The Wal-
nises share with tlie lOannl Seals th<; ability to turn the hind
feet forward, and consequently have considerable power of loco-
motion on laiul. This is further aided by a j^reater freedom of
movenujiit of the fore feet tlian is possessed by the Earless
lieals. Tlie Walniscjs dilT'er from the Kared Seals by their
nuich thicker bodies, shorter necks, and loiioci- caudal vertebra',
the dtusal and luiid>ar vertebra' iciiiaiiiiny' of proj)ortioualely
the same lenj;th. \n consecpu'uce of their obesity, the ribs and
tile proximal s(>o|iients <»f lhelind)s are lonjicr in the Walni.ses ''
than ill tile iOared Seals, wliiU' tlie distal sej^ineiits (d the li.Mbs
are iclatively sliortei. The scapula is long and narrow, instead
of short and broad, a.s in the Otariida', iwid it.s ciest is ithiced

(i FAMILY tiDoll/KNIlM;.

irioif iiiilnidilv. Acnii'diii^lN , ill rcspccl to L;<iici'iil loriiij Ave
li;i\c slciidrriicss ol' liotli lio(l> iiiid liiiilis in the one r(»litrastC(I
with ;^rr;il tliicKiicss ol' IxMly. iiiid distall.v ii dispi »])()rti()iiiito
K'diitiidii (>r I lie cNti'diiitics in llic (»tlicr. TIic iiKid stiikin;;"
tlirrticiiccs^ liowt'Vci', exist ill llic ciaiiial riniriiclcrs. roiiitinj;'
Ikhii the unreal devt'lopincnlor tln' iippci- caiiiiics in ihr W ;il-
I'liscs, ;iiid tlic ('oiis('(|ii('iil iiiodilit'iilions ol' (lie facial portion of
tlic skull. Ill llic (}hir!!(l(i\ tin- j;<'iit'ial contoiir of tlic skull is
stroii,L;l,\ I isint'; in llic (hlolKiiiida, \\ is iiiii(|iic. owiii;; toils
;iicat expansion antcri(»il,v. In respect toolliereianial features,
the WalinsesdilVeilioin the Eaved Se:ils in liavinjiiio post-ovb-
ital ]»i'oee.sHos, and in the niastoiil [troeesses lieinj;' not . separated
from the auditory hiilhe. Tiie teeth are all sin^ile rooted, and
iiave in the periiianent dentition no distinct crowns.

On coiiipariiiji' the Odolxviiidiv with the I'lioriihv, the ditVer-
enee.s in j^oneral .stnieture are Ibiuul to be far ••reater than ob-
tain between the Wabnses and I'iared Seals, espe<'iall,v in rej^ard
to the hind exti'eiiiities; these in the J'liocidd- beinji directed
ba<'kward. and useless as organs of teirestiial Ioconioti(»n.
Hence, in s(. .ar as tL<' (hlohwnUUv and ()t(irii(l(v n'^vvv in linib-
aiid skiiU-strneture, they both similarly depart from the Phocine
tyi»e. As already indicated in the synopsis of the sidxtrdei' Z'/«-
nijx'ilid, the I'Ikh'kUv dill'er far more from either the OdolxvnUlw
and OtariUUv than do these latter from each other. This ditier-
onee is esi»ecially emphasized in the' skull; for whih; tlie Odo-
h(vni(l(v and Otariiilw aji'ree in all important cranial characters,
aside from the special features correlatf'd with tlu; immense
enlar;;<'ment (»f the u])per canines in the former, they widely
differ from the riiocida: This is es])ecially seen in the absence
in the latter of an alis]dienoid canal, in the greatly swollen andi-
toiy bulla', the position of the carotid foramen, and the non-
salient character of the mastoid ]m>cesses.

The few points in which the Walruses dilfer in myology from
other Pimiipeds, Dr. 3Iurie statv's to be ''the presence of a co-
I'aco-brachialis, a llexor brevi.s manus, a pronator quadratus, an
op])onens jtoUieis, and a palmaris brevis," in the ])Ossession of
Avhich it differs both from Otarid and J'Iiock, but tliat in other
resj)ects they " muscularlyju'esent general a jireement."' ''('om-
]>ared with the Seals [I'liora .^] there are two extra peionei and
a llexor Imca ishallucis." "•Though deficient in concha, the auri-
cular muscles aic remarkably large."*

I'roi-. Zoai. Soc. 1,(111(1.. 1*370, 1). .')4.').

OMM'.l.'AI. (tllSl-.KVATlONS.

••( 'nlisi<|»'rill,n tin' Nt'fV (litTcifllt ;lttitll<lcs MSNilliicd hy tllc '/'/•('-

,li<clii<hi'i\]\{\ (Harliiliv iisc(»iii|»iii(Ml willi tlic l'lio<!iln;''^ho riiiilioi'
smMs. '-il is i('iii;irlviil»lt' liow \< r> liltic (l(!viii(i<m fnllows in tho.
iiiiisciiliir (lfV.I(»|»ii "lit Titi' two (miiimt, iis iiiinlit Ix! luilici-
li;itr<l. piC'ifiit !i i^c ''m! juicniiciif . cspcciiilly in tlic modi' of
iiri|»l;iiit;iti«>ii of tlii- iin sclcs of tlir liiiid Icj;', aixl in this rcsiioct
himmIc iVdiii tlic Sell, vet Imt slijilitly."*

Ill n's]icct to fill' iMisitjdii iuiil cliiiriictcr of till' visc«!ra, a yen-
fill! a;ii'tM'iiifiit lias Itcccii iiutcd with lliosc of tlic other IMiiiii-
pcds, and tlicv i»icsciit iiolliin;; that calls lor special notice ill
tlic present connection. As Dr. ^Inrie lias stated, tlu-re is littlo
api>recial»le dilferciice exiiihited tlironj^lioiit the IMnnipeds in
the construction of the alinitMitary canal. " It is .siiiij)ly that of
a Carnivore, with. lio\v«'ver, a moderate-sized ca'ciini. The great
ylaiidnlar snperticics and correlated large lyini>hatie.s point to
means of sjicedy and freipient digestion; and in the Walrns
these apparatus are extraordinarily develoi)ed.''t

In a<*cor(lance with the characters already given (p. .'i), if any
snbdivision of the Pinnipeds into groups of higher rank than
families is to be made, it seems evident that the OdohaunJcc
and Otarlidn' are to be collectively contrasted with the PhocUlw;
in other words, that to nnite the Otarildw and Phocidw as a
group of co-ordinate rank with the Odohwnuhc is to lose sight
of the Avide ditterences that sei)arate the two first-named fami-
lies, as well as of the many important features shared in com-
mon by the (hlolxviiidw and Otarndtv, by Avhieh both are trench-
antly se])arated from the Phocidw.

Although the Walruses are now \ery generally recogniz«'d as
constituting a natural faunly of the Pinnipeds, ranking co-ordi-
nately with the I'^ared Seals on the one hand and with tho Earless
Seals on the other, the affinities of few groui)s have been more
diversely intcrju-eted. As early as the thirteenth c«'ntnry. the
author of the"kSi)eeidnm Regale'', — one of the earliest works re-
lating to natural history, in which the Walrns is mentioned, —
stated distinctly that the Walrus Avas an animal closely related
to the .Seals: and wetin<l that nearly all natural-history wiiters
prior to the middle of the eighteenth century who referred to the
Walruses, gav<' them the same association. It was the+<'clinical
systematists of the last half of the eighteenth centuiy who
broke up this natural juxtaposition, and variously grou]ied

"Trans. Zoiil. Hoc I.oik'.., vo!. vii. li^'T'i, p. 'I')',!.
tTrans. Zoiil. Soc. Loud., vol. vii. \>^7'i. p. 4()I.

8 FAMILY ODOH/EXlDyi:.

llicm with forms with whicli they hiul no lohitionshii*. Tn the
ii'fuiR'v of scioncc, nothhig was perhaps more natural tliau that
an'inals sliouhl be chissitiecl in accordance Avith their mo(h' of
]ife, their liabitat, or their external form, and w<' are heiu-c not
surprised to find ihat llondelet, (lesner, Ahh'ovaiuhis, Joustou,
and other pre-Linna?an writers, arranged tlie Pinnipeds, as well
as the Sirenians and Cetaceans, with the iishes. or tiiat other
early Avriters should term all four-footed creatures "Qiiadin
peds,*' and divide them into "Land Quadrupeds" and "Quadru-
peds of tlu' Sea." While all marine animals were by some early
writers classified as ''fishes,'"* the Pinnipeds were much sooner
«lisassociated from the true fishes than wer«» the Cetaceans and
Sirenians, the mannnalian aflinities of which Avere not at first
lecognized by even the great Linne himself, who, as late as the
tenth edition of his "Systema datura'" fl75S). still left them
in the class •• J'isrcs."

In view of the several exceUeut descri])tions and very credit-
,d)le figures ol' the Atlantic Walrus that ap])earcd as early as
the sixteentli and seventeenth centuries (a detailed account of
which will be given later), it is sur])rising iii;'t the early sys-
t^ematic writcis sliould display such romi>lete ignorance of souu-
of the most olnious external characters of this animal, as was
Jiotably the case with Linne, Klein. Brissou, ICrxleben, and
Gmelin, who strangely associated th<' AVidriis and the ]\binatee
as niend)er> of the same (/eiiKs, ami groujied them with such
diverse creatures as Sloths and Elci)hants. Linne, it is true, in
the earlier editions of the '' Systema Xatura>,'' placed the Wal-
rus with the Seals in the genus Phoro, in his order Fem\ — a near
hit at their true affinities. Later, however, foil wing probably
Klein and Brisson, he fell into the grave error of r.'nioviiig tluMii
to nearly the most unnatural association possible. In this con-
nection, it may prove not uninteresting to sketch, in brief out-
line, the strange history of the classification of this singula)"
grou]) of fin-footed Carnivores.

.\.s already stated, l^inne's first allocation of the grou]» was
the natural one. Brisson,t in IToO, led in the long role of error
by forming his third "'order" of mammals of the lOIcphant, the

*Mosf modfi'ii l!ii)<'iiii!L{c8 still ivtiiin nlics of (liis iincii'iii cnstoiii, as
«'\iiict'ii, for ('\;iiiiiilf. ill siicli I'hi^'ii.sli words ;is s7((7/-//.s//, crdii-jisli. irlidh-
Jlslitri/. >ic(il-ji>flu'rji, etc.. wliilc hrdljifili (Swcilisli), ividrixclt (Djiiiisli), irallJlKk
(GiTiiiiiii), ftc.. iirc coimiioii Ncrnariiljir iiiiini's jiiipiii'd to Cclaccuns.

tRi'^nr Aiiiiiial. I7.")(i, p. t-'.

(!i;m:i{Ai. ousKiaATioNs.

NValius, and llic .Manatee, tlie two h.s\ iiaiiKMl eoiistitiitiiiu Iiis
•• j;euus Odohnni.s." This was a iiiaiki'd i<'ti(K'es.si(»ii IVoin even
the system of Ivleiii,* of a lew years' eailier date, w1h» l)ioiitilit
to<;etlier as one family tlic Seals. ( )ttei's, Meaver, NN'alrns, and
Manatee. Linne, in 17(»<1.+ not <»niy remov<M| tlie Walrus from
I lie ucnns I'liiKd. in wiiicli 1m' had previously plaeed it, to Tri
<-iin-lnis, hut also tniusfeired it from ids orde." Fcnr t<» lliHta,
wliieli thus contained not oni., the Walrus, l»ut such a <li\'; i.se
ass»'Md)la;i«' as l-^lepliauts, Sloths, and Auteiiteis. '.inne's ^icnus
Tricliei'liKN, as at this time eonstitiited, was equivah-nt to liris-
.sou's ji«'uus •• (hh)h( litis." Erxlelu'ii,|: who leeogni/.ed no higlior
j>roui)s than ;;('nera. plaeed the Waliuses and Seals tojiether im-
uiediately after the ('avidvores. Schrel)ei',§ at about th«? same
date (1777), ad»»j>t<'d a siudlar ehi.s.sitication, t!u' Walrus .staud-
iuy next aftei' the Hlejthant fiid lU'.'cedinfi' the Seals. Scliro-
l)Oi*s ;;enus 'I'ricliirliKs contained also the Dufionj;' and tlio
Manatee. <imeliu.|| in 1 7SS, lolh )wed the Linna'an ai'ianj;»nieut
of 170(1; the Walrus, as usual from the time of I>ris.son to
(rinelin. standiu;;' next to the l']le[»hant, and as.sociated yeueric-
all\ with the Siiciuans. r>lunu'nl)acli.'| from 17HStillas late
even as ISi',"). still arranged the Walrus and the Sireniaus in
the ucnus 'rriclii'clnis. in other res|)('cts. the Walius appears
with new associal"s. the ji^cnus 1', IciiccIiks Iteinji' uinted with
Oniitliiirln/iirlnis to form a "faniily"(I) of his "(»rder" I'abiintd.
The order I'dliiiiiia. as the name implies, was composed of the
web-footed manunals, and divided int(> three •• families," namely,
"A. (Hires" (eonsistinjiof the yenus Castor); -']>. Fcrw"' {I'lioco
and Liitra); and "C. Jlrnfii" {OrnHhorlii/iicJiii.s and Trichechm).
Tills is essentially also the ariauyvmeid j»ro]«)S(;d by Klein in
1751.

The lirst step toward disinendteriiij^- ;.!<? uunatural conj^lo-
Jiieratiou known previously under the names Tiicheclitis and
Odoheniis was made by Het/ius** in 1704, wlu> divided the
gcuu-s Tricluchiis of former autluu-s into throe yenera, namely.
ManutKN, for the Manatee; JIifdioiiKtlis. for Steller's Sea-Cow
{= lihi/tiiiH Illij-er, ISll); an<l Triclieckiis, ilu-. last enibrac-

'(^ii!i(l. Kisi.. liivv. Ilisl. Niil.. IT.'.I. |.|.. 1(1. !iy.

t.S.vst. N;it,. I'd. I-J. 17(i(l. i>. lit.

tSyst. \li"^. Aiiiiii.. 1T77. p. .".!»:!.

vNSiiiip'di.. ii. [I77t'..'l. 1.. v'lio.

II Sy.';!. \!i(.,i, .-.!).

^Hiindlt. <1. Xiiliiriifscli.. I7"<-, p. II-.', and lalcr iililimis.

"Koiigl. NrinivK. Acad. ii,\,i llaiidliii;;,. \\. I7'.M, iip. •J-r)-;!0(l.

lA.Mii.v (ii»(»r..i;Mii.K.

I [

\\\ii Iiotli llif \\';iliii> iiikI llic 1 )ii,niiii,u. NVliilc lliis \v;is in
tilt' iiiiiiii a iiiosi iiiipdi taiil ami iiro.mc -^'x e iiiiio\ati»iii. Kc;
zius sociiis t(i \i;\\{' laltdi'i'd, liUt- >('\('ral still carlici- wiitns.
iiiidcr tlic iiiipicssioM lliaf tlic Walrus, like ilic iMi.^oiiu. /""/ /"<
hind fat. ( )/.('i('tsK()\ sk_\ . * alioiit a year later. aii<l |»iol)al>l\'
iuiKiiaiit nf li'ct/ius's [>a|M'|-. also placfd. as cuiioiisly liapiiriird.
ilic Walrus and the hii^diiu to.iActliff in tlic ufims Triilucliits,
iMM-ausc lie siii)ji(>scd the Dw^owj: lii((l hliid Jrct.Wki' tlif Walrus I
These euiious aiit it lift ieal mistakes iiitlieate how little was
known Ity systematic wiiteis ai»(>ut tlic stiiictuic ol' these ani-
mals as late as the close of the last <t'ntuiy.

The elder ('u\ier, ^ in 17".»S. while ictaininji the Walrus and the
Sirenians in the jiciius 7V/V7/r(7/».s'. separated them lr(»in some ot
their former unnatural cntanjileineids byauain associating; 7V/-
chechnx and Phnvu in his jironp "^rammitrn's Amphilues." which
he })laeed between the '•Solii)ede.s"and •• .Mammiferes Cetaees,"
He divided this yntup into'vl. Les I'lKMines {I'hova)" and ••II.
Les ."Morses {TrirhccuN, L.)"< <^''*^' latter inclndinj;' ••!. TrirhicKs
/•<>.s'/M«r«.v"; '•!'. TricluTiis <ht(ioii(i'": ••.». TrirhmiN iiKiinttiis."

As already shown, Ketzius nearly disentanuled the Wahu-
from the Sirenians, leaving of tlu' latter only th«' Duuoui: in
the j;'enus Trichcckns. (1. Fischer, j in ISOM, completed the scp
aration by removing the Duji(Ui>i and the Manatee, to which he
gave the generic names lespeetively of Phiti/sfonnis { = ll(ili<-uri .
niiger, 1811) and OxystoiiiKs { = M((nafii,s. Ifetziiis. 17!»4). lea\ in;.;
only the Walrus in TriclurhKs. The genus TrirlKTlins. however,
as first instituted by Artedi (IT.'W) and Liniic (ITriS). as will lie
shown later, did not rehite in any way to the Walrus, being
applied exelnsively to the ^Fanatee. It was not till 17«>(i that
the term was lirst made to cover both the then known Sirenians
and the "Walrus, althongh the iMubroilment of the two groups
began with Urisson, ten years eailier.

The l*innipeds and Sirenians, collectively considered, were
lirst separated as disthict groups by illiger§ inl.Sll, who raised
them to the rank <»f orders, they forming respectively his orders
Piiiiiipcdut and \(it(iiiti<t. The tbrmer consisted of two geiu'ra.
Phocd, embracing all the Seals, and Tricliccliiis. containing oul\
the Walruses. They were regardCil as forming a !*ingle family,

* Nova Act. .Vciiil. l'flii>i».. xiii. KDti. jij). :{:i-:i7ri.

t'l'illll. l^I.'IM.Mlt., \>. IT','.

t Diifi Natioiiiii-.Ntiiscmii (Irr Xatiirj^i'scjiiciih', li. IS(i;!, [vp. iMl-lt.'jS.
V^ riixhiiiiuisSvstciiiatis.Maiimialiuiint Avium. l?'lt,iip. Uri. V.VJ; Aliliamll
tier Akacl. Wi'^scnscli. /ii Itcrliii. ISOl-l-'JI. (IKJ.'.V i>lt. :!H !:">!•. imsnim.

CENEUAL OIJSEHVATIONS.

(•(iui\ iilfiil ill extent with the order Pinniimlla. The i»i'0[niety
of the eliaiiyes introducetl by Illigcr was not speedily leeognizcd
by con temporary writers; (Javier, and many subsequent syste-
matists tor hall' a eentury, ])lacin,L: tlie Pinnipeds amonn' the
(jtinirora and tiie ttirenians amon.n' the CtUicca, with the rank
respectively ol" I'anulics, the lanuly P//oc/(/ft' einbrachiy all the
Pinnipeds. Dr. .1. 1'. Gray, in ISL'l,* and af:;ain in 182"),! widely
separated the Walruses from the Seals as a laniily, Trichcchida',
which he most stranjicly placed (together with the Sirenians) in
the order ('<te. Later, however, in 1837, | lie reunited the AVal-
ruses and the Seals into the single family Phocidw, which he
divided into tive subfamilies, Trichcchina being the third and
central group, and embracing the genera UaHchccrus and Triclie-
c'hii,s. This higlily artiticial classification he retained till 1860,
wh' dlowing other systenuitists, he again raised the Wal-
ru& s ) the rank of a distinct family.

Latreille, § in 1825, not only treated the F^innipeds as uu
order {Aniithihia), but separated the Walruses from the others
as a distinct family {lirom), the Seals forming his family Cyno-
iitorplia.

In 182tK F. Cuvierll divided the Pinnipeds into the Seals proper
(•• Ics Phoques proprement dits"'), and theWalruses ("les Morses'') .
liiookes,^! hi 1S28, again recognized the Walnises as forming
a family {"■ Tricli('rhi<i(v sen Canqwdontia^^) distinct from the
( >t lier I 'inniiieds. Wagler,** in 18.'{0, made the Walruses merely
a genus of his order Crsi. Nilssou,tt in 1837, divided the Pin-
nipeds into two sections, the second of which embracd not only
TriclurliUN, but also JlalichaiKs^ ('!iNto2>hora, aiul OtarUt. Tur-
ner, |f in 1848, from a study of tiie skulls, separated the Piiiiii-
l)eds into three natural groups, considered by him to hold the
rank of stdifamilies, namely: Arctoccphalina. embra<'ing Otdria
and An'toccphuluN ; Trichcciua, consisting (»f the genus '• Trivht-
c«6'"; and ritovina, embracing all the other Seals. Gill, §§ in 1800^

* " London Mi'd. JJcpos., 1821. p. :?0'2," upiul (Jniy.
t Annals of riiilosopliy. 'Jd sit., vol. x. ia.'.'>, p. niO.
t Eoiidoii's Miifj. Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. '>"':!.
v> I'ani. Rt'g. Anini.. \). .M.
!| Diet. Sci. Nat., t. lix, p. 307.

*'. "t'al. of Ills Anatoni. and Zoiil. Mns.. ]i. ;{(!." aiiud (tint.
**\aiiiil. S.\(st. Ainpli., p. '27.

ttVrtcnsk. Akiid. llandl.. 18117, !i:{i'>; WiP};mann's Aiob. f. Natnrg., 1811,
jt. :i(lO(transl.)

ttl'mc. Zoiil. Soc. I.oik:,, 1848, pp. 85, 88.
VH^ I'ldc. I".ssc\ Ins|if!ii('. \ol. V, 11. 7.

rJ (iKMI.'A oi rill. lA.Mll.V.

\\;is tin- IH\( :iiillior \\Im» r(r();^iii/('(l I Ik- \\ iilriisc.s iis loiiiiiii;; a
disliiict lUiiiilN , w iiicli lie h riiicil lioxnmriihi . lit I liis step, lie \\;i,s
iiiiiiir(li;itrl\ lulluwcd l>,\ <ir;i.\,* iiini !».\ llic prcsriil wiitcii in
ISTO. I jlljcltMi'^,! ill IS7 1, ;ilso ;i((ur»lr(l tljtiii liiiiiilv liiiik, iis
]i:is liccii the ciLsloiii (iT liilc willi Siirioiis otli<-r writns. (iill,§
in Is7l', liiiscM tliriii to I lie raiii^ ol' :i '• .sii|M'ir;iiiiil\ " (It'osnid-
roulni), li'fiitiii;; Llit-iti :i.s :i };r<)ii|> ro ordiimlc in niiik with his
'■ /'Af/r«/Wr«," roiisistin;; of tlic I'Iiiu'kUv :iiiiI i>l((t'iiil<v.

'I'hcir liii:ii rrstiii;; plii<-c in tiic n:itur;il system hiis now prolt
ul)l.v been ill hist reaehed, the. itiiijoritv ol' inodein systeiiiiilists
:i;;i'<-eiii;4' in aeconlin;; to tli<-ni tlie position and lank ol' a laiiiily
ol' the I'liuii/tttlia. '!"<» I llij;('r seems due, t lie, credit of lii'st, dis-
tiiietl.v leeo^ni/in^ the li^al ai1iii>ties of hotli tiie I'iiinipeds aii<l
Siieiiiaiis toother mammals, and with him ori^^imiied the names
i»,\ which these ;;roiips ;ire now c(»minoid.v recoj^ni/ed, I he chief
mtidilicidion of llli;;er\s iirran^emeiit heiii;; the rednetioii of IIm^
riiiiiijHdiii from :i dist inel order to t he r:iiik of :i siihorderol the
i'i in .

(ii;.M;i:,\.

'the fiimil.V (hlolm iiiiltr {'ri'nhtvlihlti' {\\A\ :ilid Itrookes-- L'os
iiHtriihr (111!) iiichides, so f{ir ;is :il present known, onl\ the
e\is|in<; jicniis Oilahaiiiis (— 'riiihitlms xA' \\\;\\\\ ;inlhors, not ol
Arledi nor of i,inm'') ;md tin- two estinet Lienerii '/'rlchi rlioiloii
iiiid . I /f»c//(r///*/». recent l,\ de.scrihcd from fossil remiiiiis found
in ricinium. .\liiillin-ii(iii,\\ w idle e\ identl\ refer;d»le to the Or/o
haititla\, dilfers <|iiite sirikinjilv from tlie exislin;; Walruses.
'I'lie piirts known iiie the left nimnsof the lower jiiw, the ;;reji(ei'
])oi'tioii of the cr:iiiiiim (the faciiil portion iinil teeth onl,\ w;iiil
iiiji), several ceixiciil \cil<'luie, ;i portion of the pehis, and \aii
<»iis hones of the extremities. The niiiii of the lower jiiw :ire
not anehvlosed :is in the Wiilriis, mid the dentition is <|nite dif
fereiit from tlnit of (hlohnniin, ttiiit of the l(»wer j;i\\ hein;^ I. L'
r. I. .M. I. The symphysis occupies iieiiily hiilf of the len;;tli
of the j;iw. Van lleiieden desciihes the sknil !is reseiniilili;^ in
some chiiracteis the skull of the Otiil'ies, :in<l in others tlioseof
the Morses, 'i'lie moiiir teeth he .s;i\s could liol Ite c;isii\ distill
finished from I hose of the .Morse if tlic\ were found isolated. No

• Ann. .liid M.i'j. N:il. lli>l., :',<! -ci.. miI. wiii. |-;t'.. |i, '.'•." i.

t Itllli. .Mll>. ('(Plllp. /cic'il., \ip|. ji. |). '.'1.

I I'.'IIIIIM <i|'<l' S\ 1 ri;;i'S lull \ii|M,.s li'\'.;Mr.. |i. 117 |.

vN .\i l;iiii;ciinnl nl 1 '.iijiilli'- nl M;iiniii:iU. \*'7.'. |>. •>'.•.

||\:iii I'lrmijiii, Ami. Mm-, illli^l. NmI . ili iii'lt;ii|iic. i, I-T7, |p. Till.

(iKNKIUI, OUSKUVATIONS.

caiiiiH's were roiiiiil :it . \ii\ ns, l»iit \';iii Knu'dcii i.s .s|i(»ii;;l,\ (»!'
the ii|iiiiioii tliiit IIh' It'clli (l(',s( rilx-d l»\ l{ii.\ liiiiikcslcr,* Irmn
the Ii'rd < 'ni;; <»(" I'lii^iliiiid, ill IHJJ."*^ iiiid iiiiiiwd Triclircliothm li".r
//■///, ;ir<' I hose of his ,\li((lli<riiiiii <'nisii. 'I'lic (dlici' Imhm-s w
I'ciiM'd t<t Aliicllinlinii Ikmi' ;i ;;('iM'i;d rrsciiilthiiicc to llic cone
,s|H)iidiii;4 Imiih-s of tin- cxisliii;; Widnis, but iiidir;it<- :iii iiiiiiiiid of
iiiiirli hirj^cr si/c. 'I'lic rciimr and soiiic «»r I lie nllicr hones hoar
also a n-scnihlan<'<- to corresponding parts id' the < )tarics. A tast.
of Ihc ii-rrltral easily sliows Ihat the Itrain was not nineli nnhUe,
that ul' the e\istin;f Walruses and Otaries, hut witli the eerehel
liini sniaHer. Alaitli<rii(iu thns pi'oves to have h(;en a Pinniped
or;;r«'at size, closely ichited in ;;eneral featnies totlie Wjdrnses
otto(hi.v, hnt presentinj;' features also eliaiaeteri/in;; the I'lared
Seals as well as ot hers common t<t no other i'innipetl. 'I'he ;^fenus
'I'riiliicliinloii of \'an Mene<len (pnthahl.x not = 'rticlicclKHlou,
i.ankester, IS«;r») is nnieh h'ss well known, the only portion of
Ihe sknil I'eferi'ed to it hein;;' pait of a ri;>iit ramus. The other
hones hi'lieved to represent it are nine \erlehra', |»art of a pel
\ is, a hinnerus, a femur, several metatarsal, meta<-ai'pal, and
phalangeal hones, etc., ainl part of a tusk. Says Van Meneden:
'• I lie lnanchede max ilia ire est tout ce < pie in ills possedoiis de la
tele. liCS dents maiiipieiit, liiais le h(»id esl asse/ coiiijdel,
pour tpi'oii piiisse hieii iii;.;er de leiirs caracleies par les ah i-oles.
Nous poiiMins, (111 reste, fori hieii aiissi apprt'cier la forme dt;
cet OS, dislinj^iier sa symphyse et sa hrievcte.

•' l/os est luise a son c\tn''iiiile anti'-iieiire, la syin|(liyse est,
fori cniirteet Tos ii'a pas plus dV-paisseiir siir la, li;;ne mediaiie
que siir le coh'-. Lesalveolessoiil compaiat i\ emeiit (hit ;;randes:
h's trois dernieres sont. a pen ]>re semlilahles, ranti'-iieiire est, la
plus petite. ( "est Till virse dans Ic Morse, liaca nine (leva if «'tre
tort ;;raiide. II iTs a ipi'iiiie settle alvi'ole |iiiiir ane dent iiiei
si\e.

'* \a' i(ii]>s (111 maxillaire esl remai<|iiahle jioiir sa coiirhiire.
Toui(!la ]iarlie jiost(''rieiire, (pii const Hue, la hranrhcdn maxillairi^
maiKpie. On xoil siir la face e\tern(; trois Irons mentonniers.

-> Mil coiiiparanl ce masillaire a celiii dii M(M'se vivaiit, (Ui Noif
((Ue la SMiiphyse est loiite ditferelile, (jii'il e\ist(^ line ;;ran(le
ahcole pour la dent caniiie el (les traces d'line petite al\(''oUi
pour line iiicisi\c ipii restait prohahleineiit (•a(!li(''(! sous les j;(,'U-
civcs. Dans le. iMors(^ vivaiit, il try a pas de place jioiir line
canine |yraiide| an maxillaire, infc'iriciir."

• Sec hiVDlid. p. <i'.'.

14 THK OKNUS ODOILENTS.

Tlie otiit'i' IxMit'.s arc (IcsciilK'd a.s unnv or Irst; resembliny
those of the Walrus, and do not much j'xcccd them in size.
Some of tliem arc also saiil to closely icsemltlc correspond inji
l>arts of AUuthcfiuui.

Van Hencden's descriptions and liyuri's of the lower Jaw
Iraguu'ut indicate features widely ditferent from those of the
coiTespondiny part in the Walrus, especially in the shortness ol
the symphysis and in the curvature of the i)art represented, but
above all in the nuMd)er, rcLitiv*' size, and foriu of the alveoli,
and particularly in the larjjic size of that of the canine, which
must have been almost as hiyhly specialized as in the Sea Lions.
That the tusks referred to it by Van IJencden (those described
by Lankester especially, as well as the frajiuient he himself fig-
ures) beloiiji' here, there seems to be at leasi ro(»m for reason-
able doubt.* The dilfcrences presented by the Jaw fragment
of Trichechotlou as compannl with the <'orrcs])onding part ol
Aladheriitm arc c\cn still Juorc marked.

The more obvious characters distincti\c tif the three genera
oi \\vii OiUthanidn . a^aX picscnt Iciiowii, may Ite luietly indicated
as follows :

Slliiiijiniy (if //(( <ii livitl.}

1. < U)Oii.i;Ni:s. — liiiiiii of IciwiT J;i\\ lliiiilv iiiicliylDstd. cxeu in oiiily lite:
^vnipliysis t-hoit. IirLsoi-.s (in adiiK) 0; cimim's 1 — 1; niohiis :' — :!. tlio
last miuh smaller thau tbo others.

'*'. ALACTinaut'M. — Raiuinf lower jaw not anclivlostHl ; ^ylll]tll,v^^is very long.
Ineisors (ill adult) 2 — 'J; canines 1 — 1; molars 1 — 1, the last smaller
thau the preceding ones.

3. ••Triciieciiodox'' (Van IJeneden).— Kami of lower jaw (aiii)arently)
unuiiehylosed. Incisors 1 — 1?, very small; canines 1 — 1, highly spe-
cialized; mol.ars 4 — t, the tirst small, the Inst three much larger and
suheqnal.

GENU8 ODOILENUS, Llnni.

Odobcnus. J.inni';. Sysi. \al.. i. ITIi.') (cil. I'cc). .V.) liiiiplicd c\ciii>ivi'ly to the
Walrus in a generic sense). — IJr.issON, Kegnc Anim.. 17.">*i, 43 (used
strictly in a generic sense, hut emhracing ■•!. t.a \'aelie marine —
OiloheHHn" = \\;i\v\\s: "•,'. Le Lamaulinc — Mdinilii"." The characters
given apply almost exclusively to the Walrus).

*Van Beneden himself says: --M, U'ay I.ankaster avait vu en Angleterre
diffdrcutes grandes dents, i)rovenaul du<rag et qui dilleraieut surtout eutro
clles parlenrs dimensions. Xous eroyims deM<ir rapjiortev ces dents an genre
Alacthcriinii ." Yet he cites •• D'nlio lio<l(>ii Inu'hiii h'ay I.ankaster" as a syno-
nym of Trkliiihodoii liOiiiitncliii. dc.scrilpcil l.y himself much later! In view
of the iiueertaiuties of (he ease, it is to he regretted that Ik; did not ])ropo5e
il new generic as well as specific name lor his 'iv'uhivhiuhtii hnnihirlii.

♦ With refereiKe only Jo the lower Jaw, tlw only ktiown )iart, in case of
the extinct tyjies, readily susceptilile ol' eomiiaiison.

SYNONYMY AND N< )Mi:NCI,ATri{K.

Diluhiiiiiis. MAi.M(ii;i;N,<"»rv(rs. K. N'.t. AU;iil. Forli. IHti:i, (iHlUj. i;!ii.
]:,>s,iiitni.-<. Ki.i:i\,(^ii;nl. Dis-i. I{icv. Hist. Niil., IT.M, M\'M (;iii]>lir(l in a ;;cii-

fiic sense exeiiisivcly to llie \Yiilnis), — "S ui'oi.i, IntiKil. llisl.

Nat., 1777. —." — (iii.i, ("ex Stdpoli "), I'loe. Kssex Inst., v. If^titl. 7.
I'lioni. I.inm';, ."^vst. Nat.,i. 17.> (in pail uniy).
Trichi 'litis, I.iNNi';, .^yst. Nat., 170li, 4i>(iniiarl (ini\ ; ni(| of Linne, 17riH, nm

Artedi, I7rw ; liaso<l exclusively in both eases on .Sirenians).
'JViilii rini.i (in iiaii only), KiiXM'.iiKN, Scirui-.r.i:i:. (iMi:i.i\. lU.fMiCNlUCH.

K'i'.iziis, and other early wiiteis.
TrirliKliHu. (i. ris( iii:ir. Nat. .Mns. Natinjiescii. zu Paris. lHO;t, 344.— li.i.i

GKU, Syst. Mam. el Av.. Hll. ll!'.!.— Also of ( !i!.\ v. and most \vriter>

of the )iresent eentiiry.
(idiihiimlhiriinii. (in.vTiOLlCT, Ihill. Soe. (ieol. (h> I'ranee. •," ser.. xv, 18")?.

(I'J4 ( = ■■ Tiirliirlnin ri>siiiiirnx'' anet. — fonnded on a supposed fossilV
Oilmitobinins, Sfxi»i;\ ai.i„ Ofvers. K. Vet. Akad. Forh., 1-.V.», 441.
.' I'll ell I'll oilim, l..v\Ki;.srKU, (Quarter. .loiuu. Cicol. .'^oe. Loud., xxi, Ifftio, 'J-iti,

pi. X. xi (hased on I'ossil tusks from tlie K'ed Crajj-, i'.n^iland).

Tlic iiiiiiH- 'rriclin-liiis, lur so Imiii' :i tiiiu- in m ficnil use loi
tlif \V;iIiiiscs. ]»>ov<'.s iMd, iis loiij; ;|o(> sliuwii l>v \Vi»'o||i;uiii,* von
liiicr. .Miillcr. Stiiiiiiiiis. ;m«l liitcf lt\ idlu r "viiti'is. to Itt'loiij^' at
.ill to llicsc iiiiiiimls. lull to tilt' .M;iiiiit<'('. The iiiiiiic Trli'ltirlnix
oi'i;.;iii;itiMl with .\rtt'tli in IT^IS. insi posilniiuoiis worl^ t clitcd
ii\ l<itiiK'. 'I'lif cliiiractds ,ui\cii wcic •• Ihniis \A\\\\\ in iiti'a<|ni'
iiiiixillii. Ih>i:siiiii iiniM'iinc. Fistiihi . . . . " 'I'lic cita
lions nntlcr TriilurliKs fiiilnacf no allusion to the W'aliiis. luii
i«'Iatt' wholly to Siicnians, of to tln' .Maiiatcf. a.s the latr«'i' was
tlnii Uiiown.T Artt'<li*s (Ifsciii)tion of tin- Manalcf is (|iiit<' lull
and explicit, luit iiM-ludcs also characters ;ui(l retefeiices belong;
iiiu lo the Diijioii;;'. ^ 'J'riilitrlui.s loiiiis Aitedi's ••oeims LI."
and is placed in his "oi'dei' \', I'laijiur't" (emlnacin^' the Ceta-
».rans and Siicnians. the ol her ;;eneia of this onlei' heiny- Vlnj-
neier, IklphinuN, BaUvna, Moiioiloii, and (\itodon), and is hence

'" liespeetin^ the ]uoper ji«'iitrie name of the \Valruses. \Vie<iiuaun. in 1831*.
thus forcibly expressed hi.s views; ••Die Gattuue; OrfofttHW* [\ on Ihis.son,175G]
hiitte beibelialleii werdeii miisseii. da tier ;;an/. al)j;esehmaikte Xauit^ Trichi-
t/iKvyar niehl tleni Waliosse, st)iidern ursi)riiiiglich deiii Manali angehiirt, uud
voii Artedi flir diescu gebildet war, unt die bei eiucm Fische otler vielinehr
AYalltis<lie .■uitl'alleiule liohaarunji /u bi'/eieliueu." — .tnhir fiir \ali»-iir-
schiihlr, V. .lahrg.. Hand i. ISiS. ]>. llC.

tlehthyolo-ria, 1738, pars i, ]). 74; pars iii, \>. 71>: pars i\, ]>. Itlil. In Arie-
di's work tile name is twice written Trkhrcliiis ami twii'c Tliricliirlimt, On p.
71 iif pars i. wliere it lirst occurs, its deri\alioii is given, namely : •• Trhln-
r'nin ;i \^iti^ rriiiii .J'' i \;fl<)c piicis ipda solus inter pisces fere hirsulus sit."

: The references in a eenerid way ajipcarto include .'ill the ."sircnians then
known.

v^']. g.. "Deniiuin duo utrini|iie I'mimiil. louuit udine :>pii liani;e crassii u
poUicis."

'llll. (il.M S Mixili.lAI S.

<<(iii\iil(iil lu I he T/Vr ul Linin- (S\.s|. N;il ., •il. \, I 7.">Sj. I.iiiiif,
ill I7.")H. liisl iiitindiirt-il AltcdiVs ;;fiiiis Tritli)flnis, ;il wliicli
lime Ik- plmc*! in il uiilvtiic Miiiuitcf, I Mi;;()iiu, iiikI Slflh-i's
Sea ('(»\\, I<-:i\ in;; t III' Waliiiscs still in /'linen. Mi,, (lia^iimsis
of till' ;;ciilis* ciiiliiactMl mtiic ul' the ilisi ilirt i\ c rliaiarti) > nj
llic Waliiis. Ill I7«I«; (iLMli «■<!., S,\.s(. Nat.), lit- liaiisrni.Ml lli«-
Walrus l'i<»iii I'lmra to 'f'rirlirrliiis, inakiii;; it llir first s|ttii(S
ul' till- ;^«iiiis. Tin- (lia;;liosi,s, llinii;;li sli;;lill\ (•Iiaii;;i'<l mm
iiiiilv, lias still liltif, if aii.\, rclrri'iifc t»» tin- cliaiactcis of llic
Walruses, iinlcss it Im- IIh' plnasc •• haiiiarii sii|M'ii(tr»'ssolit.ii ii,"'
wliicli is fitiiallv applii-aUh- to tin- Dii^^oii;;:, anil is not at all lli<-
•Mpiixali'iit (d'-'IMiora ilciitilms raniiM-s t-vscrtis." pn\ioii>l\
aMcrilii'd to tlic Walrus in loiiiH-r fditifuis, when I In- Walinst ;
wi'ii- plan-il iiniii'i' I'linm. Ilnicc, to uliatcvei tli<- ;;fii(iic
naiiif I'lichvclms iiia\ he ic|'rral>l<', it r»itaiiil,\ is not prrtimnt
to tlic Walrus. 'I'liis liciii;^ scltltMl, tin- ipn-stion arises. What
jfi'iH'i'ic iiaiiic is oCiiiHpiestioiiaMc appliraiiilit.N to the Walruses .'
Here the real iliMienlt.N in the tase he^^ins, tor aiilhors who
ailiiiil the inapplii-ahilitN ot' 'I'rifli clnis to this ;,iioiip are not
agreed as to what shall lie snitst it iite<| lor it. .Seandinav ian
Avriters, as .Maliii,i;ren (Isiilj and lalljehorj,^ (|s7l;, ;iiid I'eitrs
( JSOI j aiiionj;(Ierman ant horil ies. Iia\ e lor some \ ears eiM|iIo,\ ed
(hlolxniiis, a name apparent l\ ori;:inat in;^ with l-inne (as Oiluht
iiiis) in 17."!.'», and adopl<'d in a j^eiieiie sense li\ Itiisson in I7.'i(i.
A iiKdlilied I'orm ol" it ((hhnihihitniis) w as als(» emplox ed li\ Sun
de\aliin I.S,"i't. (lill,in isiKi, and other recent Aineiiean wrileis.
have l»roii;ih( into some pidiniiieiiee t he name 1,'iisiiiiirii.s. \\\si
ii.sed in a ;4eneiie isense li\ Klein in I7."»|, li\ Seo|M»l: in 1777, h.N
l*allas| in I.S.'JI, and In liamont i in Isilj ; while the ;:;reat mass
of Mn^iiish and ('onlineiital w riti-rs still elin;.; to '/'riclicilnis.

'Ilie ;;eiiera (hl(tl)iiH)lli( rlinii and 'I'riclicrliixluH, based on fossil
ri^iiiaiiis of file Walrus, iiavealso heeii reeeiillv introduced into
1 lie literal lire of the sill ijecl, the former li\ (Iratiolet in ls."»,s. and
the. lafter li.\ l,aiilvesler in ISIm; Iml these (espe<iall> tlielirst)

*"l)riil<N |iriiiii)irs iiiillii, l.-ii]i:iiii Mi|ii liur i-^ M>lil:iiii. nmlaii-s r\ o-^c
lii;ji;iiM> III riii(|iii' iiilriiiiN (Inn. l.iiliJM ^iiiiiiil.'i. I'cilis ikoIci inns ((lailiiniil i
ill |iiiiii:iiii." \(/«/. .V((/., 1(1. \. i, 17.".'', p. lit.

t 'I'lic. sec I III (I (liM^iinsis dl' I'rii llll liiiK is, in In II, :is IfilldU > : •• ilcnii s |ii lino
rcH niilli nljiiii|ni . I.aniiiiii .sn|ii rinics snlil.irii. .Mnlaics i \ ns.sc iii^nsn
lilliminc : iiili rins duo. I.iiliia ^cniiiiala. i'lilis |in.sl( rinics (:niii|i('ii( .s cn-
iidiiiiali ill piiiiiaiii.'" — Ai/f/. .\V(^, ed. sii. ITiK'i. i, |i. If".

;y,(«il. l{:iNS()-.\hial., \nl. i. •Jfi'.l.

ii\S('ilsn!i.s willi llic Scjl linrscs. |i|i. Id. IIm.

■«!

'nil; si'KciKs OF tiik gknijm.

ii]t|M-iii' to Im* ictnTiil)!*' lo the «-\istiii;; \V:ili'iis<-s, and of ciiiiisc,

IXTOIIM' lllcr«>l,V HVIIOII.VIIIM of (Ml'licl- IIIIIIICS. ( 'oll.SC(|IM'llt l,V t Im)

clKticc, rvidciilly lies Ih'Iwccii (hli)h(viiits:\\\\\ h'nsitianis. ihhha:-
viis liiis sixlrcii \<'iirs' piiorilv over liosiinttiis, if we ^o Itjirk to
till' riii'lifst, iiitrodiictioii of IIk-sc iiaiii<-s into svstfniiitic nonicn-
flii.lMi'f.* It is tin*- tliiil liiisiiiiirii.s \\i\s{\u' *':ii\U's\ liiilin nanio
a|i|)li<-<l to tin* Walrus, its nsr <l!ilin<;' Itiirk to tin- niidilN- of tlio
sixtrrnlli i-cntni'N, wlirn it. was cniplo.vrd int<>i'(;lian;;cal)l,v witit
Mots and Mnrnii.s l»y Olans Ma^^nns, (h'simt, Ih-ilMTstain, anil
{){\\v\n^ hill onlji ill (I rcniitvnlar sciisr. Altlion;;li used l»\ Kh^in
systrniatiraliy in ITr*!, <lill adopted it IVoni Sropoli, 1777, prohii-
hly hccansc Klein was not a, " hinoniialist." liinneMscd (PilnhiiiiUH
j;<'nciically in I7.'5r>, as did also i>riss(»n in I7ri(j. 'I'lie. wliolo
«pU'stion tnrns on what siiall Im- considerrd as the proper start-
in;4 |ioint lor ;;enerii- nonienejatnre, ahoni which opinion is still
dixidrd. ir the early ;^i-iieric names of Artedi, Klein, llrissori,
ami liinne (prior to J7r)<Sj are admissible, as many hi;;li aidhor-
ilies helieve, then Oihilxiiiii.s is nnipiesi ional»ly tl.e only tenahlo
^enerie, name for the ;;roiip in <|nestion, of whieh iiosninriis is a

synonym, t

si'i;(.'ii;s.

'i'iie exislin;; Walruses have heen eonnnoniv eon^idered as
l)elon;;in;4' lo a sinj;le eii<'nmpolar species, A lew ani hors have.
reco;;ni/ed t wo, <ir deemed llie existence, ol' I wo prol»al»le, while
on<' appears to liaxc admilh-d threi'. Alt(i;;ether, Jiowexer, not,
less liian six or seven specilic names have, been ^iven let the. e.v-
istin;; species, besides several based on I'ossil I'cmains of the,
Allanlic W'alrns. In tin- preseiif paper, the. attempt will bo
made |(» establish tln^ existence, of two; but. before, enterin;^
further upon the discussion, if may nof be. out of place, fo
j^lanci' brielly af the. views ju-evious authors have \nM resp(!(5t-
in;;' Hie point, in <|uestion.

reiiiiant appears to have, been the. lirst. to cali atlenlion to
llie probable fxislence ol" more than a siii;4le species of Walrus,
who, in l7!tL', in speakiii;;' of (he Wulru.ses of the Alaskan (M)ust,
sa\ s: "1 entertain doubts wlie.fhe.r fhcsc. animals f of " IJnalascha,
Sandwich Sound, and 'rurnaj^ain Itivca'"] uioor the. saiiH;Hi>(',cics

Oiliiliiiiniit, Liiiiic, "l)i;;ili ;iiil., |Mist. .'>, )i;iliili|M'S. \iiis>i Mormin, Di'iitOS
iiilciiiicilii Hii|)rriiiiiH Iminissiitii.''— .s'//«/. AVt/., \7'.i7) (cd. fir), f/.t. — Jiosmarua,
Kli ill, (^iiii.l. I)i:.ii. r.ri\. Ilisl. Nat., 17r>l, 40, 1)'^'.

till :icr(inl;iii( T willi (ii.sldiii ill Kiiiiiliir riisi'H, llin iiiiiiD'. i>l' I In-, riiiiiily 1)0-
coiiii's thlohii iiiild', — Ml illur HiiHiiiariiUv, nor Trlchcchiilw lining tciiiiltio.
Misc. Tub. No. IL' li

Tin; OKM'S (>IK)H/KMS.

I ,.1

with those ol' th(! (iiilph ol' St. Lmiirmr. The tusks (if those
of the I'l'o/eii iSea arc iiiuch loii^^ci'. uhmc sh'ii(h'r. iiikI liavc a.
twist and inward curvatiiiv. '* iShaw, a few years later, tlioii^iht
that tlie W'ahiis (h'seiihed ami liuiiied in the aeeonnt of Cap-
tain Cooli's last \(»ya;;(', Ihonnh perhaps n(»l speeilieallv distinct.
I'loni lh(»se of tlie Arctie shores of llnrojie, slmuld he regarded
as l)eh)nj;in;;' to a dilferent \aiiet,\.t lie appears, li(»wever. to
Lave based his opinion wholly on li^^uresof the animals, and par-
tienlarly on those j^iv-en l»y ("ook and .lonston (the latter a copy
of lierrard's, at second-hand fi'oia I)e l.ai't). Illiucr, in isll,
formally reco;inized two s]»ecies in his '• rehcrltliek der Siin;;;-
thiorc iiach ihrer \'ertheihiii,i;- iiher die \\'elttheih>,"| namely,
Tnvhcchux >v>,s;/ho'».s', occurring' on the northein shoresof (West-
'.ni ;') Asia, Europe, and North Ameiiea, and 7'. o/>r.s7/,v, occur-
riufi' on the northwestern shores of North America anil the ad-
joinin*;' iiortheasteru sbor<'s of .Vsia. While I do n()t lind that
he bus anywhere j'iven the distinctive eliaraet<'rs of those two
species, he, in the abov»'-cited ]»aper, also nauu'd the ainnial
described and li<;iired by Cook, T. (livvtujiUN. V. Cuvier, in ISiT),
ill describinji' the dent it ion of the ''Morses," says: "Ces dents out
ete decrites d'apres plusieurs tetes qui senddent avoir ai)i)artenu
11 deux especes, a en Juj;er du nioius par les proportions de cpiel-
ques uues de lours parties, et noii seulenient par lY'tendue de
lours defenses, caraetore (pi: iiv.dt d(^ji\ fait soup^ouuor a SUaw

* Arctic Zoology, vol. i, 1792, pp. 170, 171.

nF<> says: "An excellent represeutalioii is also given in pi. 52 of the
Inst voyage of our illnstrions navigator, Captain Cook. It is easy to sec,
liowtjvcr, a reinarkalile ditlerence lietween the tusks of this last, and those
of the former kind Hgured in Jonston, and it clearly appears, thiit though
this (lilTorenco is not such as to justify our considering them as two distinct
species, yet it ohliges us to remark them as v.arieties; and it should seem,
that, in the regions tlien visited liy Captain Cool<, viz. tlie iey coasts of the
American ctrntinent, in lat. 7(», the Walrus is found with tusks nnicli Icuigcr,
thinner, and iar more sharp-jiointed, in proportion, tlian the e<mnnon Wal-
rus ; and they h.ive a slight inclination to a subspiraT twist : there is also
a ditlerence in the position of tlio tusks in the two animals; those of the
variety figured in Captain Cook's voyagi; cin-ving inwards in such a nnnuer
as nearly to meet at the points, while those of the former divaricate. These
differences apjiear very striking on collating different heads of lliesc ani-
mals. Something may, however, be allowed to the dilferent stages of growth
as well as to the difl'erencc of sex. In order that these differences may bo
the more clearly understood, we have figured both varieties on the annexed
plates "—General Zoology, vol. i, 1800, pp. 236, 237, pis. 68, G8*.

tAbhandl. der Akad. dcr Wissensch. zu Berlin, 1804-1811, p. M. Read
bcfor*^ the Academy Feb. 28, 1811, but apparently not published till 1815.

[V,i •,

THE spKfiHs <»i' Tin; (;i;ms.

If)

I'rxistciicc <lt' (Iciix cspcrt's dc morses."* I'rciiK'iy, in is.U,
liii\ in;; lu'loir liini n scries <tl' eleven skulls, distin^iiislied tiiree
species, namely, Trlvhcchux rosmanis, T. I >iiiii(!i'iiK, and 7'. cndh-i.
Tile llrst (V. roKinarus) was juineipally eliMi'acteiized l>y lia\ inj,'
di\ cijiini;' tnsks, idtont as !un,u' as the lenu'lli tit'tlie whole he;id,
tiiiMll\ grooved on the outside, and with two distinct ^iroovcs on
the inside: by the ])()ssession of live Itat'k teeth, the last iwo
very small; l»y t lie lower ed^c of the uasal openin;;' lieinn but
little produced ; lt,\ the occipital crest heinn' stionyiy developed ;
and iiy the yicat specilic i^ravity of the Itoiiesof the skull. The
second ( '/'. UtnijUhnx) was piiucii)ally characterized hy the tusks
equallinii'or ex('eo<lin.u' in len^tth two-thirds of the len;;th of tlie
.skull, with a sin^ile deej* ^loove on the inner side; hy haviun'
only four liaek teeth, the last one small; a smaller develop-
ment of I he occipital crest {vxccpt iitohl animals!); and a lighter
sj)ecilU' .uravity of the bones. The third ('/'. mnld), considered
as a doul)tful sih'cu.'S, was based Avholly on Shaw's plate (IS (from
Cook), already noticed, and hence is the same as Illi<;ei's 7'.
(lirenn'iis. Wieyrnaiui. von Uaer, 8tanuius,au(l most subse(|ueut
writers, have )U()i)erly re<;arded Fremery's characters of his T,
roftinaritN and 7'. Unaftilvux as based merely on ordinary indi-
vi<lual or sexual dilVerences. Wieymann, and also Tcnuninck,
acc(»rdinj; to Fremery, helieved tlie female to be distinf^ruishable
from the male by its longer and thinner tusks, with the crests
and ridges of the skull less developed, while other dift'ereuces,
as the relative i)rominence of the bony lower edge of the nasal
opening, were difl'erences characteristic merely of different iudi-
viduals.t Stannius, however, in 1842, after passing in review

*Di'Uts (U's Mauiinifi>res, p. 23.">.

tWicf^mann, in coiniuonting upon Fremcry'.s supposed spccifu' tlitlcvonces,
observes as follows respecting probal>l(» sexual and individual ditl'erenceft
in the tusks an<l skulls of Walruses: "Ilr. Fremery fillirt an, dass Hr.
Tennuinck eiuou (nacU Dentlicbkeit dcr Niihte) noeh juugen Sebiidel dea
Keiebsnnisennis mit ausgezciebuet langen diinncn StosszUbneu fiir den
eines Weiljcbens gelialten liabe. Icb erinnere mieb aueh von (iriinlands-
fabrern gehiirt zu liaben, dass sich das Weibcben dnrcb Lingere, diinnere,
dassMiinncbendurebkiirzere, abervieldickereStosszUbnoauszeiehne." The
alleged dift'erence in tlie speeilie gravity of the bones of tbo skull be be-
lieves also to bo a sexual feature, as possibly also tbe dilFerence in the num-
ber of molar teetb. Respecting tbe prominence of tbo lower border of tbo
nasal opening bo says: "Die mehr oder minder starko Hervorragung des
unteren Kandes der NJisenoftiumg kann icb dagegen nur fiir eine individuello
Vcrscbiedenbeit balten, da icb sio bei einem Sebiidel mit kurzen Stoss-
zUbneu, der die iibrigen vom Verf. bervorgebobenen Merkmalc besitzt, sebr
stark, und umgekebrt bei einem alten Sebiidel mit langen Stossziibnen kaum
morklicb tinde."— .Irc/iic/iVr X((fHr(/e8C?i., 1838, pp. 128, 129.

i 31

THE GENUS ODOD^NUS.

the cliaiacters assiffiiod l>y Fn'iiiciy as distinctive of several
species, iiiid alter nieiitioiiiiif;' at leiinth otlar features of varia-
tion observed by biin in a eonsiderable series of skidls, describ-
inn several of Ids sj>ecirnens in detail, and arriving;' at< the con-
clusion that up to that time all th(^ supposed sjiecies of Walrus
constituted really l)ut a sinjile sjiecies, a(hled another, under
the ajtpropriate uaine TrichechuH lUibim. This with sid)se(|uent
autintrs has shared the fate of Freniery's si)eeies,* beinj;- (fonsid-
ered as based merely on individual variation.

As will be more fully noticed later, two nonunal species have
been foiuuled on the fossil remains of the NN'alrus, namely, Tri-
chirhiiH viniiniduits, DeKay, ISlli, and Ihlobvnoihn'ium larte-
tiaiiiii.. of Gratiolet, the former based on remains from Accomac
County, Virginia, and the latter on n^mains from near Paris,
France. LanUester, in 180"), added still another, based on
tusivs I'rom the. lied Cray of Knyland, under the na/ne Trichc-
chodon hnxhj/i.

Dr. Leidy, in ISOO, in a pajx-r on fossil remains of the Wal-
nis from the, eastern coast of the United tStates, a<;ain noticed
the dill'erences in the s'v/.v, leuj^th, and curvature of the tusks
in specimens fronx the northwest coast of Xorlh .Vuu'rica and
the ((unmon Walrus of the ZS'orth Atlantic, lie says : ''In the
course of the precedin;;' iuvestiji'atious |referiin,t>' to previous
portions of his i)aper], I was led to examine ;• specimen, in the
cabinet of tile Academy of Natural Sciences [of IMiiladelpliia],
consisting;' of llie sluifed skin of a j)ortion of the head envelop-
ing' the Jaws of a species of Walrus apparently ditferiu";' from
tl'e true 'I'rIclHTKN ro.siiianis. of whii "i, as characteristic, 1 have
viesved tin- ti;;'ures of the skull and skeletons as ^iven by Dau-
benton, Cuvier, and De Blainville. The specimen was pre-
sented by Sandwith Drinker, Esq., of Canton, China, and was
I)robably derived from the Asiatic shore of the Arctic Ocean.
From the worn condition of the upper incisor and molars, it
appears to have l)elon!;'ed to an old individual ; and in the case
of tlie lower jaw, the teeth appear to have been entirely worn
out. The tusks are verv nuu-li larger and arc narrower tlKin in

11-

*^Giubcl, ill ld55, refcirctl to I remoiy's and St.iimius'.s species as still need-
ing cf)niirniati()u: "Die von ri/iiicrv nacli (lev licsclial't'ciilieit dcr Ziilme
uuterscLiedenen Ai'teii, 'Ti: longidcim mid Tr. Cooli; siiid liingst als unlialtbar
erkanut wovdeii luul audi die von Staiiuius uiil" SuliiideldiD'crenzen begriiu-
detc Art, 2V. dubiiiH, entbelirt noch der wcitoru Bestiitigung." — Siiugcthicrc,
p. ViS, footnote.

t-.'l

Tin: si'Kf'irs nv the oenus.

the 7'. ro.siiKirii.s, niid llicy ciu-vc dowiiwiird, outward, and in-
wiinl, instead of contiiiiially divi'i'j;iii<;' as in this species. At
tlieir eMiei'.ncnce tVoiii '.lie aheoli the tusks are Iwo and threo-
«|U;utei' inelies ajtart, near (lie middle livc^ and ii (juarter ini'hos,
and at their tips only one inch. Their len;Lith is twenty-two
inelies and their diameter at the alveolar hord. r autero-posteri-
orly \\\o and a (piarter inches, and transversel\ one and a half
inches. Towards their lower part tliey are twisted from within,
forwards and outwardly." After (piotiny Pennant's remark
(already ju'iven, see [i. 17) about siuular ditlerencos noted by him,
he adds that "the superior incisor and molar teeth are also very
nuieh smaller than in the fossils of T. ronmarKs,''^ and he i^ives
measurement sshowinjit his diU'erence. He then says: "The hairs
of tlu? upper lip of the T. romiKintti are stated by Shaw, to be about
three inches lonj^', and almost ecpud to a straw in diameter.* lu
tlio specimen innler consideration, the hairs of the moustache
are stiff-pointed spines, not more than one line long- at the upi)er
l)art of the li[>, and they j;radually increase in size until at the
lower and outer part of the lip they are about one inch in lengtli."
lie further achls, in the same connection : " Since presenting tlie
above comnnniication to the Society, the Academy has received
from ]\Ir. Drhdcer, of Canton, an entire specimen of the AVah'us
from Xorthern Asia. In this individual, Avliicli measures in a
straight line eight feet from the noso to the tail, the tusks aro
ten inches long, and diverge from their alveoli to the tips, where
tliey are five and a half inches apart, but they are slender, as in
the stuflfedhead above mentioned, and appear as if they would
ultimately have obtained the same length and direction. Per-
haps the pecuharities noticed may prove to be of a sexual ehar-
acter."t

As will be shown later, we have hero the more prominent ex-
ternal differences characterizing the two species of AValrus for
the first time expUcitly stated from direct observation of speci-
mens. If Dr. Leidy had had at that time good skulls of the
two species for comparison, the other important cranial ditfer-
euces (noted beyond) could not have escaped him, and he per-
haps would have been led to formally recognize the Pacific Wal-
rus as a species distinct from the Atlantic Walrus.

I have met with nothing further tonching this subje(;t prior
to Mr. U. W. EUiott's report on the Seal Islands of Alaska,

* "Shaw's Zoology, vol. i, pt. i, p. 2'M."

tTraiis. Amer. Phil. Soc. Phila., vol. x.i; i)p. d"), 8G.

THE GKNUS ODOli.EXrS.

piildislied in l.STo, in Miiicli, iiiidcr the li('ii(lin,n' "The Walrus
of IJcriii*;' 8('a, (liosiniirns Jircticus)" lie says: — "I write Mlio
Walrus of IkriiKj >Sva\ bewuisc; (liis auiiaal is (jaitc distinct
from the AValrus oi'llie North Atlantic and (Irccnland, dilTciiny
from it specilieall.v in a very .strilduj;- manner, l»y lis <4r('alcr size
and semi-liairlcss skin."* Tliis is all lie says, lio\v(i\ cr, icsjx'ct-
mtX tlieir dilTcroiiCL'S, no reference Ix'in;^' made to the I'eally dis-
tinctive features. Tluis (he matter rested lill, in J.S7(), (lili Ibr-
mally lecoji'uized two si)ecic.s in his "List of the I'rincipal Use-
ful or Injurious .Mamnuds,"t in a eatalo,i;ue of a "CoHei-tion to
Illustrate th(; Animal Resources o''lhe Uidted States" in tli«' ex-
hibit of the National ^Museum at tiie International l']xhibi!ion
of 187(5, hohl in Piiiladelphia. This is inerely a Jiominal list, in
which ap])ears, under ^•Eofimarlda'," the foUowinj^, which I hero
fully and literally transcribe :

KasMAitcs (iiiKSis, (Illijrcr,) Gill.
TIic [Atl;iii(ic] Wiilnis.
Athnif ic (.'nasi.

]i()S.MAia;.s CooKii, (I'lvnicry,) Cij!.
Till' [Piicific] V'alrii.s.

I'aciilr ( 'i:|isi .

Here is simply a no.uinal recognition of two species without
ex])ressed I'easons tlierefoi'. in an article on the UoHinnridiC,
published in 1877, Dr. (lill a.^aiu says: "Two siK'cies ii]>])earto
exist — one {It. ohesiin) inliabiliuin' the northern Atlantic, and the
other (/i. t'ooldi) the n(n'tlieru l'acilie."|

Van !>ene(h'n, on the other hand, in 1877, distinctly afUrms
his disbelief in tin; existence of two spe(;ies. In referring to the
subject he says : "Xous ne croyons jtas (|ue h.'S IMorses du d6-
troit de Lehrinj;' diil'erent specih(|uement de eeux de la mer de
Batiiii ou de la Nouvelle-Zendde, et c'est a tout, a notre avis,
que Fremery a essaye de les repartir en especes distinctcs
d'a])res les modifications de leurs dents." He further adds the
festinuniy of von liaer as follows: "Von ]>aer s'est occnp6 en
lS;ir> de cett(! qnestion s\ FAcademitj de St. r(5tersbourg ct I'il-
lustre naturaliste m'eerivait, ])eu de temps avant sa uiort, an
sujet de la difference legere des Morses, a I'Est et a I'Ouest de

*lii']iortoii the Pry'iilov Groin) or Seal iMlandH').' Alaska, 187:5 (not paged).
Also, Keport on Ihe Condition of Ad'airs in Alaska, 187.'), p. lO).

tTliis "List" is aiioiiyuions, and is licnce, perhaps, not properly qnotablo
in tins eomieclion, althonyh its anthorsliip Is known to tlio present Awiter.

tJcdnison'sNew Universal Cyclopsedia, vol. iii, 1877, p. 1725.

1:^

SYNONYMY.

lamer (llMciiilc, (|ii"il ••c^iinliiit Ics (lil'liTcnccs coiimic (U's iiio-
(liliciitioiis loc'iik's*. ('" ii'csl piis r;i\ is dc Henry \V. IClliot, qui
coiisi(lei'(! ]<' ^lorsc dii iini<l <lii r;icili(|ii(' coiiiiiie iiii iiiiiiiiiil
(listinct."-' Ill aiiollier (•(Uiurclioii lie irlci'S lo Uw .silhjeet as
lollows; '• II V ii <les aiUeuis qui iKiisciit (jiic Ic .Alorsc (111 Nonl
Piicili<|iie est iisscz (lillr-iciit i\v eclui dii (iroi'iiliiiid, im)IU' cu
fa'vv line ('.s|)e'('(' disliiictc Mous Jw iKiitii^eoiis pas eet avis.
Los iiiodincatioiis sont; assez pen ini]»ortantes et nous eroyons
jiouvoir le met tic sur le e()iii])t(; de variations l()(,'ales."|

ODOJLENIJS KOHMAltlJS, Midmyrcn.
Atlantic Walrus.

"Hosmarus, mic Moi-xkh Xonro'iciin, Olaus MaGXUS, Hist, do Gent. Sept.
I.J."), 7iu (li;;uic) " ; also luti'V cdil ioiiw.

llosmariia, (jIksxkh, Hist. Aiiiiii. A((ii!it., I.'m^, 241); Jilso Jnlcr cdilions.

JRosinuruH, ll'dllroxx, .Ionstox, Jlisl. \a). dr I'iscilm.s el (Jctis, Kii;), /"JT, pi.
xliv (Iwo lowrr li;:,iiirs ; iii)])ci' (nic iViiiii (irsiici', tlic lower Irom ]3('
I.ai'l): alMi ialcr edit imis.— •' Ki.i:i\, Ufj;. Aiiiiii., ITiVl, (i7.'' — ''Sco-
roi.i. llisi. Nai., 1777, — ." — Zimmi;i;manx. Siiir. Zdol. (;(()j>ia]ili.
(,)iiad. lie. 1777. :i:!0.

jyjuiiK )iii(riinis (I nippiijtohimiiK J'lilso diihin, Mornc or S< a Jlornf. 1>av, Syii..

hvx,, iin.

7r(T//co.w, JMauti.xs, Sjiii/li,, 1(J7.'), 7'-^, jd. J*, tij;-. I). — V.c.r.in:, licsilir. mid Xatiir-
(jlcs( li. (J Win la lid, 171^, ijl; 17(>;>, lOli; ]Jc.sorip. el: J list. Nat. dii Gio'iil.,
17()."), <!l (with a ti;;ur('). — C'liAXTZ, Hist, von Groid.. 17(i5, 1(>5;
En<rlisli.(l., ntW, l-j:>.— Goi-niK, ".Moi-jdioL, 1, 1817, ^11"; Act. Acad.
Cius. Lcoi>. (Jarol., xv, i, 1"^:'>1, H, pi. iv (dentition, etc.).— Vox Baku,
M(;ni. Acad. «t. Petersb. Math, etc., vi'= Kcr., ii, lH:ir», 199 (blood-
vessels of limbs).— Jakgkr, Miiller's Aieh. llir An.'it., 1844, 70 (den-
til ion — Labrador Hi)ecinien; .

Walross, Mauticx.s, Zocdogischc Garten, xi, 1870, 283 (etymology).

Wallrun sen Mors, RUYSCU, Theatr. Animal., 1718, 159, pi. xliv (liguro same
as .lonstou'i)).

Walrus, WuUM, Mus. Worm., 1G55, 289 (fig. from Do Lact).— Wymax, Proc.
IJost. Soc. Nat. Hist., iii, 1850, 242 (relation to l*acliyderma). — Lea,
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila., 1854, 2C5 (nsc of the skin). — Wheat-
LAXi>, Proc. Essex Institute, 1, 1854, G2 (remarks on a sknll). —
SoxxTAG, Nar. GrinncU Exj)!. Exp. 1857, 113 (woodcnt — group of
Walruses). — Murray, Geogr. Distr. Mam., 180(5, 128, map, xxviii*
(distribution; in part).— Hayes, Open Polar Sea, 186t, 404 (hunt-
ing).— Packard, Lull. Essex Institute, i, 18G9, 137 (fm-mer exist-
ence in Gulf of St. Lawrence). — Atwood, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat.

* " Lcs Morses des cOtos d(^ Sibdrio ou do I'est do I'AhIo out les dents cani-
nes phis lortes quo les Morses do Spitssbcrg ot do GroDuland, nics tlisait-il
dans une, lettro "

t Ann. du Mus. Roy. d'llist. Nat. Bclgique, pt. 1, 1877, 45.

tibid., p. 17.

OD015ii:\i:S UOSMAIM'S — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

Hist., xiii, L~7(l, ii'JO (icnuaks on a wkiill IVuiii IIk; (iiill' of St. Law-
rence). — TuiiNEK, .Toiini. Aiiat. iiihI I'liys., v, 1^70, lir)(rcliifions of
luTicardiiim). — L'ink'. l»inii'.li (ircciiland, Ij-T", 1'.'() ((listiil)nliun),
!J1>', -'.V,', -.;:•,' (fliiisc).

Arctic Wtilnix, I'kxxant, .'^yimii. (^'ikkI., IT"!, :s;i,">; Aiftic /in".]., v,'(l cil., i,
ITU--', 1(W (ill jiart).

Fossil It'iilnix, I'.AiM'dN, Lfiiicloii I'hil. Mil;;., wxii, 1-(C>, '.)> (iii> locality). —
MnciiKi.i,, .Smith, iV (.'(h)1m;i!, Ann. Now York L.vc Nat. Hist., ii,
li^'i^, 'J71 (Ibssil, Aciiiac (-'o., \'a. — doiibf I'iiIIn' ict'rircil to tlu' cxist-
iiij; species) ; IMinli. New I'liil. .Jiiiiiii., y, 1~'J~. :!-.") (alisiiact of tlio
last). — ![a!;i,.\\, Kdiiil). New I'iiil. .loiirn., xvii, ISM, ;>ti(l; Tiaiis.
(Jeol. Soe. reini., i, l-^li.") 7.">; Med. and I'livs. Ke.caiclics, Itfll.i, 277
(same si»eeinieli). — Lyki.F, iV OWI'.N, I'loe. Lond. (ieid. Soe., iv, I'ri;],
;W (fossil. Mavtiia'a ^'illeya^d, Mass.): Aiiur. .loiiiii. Sci. and Arts,
xlvi. If};'., :U'.» (same).

La Viichc nuiritic. IJiiis.sox, lliii. Anini.. 17.">(i, i^.

"Morscli, (i.mi:m\. L'eisc dureli liusslaiid, iii, 17;')!. It!.').

Morse ml \ (tvlic iiiuniK. lU rrox. Hist. Nat., xiii, ]7t).'), :C)f', pi. liv (animal). —
l>Ai:iii:xr(»x, Million's Hist. Nat., xiii, I7(i.">, tl.'i. i>l. Iv (sknll). — HoL-
i.AXKiii;. Alire^ed'llist. Nat. des Quail. Vivip.. i, 17'.l(l, pi. xii, ti;;-. :!. —
1'. C'rviKi;, Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxiii, Ir^K!, '..'7; Dents des .Mam..
lft>5, )i^:i, 1)1. xcv.

Morse, HUET, Coll. de Mam. dii Mus. dllist. Nat., l^Ot*, .V.), pi. liii (ti^-. from
IJullou).

Sea Cow, Siiuldhasi, Phil. Trans., Ixv, 1775, 249.

PAoca, IJoxXAXio, KenimNat. Hist., i, (no date), !.'>'.), ]d. xxxix, tii;. •i7 {a i)oor
veiji'esentiition of J)e Laefs ii;;ine, witli the yonn;; one omitted).

P/joca rosmaritx, LlNXl5, Sy.st. Nat., i, l?")!^, 38.

2Vich<:chHs rosmariis, LiXiXi':, Syst. Nat., i, 17110, 411. — M(r,t,i;i{, I'l'od. Zool.
Dan., i. 177ti, 1.— Sciii!i:iJi:i!, Sihii;etli., ii, 177."). -'(W, j)!. Ixxix (from
Ballon). — Zl.MMKUMAXX, Geogr. (Jesehielite, i, 1778, iiDD; ii. 17H),
4t>l.— FAitiMcns. Taiina (inenl., l7Kt, 4.— Li{Xi.i;iii;x, Syst. He;,'.
Aniin., 17."'7, .">'.»:{.— (;.mi:i.ix, Syst. Nat., i, 17."'-*, :")'.•. — SllAW. Nat.
Miscel,, 171)1, pi. e( Ixxvi ; (Jen. Zoill., i, lH(t(», '2:U (in part), lig. (W,
(from Jonston). — nu:Mi;xitA<'i[, Handh. derNatnrjjeseli., 178s. ij-^;
18-Jl, l:S(); It^-J.'). 11-J; Abl.ild. natnr. (;e<rensl., 17it'"^-lr^I(), No. 1,^, text
ami plate (from Jonston). — Doxxdokki', Zool. l}eytrii;fe, 171I"J, r,M. —
Kirrziis, Kon^. Vet. Akad. Nya llandl., xv. 171)4, ;!1»1 ; Tamia Sue-
cica!, IHOO, '\f^. — OziUti'.r.sivovsKY, Nov. Act. .\ead. Sei. Imp. Petrop.,
xiii, (17t)()), 180',>, U71.— I?AUT()X, I'liil. Ma^^, xxxii, 180.-., 98 (fos-
sil; locality not stated),— (i. Cuvji:i!, Tableau el<'!menl., 171)8, 17'i;

Lemons <l'Anat. Comp., 1800-18(1."), _; 2" oA-, , — ; 'i" ^A., 1«{7,

207, 'J.".7, 29:!, :i21), :i98, 472; Kt^. Anim,, i, 1^17, 108; i, 1829. 171;
Osscm, Foss,, iv, 280; W dd., v, 1" i)tie., 182.'), 2:!1; v, 2" ptie,. .")21,
pi. xxxiii (o,steolo;;y).— Ii.i.iGicit, I'rod, Sy.st. JIam. ct Av., 1811, 139;
Abhandl.der lierliner Akail. ( 1804-1-^1 1). 1>1."), .''.0, 01, 04, 0"^, 7.") (dis-
tribution). — l)i:.sMAi!i:sT, Noiiv. Diet, d'llist. Nat., xxi, l-^l>, ;!90;
Mam., 1820, 2.'j:{,— ScouicsDY, Account Ant . Kcfxions, i, 1820, 002 (K«^n-
oral history). — •' Ki:i;sri;i!\. CapitisTrielieelii IJosmari Descrip.Ost,,
1821,— ."■— ScAinii, Kdinb. I'liil, .Jonrn., ii, 182."), 28',! (Orkney): .»ar-
diuc'.sNat. l.ilirary, .Mam., vii, 1838, 219, pi, .xx (orij,'inal li,u;uro

ifa

SYNONYMY.

of animal).— Harlan, I'auii. Anier., 1^'2'i, 111 ; Ediul). Now Pliil.
Jouni., xvii, WM, ;?G0 (fossil); T.van.s. (ieol. Soc. renii., i, lf*\'>:>, 72
(eaiiic); M('*l. and Pliys. IJcpos., 1835, L'77 (same).— GoDJLVN, Anicr.
Nat. Hist., i, 18-^0, a.Vt.— Sciiix/, Nairn-. il.-r.Siiii-.-tli., 1>'-J7, 1(;'.>, pi.
Ixv (two liyiiics — " AbbilduM!^ nacli BliiiUL'ubaLli imd .SL'lniiid'"). —
Lkssox, Man. do Mam., 1827, 'J08.— Ross, App. Puitv'.s Fourth Voj-.,
1828, ID'2; Api>. Koss'.s Second Voy., I8l!5,xxi.— Fi.kminc, I'.iit.Anini.,
1828, 18.— liAi I", Natuiw. Aldiandl. Wiirtonib., ii, l-^2-\ lii7 (denti-
tion) ; "Bull. Sei.Nat., xvii, 1821), 280" (abstract).- Fisciiicit, Synop.
Mam., 1821), 213. — GuicKiN-Mi'iNT.vn.i.K, Icon, du I'ei^ne Auim. do
(i.Cuvi-r. ilani., 18211-18:58, It), pi. xix, li^'. .") (animal).— FuKMr.iiV,
lji,jdra;;t()t de natuurk. Wctcnscii., vii, 18:?1, 384.— Dkloxgciiami'S,
Mom. Soc. I>inn. do Norm.'iudio, v, 131. 101 (doutitiou). — WlL-
SOX, Nat. llisl. Quad, and AVIiales, 1837, 14.", pi. cccxxxiv, lig.2
(iininuil); Kncycl. Brit., 7th ed., xiv, 12"). — BKr.r., Brit. Quad.,
1837, 2r)8 (animal and skull; original ligures). — Vox Baku, Mem.
Acad. .St. I'etersb. Math., etc., (5" s('V., iv, 1838, it7, pi. xlvii (distribn-
tion). — WllXi.MAXX, Arch, llir Natingesch.. 1838, 11:5 (dentition). —
IIamii.tun, Jaid. Nat. Libr., Mam., viii, 1831), 103, pi. i (animal, and
woodcut of skull, — original ligure). — IJiCltAUD.SOX, Zool. Boeciiey's
Voy., 1831), ().— Br.Aixvir.r.i;, Ostoojiraphie, I)esl'ho«|ues, 1840-.'>1, 19,
pi. i (skeleton), pi. iv (skull).— Dkaay, Nat. Hist. Now York,
ZoiJl., i, 1842, 50.- ZiMMKKMANX, Jahrb. fiir Mineral., 1845, 73. —
WA(iNr,i{, Schrcber's S,'iuy.(tli., vii, l<|i;. <t, pi. Ixxix.— OiKMTCL,
I'aunader V<irweil, 1-47, 222 (fossil); Siiugeih., !■-'.").">, V'!^; Odoutog.,
1855,(^2, pi. xxxvi, fig. 5 (dentition). — Nii.ssox, Skand. Faini., 1847,
318.— (iKKVAis, Zool. et I'al. Fraiicais, i, 1^4-'-.'>2, 14(1.— Uuay. Cat.
Seals in Brit. Mus., l.-.'.O, :;2; I'roe. Zo.il. .^oc. Loud., 1S53, 112 (ou
iittitiules.'ind ligures): fat. .S'alsand AVluiles. 1K!1!, 3(>, 307.— OWKX,
Proc. Zool. Soe. Loud., 1>'.")3. I(i3(anat. and dentition) ; Ann. ami
Mag. Nat. Hist., xv, 185.'>, 22ti (from th • foregoing); Cat. Osteol.
Coll. Mus. Collego Surg., 1853, 031 (skeleton); Fucycl. Brit., xvi,
1854, 403, iig. 112 (.skull); Odontography, 1'^.>I. 510, pl.exxxii. tig. 8
(dentition); Orr's Circhuif the Sciences, Zoiil., i, li-54, 230, tig. 27
(skeleton); Comp. Anat. an<l Phys. Vertebrates, ii, 180(>, 4".t(». 498,
507 ; iii, 1808, 338, 524, 780.— Blasiu.S, Faun. Wirb. Deutschl.. i, l-i57,
202, ligs. 148-150 (skull).— Van dkij Hokvicx, Ilandb. Zo,.|. Kugl.
Ed. ii, 18,">8, 007.— Vo\ SciiUKNCK, h'eiseu im Aiuur-Lande, i, 1-59,
179 (in part only).— Lkidy, Trans. Amer. Phil. Soe. Phila., xi, I'OO,
pis. iv, v (in part); .lourn. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 2d ser., vii, l-ti9,
410.— Woi.i' A- Sc[.ATi:i!. Zool. Sketches, i, 1801, No. 10.— Gkijuai'.d,
Cut. Bones .M;iui. Brit. .Mus., 1^02, 14."). — Nkwtox, Proc. Zo.ll. .8oc.
Loiul., IftU, 499.— .<< i.ATiMt & Bautu-.TT, Proc. Zool. Soe. Lond.,
1HI')7, Hl-i, ^^p.t.— Vox .MiDDr.NDOitri', SiliirisehoReise, iv, 1S(;7, 934 (in
l)art only).— Buown. I'roe. Zoiil, Soe-. Loud., L-*lH, ;!35, 427 (liaMts
and disiribulion) ; Man. Nat. llisl. (Jreeuland, 1-T."), :!,'>.— .Mii;ii;,
Proc. Zoid. Soe. I, Olid.. I-'(W, t;7 (rejiori on cause of death of sprci-
meu in Zoiil. (laid., I.oiid.); H70, 5"'l ; Trans. ZoiU. Soe. I.nud., \ii,
pt. vi, 1H71,411. pis, li-lv (anatomy), — (Jii.ri.v. I'roe. and Trans, Nova
Scotia Inst. "at.. Sci.. ii. p(.3. l.-'70, 123(witli ,i plate).- I.'ki;;;' . /j id-

ODOILKNUS :.>lSMAUrS ATLANTIC WALlfUS.

<i;;isl, 1~T1, •,'ri."i(i(St. (ir(irj;(".s l>ay, XcwtiiuiiillMiid). — lli:c<;i.iv, Rei-
MMi iiacli (IriiiXoiditdliiiiiiccr, iii, 1>74, ■11! (I ml "its anil <listiil)iitit)ii). —
|)i:ii!.\Nn:, ISiill. Sue. (;<■(>]., :!'• stT., ii, 1^74, 1G4 (IoksII. Fraiici.').—
(Iri.i,i\i;i;, I'loc. '/.oiW. Sue. Loiiil.. 1-74, ">"^!l (size 1)1' liliMiil-coi'jiii.s-
ck's). — 1'i:ii.1)i:n, Zuiild^iisi, ;!(! scr., i. l-^TT, ;!(!(> ((lisiriliiiiinii and
t'lKHl).— ^'A^■ lirNKDiix. Ann. Mns. l.'oy. <rili.s(. Nal. ricl;.;i(iuc, i,
1^77, ;!;• ((li->li ibnlion, ^rncral lialiits. and liissil remains). — IviXK,
Hanisli (iifinland. its l'c(i|)l(' and its I'lodncts, 1~77, VHi.

Trichicluin loiKjitli iin. l'i:i:Mi;i!Y. l>ijdra;j; lot dc Xalunil;. Wchnsidi., \ i, l^'M,
:W4.

Trirluclnix vlr<jiiii(uuix, J)i:K.\Y. Nat. Jli.st. Xcw lork, Zdtil., i, ■..-'(•J, .')(>, j)l.
\ix, lijjs. I, a, h (I'ds.sil. Acconiai' C'i>., Va.).

t Tricliivliiis (Inhius, 8i.\N'Nirs. MiiUcr's Aicli. iur Aunt., l.';4"J, 4(t7 (witliout
locality).

lioxiiittfUfi (ircliciiK, LiLLlKiic )!!(;. Fanna rd'vcr.s Svcrij^rs ocli Xorgos Uyj^gr.,
1874, »i74.

Eobiiitiniii iriclicdnix, T..\.M()NT, Seasons w if litho Sea-borHes, 1801, 141, 1(57 (two
]ilatcs). — (in. I., Johnson's Xcw Univ. Cycio])., iii. 1^77. (i:!li.

liOgniurus ohcmis, GiLi., I'roc. llsscx Inst., v, ISGd, 11! (in i)ait only); Interna-
tional Exliil). 1871), Anini. Resources U. S., No. x!, l'^7(), 4 (Aflantic
Waliiis; no deseiii)tion) ; JoImisou'.h X^(^w Univ. C'ycl.. iii, 1877,
17-,'.">.— r.\cK,\i:i), I'loc. Host. Soe. Xal. Hist., \. \>i\i'<. v!71 : .Mem.
Dost. Soe. Xal. llisl.. i, 18()7,'J4(i (Ib.ssil).— Lkidv. .louni. Aead. X'at.
.Sei. Pliila., viii, 1-77, "JU, ]il. xxx, fig. (i (I'o.ssil. .Sontli ('ar(din;i).

Odohiiiotlivriiiiii hirtiliiuiinn, (.ii;ATiiH.i;T, Hull. Sue. (li'ol. de I' ranee, •."' si'r..
XV, l.-3."^. I'l'.' 1, 111. V (fossil, near I'aris, Trance).

OdoHldbiniiix ro.s/, -f//(s, SrXDKVALl., (il'ver. K. Vet. Akad. I'orli.. 1>.V.». 441 ;
Zcit.x li. (Ji'sammt. Xatnrw. Hallo, xv, 18()0, '2711.

Odobainix ronmanix, Mai,mi;iii:x, (JlVer. K. Yet. Akad. I'orli, 18il;!. (18(14), 1"0
(food and liabi(s), 5(1."), ]il. vii (dentition) ; AViegniann's .Arcliiv f.
Xatnrgcschichte, ]8i)4. Cw (tran.slated from (UVers. K. Vet. Akad.
Forli., l-r,;!. i:iOet sell.). — I'KiT.Hs, Monatsli. Akad. Wiss. Jicrlin, 18(;4,
ti8,"), jd. (tlcntition) ; Ann. and JIag. Xat. llisl., (;J), xv, lS()o, 3u5
(abstract).— Rink, Danish lireeulaud, 1877, 4;>0.

t Tr'nhicodon huxli\j\, Laxkicstkh, Quarter. Journ. Gcol. ,Soc. Loud., xxi,
18(ir), yjC), ids. X, xi (fossil; Rc<l Crag, England).

f Ti-lihrchm manalm, Fabuicius, Fauna GrcDul., not lihyiina gigaa; sec
HnowN, Froo. ZoiJl. Soc. Loud., 18(J8, 357, 3.'>8.

trhixii iiraitia, Fahricius, Fauna Grusnl., not Callorhinus uraintta ; seeBKOWN,
Proc. ZoiJl. Soc. Lend., 18G8, 357, 348.

Morse; Vuvhc marine ; Chvral marine ; B6ic d, la grande dent (French).

Bon hiitriniis, RuY.scil, 1. e.

Hvalroxs (Swedish and Danish).

Harhcst; Ilrahuns (Norwegian).

Morsk (Lapp).

Wallroiis; MtrrjiJ'rrd (Gennan).
Walrus; Sea Cow; Sea Home (Fnglisli).

External Char acters.— As regards general form, the head,
ill conipiirison witli the size of tlie body, is rather small, squar-

EXTKUNAF- CIIAHAfTKlIS.

'21

isli ill (Hitliiif, Itiil iiiiicli l()U,u('r lliiin lii'(i;i(l. witii llic iiiii/.zle
iihiiipllv iniiiciilcd :iiul •soiiicwliiii l)i!oltc(l i>y llic <U'|H'rs.siuii
siin(iiiinliii.^' tlic iiiisiil ojH'iiiii^'. Tlir lowci' jiiw is pdiiitcd and
ii;ii;m\\ iiiitrii<iri,\. Tlir iippti' lij) is licaNil.v aniicil with tiiick.
;jtr<)a;j;'. pt'llutiil l»ii>llfs. Tin- nnsiiils arc soaicwliat crcsccntic
ill --h.ipi', placi'd \ I'iiicaliv. \\ilii tlif uppiT i)ai'l iiimc ('\piUi<k'(l
liiuii tin- lower, and iiciicf iM'arsoiih- rcsciiildaiict' to Iwo coiii-
mas [ihu'cd with their convex siirlacis toward each otiicr. Tlio
eyes are situated rather iii^h up, al»oi!t midway l»etweeii tliu
muzzle and I he occiput. Tlie ear is wliolly destitute ol" a pinna,
l'oriiiiii;j:' merely an oriliee on the si(h' (»!' tlie head in a dee)) I'old
otlhe skin. Tlie most ])romiiient facial <liaracter in tiie adults
is, of course, tile loiiu' pn»triidin,u upper canines, which extend
ll.' to lo or more inches beyond the rictus. Tie' neck is short,
Itein,!;' only about as joiin- ;;s the head: it ;;radually thiekeus
toward the body, into wliicli it insensibl\ nieri^es. The, body is
exceediii;;i,, thick and luavy, presentiiiu' \ verywhere a rounded
outline, and attainiiiL'' its ;;reatest eireuiiiference at the shoiihh'rs.
whence it uradnally tapeis i»osterit>rly. The tail is scarcely, if
at all, \ isible, bein^i;' enclosed within tlie te.iiUineiitsof the body.
The fore limbs are free only from tlieelltow; as in the J*iniiii>eds
generally, (hey are jireatl\ ex])aiided, llai, and somewhai fin-
like, !)ut wilii miK'li more t'reedom of motion than is the case in
tJK' PltDvidiv. They are armed with live small llat nails, i>laeed
at considerable distance from the end of the cartilaginous toe-
tlap. The first or inner diyit is sli;^litly the htni^'est, the others
beiii;;- each stu-eessively a little sliorter till the fifth, w hich nearly
equals the first. The hind liinl) is enclosed within the te;;u-
nieuts of the body nearly to the heel; the free portion when
expanded is lan-sha])e(l, but w hen (!losed the sides are nearly
parallel. The first and fifth digits are eousiderably longer and
larger than the middle ones, the lifth being also rather larger
than the lir.st. They are all ])r(n'ided with snndl nails, placed
at some tlistanee from the Knu\ of the toe-Hap. The soh's of both
lore and hind extremities are l)are, rough, and '' warty,"' and
the dor.sal surf aee of the digits as far as tin; jn'oximal jdialanges
is also devoid of liair. In the young and middle-aged, the body
is rather thiekly eovere<l with short hair, which, lio\V(;ver, is
thinner and shorter on the ventral surface of the neck and body
and on the limbs than elsewiiere. It is everywhere of a yellow-
ish-brown coh)r, ex<!ept on the belly and at the. ba.sc^ of the (lip-
l)ers, where it passes into dark reddish-brown or chestinit. The

onoM.KNTS I.'oSMAIvTS A TI-ANTir WAI.IM'S.

!»ristlcs HIT |iiilt' yellow oi' li.ulit vfllowisli lioi'iicoloi'. In old
animals, llir hair liccdiiii's iiioi'c scaiiiy,aiMl oi'tiMi i^ivcs place to
nearly hare scai'red |)alel."s, rnwiiiently ol' <'onsi(leral»le area.
Very old indix idaals soMiet iuies heeoiiie ainio.vt naUcil, [tresml-
iii.U' I lie same apiii-araiii'i' t liai lias l»ceii so oil en oiiserxed aiiioii.i:;
\-ery old males ol' t !ie AlasNaii Walrus. 'I'lieskiii is e\(r> \\ lii're
more or less wriiiUled and thrown into Idhls, es|ireially o\erlIie
slionldei's, where t lie folds are dee|i ami liea\y. 'IMie axerau'e
Icii^i'lli of lour adiill males e\amined is aliont 10.', Icei. \ar\in,u'
from!).] lo 11 i'eet. .\iltliors, however, eoiiiiiionl.\ .ui\e rather
lar.u'er dimensions, and a length ot'lwehc feet is said to lie not
inrrei|iieiitly attained. The lar,!;vst Itristles \ary in length iVoin
'J.L'."» lo LI.Tl inches.

Vnn>> Dr. Miirie's paper on the ;4('iieral anatomy ol' a yoiinji
individual I add a few riirtiicr details. Dr. Miiiie descrihes the
muzzle as capahli' of ureal niohilily, and the mxstaeial hristlesas
eiuviii;;' in dilfereiil diicctioiis aei-ordiiiu to the imiseiilar tension
of the ]»arts to which they are alt ached. •'When the nostrils are
rt'lax<'d they drop fmwards and the hristles inwards. At such
tiiiu'.s tiie n arcs are apart liilly ].\ inch; Itnt when they are <'oii-
trii<!ted a septnm ((.(» of an inch wide only divides them. ( )cca
.sionally, when alive, I observed tiie animal retiacf its upper lip,
a.s ii do<^ would in snarling'; and this caused a deep furrow in
the fii(;ial region. 'I'his chanj;*' in the features ;;i\es (piite a

dilVereid expression to the pliysiouiiomy When seen

in front and from above, tlie face lias a most curious expression,
recalling to mind that of the <-raiiiiiiii of an lOlephant rather than
the Walrus's ally (Harln. The auricular rej^ion t hen ac(iuires
a proniiueut as]MH!t,as do tin; orbits. The f;real breadth of the
ini zhi also comes out better. The face is entirely hairy to the

roots of the bristles On the lower surface of the muzzle

and cliin, tlu! upper lip pa.s.se.s one iueh beyond the h)wer lip, and
the Hiioiit, with its adpress«'d bri.slles, one <n; two inches beyond
that. A portion of the upper rosy lip, in this view, is .seen Ihiiist
upwards or puckered outside the canines. These upper canine
teeth, which yrow t«) iiia.ssive tusks in the adult and ai^cd Wal
ru.ses, in ours had lilth^ more than ])rotruded beyond the iiian<lib
ular lips. The chin and anterior portion of the thioal are scry
hairy; this ilimiiiishes backwards; and on the throat the almost
liairK'.ss skin is thrown into lon;j;ilndinal and parallel narrowish
flat-topped ruya',"*

' TiMiis, /..lil. Sipi-. hoiii!., lH7'i, viil, vli, i>. Il'.t.

KXTKk.NAL CIIARAOTKHS,

2\)

III respect lo llie iiiystacial l)ii.stles, Dr. Millie's li^^iii* s of tiie
lieail iiiid iiiii/zle of tln^ .Voiiiijf s|)e<-iiiieii desciilted \ty liini
(drawn lioiii |)lioti<;;i'apii,s, sniiie tVoiii the liviii;; animal) rejt-
resent tlieiii as (|iiite Ion;;', tlie loii;L;<'st lieiii^' sai<l to i)e Iroiii 1 to
.") iiielies in length, and those of the siih'sof the inii//le as «Mirv-
in;: inward and iiearl.v iiieetiii};' luiieatli the eiiin. liaiiiont als(i'
speaks of tliein as heiii*;' in tiie adult it inches in leli^dli. Iliilil-
llloii descriiies the Orkney specimen as liaviii;;' the larj^est
neailv ■") inches in len;;tli, "and as tlii<!k as a 'riiriisirs (piill.''
Dr. Kane says: "'i'lie cheeks and lips are completely masked by
the lieav\ (piilllike luistles." 'i'lie authors of the history of the
Swedisii expedition to Spitzl»erj;en and iJear Island in IS(»l
stale that they are I inches loii-i' and nearly a line thick.* In
tlie four or live adult male speeiiiiens I have had the opportu-
iiil,\ of e\aii:iniii,ii, lhee\seiled pt»rl ions of t he longest luistles
were less lliaii .! inches in len.ulii.aiid when e\tracled measured
scarcely more I liaii \\, 1 he shortest Immii;; mere points project in;;'
liiiiiiiuli liie skill. I'roiii Dr. .Millie's liunres aiwl description of
Ihc Noiiiiu, and from other accoiiiils, it would seem that the
liii>lles lu'come slioilcr in adult life, heiiii;- |)erliai)s worn oil
hy coiistaiil friclioii. Tlie itrislles in the specimens I have sfteii
JMiic no rcsciiildaacc lo l!ie lon.i;' curving' luistles i'i;;iired and
dcsciilied hy Dr. Miiiir as existing' in the yoiiiiu animal. They
were coiisider.ihly (oiiethirdj longer, however, in tin; ycainu'est
of four specimriis in I'rofessor Ward's collection than in the
oldcsi. uiviiiu siipjioit to llic oiiiiiion already slated that llie\
itccome shorter as the animal advances in a^'ct

.\s already noted, the fore feel are formed much as in other
IMniiipeds, more nearly aurecin;^', however, with those of the
()liirli(l(f {h:i\\ with those of the t'kocitliv, esjtecially with res])ect
to freedom of movement, having' the power of pronation and
supination to a considerable decree. "In the Walrus," says Dr.
Millie, '•ihe hiimeriis, radius, and ulna can he so placed that
liiey meel at ail acute aii^le, the lower limb of which is in a
uivat measure fre<'. '{"lie dibits, on the other hand, can to.i'ellier
he t iiriied backwards at a sliari» alible with the radius and ulna,
>o that the bones of the limbs altouellier forai an S ■shaped
liUiire. In the Heal tlii^ anlibraciiiiiiii and dibits bend on each

i''

Sfc l';isMir;i(''.H GcniiMii tiimsliilidii, p. i:i'J.
t hi J',ill;is's li;; I 111 ■fill lliH "Icoili's'") of ;i \ nini;; i\;nii|il<' oC llir I'lnilic Wnl-
nis, llic iiiysliU'iiil luisllcH arc irin'csculcd as very luiii;-, as in llic vnmi^ of
11k: Allaiilic species.

ODOILENTS }{()SMAl{rs — ATLANTIC WAI.KTS.

I'. V,

■ r'\

other more iiiiniiliiily, tliiis < In tlic net of swiniiniiiii

the Wiilnis cv itlciilly ciiii use its lore limb iis \\\v jis tlic cUiow.
with ;i kind of rotiiry movi'iiiciit (>; the maims and iiiitiliracliimii;
Init in the Seal liic lotaiy a<'tii)n takes phice only at the wrist,
and al»o\(' that a sort ol'^inylynioid of hack and I'oiwaid mo\c-
nient."

••The pahnar snrfaee or sole of {lie nianns is not r.iiiiKe a par-
hji' sliovel in li;iiire. 'I'heic is a .!;reat eallons. ron,i;hei;»'d and
warty pad at the ]>roximal eml or l»all of tlie hand: an<l this.
from diseoloration inei(h'nt to nse. is ol" an intense dark Itrown
or ahnost hlaek eoh)nr. J-'rom the radial margin, where it is
stoutest and ron,i;liest, it tri-nds towards the hasi' of the lifth
diyil. ('irenmserii)ed dij-ital jtads, as in ('arni\<»ra. there are
none; bnt furrows and ridjics traverse ol)litinel\ forwards the
policial to the opposite^ sid<'." This ''remarkable ronuh and
warty palmar snrfaee,'' eoidinnes Dr. ,Murie, •• affords altovc
everythinii' a stay and tiria leverajj;e on slippery ground; no
stoekinj; or wisp of straw used by nnin to bind round the foot
Avlu'ii on smo(»th ice can ecpial nature's ]»rovisi(»n of coarse te,i;u-
inentary papilla'." Also, '"The anj;le at which the cari)o-meta-
carjjal Joint is set, and the Aery odd manner of foot-implanta-
tion on the ground, namely, seunretroveited, evidently make it
an easier task to go forwar<ls or upwards on a smooth surface
than to retrograde."* The hind foot (pes) is similarly rough-
ened and furrowed. The notion ad\ance<l by Sir Everard
nomc,t that the feet of the Walrus were ])rovided with suc-
torial power, like that of the disk of a lly's foot, by which they
were enabled to maintain lirm footing on smooth ice andioeks,
Dr. jVIurie considers untenable, ^o one who has evei' s(^en
a Walrus walk, says Dr. Murie, could for a momert supi)0se
that its massive weight was sustained by a pedal vacuum, as in
a fly's foot.

As regards the proportionate size of the limbs, the fore limbs,
in an animal 8 to 10 feet long, are stated by Edwards,f to meas-
ure from the " shoulder joint to the linger ends, two feet ; expan-
sion, one foot; the hind limbs measuring twenty -two inches, and
extending, when outstretched, eighteen inches beyond the body,
with an expansion of two feet." Scoresbj' says the fore feet are
"from two to two and a lialf feet in length, and being expansive

*Traus. Zool. Soc. Lond., vol. vii, 1872, pp. 420, 421.

tPhil. Trans., 1824, pp. 2:j:J-2:{5, pi. iv.

{MSS. as quoted by Rioliardson, Siippl. Parry's See. Voy., p. '340.

EXTKIiXAJ. ClIAHACTEUS.

uiiiy 1)0 slictclicd to the bivailtli ul" lil'tccn to i'i;;liti'cii iiiclic.s."
The hind feet, he says, have a h'ii{;th ol" ''about two to two and a
lialt'i'eet," tlie breadth, when luUy extended beinj^- "two and a
halt'to three feet."*

l)v, (lilpint yives altoiit the same dimensions for a specimen
lli feet htnu. namely, fore-liiit[)ers, leiiutii 1' feet; breadtli 13
inehes; hiixl liippers. h'n,i;th 2U inches, breadtli (when stretched)
2 feet (« iu'-hes. Dr. Murie "^ives for a .specimen abont 7'^ feet
ionu: from shouhler-Joint to extreme end of lirst di^it, l*oi
iiiciies; extreme h'n;;tii from os cah-is to tip of lifth dijiit, ll.\
JMcIies; extreme lueadth, when ibrciltly distended, 13 inches.
3Iy own measurements, taken from three unmounted skins of
acbdt mah's lueserved in salt in the collection of I'rof. Henry
A. Wardof liochester, are as follows: manus, from carpal .joint
to end of dijiits, 1-4 to 15 inches; transverse diameter at l)ase,
OA to 10 inciies; pes, from tarsal joint to end of longest digit,
15 to 18 inches; transverse diameter at tarsus, about 7 inehes.
The rigidity of the feet did not permit of ready expansion.

In respect to the tail, Dr. Murie says: " Strictly speaking,
the Walrus possesses no free tail, as do the Fhockld' and Ota-
riidce; for a broad web of skin stretches across from os caleis to
OS caleis, envelojting the caudal representative. This remarka-
ble elastit! inembrano-tegumentary expansion, reminding one of
the more delicate web sindlarly situated in Bats, has posteri-
orly, when the legs are outspread, a wide semilunar border
with little if any incdio-caudal projection. What appears as a
tail Avhen the limbs are approximated is in reaMty fibroid tissue
and skin ; for the caudal vertebrai stop short about an inijh from
the fi'ee margin." |

The niuuber of uiauima) is stated by various writers to be
foui". According to Edwards (as quoted by Richardson §), these
are placed, in the adult, 15 inches apart, in the comers of a
quadrangle having the umbilicus in the centre. Owen and
Miuie give them as " two abdominal and two inguinal."

In respect to general size, authors vary greatly in their state-
ments, the length ranging for adults from about 10 to 12 and
even 15 or IG feet, while the weight given ranges from 1,500 to
5,000 pounds ! Among what may be termed recent writers, Parry

*At"joinit of Arctic Kcf^ions, vol. i, p. 503.

tProc. and Trans. Nova Scotia lust. Xat. Sci., vol. ii, i)t. 3, p. 123.

t Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., vol. vii, p. 425.

iJSnppl. to Parry's Sec. Voyage, p. 340.

?*•(!

82 (»l»(ih/i;M S KOSMAIM'H — AThANTK; WALUr.S.

ffixt's ilic \v<'i;ilil nf ;i " iiMMlciiih' si/cd H'niiilc," hut evidently
iViMii his jHToiiiil «|iiilc voiiiiy, iis I, ."»,"»(» poiiiKls. Scoicshy Hiiys :
"Thr \\';ihiis is IuiiikI dii the shores «»I' S|»il/I»'i';i('ii IavcIvo to
'lil'lct'ii h'ct ill h'ii;;lh and ri/^hl to ten in riiciiiiifcrciirc."* Dr.
(iil|Mii ;;iv<',s the w<'i;,dit of ii lull ;;ro\vii male as L',L'r)(>, while. La-
nioiit says a lull ;; row ii old male will wei;,di at least. .'5,000
])oiiiids.f Aside, t'loiii Dr. .Miirie's iiieasiireiiieiits ol'a .voiiiit^spe-
ciiiieii, I have iii(;t, witli iiodetaihid liieasiii-eiiieids «)!' the, Atlan-
tic Walrus, exeepi thosi! j,'iv(^n by I)i'. <lil|>iii,|: whieli are, as fol-
lows :

I'-t. III.
JlxiniiK! length 12 3

j,iii-iii <.r ii.aii I r,

111 cm I 111 of iiiii/,/lc 1

J li--l,iiir<' I'lniii ii(>s<^ tr> vyi' H

l)i^I;ilii(j hcl Wren ryi'M lii

J", \lrliMion (if t ll-.k lir\(ili(l 1 lie llionlll I II

] li,->liilicc 111' IiisUn ;i|i:i|'I ;it Iiusc J

] lisl.inii' of lilsUs :i|i;irl :it (i|is II

Ij(Ii;;||i (if fciiv ||i|i|i(f U U

ISlvjiillli ,,f foil llipiirr I I

Li'iiy;lli of hi Ml I lli|i|pir 1 In

Urcadlli of liiiiil lli|i|ii T, ilislimliil 2 <i

Thick iHss of skill I

'J'hickiicssof hjiilihcr il I A

\V'ci;ill( siiiij III he 'I'l i\\ t.

I'leiiiiiiu § oivcs the leiioth of the Walrus as \~> I'eet, with a
ciieiiiiit'erenee at. the shoulders of Id feet ; and the leiiii'th of the
tiisUs as L'tl iiH-hes. Ilaniiltoii I savs an iiiilix idiial Uilled inOrlc-
lie\ . ill ISLM, whieli he saw, '• was alioiil ten feet in leiio(li," with
the head \'.'>S inches in lenj^lli. From the si/e of the lusk.s (ex-
serted S.j inches) it ajipears to lia\c been far from fidly ;(rowii.
Daiilieiitoii j^i\es the leiiulli of the specimen he described as
lU feel, with a eirci I inference at t In-shoiilders of S I'eet. Ijuniont

'Acromil of the .\irl. I.'c;^., vol. i, |i. .'ifi-,'.

>.Mr. I.aiiioiil, ill his •'Sca.soiis willi the Sca-hor.scs" (p. — i, ;;ivc.s llic
vii;;iil of an old male as il.noii |ioiiinN. Imf in his " Yachfiii^; in I Ik; Arctic
Seas" (p. "'.I), he says, "A fiill-si/eil ohl hull Walrus imist weiyli iit least.
GjCiMi Ijis.. anil ,-.iich a Walrus, if \eiy fat, will inoiluee Ci.'iO Ihs. of Iilnbber,
bul sehloiii niore I hail 7MI) Ihs., whieli is I think the iinnuic :inioiint
yiclileil li\ till 1I10-.I ohese of our \ ill iiiis." lie speaks, luiwever, ill aiioflicu
place (p. !-;(), of one that ''yiehleil hetwccn 70it ami -0(1 ]ii)un<l.s of fat."
Tlie wei^^hl of llie entile :iiiimal, as last estim.aleil hy Mr. li.'imoiit, isjiro))-
ably much loo eicat.

trii"'. 'V Trans. Nosa Scotia Inst. ,\al. Sci., vol. ii, ]it. :!, |i)i. V.l'.), 121.

^Mlist. Ihil. Mam., l^i-', p. H.

lir.iitish 'nail., p. '.'•..':!.

'•I

r,XTi:i.'NAi- ciiAi.'AfTr.ifs.

sfM'iiKs III' li;i\iiiLi <x*t\ niic <lii\ "ii '.civ liir;;"' iiinl fill <'(iu,"||m
IciiL'.tli olwliicli lie L;i\ <•> .IS II I'tTl ."» iiiclics.* Mvnuri iiM-a^iiic-
iiK'iils III' lliii'i- ihIiiII iii:ilrs rruiii iilisl iin'iil (Milltilj sKiii-i :il'i- :ih
I'liHows: (I) li'lljilli (I'lnni liosi' ti» lilil), 10 I'ril ■"» imliivs; (J)!» I'l'i-I,
i'l iiirlii's; (;;) 10 li'it III iiiclics; (l)S fi-cl o inilics. 'i'lii- liist,
lliirr Will" I'lilly inliill, w liili- uiii- ■if I Ill-Ill. Id jilili^r I'imiii il^
hroKiii, wmii liisks;iii«l |>iiilly ii;ik«Ml, sciincd skin. Wiis \<'r\ nlil ;
tlic oIIkt \v;is iiiiI iiiori' tli;iii Iwu lliiids ;;r"\\"- 'llii'si' iii;i\ :ill
li;i\r lii'cii s|i('riiiH'li.s ol' less tliiili I he ;i\ riilj^i' sizi-. AiMilij;,
liowiMT, l."» lo IH iiu'lu's lor I he l<'n;;lli ol" llic liiiHlliml* (in>' iii'ii-
ilirlllilfil), wiiiilil ;^i\i';i irii;4tli ol' ;il>i»iit IL' I'lrt lor lln- l;ii;;»'r
iliili\ iilliills.^

Most ol' t lie old w lilcis wcir coiilctil wit li stilt in;;' it to lie iis
hiip'iis iiii o\ :iiiil ;is thick iis ;i Iio^^sIkmiI. 'I'Iic iiccoiiiits of lli<^
color iirr iilso ilisci'c|Kiiit ; I'liiiriciiis's stiitciiiciit Hint llic color
\;iiics V ''li ii;^!', Ilic voilli;,'^ liciii;; liliick, tiicji (|iisk.\, liitcr |»;ilcr,
iiiid liii.ill.\ ill old ;i,iic white, luiviiij;' Itccii (|iiot(d it.v most suit-
sc(|iiciit coiii|)ilcis. Writers who liiivc ;;i\cii the color I'loiii
iictiiiil oliscr\!itioii li;i\c never, however, coidiriiied l''id»riciiis's
;iccoiiiit, they iisiiiilly descrilMii;;' tln' c'olor of IIm^ hair iis "yel-
lowish hrowii," "yellowish jiijiy," " tauiiy," ''very Ii<;ht yellow-
ish-;;ray," etc., some of whom explicitly state that after (;xteiid<'(l
oliservatioiis tliey have never met with the chaii;^e,s of color
with a;;(' noted hy l-'aliriciiis. TlmH, Mr. Ivohert, l»rown say.s
that althonjili he has seen Walruses of all staj^os, from Itiitli
until nearly mature aj;e, he never saw any of a l)la<;k color, all
hf'inj;' of" the ordinary hrown color, though, like mo.st animals,
they ;,'et lijilifer as tln^y {i;v()\v old."| Scorcsby says that the
skin of the Walrus is coverod "with a short 'llowish-brown
coloied liair."§

Dr. (lilpin stat<'H that Ids Jiahrador siHtcinuMi was thinly cov-
ered with " a<li>resse,d li};ht yellowish-f^reen hair," about an inch
in len^'th. lie jwlds that the, siirfju!»! of the. whole skin was

mmm

()Doba:m:s uosmaruh — atlanthj walrus.

I i

covcivd by "sciU's iiiul bald warty patches," and tbat tbo skin
itsi'b" was tbrowii hito " welts and folds'' <»ii tlu' neck and slioul-
deis.

Mv. Ibown Ihrther says that " the, very circumstantial account
of tlie number of mystacial bristles given in some accounts is
ni(»st erroneous; they vary in the lunnber of rows and in the
numlM'i' in each row in almost every specimen. They are ele-
vatt'd on a minute tubercle, and tiie spaces between these bris-
tles are covered with downy whitish hairs."*

Many other writers also note the scars and warty i)atches and
partial absence of hair n'ferred to above by l>r. (rili)in. Mr.
Brown, in speakinj; of those he met with in Davis .Straits, says:
^' I iiavc seen an old Walrus <|uite spotted with leprous-lookinji'
marks consisting of irregular tubercular-looking whiter carti-
laginous hau'less blotches; they api»eart d to be the cicatrices
of woumls inliicted at dilfercnt times by ice, tlu' claws of the
Polar Uear, or nu't witli in the wear and tear »>f tiie rough-and-
tnndde life a Sea-horse must lead in X. hit. 7 P."* ^Ir. Lamont
further adds that in the Spitsbergen seas the "old bulls are
always very light-colored, from being nearly devoid of liair:
their skins ai'e rough and rugose, like tliat of a Hidnoceros.
and they are gt-nerally quite covered with scars and wounds,
inlbcted l)y harpoons, hinces, aiul bullets wiiich they have
escaped from, as well as by tlie tusks of one another in tights
.init.ug themsehes.''t From these reports, especially tiiat of
Mr. IJrowM, Dr. 'riei ]ias iid'erred that the Walrus is subject
to skin diseas hat the; ''glandular spots*' thus produced

are mista' liealed cutaneous \\ounds.'' However this

may be. etty well established that many of these marks

are reall^> ars of wounds.

Respecting other external characters, especially the tusks,
and their variations with age, sex, and accidental causes, I
transcribe the following from Mr. Lamont's entertaining book,
which will be found s(» freely ([noted in subsequent ])ages:
"Old bulls," he obser\-es, •<■ very fre(iuently have oue or both
of their tusks broken, whi(!h may arise from using them to assist

in chunbering up the i(,'e and rocks The calf has n(»

tirsks the lirst year, but the second year, when he has attained
to about the size of a large Seal, he has a i)air al)out as large as

*l*ioc. ZoiJl. .Soc. Loud., IciiJd, p. l-'cr.
t Seasons with tlio .Smi-Uoi'ses, p. i;57.
ITraiiy. Zool. Soc. Loud., vol. vii, 167'.i, p. 122.

KXTF.HNAL CIIAIIACTKRS.

tlu' fiiiiiiieteethofa lion ; tlu' tliinl year tln'y lire about .six inches
lon^.

"Tnsks vary very ""K'h i" >^^'/'^' i"'<l shape aeeordiny to the ago
and st'x of tlie animal. A //or*// />^<//-()l' hnll's tasks may be stated
as twenty-lour inehes lon<;',* and lour jxmnds apiece in weight;
but we obtained several pairs above tliese dimensions, and in
particular one pair, which measured thirty-one inehes in length
when taken out of tlie head, and woi;;hed eight pounds each.
► 'uch a pair of tusks, however, is extremely rare, and I never,
ti» the best of my belief, saw a pair nearly eciualto them among
more than one thousand Walruses, although wc took the utmost
pains to secure the best, and always inspected the tusks care-
fully with a glass before we tired a shot or threw a harpoon.

•' ( "ows' tusks will anraiic fully as long as bulls', from being less
liabh^ to b(! broken, but tlu\y are seldom wo/r than twenty inches
long and three ])onnds each in weight. Tiiey are generally sot
much ('loser together than the bull's tusks, sometimes overlap-
ping one another at the points, as in the case with the stuft'ed
specimen at the British .Mus<Mim. The tusks of old bull::!, on tho
contrary, generally diverge from one another, being sometimes
as much as lifteen inches apart at the points." t

Mr. Uritwn observes: "The whalers declare that tlie female
Walrus is without tusks; I have certainly secMi females without
them, Ijut, again, others with both well developed. In tl is re-
spect it may be similar to the female Narwhal, which has occa-
sionly no 'horn' deveh)ped." J

Captain Pirry states that (Japtaui Lyon obtained the head of
a small Wain.' remarkable on accoimt of its having three tusks,
all very short, out two of them close together on the right side
of the jaw, and placed one behind the other. §

Scorcsby gives the length of tho tusks externally as from " teu
to tifteen inches," and their full length when cut from tho skull
as from " fifteen to twenty, sometimes almost thirty," and their
weight as from " live to ten pounds each, or upward." ||

The sexual diflbreuces described by Lamout were long since

* This i)rol)iilily includes thoir wliolo length when r. taoved li'om the sock-
ets, of which jtrobably not more than eighteen to iveuty inches wore ex-
liosed in life.

t Loc. (it., ])]}. rj7-140.

IProc. Zool. jSoc. Lond., ISliS, p. 4:29.

S^ Xarrativo of Parry's Second Voyage, p. 415.

11 Account of the Arctic Kcgions, vol. i, p. 503. '

i-i

S >■

^1^

!^-''

ODOBvENUS KOSMAKUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

suspected by AVieji'inaiiu luitl Staniiius (see (intca, p. 11>), who
believed that the Jeiiiale liad longer, sk'udeier, and more eoji-
veryiny tusks thau the male. Tlu.'re is also a speeimeu in the
collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoiilogy, Cambridge,
ill which the tusks are very long and slender, and eoii^^-ge
to such a degree that their points actually o\erlai).

Ill concluding this rat!ierrand)ling notice of the external cliar-
acteis and aspect of the Atlantic Walrus, I append the (juaint
and very correct description of tins animal, Avritti'U by the mis-
siouary Egede as early as 1740. I give it from Kriinitz's Ger-
man translation from the original Danish :

"Der Walh'oss, oder das Meerpferd, ist eine Art \on Fisch,
desseu Gestalt einem Seehunde gleicliLjmmt: jed .-h ist es
Aveit grosser uiul stiirker. Seine Pfoten sind mit fii f Klaueu
verseheu, wie die I'foteu des Seehuudes ; doch kiir/er von Xil-
geln ; uud der Kopf is dicker, ruuder und stiirker. Die Uaut
diescis Thieres ist, vornehmlich am liaise, einen Daumen dick,
imd aller Orten faltig, uud runzlig. Es luit eiu dickes und
bratmes Haar. In dem obern Kiuubacken sitzeu zwey ki-umme
Ziibne, welche aus dem Muiide liber der Unterlipi)e hervorrageu ;
und eiueu oder zwey Fuss lang, uud bisweileu aueh wohl noch
liinger siud. Die WaUi'osszalme sind in eben solcliem Werth,
als die Elephanteuziihue. luwendig siud sie dicht iiud fest, au
dor Wurzel aber hold. Seiu Maul ist wie eiu Ochsenmaul;
uuton iind oben mit staclilichten Borsten, in der Dicke eines
Strohhalms, besetzt, uud dieso dieuen ihm anstatt eines Bartes.
Oberhalb des Mundes sind zwey Naselocher, wie bey dem See-
hunde. Seine rothe xUigen seheu ganz feurig aus ; und weil
sein Hals ganz ausserordentlich dick ist, kanu er nicht leicht
um sicli herum selien ; und dieserhalb dreht er die Augeu im
Kopfe horum, waun er etwas ansehen will. Er hat, gleich dem
Seehunde, einen sehi* kurzen Schwauz. Seiu Fleisch hat eine
Aehnlichkeit mit dem Schweinenlleische. Es pflegt sich tlieses
Thier mehrentheils auf dem Else aufzuhalten. Indesseu kann es
so lange auf dem Lande bleiben, bis es der Hunger niithigt, in
die See zu gehen ; iudem es sich von deuen Fischen und Meer-
Insokteu uiiter} ilt. Wdun es im Zorne ist, briillt es wie ein
Ochs. Die Meerpferde smd beherzt, und stehen sich eiuander
bis in dea Tod bey. Sic leben in bestiindigem Kriege mit denen
Biiren, denen sie mit ihreii grossen und starken Ziihnen genug
zu schaffen machen. Oefters tragen sie den Sieg davon; und

.il

KXTKHX/ T> (FrARACTKUS.

'■> 7

■woniji'stciis kiiiiii>l<'ii sic so hiiiuc, I»is si(> todt ziir lOnlc iiicdcr-
faiU'ii."*

AiHitlicr iiftiMiiit of the Wiilnis, lioiii its hciiii;' one of tiic
Oiirlicst extant, is also of espcciiil iiilcrest in tlie present cou-
iieetioii. 'riionj»li repeatedly eo})ie(l, in part or wlioll.v, l»y tlio
earliei' authors, and also l»y von J':u'r, I tliink it deseivin.n' of
reprodnetion here. It was written by Irof. A. E. Yorst, and was
based on the yonnj; specimen taken to llolhuitt in lOl.'J. It is
liere c()pi<'d from I)e Laet (l)escrip. [ndiic Occident.), by wlioni it
was pnbli.slied in HJ.'>;>:

"BeUuain lian<; niaiinani vidi, inagnitndlne vituli, aut eanis
Britannici majoris, Plioc.T non diasimilem; capite rotnndo, ocu-
lis bovillis, naribns depcessis ac patulis, (luos modo contralie-
bat, modo dicbicebat, auriiim loco ntrinquc foramina; rictns
oris rotnndo nee ita \asto, snperiori parte aut labro mystaca
gestabat setis cartilaj>ineis, erassis ac ri<iidis constantem. Infe-
rior maxilla tri,ii'onaerat,linyuacrassabrevis(pie,at(pieosinterins
dentibnsplanisntrini(|ue mnnitnm, pedibns anterioribns posteri-
oribnsqne latis, at{xneextremacori)oris])arte I'hoeam nostratem
plane referebat. Pedes anteriores antrorsum, ])osteriores retror-
sumspectabaidcuminyrederetur. I)i<;itiquin(piemend)ranain-
tersepiente distincti, eaqne crassa, postericn-ibus diuitis unjiues
impositi, non prioribns, canda ]>lane carebat. I'ostica parte
repebat magis quam incedebat. Cute (^rassa, coreacea, pilisque
brevibus ac temiisibus obsita vestiebatur, colore cinereo. Grun-
nitum apri instar edebat, sen crocitabat voce gravi et valida.
Kepebat per aream extia a<piam, quotidie per semihorani aut
amplius dolio aqua pleno inunittebant, ut se ibi oblcetaret. Ca-
tulus erat, ut ferebant qui attulerant ex nova Zembla, decern
hebdomadarum, dentes seu cornua exerta, ut adultiores, non-
dum habens, tubercula tamen in superiori labro percipieban-
tiu", unde brevi proditura facile ai)parebat. Fenim et validum
animal calebat ad tactimi, validique per nares spiribat. Pul-
mentarinm ex aveua miliove comedebat lento et suctu magis,
quam de;:>iutiendo, herumque gestantem cibuni ac offerentem
magno nisu ac gruuuitu accedebat, sequebaturque, nidore ejus
allectus. Lardum ejus gustantibus baud insuave visum est.

* Hfvni tIauM Egi'rtc, Missioniirs mid liischolV's in Groulaml, Ijescliioibung
uutl Xatuv-Gcsfhu'lito von Gninland, iibcrsctzet von D. Joh. Co. Kriinitz.
Jlir Ivii]>ri 111. ]{( rlin, vorlogrs August Mylius, 17G3. i)}). l()(i-10f^.— Since
transrvil'iiig the above I have met with an early (I7(i8) Englitsli transhitiou
of this Avork, in whieh nn English rondoring o ' the above description may
be found at p. 12.'>.

()1)( )B.'E\US I?OS.MAHUS — ATLANTIC WALllUS.

■1 ';

(.:'

Coiispii-icbiiiilur il»i(Uiii duo iiuijoiimi ciipitM, ilciitilms duobus
exertis ICl('j)liaiit<>iiiiii iiist;ii'. loii^is ;if cmssis ct iilbiciiiitilni.s
iinmitii. fjtii (Icoi'siiiii \<'rsiis |»fctiis s]»('('t;il>;iiit. iMinuii.coria
cere mil IC ixnulo iicudissc I'ci'cliaiit .\ii,i:li (jiii attidciiiiit.
Ilisct' dt'iitiltii.s rui)('s asccndci'c siMino snstiiicrc ;ij('l»;iiit. rt pro-
dfilii! ill (•(iiitiliclitclii sell tfiTMlii \\\ soimiiiiiii il;i r;i|ii;ilil .^li'j^a-
tiiii. i'iil>iiliii!i ajcliam illis esse lolia nltl()i::^a ac iiiauiia, lu'rhtc
ciijusdaiii t' I'liiidoiiiaii.s nascent is. NVc piscihiis \ iNcrcaut ra.i'ni-
vormii <'ss('. \idi iltidcm pcncin i-Jusdcni aiiiiiialis osst'iini, ro-
tunduiii, i'ultitiiiii ct aiiiplins loii^iini. ciassinii, |)ondoi-(i,sinn ac
solidniii, in tine ]n'(>i)e j^landcMi lon.uc cras.sioieni ac jotundioreni.
llujns pulvcre ad calcidiini jtcllcndinn .Moscovita' rctnntur."*

A still earlier desciij)ti()ii ol'tlie Walrus is juivcn hy Purcliast
in liis account of the first voyage ''into llie North Seas," by
^^'illialll Uari'nts, a Dutch iiavij;atoi', \vli(» met with AN'abnses
oil Oraii.iic Island, in l.?,tt, Iraiislaled from the Dutch b; \y.
Philip. The account says they "'^ went to one «if those Islands
[of OraiigeJ, where th<^y I'ouiid about two hundred Walriisheu,
or Sea-horses, lyinjj,- upon tlie shore to bast tlieiuselves in the
Suune. This Sea-horse is a Avoiulerful strou<;' ]Mouster of the
Sea, uuich biji<>er than an Oxe, which keeps continually in tlu^
Seas, haviiiji' a skin like a Sea-ealfe or Seale, with very short
hayre, mouthed like a Lion, and many times they lye u]»on the
Ice; they are hardly killed unlesse you strike them , just upon
the forehead, it hath foure Feet, but no Eares, and commonly
it hath one or two youiif>- ones at a time. And when the Fisher-
men chance to find them upon a Hake of Ice with their young
ones, sliee easteth her younj;' ones before her into the water, and
then takes them in her Amies and so i)luiiji('th up and downo
■with them, and when slice will revenge her-selfe upon the IJoates,
or make resistance against them, then shee casts her young ones
from her agaiiie, anil with all her force goeth towards \\u' Doate

thinking to overthrow if They have two

teeth sticking out of tluiir mouthes, on each side one, each being
about half an Ell long, and are esteemed to bee good as any
Ivory or EleiHiants teeth, especially in Mil scon via, Tiirtiiria,
and thcreal i •; where they are knowne, for they are as white,
hard, and c\eii as Ivorie."

Skxial Dii'KK1m:>;ci;s. — The subject of sexual dilfciences ni
the Walruses has received very little attention at the hands of

' Nov lis Oil lis sell l)cs( riplid Jmliii' Occident:! lis, |)]i. lis, '.V,), 1(i;i;),
tlli< I'll'^riiiics, \(il, iii, p. ITii.

SKxr.M. ini'i r.i;i:\rKS.

sysl('iiiiiti<' wiilt'i's, wlio li;i\c, imlft'd, no jjositivc iiilni'iiiatidii to
olVci', ;mm1 \<'r\ little can he yh-aiH'd IVoiii other .soiiircs. All that
1 have met \vith,atfeii»retlye\leiisive researt'h.1iasalrea(l\ Iteeii
iiieiileiilally ix'ivvu in the loreyoiii.u' aeeoiiiit of t'le extenial char
Meters. All that (an hi' .^atheredis that in the lemale the tusks
are smaller and thinner, and th<^ ji'enenil size oi' i!ie animal may
lie inleni'd ti> he somewhat smaller than in the mal<-. In tact,
the external eharaeters in the adult animal of t lie speeies under
eonsideiation have never as yet heen j;iven with much detail,
the few naturalists who have met with it in life seemin-; to take
it lor .granted that an aniiaal so long- known, and so familiar to
tliom, nuist he well known, thereby ronderinj;- a careful and d*;-
tailed descript ion unnecessary. The very good descrijttion j;ivon
by Ur. (iilpin (see (intri), ]»]>. '"U, 32, ;?.">) of an adult is about all
that I have met with in the way of detailed descriptions of the
adults of either sex.

The lijiures and descri|)tions given of the young, especially
those rce<'ntlyi»ublished by Dr. J. 3[urie,* leave lit tie to be desired
as regards the external eharaeters in early life. The absence of
references to any strongly marked sexual dift'erenees in the
adult might ])erhaits be taken as negative evidence that none
exist; but on the basis of analogy Avitli the other IMnnipeds,
especially with the OtnriUl(V, we shonI;1 hardly exi»ect their
absence. Even in the case of the skulls, leT sexed specimens
appear to have come under the observation of specialists. Wo
" re and there, however, meet with references to supposed sex-
ual difl'erences in the size and character of the tusks, and also
in respect to the size of the skull and the density and weight of
the bones in those of supposed females as comi)ared with tlK)So
of supposed males. Thus, Wiegmann, in 1832, in referring to
the species described by Fremery, in 1831, says, in remarking
ujwn Fremery's " Trlchcchm Cooliii,''^ that he remeud)ers having
heard from a Greenland traveller that the female Walrus has
longer and slenderer tusks than the male, and states, on the au-
thority of Fremery, that a young specinuMi in the IJoyal Museum
of JloUand, having long, slender tusks, was reganU'd by Tem-
minckas a fenude. IJe als(» considers, (ui the ground of analogy,
that the greater or less develo]>ment of the occipital and other
crests of the skull, as well as the relative weight of the bones,

* " Kfst:nxli(s iqioii tlic Anatomy of tlio riuniitedia.— I'fiit I. < »ii I lie Wal-
rus ('/Vi./Kc/iH.f ivmiittniH, liiim.)." — Trans. Zi)t')l. Soc. Loud., vol. \ii, 1>7'.*. pp.
411-1(11, witji wdoilciits, and iilatus li-lv.

■M

iiE

If*

)■

(•DOIS.KNIS IJOSMAKUS ATLANTIC WAMJIS.

'i ■

( i.

1(» be only (litlrrciiccs of a scvual cliaractcr.* Staimiiis.f icii
years later, citcil the views >.. reiiiiniiick ami \Vi(L;iiiaiiii (as
above .uiveii) resi»ee(iiij;' sexual «lil]'ereiu'es iu Walruses, but adds
nothing' u«'\v to the subject. Laniont (see (inlci'i. \>. ."!.">) states
that the ''tusks vary very nuu-h in si/e and slia|H' aeeoidiiiii to
the a^'e and sex of the animal." "(Jows' tusks,'' he says, ••will
areraije fully as lonji' as bulls', Irom beiuj^' less liable to l»e broken,
but they are seldom more than twenty inches lonu and three
pounds each in weight. They are j^i'nerally set nuich closer
together than the bull's tusks, sometime o\('rhii)i»inji- at tlio
points, us in the case with the stuftcd specimen at the I>ritish
Museum." lie gives the UMigth of tusks in the male as 2t inches,
aud the weight as i jjounds each.

A skekton, marked as that of a female, in the Museum of
Comparative Zoology, coHeeted in the Greenland seas by ])r.
Kane, has the bones very light, soft, and i)orous, as coni]»ared
with those of male s]>eelmens. The skull (see tigg. l-;») is nuich
smaller, with the (;rests and ri<lges very slightly dev«'loped, and
the tusks long and slender, and overlapping at the points. This
skull, though of a rather aged individiial, is 2 t(» '2.'\ inches
shorter than male skulls of coricsponding ag<', and about -
inches narrower; l»ul lliese ligurcs scarcely expi'css the I'eal
tlilVercnce l)i't ween them, owing to the \ cry iiiucji weaker dcvel-
o])ment and slighter structure of all jtarts of the skull, which
certainly has not one-half the weight of average adult male
i3h"ll.-'. The weaker structure is especially marki'd in tiie lower
jaw. The tusks, on the <»ther hand, are seveial inches longer
than in any male skulls of the Atlantic s]tecies I have yet exam-
ined, but they a)'j so much weaker and slenderer that their
weight is more t\an one-half less. The same ditl'erence of light-
ness and smaller size extends throughout all the bones of the
skeleton, indicating that the size of the animal in life was far
less than that of ordinary nudtrs. The very great length of the

* Say.s Wiejinianii : " Hr. Froiinxv iulirt mi, dass Hr. Ti'iumiiick oinou (nach
Di'iUliclilvcit <lor Xaliti') iKX'li jiuif^i'ii .Scliiidcl des KcielisiniiHeunis mit aus-
gozcicliiifl laii^i'ii diiiuii.'a Sto.ssziihncii fiii' den fiui's Weibdu'iis jj;c'luiltcu
lialio. Ii'luMiiiiu'nMiiiiliaiU'liVDnGidnlaiidsfahnnigt'lifirt ziiliaben, dasssich
das Wcilx'lii'ii diinli liintfcn', diimitTc, das MiiimclK'ii diirch kiirzcic, abor viol
diclit-Tf .Stoss/iiliiic aiiszcichiu'. Did gcriii'^crc Knlwicklun;:; dcr llinter-
Lauptli'islc, die gtuingcrc Scliweiv dor Knochon, scllist das Zuriickblcibou dc8
hiiiti'i'slon IJackciizaliiiis im Olici'ku'l'cr komiti', wciiii cs wivklicli uur sexii-
cllc Voi>'('lnod(')ilicit sciii hoIIIc. mil Aiialofricii beU'gt werden." — Arch, fur
Xafiirficsfh., 18:]2, pii. l'^-', I'J!*.

tMiillcr'sArcli. fiir. Aiiat., 1^11, j.. :«>•,'.

Sr.XIAI. DIFl'KRKNCKS.

ttisks (see li:r. 1) is iloiibllcss iihiioriiiiil. nml is doiilttl<'ss owiiii;-
to their iiiisyiiiiiictviciil <l(!V('l(»i)iiiciit iiiid ovrrlai^piiJ};' at the
points, wliicli niiist li.ivo iiitciicrcd to skiiic cxtout with tlicir
use. iiiid liciico have |»it'S('i'\«'(l tlieiii from wcariiiii".

'^rstx

Fig. 1. — Odohanus rosmariifi, $ .

Ill tli(5 Is^atioiial ]\rusoiiiii at Washington arc also four skulls,
which, though unniaikcd as to si'x, aro niKiuostionably those of

. M

'MM'^

()1H)1!.i:MJS IfosMAKTS ATI.AXTIC WAIJU'S.

fciiiiilfs.* 'I'licy iiyicc wiili (111' one alrciidy dcsciilMMl iis to
.small size, tlic absence of well <le\ eloped crests and lidjics for
mnsciilai' allacluaeiit* small, slender InsUs. and .uciieial Aveak-
ncss ol'stnu'tnre. as eompared willi male sknlls of corres]iond-
in^i;' anc.t The closed sntni'es show that they Iteloni^cd t(» a.u'ed
individnals. but in other respects mi.ulit l»e i)resni!ied to be skulls
of young' animals, loi' widcli such sknlls are doultlless usually
mistaken.

!;i '

Fig. 2. — Odohanus rosmarun, 9 .

From those data it seems fair to conclude that there are woll-
marked sexual differences amonjj,' AValruses, manifested espe-
cially in the inferiority of size of the female, in the c(»m])aratively
weak develoi)ment of the bones of the skull, the smaller size of
the bones of the j^'eneral skeleton, and in the size and form of
the tnsks. These dill'erences are, in short. Just such as, from
analoj;fy, one \v(»uld naturally expect t(» exist, and conlirm the

*Tliis I iiifciTtMl from their siiiall size and liylii strintiin-. :iiiil was i)lfasi'(l
to liavc my (li'lciiiiiiiat ion coiiliniit'd liy so coiiiiictint an authority as ])r.
Emit IJt'sscls, wlio |)i<Hionn(((l tlicm to hi' nnqncst ionaliiv i '.iusc ot I'lMnalcs.
Dr. Bt'ssi'ls's Judgment, it is iicrhajis ui'cditss |osa.\. is li.iscd on [(risonal
experience while on tlie Polaris I"-\])edilioii, dnrinj; v, hidi Ih' f~eemid and
prci>ared imnnrous specimens of lioth sexes, whicii were lost v.iili the ill-
fated vessel.

till theXalioual Miiseinu there is also a female skull of (he I'aciii'' \\ alms
that ])rese)its corresiiondin}; diHerences as compared with male skulls of the
same Hpceies.

VARIATIONS DEPENDENT UPON AGE, ETC.

coiijecturo.s of Wk'giiuuiu ami Tcumiinck. What othor dilier-
cucc'S obtain, especially in external (^Isaiactois, can as yet bo
only conjectured. It i.s to be hoped, lio\v<'ver, that wc shall
not have lony to wait for detailed accounts of the external
characters of the adults of both sexes.

Fio, 'X — Odoha'uiifi ronmarus, 9 .

Individual Vaeiatio>>!, and ^'Al{IA^IONs dependent
UPON Age. — That a wide rauye of individual variation obtains
in this si)ecios is sufflcicntly evident from an examination of
even a limited series of skulls. These dilierences have been
noted in (.'onsiderable dcitail by Fremcry, Wicgniann, Stannius,
and Jaeger, as will be presently noticed more in detail iu ju'e-
senting the j^enend histoiy of the species. Still greater difler-
ences, of course, result from dilierences of age. These collect-
ively, as A\ill be noted later, have formed the basis of several
nominal species. All the Pinnipeds appear to be subject to a
wide range of variations of thischaraitter, and none more so than
the AValruses. Tliese atVect to a considerable extent tlie general
l)roportions of the skull, and especially tlie form and relative
development of different I)ones. Tliese latter dilierences are
best seen in eom})arativfly young skulls, since most of the
sutures close at a ratliei" early age. Among tliese variations
are especially noteworthy those of the nasal bones, the inter-
maxillaries, and the frontals, and to a les.-. degree those of the
base of the skull. Tlu' crests and ridges for nuis<adai' r.ltach-

I
1

Ill"

■V ■

44 ODOK.EN'IJS KOSMAUrS ATLANTIC WALIiUS.

iiioiit of coiu'.st' jjiicatly increase willi iijiv, and vary considorably
in resju'ct to direction, ]io!silion, and relativi' develo])nient in
ilill'erent individuals. The bony crests at tli(\junction of the
inlerinaxiliaries helow tlie anterior nasal opening are es])ecially
varialile with a^e, l»eenniinj; i^radually obliterated in adult life
by the '^i neral tiiickeiiin^ of tiie bones of the skull. They arc
certainly less proniLnent in old uac, than in youth, and tlie same
is true of the incisive; border of the interuiaxillarics. The in -
terinaxillaries, as ji rule, only meet tlu^ nasals in their upward
extension, but in occasioiud specimens there is a imrrow exten-
i |! sion of them iwstericuly betweeii the na.sals and nujxillaries,

' '' reaching for (Uiehalf to two-thirds the length of the nasals.

This \ariation is seen in the skulls figured by Goethe* and by
r.Iainville,t and has been noted in two sknlls by Stainiins.f In
otliei' eases the intermaxiUary rises to the surface between the
nasals and maxiUaries only in the form of nari-ow isolated areas,
as is seen in a skull figun.'d by Gocthe,§ aiul in two skulls! have
myself examined. Hence Ulainville, when he says, '• . . . . et
le premaxillaire, ejvais, remoute jusque entre h' nasal et le
maxillaire, de maniere a eireonscrire avee le premier Voritiec
nasal . . . . ,"|| describes the exceptional instead of the normal
condition.

TIk; nasals \ary greatly in breadth and in length in different
specimens, and even in the same specimen (me is sometimes
uuich wider than the other. The, (ioneavity and width of the
bony palate is also subject to much variation, in this respect
hardly two specimens being found to agree. In some, the con-
cavity is nearly one-fourth greater than in others.

*A(t. Acad. Cass. Leop. Carol., xi, jtt. i, pi. iv, fig. 2.

t(»si(5ograpljie, Des Plioques, pi. i.

tf^u.vs Staimius: "Bisweilcu aber, wio bei don Kiokr Schiidcln « und c,
tritt iiocli eiuc diiimc Lcisto dieses Fortsatzes zwiseben die das Oberkiefcr-
bcin iiud das Nasonbeiii verbindeiulo Liingsuabt mul troniit eiuc Strecko wcit
dieso Kuoeben. So sielit man es aucli auf der iu dem Blainvillo'echen Wcrke
belimlliclien Abbildung. Indeni dieso Lcisto an oinigen Stellon stJirker, an
anderu Stellon weniger stark oder gar nicbt nach aussen licrvortritt iind zti
TagoktJmmt, hates bisweilon den Auscbcin, alsfiindensicbisolirtoKnoclien-
stilckclien in der eben geuanuten Nalit. Wirklich crwiihnfc do Frcmcry cines
zwiseben Nasenbein und Oberkioferbciu vorkonimcnden Ossiculum Wormi-
anum bei seineui aus Labrador stammcudcn Walross-Scliiidel." — MUllc)''8
Archil' fur Anat., 184'2, p. 40L

iJAct. Acad. Ca's. Leop. Carol., 13d. xv, pt. i, 1831, pi. iv, fig. 1.

II Ostdograpbio, Dos Pboqucs, !>. 20.

\.VliIATK>N.S DKl'ENDKNT UPON ACJE, KTC.

TIm! iVoiitiils Viiry <ii('iilly in loriu iit tlicir ])ostorioi' border,
C'siKU'iiilly ill rrsi»C('( lo tlicir iiit('r[)iiric(iil cxlcnsion. Tliis \)ov-
tioii lias .soiiit'tiiiios a brcadtU equal to that of the nasal bones,
and terminates (iiiitc sijnarelj'; at other times, it has less than
half this l»rea(ltli. and is rajndly narrowed jjostcriorly.

The tusks \aiy considerably in leuji'th, size, and form, and
more csiiccially in direction, in specimens of the same aye and
sex. They lte«'omo much larger in ohl age than in middle life,
but are then more or less abraded and broken at the points.
The grooving on the sides varies more or less with each indi-
vidual, and even in the two tusks of the same animal. Tho
tusks generally widely diverge, but are sometiiaes nearly par-
allel, but appear to be very rarely convergent, while in the
female they arc frequently more or less convergent, and some-
times t(mch at the points, or even overlap.

In regard to external characters, considerable changes result
from age, especially in respect to tho size and amount of abra-
sion of tlie tusks, and through the loss of the hair incident to
old age, and. tho shortening of tho mystacial bristles.

Tho following table of measurements (given in millimeters)
shows to some extent the variations that occur in the general
size and form of the skull.

•\

i, !

ododa:nus hosmakis — Atlantic walrus.

' .ii

I 'RHOJOld

, 1 ,

9 ^ ^ 9
>* Z 0^ <>*

1 '<
1-

il « : S f2

•qjSnoi '.ttiifao.ttoi

•)JV(Ib 09aC|8Il> 'BJ0ilI3U| J,)dd£],

•j«ioni yiv\ IB o)BiBd JO mPIAV

O rt g -T • O M

?1 ?i CI H ■ Si cI

s s s s s

•8ojao8 iiiaojt.iBium .loddn jo i(^noi

I*; f5 C5 XI 1^
« ci .- S »

•sdj} IB ?,iB(Iu ojun^Bip 'KjuinBO

•oBtiq )B K.iSpa jBn
aojxa uooAvj"! ojubjbii) 'souiub,')

S 3 fi S fS ?? S

MSBq IB ^i.nMi.i|iMii.).ii.) 'K.mniiQ | J,'

-(SJCIOOI

JO onc[<I uio.ij) niSnoj 'saninuf)

•.>)Bll!lI JO pu) .loi.wjsod
O) Q!ii!XBnu.>(nt jd.i.ip.ioq .wi.wjuv'

Tt h. ja e = X t-
S ?1 H fi ? S

^5 s fS X 1^ M I-
I- !• is {I ri I- »

*H -H r-< fj ffl 1^ M

•.\I.iou.itm! ipi'lAv 's niiH| n:ni:.>v

•.\'t.xoiaojS()4l uipiAV 'Kouofj iiisBX

•i[iSaoi '8.>no(i iiisBX

I vussoj

I iBiodmo} uoD.ttjoq <npB0.i(i jsuo'i

.3 fr 3 g {«

•SOSBDOOld plOJSBlH ^« tl«piM.li[

h.. O 't Cl ^5 fJ «
f^ r3 CO f-5 O O I"

;i n f) « ci fi ei

•ti)Brao3.iz ^« tijpBoaii

3"t 00 O O O Q
CO t^ O CI O 00
CI *-l i-l CI CI iH tH

•q^SltDI

CI o>

CO fS

•XOg Of O O \3 \3 O "to

r', a O O O o O

^ .3 -3 -a '53 -a "TS

•jaqninn ouSoxbjbo

'?5 -I

« « «

to©

5 ^ <M

a a iS
u o o

2 O «

>5 t-< •«

rt » O
lias

DKNTITION.

I)i",.NriTif»N. — The (It'iititioii of Wiilniscs, for \iirioii.s rcu-sons,
lias hccii :i |M'i|ilt'.\iii;; siilijcci, and lias cii^a^ii'd tlif attoiitioii
of iiiaii\ niiiiifiit wiitcrs. In tlic adult stajnc it pivsi'iits many
altiioniialitics, and, ln'sidcs, issuhject to nmcli individual varia-
tion. Iiotli in tin- tnnporarv and adult series. For a Ion;;' time
its deviations from tli«' normal type were not well untler.stood,
and even now leadin;;' authorities do not appear to be <piite iu
liarmoiiy in I'espect t() the i>roi)er notation. A.s previously
staled, iIm' incisors of both Jaws, except the outer i)air in the
upper, disa]>pear soon after birth, and before middle life is
reached the last tttotli of the molar series on each sule iu both
jaws also usually disapjiears. A brief history of the princii)al
iiiv<'sti^'ations. and opinions held at different times resi)ectiug
thetlentition of llie Atlantic \Valrus (for the investigations
resjicctin;;' the dentition of this ^roup appear to have been based
almost wholly uiton this species), is herewith appended as form-
ing a lii;.thly interesting chajjter in the technical history of the
species. Ill this historical sketch will lie found noted many
facts relating to the general subject, given by the authors whose
papers ai'<' here biiclly summarized.

The dentition of tlie Atlantic Walru.; has bt'cii discussed in
greater or less detail by iJai)p, von l.aer, Wiegmaun, Frcmery,
k>tannius, .lacgcr, ( )weii. Mahiigreii, Peters, and various other
writers. NViegmanii, in IS.'JS, pretty fully presented the early
history of the subject, noting the almost total lack of informa-
tion respecting the matter shown by Linne, who evidently paid
little attention t(> the references to the subject made by previ-
ous writers. The credit of first giving any definite statement
respecting the nnnd)er of the teeth and their character is due
to Anderson, who, in 1734, gave the niunber of molars as four
above and three below. Brisson, in IToG, gave the number as
four both above and below; while Crantz, in 170,'), again gives
foiu' above and three below, and ipiite fairly describes the nor-
mal dentition of the adult.* In the same year, Daubenton gave
also again four below on each side as well as four above.

' I iii>pt'n(l iu lull Ci'uutz's description:

'• It liail no sliiiip («ci\s<)/T« in its mouth, anil noiio at all liifoiv, Init only
four tcotli on I'adi side ; on tlierii^lit siilcol" tlii" nntltT-jaw three pretty hroad

eoncave jrrindors The two lonj^ t usks or horns grn\viii<? out of

its laee aliove the nose, and liendiuft down over its mouth, so as almost to

barricade it nil. sei'nr to h(> more an imiiodinient than a liel]) to It

Tlierijht tusk is aliont an inch lon<;er than the left, and its wliole lengtli

' -HI

m\\

• 'I

C. f

I 1' :,

''..

4H (Mum.KMS I.'OSMAIMS— Ari.AM'lC WALias.

No ;intli<>r ]niof to Sclirchci- (177"i) iippcars to li;i\(' iiicr •vith
(Iccidiioiis iiici.voi's. \\Im» I'omul l\V(» such ii|»|»i'i' iiicistus on ciu'li
si<h' ill ii voiiiiu- skull ill tlic Miisniiii of llrliiiiucii. These he
eorreetly eonjeetiiied wt'iv teiiipoiMix . <lis:ii»|ie:triii'j iit ii liitcr
Mtiijic oflil'e.*

To (loethe, Iiowcmt, is jiivcii the (Tedil of iccouiii/.iin;' tiie
true cliiinieter of the first tooth of the ii, jier iiiol;iriforiii
soiii'S. Sii.vs (';iiii]K'r (iis (|iiotetl Ity \\'i«'iUliliUili) : •■ Ms ist del'
nv. (liithe, siieliseinveiiiiiiischer (leheiiiier K'iitli, i\rv inir /iierst
,1 V ,' die r>.s'.S7( iiifcrnKt.rilhirid (W^ Wiiliiosses mid (h'r Sehlieide/.iihiie

i || ' dessellu'ii liiit keiiiieii ieiiieii, iiideiii er iiiir cine vortiefllielie

Abhiindhiiiji' iiiit sehruieii Zeiehiimi.u'eii dieser Kiioeheii \fr-
sc'hiediMier Thieve zii^escliickt li;itte.'' Caiiipev, in eritieisin.i;'

Limio's errors rejiiirdiiijn' the Wiilnis,t K'ves four imisois (,^^,)'
aud four iiiohirs altove and livt^ lielow (-,Z-,) ^*'^' soiueliiiies only
four below). Tlu^ observations of Sehreber, (loethe. and Taiii-
j , per ap])ear to luive been ucneiaily oxcilooked by siibsiMineiit

writers, so that it was h'ft for (r. Ciivier to iliseover anew the
liresenee of deeiibious ineisors in the yoniifi" Wahiis. lietweeu
the canines he recoj;nized two incisors similar t.> the molars,
which he says the majority of observers had overlooked, because
they are not lixed in the interiiiaxillaiy, and between these
again two i)ointe<l small ones in younji' indixidiials. He ji'iive
the miniber of molars as four on ea(!h side, above aiul behiw,
and stated that there are neither incisors nor canines in the

is "27 inches, 7 of which arc grafted into the scull; its cii'cumfcrcnce is 8
inches. They «tan<l .about three inches asunder in the head, and at 1 heir
extremities 9 inches apiii-t, bent a little downwards." — Hinlory of Grcoilnnd,
etc., English translation, London, 17(»7, p. 12fi.

* Schreber's account is iis follows: " . . . . Die kuste Gattung, das in-
Honderhei;, sogeunante Waluioss, hat zwar, ob gleich keiu SchrirsteUer
etwas davon sagt, zween VorderzUhne in der obcni Kinnlade; sie sind aber sehr
klein, ragen wenig ans ihren Holen hervor, nnd werd(>n alleni Anselien
naeh auserhalb dem Zahnlieische nicht zn bemerkeu seyn, /umal da sie nicht
am Rande der obern Kinnlade, sondern mehr hineinwiirts stehen. Ich linthi
sie an einem zur Natnraliensanindnng hiesiger Universitilt gehorigen Wall-
rossschiidel ; xmd da derselbe, besage seiner Grosse, vcm einem jungen
Thierc ist ; so glaube ich beynalie gar, dass si(^ bey zunehiiiendem Alter des
Thieres ausfallen nnd nicht wieder wachsen. Sie konimen also hier in keine
weitero Betrachtung, als d.iss sie dem Systeniatiker (;inen Wink geben, dis
Thier nicht zu weit von dem Robbengeschleehte zn entfenien." — Saugcthiere,
Th. ii, p. 2C0.

tl qtiote the French edition of C.'miper's works ((Eu^Tes, torn, ii, p. 480,
Paris, 1S0I>), the only one accessible to me.

KHNTITION.

Inwcrjiiw.* I''. (Juvicr jiiivc latt'i'tilsu the siiiiic dciitiil loninila.
IIcdcciiM'd tliiit tlic peculiar or imoiiiiilons deiititioii of the Wal-
ruses indicated that tiiey were ait isohited ^inaip, lutviii;^ atliui-
ties. on tlu' (»ne iiaud, with the Carnivura, and, on the other,
witli the Ikiuninantslt

Accordin.i; to \Vie;uniann, I'lidolpliil (in ISOL*) reco;;ni/ed
liie lirst ofliie series ui' loircr ^rindin^' teetii as a canine. 5

Thus, as \Viej;niann lon;^' sin<'e oliserved, liu' suhject reniairu-d
till Ifapp was so I'ortuuate, iu ISiiS, as to Inive opportunity to
exanuue a tuMal specinu'ii. in this example, he Ibund six inci-
sors in the upper Jaw and live in the lower (ij^^)- He also
expressed it as his heliet' that the lirst low«'r molar should he
rej;arded as a canine, hecause (1) it was somewhat further
removed from the rest than tlu; others wore frcuu each <»t her;
because (li) of its j;reater length and thickness in the adult ani-
mal: hccause (.'{) it stands close to the temporary ov nnlk inci-
sors, and shuts aj>ainst the outernu)st of the ui)per incis(»rs;
and hecause ( t) it lacks the transverse de])ressiou seen on the
inu'-r side of the crown of the back-teeth. The dental '')rmula
recojiuized hv him for the Walrus may be considered as

I-'renu'ry. in 1S,")1, also made reference to the dentition of the
Walruses; hut his paper bears mainly upon the question of
whether there are one or more species of these animals, and
will be further noticed in another connection. He notes partic-
ularly the presence, in some of his skulls, of two small molars
abo\ e, behind the largo ones.

Wieginann,|| in 1838, contributed facts additional to those
already recorded, but his memoir is largely devoted to a discus-
sion of the obsen-ations of preceding Avriters. He assents to
Rudolphi's and Kapp's interpretation of the honiologieal rela-
tion of the lirst large tooth of the lower jaw; refers to finding

' Ki'jfiio Aniiual, toiii. i. 1817. p. 1G8.

t Dents (li'sMiiiii., p. -23^.

tAiiiitoini;>cli-itliysiolojfis(li(> Abliaiulluugi'ii, p. 145.

vNVVifjfiiiaimsiiy.s: ". . . . UelJcnVu's ist liiiddlplii dcrorstr, dordic iintorca
1"< l</iiliiu! crkon'.it. I^r Iteiiicrkt iiiiinlicli, dass dcv orsto Backriizaliu dcs
rntf'ikicfi'rs sioli vou doii iilnlgcii duroli seine Griissso aTiszeielme, uiid wenu
iiiicli der Form iiacli eiuciu IJaekenzahue iilinlicli, docli seiuor Grosse iiaeh
btinalio fiir einen Eck/alm zu lialtou wiirc, was spiiter durcli Rapp, dem
inde.sseii dieso Xotiz unbekunnt blieh, aussor Zwcifel gesctzt ist." — Arch, fiir
Xattirg., 1^38, pp. 119, 120.

IIAiThiv fiivNaturgosdi., 1838, pp. 113-130.

:\nsc. I'ub. No. 12 i

jvl

< )l)OJl/ENi:.S h'OSMArJUS ATLAiNTKJ WAI.IiU.S.

'ri :.: ,!

'',■. ^

' :. 'I

ti'iM'cs <»r iilv<!<>li of six incisors l)<)(ii iihovf^ iiiid below, iuul to
tlic (-.irly (Iccidiioiis ciiiiractcr of tin; last (liltli) upper molar,
and I lie rreipicnt disappearancui t/f Mic loiirMi. lie ('(/ncludes
thill I lie norniiil number of the back-teeth is ^~-' and lliat in

4 — 'I'

earl.N lile the dent it ion of the Wall lis is not \vi(h'ly ditl'eicnt from
that of other Pinnipeds.

'I'he same year (l.S.'{.S), Mae;;illivray* eonsi(h'red the normal

dentition of the Walrus to l)e \.'^.', <'• ',1^; TJii. + M. ^-^'
= j^ = ;;:;. ills conclusion was based on th(^ examination of a
<liiite yonnj;- specimen, of whi<!h he s))eaks as follows: "The
normal dentition of the Walrus is siiown by the skull of ayoini};
indi\ idiial in the]\riiseiim of the Mdinbiirjili (,"olle;;('(»f Siirf^cons.
In liie iii>])er Jaw there are <>n each side tliiee imisors, the first
oi- inner extremely small, the seciond a little lari^cr, the third or
oiiltr disj>ro|>or(i()nately iar;;e, beiii;; e((iial to the laij^cr .yiind-
eis. The socket of this tooth is placed in tiie iiiterniaxillar\
bone, but towaids its mouth it is|»ai'lly i'oniied Ity the maxillaiy.
The small incisors ha\e deej) conical sock<'ts. The canine"
tooth is disi)Iaccd, beiiij;' thrust outwards licyoiid the line of the
other teeth, and caiisin.in' the peculiar l)ulj;in;;' of tlic head. The
lateral iiuMsor is on llic IcncMiI' its aiitcrioi' liiai.niii. and the
first urindcr is o|»posite to its middle, 'i'liere arc ti\e j^rindcrs.
]ia\iii,u c<uiical obtuse sockets, and conscipiently sinL;le roots ;
llie liist smaller than the last incisor, the scc(ui<l and third
lar,uest. tlic fourth much smaller, the litlli \ci\ small, all
sluutly conical, and blunt, with enamel on the tij»onIy. The
canine tooth is also at tirst enamelled at its cxticmitN . In the
lower Jaw there are two very small conical incisors on each
si<le; the i'anine tooth iswantinj;'; five jirinders, with siiif^le con-
ical compressed roots, and short compressed conical crowns,
cnamelleil at tue |)oiiit ; the tirst, s(>coiid, and third nearly c(pial.
the latter beinu' a little larger, the fourth much smaller, and
the IllVli vciy small, flic tusks, or enormoiisls de\cl(»ped
canine teeth <»f the upper jaw, arc comiu'csscd, <"oiiicai. a little
curved backward, directed dow nwards and a little forwards, and
somewhat ili\cr;4in,i;-, but in some iiidi\ idiials, when \ery loiri;.
they ajiain coii\(r;.:e towards the points. In adults, lhcincisor>
are obliteiatetl, exceptiii!.; the lateral pair of the up|)er jaw; the
fifth jj,rlndcr in liotli Jaws has al-o disappeared, and sometimes
the fourth in one or both Jaws."

■ iiriti.'dniiuidniiicds, JsiJH, j.p. -^Jl i, -J-J 1 .

;(;;!

DKNTITION.

StiUiiiiii.s. ill ISl'J, riiiUicr coiitrilmti'd to llic siilijrct hy
suldiii;; <»i).s(a'v;ili<)ii.s icspccliii^ Viirinlioii i'l the iiiuiiIh'I' of
t\H\ l(M>tli icsiiltiii^' IVoiii ;i;;(', <h'.s('i'il»iii<>' in di'tail llic incisive
driitilioii ol" ii sciics of four skulls of (liU'erciit, )i|?«'S. In two
youii^' skulls, tln! outer tcin|)onii',v incisor of the iipiHT Jaw on
either si(l(5 icmainod; tlu5 alveoli of IIk; s;'cond pair were still
distinct, while the alveoli of tiie iiddd' : paii' weit^ nearly oblit-
erated. In another, the alveoli of the, inin'r pair of ineisorH were
wholly obliterated; those of the second pair wen; baiely re(!Og-
nizalih', while those; of the outer j>air wer»} distinct, the teeth
havin^i' fallen later. He was also able lo i'eeoj:;nize the alveoli
of six incisors in the lowei- Jaws of tin; skulls Just mentioned,
and states that Ik; lhouj;ht Kapp's view of the homology of the
first lower bac k-tooth (considered as a canine) was jtrobably
correct. He liirthei- takes exceptions lo the value of tin; char-
acters assumed by I'^remery as the l»asis of several species of
\Valriis(\s.* lie adds, in respect to the lusks, that in old
a.nc they become \vlioll,\ solid to the base. In regard to the
ii|)pcr molars, lie notes thepicseiice of live in sev<'ral instaiicciS,
and liiids tiiat, as a rule, the fourth disappears before the fifth,
or, at least, that, its alveolus becomes s(»oner obiilerate(l. llo
also ctudirms tiie siMtemeiit jucviously made by Wiegmann,
that th(! alveoli becoiin! lilled by depositions of bony iimtler in
concentric layers at the bottom and on tin; sid( s.

''I'lirsc ;illc)j;c(l sprcilic, cliiO'dclrrs ln>, not ices in dotail, jinil coiKsititTH thorn
ii.s (l('|icii(li'iii, iijiim ji;;c. lie, says: " iJiiH Mis.siiclMi (liener Clianiktcro <,'ilu'lll
KclioM iiiiK(l('iiilJiiis)aii(lt',tiawH(ii('.s('lln'ii iiiir riirv(illi;r aiiHyrwachseiic'J'liicre,
iiiciit abcr I'iir Jniij^c! uiiwciidliai' Hind, dcnn das Htiiik.sto Waclistliiim der
Eckziilnio fall), erst, (>ti'cid)ar in cino Hpiitero Lcbciispdriodi) in widclier
naniciitlicli dii', Ix'idcn iiincrstcn Sclincidcziilinti nnddio bcidcn lolztcn iJack-
/.iibno j(!diT HciU; drx oljcrcn ICinnlado schon j^escliwundcii Hind. Uiorzu
kouuiit noch dor Unintand, dass aiuh din ICok/illino Ixii sehr alton 'i'liioreu
an del- Spitzo ItodcnfcnJ al);;('nnizt; .sii.il, dcnniacli in siiiittTon Lclx-nsHta-
tlicn an Jiiin;^o waLrschcinlich wicdor abnclinicn. Endlidi Hclicint cs ja
scllist, alsol) dio Liiiifjo dioscr Ziihno jo iiach don Gcsolilrclitorn vorscliioden
wiiri'.

" i^lioii so wcni;;- (i('\vi(lii nuiclito ich util" di(i l"urclinn;,;on dicscr Ziihno
Ic^iin. llinr Zaid, wic iiinr fStiirko uach Hind Hio ))oi vorschiodonon iibri-
Hiiis niijif \()ii cinaMiloi' aliU(:icli<iidon Individucn voi'schii'dcn, wio icb
iiiirli dun h \'( rj;li'i(liMiin' oinor jfiosscn An/.;ibl von Walros^/iilincn iilior-
zoii;l;I liabo ; Ja liicsi' I'linlicn sind hiswcilci ' lioidon. l)is\Vfil('n niir an
liimiii diosrr Ziilino .s|Mirlris vrrscliwnndon."

ii'i ^-•|lt'(•ti^J^ 'I'riiliicliiiH (viiLi, \\i: adds: ''Ancb an cinoni ,S(iiai!cll'ia}j;inonto
(Us l\icici' iMiistiiins lindc ich clwaH oonvoifj;irondo Eckziilinc, miichto aber
/woiicjn, ob dicsor Minstand cino Aihintorscbcidnnff rocbtfoitijit."— .)/)V//er'a
Arrliirfiir .huilumiv, otc, l-l',', pji. :V.)S, :)'.tl».

■n ,

\ w

OlJOli.K.MS K'OSMAhTS A TLA Nil C W AMMS.

; 1,1

!'. I

.liicj^cr,* ill ISH, <l«'scrilu'<l tlic (IcntitidiMtrtlirrc iiillicr.voiiii;;-
WmIiiis skulls IVoiii I-iiltiiHlor. In llic yoini^^cst skull {s.\ inclics
loii^i, (iA iiirlirs IiiojmI, I'iiiis iiiciisiirc), uliicli li:i<l llic cimiiics
uboiit two iiic.lics !<>ii<;, lie notes lliiit tlie l:ist m|i|mt iiioliii' Itiid
already fallen tVoin the ri^lit side, hut still remained on tlio
left, belli lid wliieli, as well as heliind the ah et tins of the fourth
iiiohir on the ri<;ht side, was a little shallow pit, in wliieli, diir-
irij; fd'tal life, a tooth hiid perhaps stood. In front :A' these
heforeiiientioiied teeth were three molars on eaeli side, and in
front of these a eonieal iiieisoi, and the alxcoli of the others
were traceable, altlioii;4h alieiid.v filled with a spongy substance.
f the lower jaw, there were li\(' teeth on ea<'li side, with traces
of three already lalleii ludal incisors on one side and of two on
tli(! other, '{'he second skull (!>•/ inches by Trj) was somewhat
older, the canines bein^' about live inches lony. There were
present in this skull three ii|>per molars cui e:icli side, and a
lilled-wp alveolus behind them. Of tlu'se te<'tli fas also in tin;
other skull), tlu^ middle one wu.s the lar^^est and most worn.t
In front of these, and somewhat distant from them (')'"), was an
incisoron (;ach side, and in addition to these another jiair of small
c<uiical incisors. In (he lower Jaw of this skull were, on each
side, four teeth lionioloj;ized as ('. 1 — I, M. ."> — .'{; .lae^icr thus
recoj;ni/in^, as had Ifudolphi, Uapp, \Viej;iiiann, Fj'emery, and
Stannius, the lirst of the; low«'r-Jaw series as a canine. Iteliind
these were 1 races of lli«s alveoli of the fourth jiair of molars. In
the third skidl (leii«rth 12.\ inches, breadth lOA), still older, with
tusks a foot lonj;', wen^ three u]»[»er "baek-liMith " on each side,
close to;;('tlier, the middh; one beinj; the lar;;est, and in frontof
these a eultinj;-tooiii. The low<'r Jaw had also lour teeth on
each side, hom<do;;i/ed as bel'on'. In this skull, there remained
no trace of the middle incisors. Anotliei' still older skull had
the same dental formula a.s the last.

Owen, I in ISa.'., <;ave the followiii};' formula for llu' deciduous

<leiititionof the Walrus: I, ;-;~|i; <'-ol',; ^'- ^ilii='''^- This was
based on the examination of a youn;^' animal, which had
<lied in the /o()l(»<;ical (lardens of London, lie, at the same
time, J imposed the followiii};' as the formula of the normal or func-
tional dentition of the Walrus: I. J~J; O.',^',; J»m. ;|-:|=18.

• MIIII.'i'HTnli., 1-tl, i.p. 70-::..

t III tlir' yoiini; skulls dcsc rilicd liy Sliiiiiiiiis. I lie niiilillr innljii- is iiiciitinnod
UH lii'in^r iiiiiri)riiily tin' l:ir;;<'st nml iiiosi worn.

I I'roc. Zoiii. Smc. 1.(111(1., iHr.:t, J.]., lori, kig.

I)I;N'1 TlittN.

rrnfcssor ()\\<'ii. ill icffriiii.n In iiisl;niccs ol' (Icviiilioii iVom 111 is
loiliiiilii, (Ifpriidclll on (iillciTiiccs of ;i;;(' iilMJ s<'\, slalfil ••liiill
occiisidiiiilly :i siiiiill I noli I w; IS roiiiMJ jiiilcrior I o I lie iiuniiii! scries
(triour.iiiMl iiioic «'(»iiiiii(>iil\ in IJH' iipprr liiiiii I lie lowci-Jiiw : ;iii(l
lliiil. iiiiHc i;ii<'j\ , ;i siii;ill InoIJi \\;is siiiM'imlflcdbcliiiKl I lie nor
mill loiii-, ill llic upper jiiw, iiiid still inure rniely in Hie lower
j;i\\ ; llie roriniilii -A' tlie ileiitilion of siieli \iirielies, in exeess,

iH.in-.— i.r,-:, <■•

'ni.

;;, M,

I —I

1—1

= LM»." < hveli liereinnkes.

no relereiiee totlie lileinl lire of llic, sii'oject, aiid evldcntl.y ^avc-
a very erroneous inlerprelnlion ol' tiic; denial loriiiida. In Ids
■atei' relereiiees lo llie siihjecl lie, ^ives an enliiely diHereiit in-
terpretation, and one more, nearly af^reeiiij;' with lliat now <;oin-
monly a(M;ei>led. In his lalesi i«!leicn(U', lo llie, suhjecl,* iitj
writes: " In Hie W a!iiis(7V/(7/a7i».s' rfmnariin) \hv normal incisive
roriiiiila is I ransitorily represented in Hie veiy yoiin;;' animal,
wliieli lias three teeth in each i)rema\illary and I \v(» on each
side of the lore part of the lower jaw; Iheysoon disappeai'
except the outer pair above, which rcmaiiM'htse, to the maxil-
lary suture, on the inner side of Hie sockets of Hie eiiormoii.-,
canines, and commence the series of small and simple, niolus
which they resemhie in size and form. In the adult. Hien^ iMe,
usually three such molars on c k h side, hehiiid the permaiienf
incisor, and four similar teeth on each side, of the lowei' jaw;
the anterior one passing' into the intcrsiiace. between the npi»er

incisor and the lirst molar Tin; canii'es iii'e of enormous

si/e Their hom()lyp(i below I'clain.s Hicsizoan.l sliajte of

tile siiceeedin;;' molars," Tlit^ formulii of Hie normal dentition
a])parciitly hove re('o;;nize<l is: I.!!":]; <^- |ll; ^I^- !!5ti'=j^=-**'
(iiebcljt in 18.")"), j;;ive, si.K incisorsbotliJibovc and. below as tlio
iiniiiber existiuf? in Hie youiif,^ befor«5 and for a short time aft«u'
bijt h. ( )f these, the lower are said to soon fall out, their alveoli
then Itecoiiiinj;" filled with a bony deposit. Of tin; upper inci-
sors, Hie, inner pair iirst disappear, and soon after them also the
middle pair, leavinj? only the outer jiair, wliieh begin the nmla-
liform series, and to which they are often leferred, this outer
jiair persistin<;- till late in life. The u]tper canines, he says, are
never cast. | '•> Ihe lower Jaw, the lirst permanent looHi is
I'c^iardeil as a canine, because it is thicker and rounder than tluj
jtostciior leelli, and lacks tiie eross-furrow that marks the oth-
.\ii,ilinii\ 1(1" Vi'i'ti^hriitcs, vol. iii, y. ',V.W.

tOilniil,.-., 1,. M-J, |,1. :!(;, lijr. 7; Siill}irl ll., p. !v!;>.

^riirs iiic, iiowcvi!!', US mIiiiwii liy Miiliiigrcii (kim^ licyoiid), incccdcd in tho
riiii)iy() liy (cinporary tccili.

li-

■ V

( MM tU.KXrs K( )S.MAUrS ATI-ANTIC WALUUS.

; !

ors. The \(miij;aiiiiiia! \^i^ live iipiici iii()liiiil\»i'iii teeth (•' llaclc-
zslline''), tlie lii.st t\v<Mtf wliicli are smallest and early disajipear,
and also latei' the lliird, loavinj;' only two behind the canine,
and an anterior molarilbrni ineisor. In the lower Jaw there arc
only Ibnr •• Ilaekziihne" on each side, of which the last and
siaallest very soon talis away. 'I'lie dental Ibrnmla .yiven is as

follows :-(|;5',) + I 4- (;^l:)" = temporary dentition: l.:;!;!, C.
!ll' ^'- T^;i«<l>'ll dentition: 1. J^J, C. \-\, M. :-;. While
(iieliel ae('e]»ts the first ])ernianent tooth of the in<>lariforiM s<'rie.s
(if the Mi»i>er jaw as an ineisor, and the lirst in the lower Jav as
a canine, he recoj-nizes only two iiersisteid nioLirs on each side,
above and below.

Malm.uren,* in ISG4, ti;.>ured the dentition from a Iti'tal s]K»ci-
men, and i»nblished an elaborate i»a]»er on the deidition of the
Walrns, in which he leviewed at some lenjith the history of the
snbject, notieinjj;- (^nite fully the writings of the early authors,
from ( 'rautz to the Ciiviors, and the papers of liapii, Owen,
Wiegmaun, Xilsson, and other later writers. The fonnula he

I)resonts as that of the peraumcnt dentition is : I. ^-^J, C. ~\,
M. !|5J|=^=18; and for the deciduous dentition: 1. 1~^, 0. ]^\,
M,

4—4 Hi

J" 'JO +

4 — 4~Iii

The specimen figured shows both the permanent and deeidu-
ons dentition. The deciduous teeth are most of them separately
lignred, of natural size, as minnte, slender, spindle-i'ooted teeth,
with short, thi(;kened crowns. The permanent teeth are already
in place, altlumgh even the n]»per <'anines liad inobably not
pierced the gum. The middle i»air of incisors of both jaws had
ah'eady disappeared, leading only their distinctly recogiuzablo
alveoli. His specimen api)ears to have liad bnt a single cadn-
cous molarbehind the permanent series, Iron Avhich he assumes
the nnniber of upper molars to be 4 — 4 insteid of 5 — .").

The following year, Peters f referred to Malmgren's paper,
jiublishing a jdate illustrating the dentition as existing in a some-
what older skull (received from Labrador) than that tignred by
Malmgren. I'eters here takes e.\ce])tion to Malmgren's assumed
numberofba'.'k-teeth, which, in accordance with the views of Kapp

and Wiegmaun, Veters believed shoidd be I'—.', instead of j~i

>^ . i) — u' 4 — 4

•M»rvcrsiy;t ill' Kiiii.ul. \'(t.-Ak;iil. I'orlmmll., It^O.i, i)]). r)(lo-r)-J:.', jil. vii.
■ tTln' ii;i|M T liiMim |>iililislifit ill Swcdisli. I am iiiuihli' to I'ollnw liiiii in his

llisCllSsioll (if lIlC SlllljlMl .

t M(iiial>l). I\. P. Akail., l-^'i."), \)]>. (!t!r)-(i87, id. faciny p. Cc^.").

■■■i

DENTITION.

;JD

t'ii

According to lA-U-rs, .M;il!ii,i,'i\'ii, froui not liuditi.^' niorc than
I'oiu' iii>[t('r hiick Ici'tli ill any of I lit' many skulls of \arious aj;os
lie liiid cxaniiiicd, concluded lliat wjicn a lifth is present it is
aliiioriaal. TIk' youn}^' skull li,uui'ed and desciihed l)y P»;ters,
JHtwcvcr, lias in the ui)]»ei' Jaw tlie I'onrth and liltli hack-teeth
still in place on tiie lij^lit sidi', and the t'ourtli on the left side,
with an aheolusot'a liltli. This Peters considered as allording
new proof of the correctness of Wiogniainfs formula. As
already noticed, live molars have been recognized l»y I'remery,
l^app, (iiehel, and Owen, and, though perhaps not always pres-
ent, are frequently to be met with.

The dental formuhi of the Wabus, as determhied by liapp
and AVieginauu, hivs l)eeu adopted by Van der Iloeveu * and
Blasius, f as well as by Peters, and essentially by (liebel. Gie-
bel, however, gives oidy four deciduous lower incisors, instead
of six. Owen, in his later works, agrees in this point with Gie-
bcl, but takes apparently no cognizance of the deciduous fourth
and fifth molars, to which he refers, however, in Ids earlier
papers.

Gray, | in 18G(>, althouuh quothig the formida given by
Eapp, 'vlo ^s the folk-vlug: "Cutting teeth ^ in young, I in
adult; grniders —^ in adult, truncated, all single-rooted; ca-
nines, upper very large, exserted." He, however, quotes Iiapi)'s
fonnula, and also that given by Owen in his " Catalogue of the
Osteological Series of the IMuseum of the Eoyal College of Sur-
geons" (1853, p. 030).

Professor Flower, § in 18G0, gave a diagraui of the dentition of
the Walrus based on many observations made l>y himself and
on "those of others, especially' Professor Malmgren,'' in which
both the temporary and permanent dentition is indi<!ated as fol-
lows: Milk dentition: 1. 15|, C. \^^y M. |5^; permanent denti-
tion : I. ;-5j, C. ;^, M. ^5|. He adds that " it is probable that
an anterior rudhnentary incisor is developed in the uppei' if not
in the lower Jaw," making the temporary incisors hypotheti<'ally
l~l, " 1 believe," lu^ says, " that the rudimentary milk teeth
never cut the gum, and are absor1)ed rather than shed. This

process commences before birth, The rudimentary teeth,

however, in fr(uit of and behind the large teeth are not

^ LclirltiK'li (Icr ZoDloyie, I8i£>, p. 738, Eutjlisli cd.
\ Siiiiy;i'tlu(i'e Di'iUst'lilaiidw, l>i7u, iip. 2G1, :i0'2,
I Cat. Seals and Wliaks, p. :35.
vN .IiiMin. Aiiat. and Pliys., iii, ]). 27'2.

■mm

' .")<) oltoli.KNl S HOSMAHIS AI'LANTIC WAI.IM'S.

,,' , ; UIifi'cqiK'iitly pfl'sistciil to cxd'ciiic old iiyf, iilllioii.uli ('(Hiiliiolily

,, ' losi ill inacciMtcd skulls. TIk'si- iii(liiiiciiliii',v tcctli iirc iisiuilly

' ii dosciilicd as ' iiiilk-tcctli '; (ivcn llic postciior ones arc sonic-

times so called, luit it apjsoars to iiic an open (lucstion wlicllicr

tlio\ <lo not ratlicr i't'i>rcscnt pennaiiciit teeth in a nidiinciitary

I or aborted condition."

, J Huxley, ill liis "AnatoHiN of \'ertcl>rated Animals" (pp. I'A'A),

j . i 301), piiltlislied in l.sTl', ado])ts tlie f'ollowinji' as the dental for-

;; ' ; mulaofthe Walruses: "I. ,'-^, ('. J-[, i>.ni. in. :;-;!+ ;::^V' lie

I C ! says: >• Tlu^ dentiTioii of the Walrus is extremely peculiar. In

\\.< the adult, there is one simple conical tooth in the out«'r part of

I : the i)remaxilla, followed by a huge tusk-like canine, and three,

short, simple-fanji'od teeth. Sometimes, t\V(» other teeth, which

' ' i soon fall out, lie behind these, on each sid«' of the upper Jaw. In

, the mandible theie are no incisors, but a sin;;le slntrt canine is

' 1 ; followed by three similar, simple teeth, and l)y one other, which

I is caducous." * Txdh here and in the formula no reference is

made to the deciduous incisors, althouj;li the caducous molars

are recognized.

In the fore^oiiiii risitmr, we have seen how va^tui Avas the
information bcaiiii.u' on this .viibj;'t possessed l)y all writers
I, l)i-ior to altout tile Ix'^iiniiiiiu' of the present ceiitiii\ : how the

jji ' ' earlier notices of the existence of iiicisois in i lie noiiiii:' were

overlooked and rediscoxcrcd l»y hiter writers, as well as how
' slowly the tirst periiianeii', tooth of the molariform series of the

ui>per Jaw came to be ^('neially reco^iiixed as a true incisor and
not a molar; how, later, the numi)er of incisors in theyonn^was
fouiul to be six in tlii' upper Jaw and six in the lower Jaw, with,
as a rule, two small caducous molars on each side in the upper
jaw, and one on each side in the lower behind the i>ermanent
' . grindinj;' teeth ; that the tirst permanent molariform tooth of

the lower Jaw was a canine and not a molar; and that l>y dif-
ferent writers the inimber of incisors i-eco^nized in the lower
jaw has been sometimes four and sometimes six, and the cadu-
cous upper mohirs re<;arded sonK'tiii:"s a.s one and sometimes
as two. Finally, that the true formula of the full dentition of
the Walrus is I. i!^!*; C. \-\; I'm. M. ]-;;=l;?=;U. It lience

appears that the dentition of the Walruses is peculiar and some-
what abnormal in four featui'cs, namely, (1) the early disap-
pearance of all the incisors except the outer pair of the upper

* AiiMt. N'crti'ln-. Aiiiiii., \)\k ;?(jO, ;?G1.

Hfc^ffl

FOSSIL IIKMAINS.

i)l

jaw, (L') llic ('iionnoiis (l('V<'lo]iiin'iit of fluMiiipcr caiiincs. (.'») tlic
sli.uiil spcriali/.alinii of l lie liiwt'i' caiiiiics, aiitl (I) t he <'a(!iic()!is
ciiaiiictci' III' till' two postciiur |iaiis nl' molars ol' 1 hi' iipiu r jaw
anil till' itostcrioi' |)air in tlic litwi r jaw. 'I'lir ciirly (Iciititidii of
tln' Walrus (lillcrs mainly iVom tli.il ol' iiiost ullici' riiiniprils in
liaviH,u six lower incisors instead of lonr. I lit' incisi\»' Ibi'Miiila ol'
otJMT Pinnipuls, as^ciicially I't'coj^uizcd, Itcinj;' usually v^ !. IVc-
qucnlly i;"!;, and sonu'tiMics (as in Mocrorli i mis iuu\ t'l/stopliura)
•-^-, — never, at least in the i>einiaiient dentition, ^-~;|, but I am
far Iroiii sure this number may not sometimes appear in the
deciduous dentition, in the Sea Otter {Knlii/dris), there are
said to be six lower incisors in the yonn^i', wliile only four are
present in adult lile. The middle i)air of h)wer incisors so early
disai>]tear that e\cn in very yonny specimens they are some-
f'lnes wanting;. Ifapj) found in a f(etal s])e('imen tliree on one
side and only two on the other, and ([uite a inimber of ]>romi-
nenl writers on the subject have reco^iiii/ed two j>aii's of lower
incisois as the normal number. In many specimens, the alveoli
of three pairs have been found, and, in addition to tin? instances
already jiiven, 1 may ad '. that theic is a younu' skull in the
Museum of ('om])arative /o(lloi;y lliat shows decided traces of
thri'c paiis. the outer incisor on one side bein^■ still in j>lace.

In view of all that is at jtresent known respectinj^' the sid)-
ject, 1 a(h)pt the followinji formula; .is beini;- well-established, —
premisinji', however, that they are substantially in accord with
the view of the ease presented by Professor Flower in 18(I!» : —

Temporary dentition: 1. i|i;|; <'.JeI; M. i5^ = ||; = ;w.

Permanent dentition : I. i-;^-; t\}5-|; M. •^^^=JJ = 2G; the
last two upper molars and the last lower one on each side
being rudimentary and often absent.

Fossil Re3IAIx\S.— llemahis of the Atlantic Walrus, in a fossil
state, have been fonnd at various points along the Atlantic
coast li'om Elaine to South Carolina, and in Europe as far south
as l-lngland and France. The first noticed front American locali-
ties was thus mentioned by Barton in 1S05, but the locality
is not given, lie says: "The bones of one of these large
animals have been foun»l. Tines*? ap])ear to have belonged to
as]»ecies <»f trichcchns; j)erhaps to the triclicchun rosinarus or
?Ho/-.sc."* Messrs. Mitchill, Smith, and Cooper described, hi

*Liiii(l(.ii Phil. Mill;., vol. .\xxii, !->()'>, p. Dd

»aJU,>J*-

i:'

oS olxiB.EMS IJOSMAIiCs — ATLANTIC WALKIS.

1<S2S.* ii s]»('ciiiM'ii coiisistiiiu of llic iiiifcrior portion of ;i skull,
foinid on t lie scii Im'ih'Ii in Accoiimc ( 'ouni v, Vii'.niniii, Tlic same
s]M'cinn'ii \\;!s ;ilso (Icscrihcd latcf Itv Il;nliin.i Tlicsi', wiilcrs
nil coNsidcrcil it ;is iicnrinu' tlic rlosrst I't'scnihhnict' to tin- cuitc-
spondini;' iioition of tlic sI<mII of tin cNistiiiL;' Wiiliiis, to wiiicii
tlicy (lonl>tfMllv fcftTicil it: hut hitcr it wiis rc^nrdcd 1>\ l)fi\ii.\
Jl-S r('i»i'('S('ntiii;n' ii distinct species, to wliicli lie ii;i\e liie n;i:iie
Trlcli cell IIS ririiiiiiiiiiiis.\ In iSlI, l,,veil described a tusk ul»
tainod from the Tertiary Clays of (iardiner. Maine, wliicli
Owon reii'ardod as pi'ol»al»l\ belonijiHiU' to an extinct s|»ecies.§
Lyellll also refers to a skidl lie ohtained at .Martha's X'ineyard,
Massaeliiisetts. Ilcdcseiihes tliis skull as >• lilferin.L;fr(Mn skulls
of the cxistiiiij;' species {Tricliivliii.s rosmiini.s, IJnn.). with wliich
it was eoiiipaicd hy Professor Owen, in lia\ in,u' only six molars
and tw(» tusks, whereas those of the recent lia\ ti four molars on
each side, besides occasionally a rudimentary one. The front
' I tusk is rounder than that of the recent walrns."<|

In 1S."»7, Dr. Leidy** described and li^iired a skidl found on
the sea-beach at Lonj;' l>ranch, 3Iouuiouth Couidy, New .Jersey,
where it was (»btain»'d by Prof. .1. V. l''razer in IS."),'), and refers
to another specimen (consistin;j;' of the facial portion of a skull)
J discovered at the same locality by Prof. (Jeo. II. Cook. The

first-nanK'd specimen, says Dr. Leidy, ''has lost a portion of the
craniuui i>roi)er, and the exserted ixution of one tusk, but other-
Avise, except beiny a little water-worn, is in a ^ood state of
preservation. It is luichan^^ed in texture, and nearly so in
colour; and it helonyed to an old individual, as all the sutures
are com])letely obliterated. The form of the facial ]>ortion of
this specimen corresponds with that of the specimen from Vir-
ginia, [described by JJeKay and precediuji' Avriters,J abox'e men-
tioned ; and the entire skull closely resembles that of the recent
Walrus, TrichccliiiN rosmai'iis, as represented in Ihi^ li<;ures of
Danbenton, (.'iivier, and De lilainviUe ; and its measurements
are also sufllciently near those j^iven by the lirst-named auth(»r
to recoj^nize it as the same s]iecies.

* Anil. bye. \:it. Hist. New Ycuk, vol. ii, Is^S. j.. -JTl.
tEdiuli. New I'iiil. .loiirii., vol. xvii, l-^IM. p. :!C.(l.
tNat. Hist. Xfw Yoik, Zoiilof^ty, \>t. i, t>'l'J, [p. aCi, |il. \ix, (ins. t, <t, b.
$Sci> I'lH-kiiitl. .A[<Mii. I'.ost. Soc. Nal. Hist.. v<.l. i. \H)7, \>. 'ilC.
IIAincr. .(.lurii. Sci. and Arts. vol. xlvi, IsM, )>. oil*.

^1 As is well known, t lie cxistiiij;' Wah'is lias occasionally only I lie imiiilni
oftoctli foiiiid in tlic .Marllia"s Vini'yard siu'cinicn.

**Traiis. .Via. I'liil. Soc, \(d. xl. \<u, \>. -:>. ids. i\, \, li^-. 1.

m4il

"I,

FOSSIL REMAINS.

"Tlif tusks in tliu fos.sil ciirvod (lowmvai'dly in a <liv('i\i;inj^
niaiiiKT, und were about lour inclics distant t'roni each otlicr at
their cnicij^cnci^ Irom tlic alveoli, aud ten inelios at their tips.
The reiiiaininii' tusk in the speeinion is thivtoen inches long
fi'om its alveolar border, and in this latter ])osition it is three
inches in diameter antero-postcriorly and one and three quar-
ters inches trans\ersely . . . ." The other specimen, from
Xew -Jersey, ini.'Utioned above, he says is also ''unchanged from
its original texture, but is lu'own from the intiltration of oxide
of ii'on. it also belonged to an old individual, as all the
sutures are obliterated, and the third moLirs togetiu'r with the
greatei' [tart of their alveoli are gone. In its anatomical de-
tails th<' si)ecimen agrees with, the eorrespoudiiig portion of
J'rofessnv iMiizer's specimen, except it is an inch and a half
broader in tlu' ])osition of the canine alveoli, and the antero-
posterior diameter of the tusk is rather less.'-* Of both these
speci! ens, I)i'. Leidy gives ligures, and they agree entirely with
corres])onding parts of tlu! existing North Atlantic species.
Dr. licid.w howe^'cr, notes ditt'erences between thes(} specimens
and tli(»se of the Walrus of the Xorth ra<'ific.

J)r. Leidy adds: "An important (piestion now arises in rela-
tion to the age or geological period to which the three Walrus
skulls, tluis discovered on the coast of Xew Jersey and Virginia,
belong. As they appear to be of the sanu' species as the recent
TrirliecliKfi ronmurus, which once lived in great numbers in the
(xulfof St. LawTenee, they are most ])robably the remains of
individuals that Avere once tloated upon th'lds of ice southerly,
and left on the present United States coast. Or, perhaps they
may l>e "^he remains of the sanu' species which prol>ably during
the glacial period extended its habitation very far south of the
latitude in which it has been found in the historic iieriod."! In
view of the now well-known former extension of the habitat of
the Moose, (Jaribou, lieindeer, Musk Ox, and other northern
manuiials, southward to Kentucky, the latter hypothesis seems
the more probable one, and that the species in glacial times
inhabited the eastern coast of the United States southward to
Virginia, if not even l)eyond this point.

3[ore recently. Dr. Leidy has announced the occurrence of
AValrus remains in the phosphate beds of Ashley Jtiver, South
Carolina, and has described aud figured a tusk from that locality.

* Trans Aiiii'f. IMiil. Soi'., vol. xi, jiji. f^l!, 84.
tlliid.. p. .-^l.

^ii, 'i;

< »1 >( )nA:NIJS 1{0SMAHL.S — ATLANTIC WAMJl'S.

( ■':!'

''Til is spcciiiicii," lie siiys, " is its Idacli as cboiiy, dense, licstvy,
and Itiittlc, and is iicaily coiiiplctt', cxccpl a( llic tliin border oi"
the |»idp eavil.v. 'rii(MMu\atiiri' is ,«;li>;lit, and it indii-ates the
tootli li> he oi' the h'l't si(U'." He <;iveH its <liniensi()ns or ien};tli
externally, Ibllowin^' the eurviitiire, thiiteen ineiies; near the
root it has an anteroposterior diameter of three and live-eiuhths
inches, and a t ransverse diameter ol'oni! and tliree-lburths inches,
and at the middle tlie tninsverse diameter is two ami one-eighth
inches, while the anteroposterior 'diameter is about the same as
at the base. "In robust character," he adds, "the tusk (piite
equals those of the largest mature recent skulls which have
come umler my observation, but is much shorter and nu)re ab-
iiiittly tapering. The specimen looks like what wv might sup-
pose the tusks of the living animal would be were they broken
olf near the middle and then worn away little more than one-
fourth the length in a curved line (■ '"cted from the coiu'se of
tlie anterior longitudinal convexity to ilie tij). The com]»arative
brevity of the tusk and its worn condition at the end may ])er-
hajis have depended upon Just such an accident an<l subsecpuMit
wear. In a mature skull from the shore of Sable Island, and
preser\('d in the 31useum (»f the .Vcademy, the tusks, which ar«'
of the usual size, arii worn in the same manner as the Ashley
s])ecimen for nu)re than half their length."

After describing in detail th» tinting of the tusks, and the
variation noticeable in this respect in different skulls of the liv-
ing Walrus, he concludes that, while the tinting ditl'ers some-
what in the fossil tusks from that usiuilly seen in the tusks of
the existing animal, these dift'erences cannot bo considered as
lun ing specilie vahu?. In referring to BeKay's " Trichcchus vir-
ginidHUH,''^ lie says: "No remains of an luuloubtedly extinct
s])i'cies known to ine have been discovered anywhere." He
finally adds, respecting the Ashley fossil, that " it is an inter-
est ing fact to have learned that this [the living] or a closely re-
lateil spe(;ies formerly existed so far south as the Ashley liiver.
South Carolina."*

he discovery ()f the greater part of the skeleton of a Walrus,
including the skull, with the tusks over iive inches long, and all
the teeth except two, in the Quaternary Clays at I'ortland,
Me., was made during July of the ])resent year (1878). It was
found in excavating for the foundation of the new "Boston &
Maine" transfer station, at about seven feet from the surface.

Moniii. Aciid. Nat. S(,i. I'liila., 2(1 kit., vol. viii, 1877, pp. 'Jl 1-210, pi.
XXX. liii'. •>.

FOSSIL li'K.MAlNS.

'• ]| \v;i,s])iirli;ill,v imbedded in :i liiyt-r t»l" blue el;iy ii tu(»t in fliiek-
iiess, (tveiliiid by i) lii.verofli-iliterela.v l\\<> I'eel two iiielies (liick,
('()iil;iiiiiii,n (lists iiiid f^\n'\ls iA' Mi/d (iriiKiria, Maroniii iinhiil<i.s((,
MiiUjltis rilidis, ('oriUioii (tScrripcN) ijni nltiii'livniii, ANtnrtc triat-
catdj fSdricdi'd dislortd. Xnviild dnii<iit<(, Leila tciuiisulrtitdy L.
iruiicdUi, ydlird rhoisd ;ind piisilld, and lldldiiiis. The siieleton
is ill tlie Miisemii ol' liie roillaiid Hoeiety of Natural Ilist(»ry."*

Ill lliiroiK', \\ ilnis remains were rejxirted by (.'iiviert as Ibmid
at Aiijuers, I'ranee, but Gervais| Ibund later tliat tlie only ])or-
tioii ol' tiiose remains accessible to liini beloiij;ed not to the
"Walrus, but lo Ww Jldlithcrunii.

Ill isr».s, however, a jiart of a eranium was described by (Ira-
tiolet, i'rom the diluvial deposits of Montrouj^e, near Paris, lie,
however, considered it as ilistiiict from the existing species, even
geiierieally, and gave it the name Oilohcnoiherimn Jartctianum.^
In 1S7 1, a nearly entire skull Mas described by Dcfrance, from
similar deposits near the village of Sainte-Menehould, Marne,
Avhicli he not only considered as identical with the livhig species,
but also referred the fragment previouijly described by Gratiolet
to the saiHC species. Eespecting these specimens he says :

'< En comparant entre elles les tetes du Trichcchns rosnidrus
de iios mers, de VOdohcnothcrium Ldrtctianum et du Trirlifrhns
do SdintcMenchouId, on leur trouve une ressemblance aussi com-
plete <iue possible, sauf en ce qui concerne la forme <'t le vo-
lume de I'apophyse mastoide, point qui presente des dillerences
assez sensible. On salt que dans le T. rosmaruti cette ai)ophyse
est tri'S-grande, presque verticale, et saillante la partie infe-
rieure du crane; cello de VOdohcnoihcnum, dgalement tres-
volumineuse, se prolonge presque horizoutalement en arritire,
sans d6passer le crane inferieiu'ement ; celle (hi Trichechvs de
Sa'mte-Mcnchould pr(3sente un volume plus considdrable encore
que dans les deux autres, sans se prolonger en arri^re comme
dans VOdohcnothcrium, mais inferieurement comme dans le
Trichechus actuel. Ces nuances Wg^res iudiquent evidemment
une etroite parents entre ces trois individus ; aussi est-il diffi-
cile de comprendre /lue Gratiolet ait voulu <itablir lui nouveau
genre sur des particidarit(js pen accentu(5e que celles que lui
pr(jseutait la portion de crane dont il (Halt possesseur, et (pii ne

' Aiiici-iciin NatumliHt, vol. xii, ji. ()'.j:!, Sept., 1878; see also Portland (Md'me)
Argus, ot'Jiily — , 1878.
t Ossein. Foss.

tZool. et Paldont. Fraufaises, 1850, p. 88.
\'>Bull. Soe. Gdol. de Frauce, 2-= «6r., xv, 1858, p- C24.

; • \'S'

*S J.«

,:i*^aj^

fi2

(tltlill.r.MS K'OS.MAKMS — ATLANTIC WALKI'S.

}|.

1 H'" t

sont (I'liillcins »|ii(' ties piiiticiiliMitf's relatives ])oiir lii plnpart i\
IVi;;*' ct ill! scxr, iiiiisi <|ni> Til <'tiil)li M. (icivais."*

Vail r.('ii»'<U'iit ivi'vVH to (J rat inlet's M])eeiiin'ti at some length,
;,'iviii}i' its full history ami exjiosiiii^' its true eharaeter. Tie says:
'•Oil a Iroiiv'' a Moiilroiiju'e, pies de Paris, il y a <niolqiies au-
iiees. nil eriiiH! Uoiit on s'est l)eaiieon|> oceiiju'et ipie (Iratiolct u
(leeiit sons le nom iVOdohnmtlurv. Lai'tet I'avait reinis s\ (Jratio-
let. Xous avons examine cette tete avee tout le soin mlcessairc
et lions partapjeons conipletenient I'avis que M. I'anl (lervais a
exj>i'iin6 t\ son snjet dans la Zoolof/ie et la PnU'ontoUxjic frani;ai8es
(p. SS), c'est-a-(liie, (pie ee erane IVaittnre et .pit a subi I'actiou
du fen, n'est antie (!hose (pi'iui erane de >rorse vivant qui 6ii(t
rapporte da Xord.

'• Nons avons etndie eett<i pieee avee M. I'anl (rorvais, ayant
de\ant nons tons les elements (hi eoiiiparaison (pK^ ])ossMo hj
Mnst'iiiii et e'est a]»n's avoir s(''rieiiseikieiil la'siti* si I'Odobe-
iiot here (\st nil .Morse on lion, (pie nons nons soniineran^iV'de I'avis
(le ii()tr«; savant eonlVere.

'•(Jet Odol)(''iiolhei(! vepos(> snr nil t'rajiinent de crane (hmt la
eavite een'-hiale a (''t('' ntiUstJe pour iiii iisa;;'e (piehMtiapie et (pii
anra ('id apportc dans eet etat ])ar (piehpie i»("('lieiir dii Nord.
C'est h; e('»t«!i droit et iioii le e(»t('' jianehe (pii est eoiiservtJ.

"(-ehii qui se Ironve devaiit ee rra<;iiieiit de crane et (ini a
devaiit Ini nii choix de seel ions dcs diverses le^ioiis <h^ la tete,
comprend aiseineiit (;oiiiiiient a pn se troiiiper.

•• L'inqKU'tance (pie J^e lion a. attaeluM^ i"l la pn'jseiiee de eette
tote dans h' Diluvium i(ni}4(',toiul)eaiiisi coiiqdf'temeiit; iYpropos
de la pi-riode ylaciaire, Le lion avait ac('(mh'' niie s^rande vahnir
a eette pn^tendne diJconverte (hi j;ratiolet."T

Lankester, in 1805, deseril)ed fossil tasks, from the Red Crag
of England, of an animal evidently closely allied to the Wa]rn>s.
He ennmerates no less than twelve or tifteen spechneiis of these
remains, mostly I'ragments, collected from varions hicalities, all
from the so-called "IJed ("rag" forniati(ni of England, or its
eqni\'alent. The principal hxtalities are Sntton, Felixstow, and
Bawdsey, hi England, hnt he refers also ty tlnMr o(!cnrrence at
diilerent points in Jjelginin. The iiiaj(nity of the specimens
of the tusk obtain(!(l, Avrites .Mr. Lankester, "are its ])ointcd

'Dull. Soc. G<;ol. de rranec, I^' st^r., ii. 1H7-I, pp. ICO, 170.

tDcsL'iip. (tcsOsHcineutsFossilcsdcslJivironsd'Aiivcvs, Aim. Mtis. d'llist.
Nat. (le I]clKi,i,'iu\ i, 18T7, pj). 10. 11.

t'vt.i; lid's, I.'iiiniiiiK fds^ih, l';ti7, p. 1)1)4. — Id., Jlouitininl dca mora . , . , ,
p. 48, 1^70."

FO.SSIL KKMAINS.

<;;;

toniiiiiiitioiis; hill otiifi- s|icciiiii'iis, of tlu^ bust' aiiil iiitcnncili-
iitc |»orti()iis, liu\«' collie lo li;;lil. 'riirtdif-lioiil its U'iij;tli," Mr.
I.;iiilv«'»ti'i- cuiiliiiiu's, •• w iiirli in soiih' cxamplrs must Iiaxc Ih'uii
I'lillv liiivc I'l't't, llic liisU is sli;^lilly curved; but in those wliicli
apptar In 1»<' I'lilly j;ro\vii tlic curve, is (loiisiilerably ;;i'e;ilei'
lowanls the leriiiiiial point, the (lirccttioii of the ciii\c, probabl^N
<>i\iii^ ihe tiislv, it' its l'iiini;;raih^ atllnities Ixt established, a
j'elrollccted position, as in tlic Diiiotluiriiun. Tiie Cia;;' tusk
is \eiy iiiiuih compressed hiterally, so liiat. its transverse sec-
tion lias an elUptical outline, whilst that of th»i Dinothrriuin-
tusk is nearly cireidar. 'I'he amount of lateral compression
is, however, extremely variable, as it is also in tin; iixiii^^- VV'al-
nises; the amount also of the lat«!ral as well as the antcro-
j)osieii(»r llection <»f the tusk appears to vary, as in the recent
Tfivlnriis, the xariability of which in the si/e and form of its
ni>ks is well known. A single lar^e furrow on the outer siir-
I'acc. two on the inner, and one on tin; inner curved margin, ex-
tend aloiij; the wiiole length of the tusk ill many specimens,
exactly similar to those oil some liisks of Walrus; but in both
the recent and fossil specimens llie_\ are subject to much varia-
tion, i.i I heir major or minor dcM-lopmci it. No appearance of aii\
weaiili;;' of Ihe point of the tusks b_\ use diirill.y life is obsiTVa-
l)!r: and indeed the j;reater backward cui'vatnre of that part
sei'iiis to result from its freedom from iisan'c, since in the Walrus
the jioint of the tusk is rapidly worn away, which of course
checks any tendency to curvature which mi,i;lit become. a|)par-
cut if the tusk were not used against such hard substances us
rocks and blocks of ice.

'• I'loiii ail cxaniinatiun of the yeuoral contour and form of the
tusks, without reyard to their substance or structure, one would
unquestionably be led to reyard tlieui us belonj^in;;- to an animal
siiiiihu' to the existiu,';' Walrus, inasmuch as it is in this animal
alone that this form of tusk, \\*ith its longitudinal furrows, j;reat
h.'iijitli, and j;entle curvature, is found."'

.Vfter describin}^' ill detail the structure of ihese fossil tusks,
as shown in seittiyns and as revealed by (he microscope, ^Mr.
Laiikester further observes: -'In its microscopical striutlnre,
the dentine of the fossil tusks presents a complete resemhlauee
lo that of the Walrus,* .... The dentinal tubes are verv

*Tli('ir inicii)s('(>])it'!il siructiu'i', iis wot! ;ih cxttTiKiI \'tn\\\, tar illustrated
liy uuiiu'i'iius liL;iii'.'s, loniiin;^' jilatcs x and \i, afcoiniiaux iiii; Mr. t.aidvf.s-
ii'r's jiaprr.

(»I)()IL1>NLJ.S K'OMMAIMS ATI.ANI'IC WAMJl'-S.

'I-

'■'1

^i(^^-:1!^l

nearly of the Siiiiic : izc, and ('(inally closclv paclccd, and ate
connected with stellate lacnna' in some nnnilteis near the jjcri-
pliery of the tooth. This Vtinclnic, which is not pc ^n liar to the
Walrns, is, nevei'lheh'ss, a l«'st of alllnitv, inasnnicli as the form
of the lacuna- vaiies in dillercnt animals, 'i'liev are not .net
with in the tnsks of the I'roboscidea or tin' liippopotannis, init
occnr in the cnrions incisors of the l)n,n(»n,ii. i'he ■dentinal

cells' of the < 'ra,n' tnsks also reseiiihle those <»f the W'ali'iis

In Htrucfiin^ the cement exactly resembles thatof the Walrus,
displayin,:;' vascnlar canals, honc-lacnna', and canalicnli. of the
.siune form and disj)osition ; hnt the |>rop(»rtion which it hears
to tln! tlii(;kiiess » I" the othei' tooth tissues appears t(t he lar;>«T
in the Walrus than in the; lossil.

" I'^'rom the foicn'oini;' remarks it will he apparent that w;- have
in thesivfossil tusks characteis which ally them most closely to the
lai'ii'c canines of the ;j,'einis lV<t7/t'c'».v." After eiuimcratin,i4 the
])ointsof form and stnuttun! which distnijj^uish these tusks from
t]ios(^ of other animals, and those which assin)ilate tlieni to those
of th(^ Walrus, he thus j^eiu'ializes the rcsidts ot' his investij;ii-
tions: " iiastly, they resend»le lln^ lari^c canine tusks of the
living' Tricliccvs in their eui \atnre, varyinj-' lateral compi-ession,
hirj^'i suiliicc-furrows, short ami wide jndp-cavity, globular
• o.sseodentine', and every detail of minute structui'c. They
ditfer from them in their yreatir cnrvatmc at the i»oint of the
tusk, their <;reiiter iatiaal <;oinpression, and minor development
of cement.

''I iu;cordinf;ly pro]>o.S(; to establish the ^enus Trichccodoa to
r<'ceiv(( the animal tinis iiidicated. The Jusu(i(;ation of a e,en-
erio .sepiirutioii mu.st bes(m<.dit iuthefaetof the yreat anticpiity
of the 14od Crag, and the consequent probability of the associ-
ation of other and more distinctive attributes with those of the
tusks."

As re^'urds its ji'eolo^^ical posithni ami associations. Mi". Lau
ke.ster adds: " It a])i)ears that the Trichaothm IlKxlciji, like the

Cetice."n remains of the Cray and hw^v. Sharks' teeth,

is a <ler' 4-ed fossil in the I'ed (Jraj;, beloiif;iuif ])roperly to the
.Middle Crajiy,7hiel' is not m,vv observable in this country \\'ln<^-
land], but is well develoi)ed at and near Antwerp."*

It thus a])pears that Mi'. Lankester was as much, or more, in-
lluenced in hi.'- generic difterentiation of these fossils from the.r

* Qii.irtcrl^- Jonnial of flu; Geol(i;^if:!il Socifty of London, xxi, l^iT), i^p

ffif

(ii:(»<ilJAI'll!('.\l, DISTKIBI riON.

t)5

iiciiiTsI li\ ill ,, iilli<'>;, 1>.\ the ;^(.'(>l(»;4i(.'al «'\ idciM'c ol' llirir ;iiiti(i-
iiit\ i!s Itv tli<' ;ictii!ill,\ ■»l).s('i'V('(l and inliriittcdlN s!ij;lit dilVci-
ciicrs of roiMi and striifl inc. Mr. liaiiUcslcr docs not iiiloiiii iis
rcsi»;'(i iii.u I Ik- locality wIicik-c <'aiiic liis spcciiiicns oi' t lie t iisks
ol' ilir li\iii.';' Walrus with wiiicii lie coinitais'il tin- fossil liisks.
Ill I his coll licet ion it iiia.v l»<' added (see further on this point the
Mccoiint nl' 0(l()l)(r'tiis<)h(Niis'j;]\<'n\t{'y{m(\){hn{ (he disks of the i'a-
cilic species (^/(/o/yrr/*»f.s- o/>r.s».s) are not only !oii;;ciand slenderer
than I hose of liie Atlantic species {(). rosiiHiriis), hut are shaiper-
j)oiiilcd and more inciiiNcd, and do not present the worn and
hntkeii appearance so often (indeed, iisiially) seen in the tasks
of lid individuals of the latter. Whet her oi- not tlic\ present
dilfercnces of striK'tiirc has not, so far as known ,0 me. hceii
iiiicroscopieally determined. The tusks of the l*acilic species,
flirt herm(»re, sometiiiK's atfain the si/(^ indicated for the tusks
of" TriclKcodon hnxhuiW For the jircscnt I niiist consider Laii-
k(!Stci"s Tricltcwdon hiudcjil as certainly not j;«'iierically separ-
able from the exislin^' Walruses, although it may have; differed
from the exisliny Atlantic species in larger si/*; and jiossihly in
other cl'.aracters, as so often ha[>pen,s among' the iiniiiediate [»ro-
genitorsof existing speeios in other gToui>s of inainmals.

\'an IJeiieden has recently reviewed iit considerable length
the hi loryof the supposed and actual fossil remains of tin;
Walrus,* sliowing that most of those reported as found in dill'er-
eiit ]»arts of l^'ranc • aiuKjcrmany were really those of d.iHereut
>speci(!s of extinct tSireniaus or other animals than the Walrus.
Van Ucneden, liowever, describes and iigures a dorsal vertebra
Ik; considers as that of the Walrus, found near Deurne, and a sea-
]»hoid hone from Anvers.

(iKiKiKAl'IIlCAI. DlSTUnU'TlON, PKKSJINT AND PAST. — 1.

(Uxtst oJ'Nortk America. — As already shown (^/H/m,pp.'~>7-<»l ), the
Walrus, like the Musk Ox, the (Jaribou, and the Moose, langed
(hiiiiig the great lee Period nn.ch beyond the southern limit of
its Itoiindary at the time the eastern coast of North Ainericii
was first visited by lOiirop 'aiis. AVhile its icmains have been
found as far south :;s Xew .Jersey, Vii'ginia, and even South
< -arolina, thert; is no (;vi<lence of its existen(;e on the New I'hig-
laiid coast within hi; '^ ric time, or during flu; last three hiili-
dred and titty years. During the last half of the sixteenth cen-
tury they are known to Iiave frequented the soiitheiii coast of

' Aim. .MiiH. (I'llist. Nat. d .'clgiquc, i, 1877, w. ;«M!!>.
.Misc. I'ul>. No. IL' r»

fid

nl>0|',,i;M S IJOSMARIS All-AN'I H' WAMMIS.

No\ ;i S(i»ti;i, ;i.^ ucll ;i - t lit- sliorc-i mid isliiiids to I In- iioiHiWiird;
hill llii^ ;i|i|M-:irs lo liiivi- \u-i\i :il lliiil liiiic llicji' soiif licrii liinit

Ol l|i>ll illlllidll.

Ill M;i\, I."».'I1, II1C3 well' iiicl uilli l»\ .hiiiics ( iniicr, nhoiit
llic i>l;iiiil ol' '" K':ilii<-;i"' (piol^iMv Siihic I.s|;iii(lj, w li(» t liiis irlcis
1(» IImiii: "Ahoiil Hh- siiid Isliiiid {li:iiii(;i| jiic v»'r\ j^icmU;
Ix'iislcs ;is ;ii(';it iis oxen, wliicli li;i\c luo ^^ifiit tcctli in tlicir
fiioiitlis Iil<c unto l']|(')ili;iiil.s tcctli, \- live iilso in llic S(!!i.
VVf saw tlu-ii! slccpin;; iipo!! Ilic i)iinKc of llic \v;itcr: wcclliink-
inji to talic it, went with our Itoiitrs. ImiI so sooih- as lie heard
IIS, he cast liiiiiscll'c into ( he sea."* 'I'liev were altf-rwaKJ liiiiile.d
licrc lor their liisKs and oil. 'Ihiis l.'i<'liai(l I'ischej-, in s|»i'akiiin"
ol' the same island, sa\s: "()n uliich Isle lot' l.'aniealarc so

7 • I ]

^^icat aliiindaiice (»!' the liii^f and iiii;jlilic Sea <)\cn with ;;real
teeth in iiionclhs of April, Mav and .lime, that there lia\e liene
lilliciie hninirclh Killed Ihere Its one siiiall hiiike. in Ihe \car
loltl."! Till' satiie u rile)' tells lis 1 hal (ieor^^e l)iaKc, luo vears
later, •• found a shippi' ol' Saint Malo thifc- pail> I'reiyhted
with these lislies." Another writer sa_\s tiiat he had seen
;i "drs Hal lidl al oiiee" ol' llieir teeth, ••uliieh ale a i'oole
and -iiiiielinies more in len'^IJi."" 'riie\ al^o. al ahoiil I li< ,-ame
time, rieipieiited the >o called •• l;ir<l l,-land,> "' oil' < 'ape Kiel on.
Sa.\ s < hai'les l<ei;4h : •■ I poll the lesse ol' t hese l.dands ol' llirds
Ave >au ;iieate store of Morsses or Sea Oxen, wlii<'h were a
sleepc upon liic rock<'S: Imt when we apinnachcd nere unto
them uilli our lutale tlie,\ east liieiir-el\e> into tiie >ea and
j)iirsiied ii.> with such fiirie as that ue were ;^lad to lice from
lliein." It is later said that the nnmlMr of these "Sea Oxen'"
was "ahoiil thirt\ or fortv.":j l''rom Ihe accounts of <ilher
Wllters we leaiii that I lie>e -'Sea < )xen " u ere a<'custoiiied to
resort to these \arioiis islands during Apiil, .Miiv and .liine.
loi' Ihe. purpose of luin;;ili;; forth t heir \oiiii;:. 'I'liiis, ■■'rhoinas
.lames ol' iJristoll,"' in sjieakin^ of t he " Isle of l.'amea.'" sa.\ s it
was situated "in 17 de;irees, some lift ie lea;4ues from thedrand
IJas. lie. re New foniidlaiid : and i-^alioiil I w eiit ie lea.uiu s aiioiit .
and soiiH' pail of the Island is Hal Sands and shoiilds: and IIk
list I commeih on liaiike do do ilieir kiiidcj in Ajiril, Mav i\: ■liiiie.
by iiiiiiihers of I liou>aiids. w hicli lish is verv hi;;: ami halh tun
^I'eat tcelh; and I he skiniie of I lu'iii is lik< Iliiffi'S l« al her : ami
<ln\ will not awav from their voii" ones. 'I'lie \on;i ones an

' Jl.ikluyl, Vo,v;i-.s, \()l.iii,i.. 'i.'.l. tll)i(|.,|i.-^;i^. i ll.i.l., pp. -^l^', ^!l'.».

(;i;(»(;|{Ai*iii('\i, Disi Kiiu rioN.

MS ;^o(Mi iiumI iis \'<';il<'. AimI uilli llic bellies ol li\eur tlic,
Hiiide li-iiies lliev liKiUe ;i li(»;;.slie;Ml ol' 'I'riiiiie, wliieli 'rijiilie is
vers sweel, wliieii il' il will iiiiiKe sope, llii- Kiii;^ .)!' Spaiiie limy
I II line sdine of 1 1 is <)li\e trees.'"* ( 'liiijle\ oi\ iilso :illii<les to the,
Wiilriis fislieiy :it S;il»le Islniid, wliieli tlie l'ji;;lisli ;il (ilie liiiic,
esliililislieil lliere, liiil says il sviis soon iihiiiidoiied, heiii;; t'oiiiid
•.;..|(:'-rital)le.l

.M(j|ilieii\ Sliilldliiilii Ikis left iis quite :i lull aeeoiinl (liiid oim;
that lias been oft en I ) noted j oi' t lie ha I tit sol' these animals, and of
till- wliolesale destriu;lion by w liieh llie\ were speedily exi iijtaled
Iroiii Jlie, Atlantic eoasi soiilli of Labrador. This aeeonnl, wi'it-
teii in ITT't, says: "The, s(ra eow is a native of the Ma^ilaleii
islands, St. John's, and .\nlieosti in t he ( Iiilpli ol' St. I,awrene,(*.
Tlie\ resort very early in the spring; to the I'oinier ol' these
jilaics. wliieli seems to be b\ naliiie |»art ieiilarly adapted to llm
waul-; of Ihe^e ■mimals, abounding with clams of a \ei\ lar^^ci
si/<-. and llie mosl convcnii'iil landing; |)iaee.;, called llclioiiries.
llcKliiev eiaul up in ^^reat numbers, and sometimes remain
I'lii Iniirlien da\,, lo;4cther without I'ood, when the weallier
i'lan: bill on the tir>l apjiiaiaiice ol' rain, tlie,\ immediately
iclicil Id the water with ;4real preeipilal ion. The\ are, when
oh! of I he w aler. \ er\ iiii w ield \ , aii<l mos <■ w it h {^rcal diriiciilt y.
'riii\ wei;^h !rom l.)00 to L'bOO pounds, prodiK'in;,:, accordinj^
lo I lair size, IVoin liiie to two barrels of oil, w hich is boiled out ol'
a I'al aib^taiice that lies between the sUili and the flesh. Ini
iiie(lialel\ on t heir a r:i \ a I thc^ call, and en^^ciidi'i' a;,iaiii about,
Iwoiiionlhs al'ler; so that they carry their _>oiin;.; about nine,
moiitli<. Tl.>e> never ha ve more than two at a time, and seldom
more t hail one.

'•'I'lie eehoiiri<'s are t'ornieil principally by nat me. bein;4a j^rad-
iial slope ol'sol'l rock, with w hich I he .Ma;;(lalen Islands abound;
aiioiil so to 100 yards wide at the ualer side, and spreadiii;^ so
;i> lo contain, near Hie siimmil, a very considerable number.
I b II- t lie\ are siiirered lo coiae and amuse t liemseh cs lor a eon
•idi lable time, till t lie_\ acipiire a boldness, bein;^at their lirsl,
laiidin;^ so e.\ceediii;;|\ timid as lo make, il impossible lor any
peiMiii lo ajipioach theiii. In a few weeks t hey asscmlle in
•^leal numbers; roriiierl,\, wlich iindisi iirbed by tiie AmericanM,
!'• Ill'' a moil III of .e\ en or <'i;.;hl ( I ion sand ; and the foi iii ol' the
ecjioin ie not allow inj; 1 hem !oremainconlij4iioiis lo the water, llie.
ion most ones ine, insiMisibly piisiicd abov(! Ilie slojie. vVlicii

! ■'.3

iij

J fl

'i"r

IImI;IiivI, Vi)y(i;4cs, Mil. iii,|i.y;!7.

M'li.'iilivoix, viil. \, 11. 'iMi.

y-A'l

SJti&kiM

ODOIi/KM S l.'(tS.M.\i;rs ATI.AN IK UAMM'S.

:|i:-'^

'>' '■.

■' f

llicy lire Miiivcd to a cuiivciiiciit (lisliiiicc the lislicriiicii, liii\ iiij;'
'|ir»»\i(Ic(l tlic iicccssiny apparaliis, kiUc tlic adsaiila.nc <»!' a
sea wIihI, <tr a hrcc/.c lilu\viii,n' rather ohiiciiicly <iii tlic sliorc, to
]»rc\fiit the siiiclliiii; of these aiiiiiials (wlio ha\c thai sense in
j^'i'eat |»erieetioii, eoiil ril)iit iii.n' to tlieir salet\), aiitl with the as-
sistance of Ncry nood do^s, ciid<'a\ oiii' in the ni.nht t inic lo sc|»a-
ratc tliose that arc the fai'thest advanced from tliose next
the water, dri\ inj; them different wavs. This they call maUui^'
a cutj and is generally looked npon to Itc a most dan.ncrous
])roc('ss, it hcin.n' impossible to di'i\e tin-m in any particnlar
<lircction, and dillicult t(t axcid them ; hiil as they a ic advanced
al)o\(> tlie slope of the cclioiivlc. the darkness of the nij^lit de-
prives tlicm of e\cry direction to the water, so that they stray
al»oiil and are killed at leisnre, those that arc nearest the shore
bein;; tiie lirst \iclims. In this manner there has Iteen killed
(iftecn or sixteen hundred af one cut. They then skin them,
and take oil' a coat of fat that always surrounds them, which
they dissolve by heal into oil. 1'he skin is cut into slices of
two or tlax'c inches wide, and e\]>ortcd to Ameiica for <'arriaye
traces, and lo iaiuland for ^^liu'. The teeth is an iid'erior sort
of ivory, and is manufactured ibr the same jturposcs, but soon
luins yellow."*

Accoidin.!.;' to Dj. A. ►S. I'ackard, Jr., its bones are still ibund
at th(^ localities mentioned by Hhuldham. "According' to tra-
dition," he further says, "it also iidiabited sonu; of the harbors
of Cape Breton ; audi have l)een informed by a lisherman in
Maine, whose word 1 d(» not doubt, that on an islet near Cape
.Sal)le, Nova Scotia [probably tin- '' isle of liamea" of the early
voyagers abcady (|uotedj, its bones are found abundantly
on the sandy shore, litteen to twenty feet abov<; the sea. In
the St. Lawrence (lulf they were extciininated during;' the
jniddle of the last ceidury. The last one seen (tr hca.r<l of in
the(iulf, so fai' as 1 can ascertain, was killed at St. Au^iist-
iiu', liab/adm', twenty-live years since. Onewasseenat S(piarc
Island tittcen years since, and two shortly before that, and
another was killed at the same place about ei;;ht yeajs since.
I saw the head of a younj;' AN'alrus, whicli was found floating,
dead, lia\ in;:, been killed, apparently by a harixxai, in the drift
ice north of r.cUe Isle."t

Dr. ,\, Uernard (iilj>in, wilting a few years later (in bSOD), in
referring to the former oocurrence of the Walrus on the shores

TJiil. Trims., yoI. Ixv, p. '^41).

tProc. Bust. .Soc, Nat. Ili.sl., v(.l. x, ]«)(>, p. >J71.

(UKMIKAI'IIK AL DISIIMIll 'IfoX.

;iii(l i'-l;iii<ls (il'llir (iiillnl'Sl. I ,;i\\ iciicc. s;iys: '-At Miscoii,
I!;i\ ( ImIciii-. I'('iif\ loiiii;! oiiiv llicii' I Mines, l)iil in sucli nil miters
lis to li-i'iii ;iilili<'i:il se.i henelies. 'I'liese were doiilitless \icliiiis
oT • 'I'lie I.'(>\iil ('itiii|i;iiiv of .Mis( on", roiiiided (iiiiinj;' tlie e;iilier
piiil oT tlie .■.e\eiitee:illi eeiililiA. 1>\ lll<' l\ill,u iil' I'^nilice, ;ind
\vli(i>e epIieiiM I'lil eily of New l.'oclielle. iiiliiiiierilii^' ;it one time
some llioiisiiiids, li;is jiiissed i!\v;iv le;i\iiiji iio siyn. 'I'lie miir
(lered Se;i liorses iinxc lel'l :i more eiidiirini;' monument timii
tlie miirdeiers." lie liirtlier iidds: '■'l"lioii,i;li we li;i\e no
iiecoiints Inter timn the sevenleentli and ei.uliteentli eeiitiiries of
tlieir inliahitin;:' Sable Island,-^*! it is very proltable tliat tliey
continued to icsort tliere until tliey entirely left, tliese, latitudes.
Its dillieiilty of access, its heiiif^' nninliahitcd, and its sandy
liars frinj^cd Avilli a ceaseless snrf, ])oint it out as tlieir last
hold."*

Di'. (iilpin also r(M'(mls the ('a])tiire of a Walrus in tin; Stiaits
(if lielle Isle, Lalirador, in IMarch, ISO!*, which was diaimcd on
liie ice lor li\(' miles, and then taken by ship to S!. .lohii's.
New I'onndlaiid. aiid thence to Ilaliiax. No\ii Scotia, where it
was desciilied and li'^iired Ity Dr. ('<il])in.+ Mr. IJeekst states
thai a '•specimen was diiNcn ashore in St. (leor;ne"s Hay,"' Xew-
romidland, about IStls, and allinles to the frcipienl occurrence
of their iiones alonu' the Newfoundland coast.

li is still an inlialiilant of the shores of I ludsoifs l!ay, Davis
Siiaii. and (Ireeiiland, where, howcxcr, its numbers are annu-
ally decreasiiiL;. In ( Ircenland. accordiiij;' to IMi'. I'obert JJrown
(writin;^' of its distribution in IStiT), '• it is lound all the year
round, but not south of IJifkol, in hit. ()~P. In an inlet called
Irsoitok it colh'cts in considerable, nuinbors, to the terror of th(,'
natives, who have to pass that way. ... It lias been found
as far iioith as the Eskimo live, or explorers have };'one. On the
wt-,.:'!n shores of Davis's Strait it is not uiicoiuukui about
Pond's, Scott's, and Ilonie li.'iys, and is killed in consi<lerable
numbers by the natives. It is not now found in such numbers
as it once was; and no reasonable man who sees tlu^ slaughter
1o which it is subj(!ct in Spitsbergen and elsewheri; (an doubt
thai its days are numbered. It has already become extinct in
se\eial places wlicro it was once common. Its utter extinction
is :i fore,i^()iie con>'lusion."§

*!' . <'»J»

■ I'ror. .'iiiil 'I'raiis. Xova Si^oria JumI. Nat. Si'i., vol. ii, pt. I!, ])p. lv''M27.
t lliid.. 11)1. l-.':!-1"^7, witli a plate.

i/.o.'iinMi-i, 1871, -rjoO.

^Vv'H'. /,oul. Si)c. liond., 1808, p. 4',V.\.

'()

<i|i<ii!,i;.\('s i;itsM.\i;rs — \ ti.anik \v.\i.i;us.

I, ::

K:iiic ;iii(l lliiycs, (liiriiii;- tlic ycnis IS.ILi lo IS."), IoiiihI (lie
W'iilriis \i'iA ;il>!iii(l:iiil ;il)(iiit Tori iMJiillic, on llic wcslciii coiist
ol' (licchl.'iinl. ill liililiidr Til', but tlicyscciii Id Innr, >iiic(f

I li;il ihilc. nical ly tlrcrcwsrd in niiiiilicis iiloiiu I lie w liolr nf tlic

( 1 l((ill;l!|(| en; I si. ClI pill ill i'ciN Icll. Ill ili- | i:i piT oil t lie •• .Mlllli

II 111 11; I (li Noilli ( Irccnliiml niid ( IiiiiimH I-iiiid," oIiscia cd in is;,')
h,\ llic r.iilisli Arctic I'Apcdil ion, iil'lcr iilliidiii.L; to tlicir roiMici'
;iliiiiid;iiicc .ihoiil I'ort I'onllvc. ns ol»scr\ fd hy l\;iiic;iiid lliiycs,
Miys: •• < 'iiiioiisly ciioii;;ii. wcdid not sec one ol I licsc iiniiiiiils
ill llic \ iciiiily of Toil i'oiilkc nor in Sinitli Soi !«•, until wt;
rciiclicd l''i;iiil<liii I'icrcc l!;iy. 'I'licrc, in ilic \icinity of Nor-
iii:in Lockycr Isliind, \vc saw scvcial Walruses, and i^iilcd two
or tliivc. . . . Near Cape I'rascr I saw a siii^^lc Walrus;
Idit as far as iii\ oliscr\atioii ;^ocs, it docs not proceed fnrtli(;r
iiorlii lliaii tlie incelin.n' of tlic llafliii !'.a\ and I'olar tides ni'ar
tlie alio\(' iiientioiied ( 'ape."*

Mr. I-ndwi.i; Kuiiilieu, iialus'iilist of tlie ilowyate I'olai' Mx-
pedilioii of 1.S77, st;ites:t "The Walrus is <|uitc cornnioii al)out
Cape Mercy and the soutlioni waters of (!uinl»erliind .Sound,
l»ut at tlie present day rarely strays up the Sound. Their I'e-
iiiaiiis, liowever, are hy jio jucaus lare, even in the j;reatei'
lvin.uwah, and many of the ohi lOskiino liut foun(hitious contain
the reiiiaiiis of this animal. The ICskimo say tliey j;ot mad and
left. Certain it is, they are found around Aniianactook only
as stia^;.;lers at the j)r('sent day. Considerable numl)ers were
observed on pieces of tloatin;; ice near Cape Meicy, in .Inly.
Altout Nuji'umeiitc they are largely hunted by the Mskimo li\ iii^
tliere."

Iicspcctin;.' their occurren«'e more to the southward, on the
(ireenland coast, Dr. b'ink states: "'I'lie Walrus is only rarely
met with ah)nx the (-oast, with the except ioii of the tract ]»et ween
0(>3 and (tS'5 >;. lat., where it oc<'iirs pretty numerously ;it times,
'^riie darin,n' task of enteiin;^' into c(»iitest with this animal from
the kayak on the open sea forms a re,L,uIar sport to the natives
(d' Kati.i;amiut in (>i'P X. lat. Tiie num'ier yi'urly killed has
not been separatel\ calciilaled, . . . but they can hardl.\
ex(i<<lLM)(>."|:

'I'lie westeininost point at which it has been oliserxcd is .--aid
to be t he western shore of lliidsop's liay. Mr. -I. ( '. itoss stales
it to bean iiihabitanl of tlie wi'Si coast of I'atlin's May and

I Diiliisli < ;i((iil.niil, ils i'((p]p|i' :iii(i its I'inilncls. pp. I'JIi-JiT, tH77.

fJI'.ocIv'AI'lIK ,M, DISTKIItTITION.

: ri'

hi m

i;r|(lll>i' I!;IV- mill lo lie ((r!';isi(tli;ill\ liH'l willl ill I ln' IMilllicni

|;iil (,r riiiicf IJci^cnrs Inlci, lull siiys it is iiiikiiow ii lo llic
ii;ili\ (--ol Itoiilliiii.* Dr. Kicliaidsoii s;i\s: ''Tiic \\ iiliiiscs wcrii
\ci\ iiiiiiicroiis ill I.L;I(»(»lik iiiid uit Ilic oilier |t;iits uT I lie <'(iii,sl
Id iIm' cMstwiird of lilt' l''iiry siimI llccia's Sirait. Tlirs arc not
loiiiKi. Iiowcxcr. al IIh' iiioiiIIi of llic Copper Aline Ijiver,
;il!li(i!i,'^li liie hiaek w hail' liati lieeii soiiKjIiiiies (Irilled I liillier."t
lie also rel'ers lo lis heiiin iiiikiiown lo tlie Ivskiiiio.' ol' the
('opperiiiiiie and Mat-ken/ie ifivers. ;j; No species of Walrus
;ippeais lo lia\t' excr Itceii seen on tin' Arctic c(tasl of America
helwceii llic !l7lli and l."),Slli iiieri<liaiis, or lor a distance of
al)onl sixty dc^^rees of lon^il iide.

Ll. Const of Europe. — On the western slioresof lMir<»pe the Wal-
rus has liecn taken at n(» i(!inotedate as far south as Scotland, §
and Mr. itoheit Itrouii, in iStlS, stated that he snspected it to
he a "not iinfretinent visitoi" to the less fre(inented portions
of the Scoltish shores, he eonsiderin};' it pndiahh' that "not ii
few (ff the ' Sea horses' and ' Sea (^ow.sMvhieh every now and
a^ain teriity the lishernien on tlu^ shores of tlio wild western
Scottish lochs, and j;et enil>alnied luiiong th('ir Jolk-lore, may
he th(^ Waliiis."H I''!eming- states that one was killed in the
Sound of Stockness, on the east (!oast of Iluiris, in December,
1817, 1[ while another, accoidin;;- to Maegillivray and others, was
killed in Oikney in .Fiine, 1S2."».** Mr. \i. Brown adds that onci
was seen in Orkney in IS57, and another in IjTor' Isles abont tlio
siune time. ft It appeals tohave !iever ocenrred in Iceland, ex-
cept as a li' (; straggler. Many years ago tliey are said to have
lived on the shonss of I'^inmark, and at a innch lat< <• date to
haveabonndedonsonujof the i.slands oil" this coast. Mi'. Lamout
says: " We learn from the voyag(! of OhthcMv, wiiich was per-
formed aboid a tlnaisand yeais ago, that tlie AN'alriis then
abounded on the coast of I'inmarken itself; tiieyhave. however,
abandoned 'hat coast for some eentnries, although indi\idnal
stragglers lia\e been occasionally cajttnred there ii|» to within

■' Ivd.ss's ■.'(! \()y., All]!., is;!."), p. wi.

tSiiii|)l. I';iri-.v".s ','(1 Voy,, |i. ;!:if.

t Ziii'ilo^y of IJccclii'y's V^ty;i;j;c, Mam., !-•:'>'.', p. <>.

VI lli'ctor lidccc's History of ScotliiiHl. .■is(|iiot('cl liy I'rili.sli /(iiilni;i>its.

1! I'loc Zoill. S(ir. I.ohil.. HiW, |i. \:\\\.

• isiiiisii \iiiiiKii>, p. i:i.

■'lidiiili. New I'liil. .(oiini., \ (il. ii, p. !!'■'!•; I5ri)isli (,!ii;i<l., .(.'inl. Nat.
l.ilil'., .M.iin.. \(il. \ ii, p. •.".'!!. Sci' also Itcll, Iliiiiiilloii, etc., 1. r.

tt I'l.ic. Z(i('il. Sue. l.oud., l-(W, p. i:;:i.

iii.

',1 ' - .(

i..i '1

'^■ ■; ■ 1".

i;ir

I;' '

' ■' "■

,1 I,

ODOli.KM'S KOSMAKM'S — ATI, AN IK! WALIM S.

till- l;ist tliiit.s |m)\v ;il)()iil Iui'In si\| yciirs. |*| Al'tci' llicir
(Icscrlioii til' 1 1 If i''iiiiiiiii'K('ii coiist, itciir Ishiiid {iir( 'liriic isliiiid,
lyiii;;' iilioiil I \\(» liiiiKlrt'd iind cinlit.v iiiilrs iiorlli nl' Ihc Noitli
(yiilH'l ItrcMiiic I lie iirincipnl scene (if llieir dest niclioii ; ;iiid next
tlie 'l'lM)ii,s;iiid Islands |s(»iit lie;ist of Spit/.lter^^cii |, Hope Ishiiid
[a little I'lii'tliei' iioi'tli, l>ut still in the southeast <'orii<>i'|, and
Jiyk Yse Island, which in their turn aic now veiy inleiior
lniiitin;^-j;round to the Itanks and sUeiiies lyinj;' to the north of
Sititzherficn.

" J'oilninit«'ly Cor the persecuted Walruses, liowever,tliese lat-
tei' disti'icts are only accessilile, in open seasons, or ])erliaps once
in three or loui' summers, so that, tliey }ivt a little breathinji'
time there to i)reed and re])lenisli their inimhcrs, oi' undoubt-
edly the next twenty or Ihiity years would witness the total
extinction of Hosmtirns Irirlicrns on the coasts of the islands of
Northern I'^urope.

"Th(^ Walrus is also loundail round the (!oasls (»f No\a Zeni-
l>la, but not in such ninubejs as at Spitzberj^en; and he inider-
g'oes, if |)ossible, more jx'rsecution in those islands frctin some
colonies of Itussians or Samo'icdc's, who, I am told, reuularly
winter in Xova Zembia ibr tlu' purpose of hunt inj^' and lish-
in,yv'f

''The war of extermination,'' sa\s Mr. Kamoiil, in his later
Avork. •• which has been cariied on Ibr many years in Spitzi)er-
j;en and N(»vaya Zendya has driven all the Arctic faiuia jmain-
iiialsj from their old haunts, and. in seekinj;' I'ctreats more inac-
cessible to man, it is piobable that they have had in some
defiTce to alter their habits. I'or exaMi]>le, up to about twenty
years aj^o it was eustomai'y for all ^\'alrus hunteis to entertain
a reasonable lio|»e that by waitinj^' till lat(> in the season all Ibr-
mer ill-luck miyht be com])ensated in a few fortunate hours by
Ifillinj;' some hundreds on shore; in fact, favorite haunts were
AV( II known to the lishers, and were visited successively before
linally lea\ in;; the liuntinj;j;i'ounds. >iow, althouj>h the Arctic
seas ai'c ex])l(U'e(l by steamers and visited anraially by as l)o]d
and enlerprisinj'' hunteis as foimerly, siu-h a windfall as a herd
of Walruses ashore is seldom heard of,

" Each year better found \ essels and mor(^ elaborate weai)ons

* Jb\ LiiiiKiJil liassiiMT rcpoilcd the iiipl iiic of :i Ijuj^o IhiII " in Mm^^cii")
Soiuid near Ihc, NortJi ('.i|ic aliunl iHCiri." — Vdrhl'nuj in ihc Arctic licua, \\. 58,
foodioic.

t Hi'ii.sdii.s with the (Sra-lior.scs, pp. 1(17, Kib.

(;i;(»(ii;Ai'iii(\i. distimisi ikin.

I ■(

jUf sent "iiil In li;iri\ tin- Wiilriis; ;is ii n»iisc(|iifii<'(' cn civ mm-
.■soii tlicrc is niiMicr «lir(i('iill v in olttiiiiiiii;;- ;i (miuh — lor two rc;i-
sniis. I iKisriiliiliKiis wliirli li;i\r \i ■mi I led iliti) w li;il w iis siifc Irr*!
iiiy ;;!()iiml liisl ,vc;ir iiict'l liiciiciH-iuv, ;iii«l liiiil' iiic killed, u liilc
the (itlicr liiiir csciiiiiii,'^ will he IoiiimI iirxl ,\ riir ;i sIc)) r;nl Ikt
ii\\;i\. Tliis iiilclliuciil rcli'ciitiii^' ul' the Wiiliiis hciorc ;i siipc
lior nicDiN will, 1 hclicxc, pi'csrrNr I lie species iii'iei' its sciii'eily
ill aecessihle w;ilers reinlers it no loiter ;iii oliject of sport nii<l
<M>iiiiiierce. Tliiit tli( \\ ;ilriis, ... is heiiij^ (Iriveii IVoiii every
(iistrict where llie li:iii(l of iiiiiii is lelt, is eerlaiii."*

Mr. Alfreil Newton, wriliiij;' in lS(>t, iMjsjx'ctiii^' llicir loniier
])reseiiee on the eoiists of J<''iiMii:irk, iiiid theii'distriliiitioii at tliiit
<liite, ol>.serves : '• I se«' no icason to doiild (he a.sseition, oi jier-
liaps it would he safer to say the inference, that in former days
Walruses hahitiially frecpieiited the coasts of i'lniiiark'. fn tlie
sixteenth and seAcnteeiith ceiitiirios t hey were certainly ahniid-
aiit altoiit l!ear I.-laiid; llie,\ are spoken of there as ' iyin;^' Iik(^
houses upon heaps, '|t| . . .: ye) for the last thirty years proli-
alily not one has lieeii seen there. Now they are lieninied in l»y (he
packed ice of the i'olarSea on the one side and (heir nicrciless
eiieiiiies on the other, 'i'he result cannot admit of any <loubl.
.... Its iiiimlters ;ire appar<'iitly decreasin.i'' with wofiil ra-
l)idity. The time is certainly not \ery far distant when the
'I'richrcit IIS nmiiKinis w'iW he as e\t iiict in the Spitziter^Lieii seas
as Itlijiliiiii iiKjiiK is in those of jtehriii^^'s Straits.";!:

in Ivichard Chancellor's account of ids ''discoverie ol' .Mos-
c<»via," in l.">r);;-l."».i|, we r<'ad: '' 'I'o the North part of that Conn
trey are the places wliere they have their i''uircs. as .Sahles,
Martenis, <;re('se iievci's, Foxt's white, hiacke, and icd, Minkiis,
]']riiiiiies, Minivers, ami Harts, Therc^ are als(» a lisiios te(3th,
wliicli fish is called a ."Morsse. The, takers fiicreof dwell in a
place called i'ostesoia, which hrin;; them njxni Harts to Liim-
pas to sell, and from LitiujxiN carrie tiieiii to a place calh.'d Col-
inoyro, wiien^ the hij^li Market is holden on Saint Nicolas day,"§
On Ilondins's iiia|> of I'nssia a(;(;onipanyin<i' this account Lam-
pas is placed on the White Sea, near tln^ mouth of tlie iJwinu
Eiver.

" VMcliliii;^ ill I lie, ArHlf! Seas, IBTO, pp. 59, (iO.

1 1 •• l! sciiiicd very Htiaii;;r to us," Hays Jonas Poole, in liin iiccouutol" liis
visil lo Clicrif Isiimd in lOfll, " to see isiicli !i iiuiltitu(l(^ of iiioiiHlcvHof (iio
Sen, Ivi' liki! lio^ii^cs ii|)(iii li' .iix's." — I'lnTlKiH liin rihjrimcH, '-ol. iii, p. .''mT.]

tl'nii'. Zf),")!. Soc. I.oiid., 1804,11. .')00

^ I'lirclKis Ills I'il^rriincH, vol. iii, ]>|). 2i:i, 'Z\\.

' 'm

><■!

:f Ife t

K;y

Miit^-*''

,1' 'V ,

oi.oit.r.Ms i;nsM,\i;i s — \i i.amic \v am; rs.

' ■{' '

'Wf

;.:'

'I'lir Wiilrii.scs ii|i|i(;;!r lo lia\ (' Itccii 111^1 iiici wiili on ( 'liciii
Island in H>n.">, inid lolinxc iH-cnmc n,'arl\ r\|ci minalcil iIhtc
w il liin a \ civ I'l'W ,\cai' •. 'I'lic liislois nl' I hric dc-l i iicl ion 1 lnic
and a! S|iit/.lHi!^<ii diniii;; llic iarl> pari oT ilic ■.(•\cnli lul li
cent ni.\ is ;^i\rn in tin- lollow in.i: cxcci pis : •• In I lie v( iiic hio.").
Sirjdicn llcnni't was iinplo\cd lt\ I lie roiapanic." in a ."-Wiip
called llic ^//vfrf. |o iIkisc parls X((il liuards ol' ijic <'aiic|--or
Ni!r\\a\ "|, ainl \\a^ a I ( 'lici ii' I hind :\\\i\ Ixillcd ;.ohic S( aiiorsc.s.
and ltroii;^lil home head Oaic I'loin tlicn<'c . . .

•■ 1 1 cere It is to lice mid erst ood, that t he ( 'on i panic !ia\ iii.^ I>\
(d'teii I'csorl and iiiiplo\ iiient to lliose parts. oiisei\c<l the ;:rcat
niinilier of Sea horses at ('Irrii' I laml, ■.\\\<\ iil^cui-c the miilti
lude III' Whah's. that siic\vc(| tlieniseh cs upon the coast ol
(li'ccnland |iio\v S|»itzl(ei';i('ii |; 'i'hcy lirsl applyc<l theinselves to
the killing of Morces. which they coiitiniicd from yceic t(- yceic
with a Ship or two yeercly. in which Ships the < 'ompanie ap-
pointed 'riioiii<(.s HV7f/r;( ('oiimiiiiidei', and in theycere Hi(Ml. the
(Joiiipaiiie iinploNC'd one 'I'lmiiixs /v///r their Appi'<'nl ice. I'or th«'ir
Northern X'oya^^c, iind Joyned him in Cominission with the fore
siiyd Wdtlcii. Now the often usin;; of ( 'lierie Hand, did make
th(} Sea-horse ;;row s<'arce and de(!ay, which made the ("ompanic!
looke out for fiirfhei- l)iseoveries."t

Diirinj; the expedition of KIOl, .lonas l'o<»le. who has left an
ii(!(;oniit of the " Diveis N'oya^^cs to Cheiie Hand in the yeeres
1()(M, KIO."., 1(1(1(1, 1(!()S, l(;(l!>," says tliat as they approa'lie<l
Clieri(! Island, "We had not furled our Sayles, hat we saw
many .Mors<'.s swimminn by our ship, and liciird wilhall so linuc
a Tioyse of roarinji. as if there lia<l i»ecne an hiindred Liftiis.
lmin<'diately wee manned our IJoute. . . . wee hsnded. and
saw alMindanee of Morses on flies lioare. close Ity the Sea-side."
etc. Tlii'y attacked them with muskets. •• not knowin.n' whither
they eonid rnnne swiftly or sei/e upon iis or no." Owin;; lo in
expeiience, they siicce('(le<l in killing; only lifleeii out of "aliovc
a. thousand," l»ut secured a ho^ishead of teeth, which the\ picked
upon tile shoic. TwcMlays later they found, on another pari
of the fdand. " iic<-re a thousand Morses." of which they killed
" thirtie or Ihereaiioiits, and w hen wee had taken off t heir head >.
wc went alioard." 'I'lie next da,\ they went on shore ayain and

* liii( irpiii.it til ,.(iiiir I iiiic pridi' to 1 i.i' yciir iririti, uih1<t iIh' mm iiic "'i'ln' Mil
cliiiiits III' line |;ni(l.'' :iii;l railed iilso I lie " Miiscov ia .Mrriliants"' and I iV
■' ila^.cdvi'i ( '<i!jr|iaiii('."

t I'mrlias liis j'il^riiii.s. vol. iii, p. td).

(;i;(i(ii{Ai'iiicAL DLSTKimnioN.

Tf)

:J ■ 'i

<' It'll ;i Killiii.i; <»r IIm'. hciists. . . . \\'c Ivilird lliiildii.v six-
t\ Murxs. ;ili (he liciids ulicrcol' were \ci\ iniiicipiill." 'IlK'y
(l('|i;ir!('il .^oiiii iiI'liT lor I'1ii<^'IiiimI.

'I'Ik iicnI vc;ir (Kin.-)) Ilicy icIiiriK'd lo diMic IsIiukI. Oiiliic,
stli 1)1' .liil,\. s;i\s llic iiccoiiiil, ■• we nilrcd into ;i <'o\f. Ii;i\iiij^
iill uiir iiM'ii oil sIhiiii'c w illi sliot ii 1 1(1 . ill \ I'M IIS, ;i 11(1 slue ;iI)IIIhI;iii('0
of .Moiscs. 'I'lic \('ci(' hcj'orc we slue ;i!l with sliol. not tliiiiU-
iii;; lli.il M );i\cliii could pierce (lieir skiiiiies : wliieli we IoiiikI
now colli iiirie, if 1 liey !•(■ well JKiiidled. lor otiierwise, ii iiiiiii iiiiiy
lliiiist with :ill liis loree :iii(l not enter: or it' lie doe enter, i»c
sliiill spoyle his l.,iiice njxiii their hones; i'oi' tliey will strike
with ilieir lore feel siiid hend ii liiiiiee round iind l>r('ak(! it, if it
lice not nil the heller phited. Tliey will also strike with their
Tectli ill him tliiit is next llieni: lint l)eeaiis(^ their Teeth <;row
downward, I heir str(>]ces are of small force and danj^er." They
took in ••ele\('n t mines of Oyle, and the teeth of all the beasts
;i(on's;ii(l."

'{"he I'ollowin;; year (KJOfI) they aj^ain set oid for Cherie Island,
arriving theic Jidy .".. They found Die ice still about tin; island,
and the Walruses not yet on slioic; '' I'or their nature is sucli,
thill tlie.\ will not come on land iis lon^j; as any lee is about the
liiiid." ( )n the Ilth they ])erceived on shore "of the beiists
sidlicieni to iiiiike our xoviijic, \ve(' ])repared to ;•■()(' killing.
Miister Wrhlcii and Miister /iV'?//(f7 appointed nice totidv'e eleven
Mien with mee, and to }^o(! l)eyond the beasts wlieic they lay;
tiiiit they iuid w(M' mi;4ht meet at the middest of them, and so
enclose them, thiit none of them should ;i('t into the Sea, . .
. . iind before six lionres were ended, we li;id slayne ;d)oiit
sexcii or eijiiit hundred Ueasts. . . . l''or ten diiyes spae(^
we jilved our businesse veiy hard, and brought it almost to nn
end." They took in "two and twentie tuns of the Oyle of the
IMorses, and three hogsheads of their Teeth."

in KiOS they :ig;iin reaehed Cherie island towaid the (Mid of
-bine, and on the 22d "came into a CoveAvherc the .Morses were,
and slew abont OOO. or ]()()(». of them in less than seven hoiires:
and then we plied our business untill the sceond of .Inly : at
wliiit time Ave Imd tidcon into our shi]) L'L'. tuniies and three hogs-
heads of Oyle." On their icliirn they look with theia two live
young Walruses, on(! of which lived till they reached London.*

The voyage in 100(1 w;is less successful. They slew at one
tiiiK! eighty, at iinotlier one hundred and liity, iind id siill iin-

"I'mcliii.s liis I'ilniiincs, vol. iii, |i|i. ri.">7-r)(j().

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4^ I

ODOB^NUS ROSMARTJS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

other time forty-five; but they lost most of tliem in coiiseqiieuce
of bad weiitber. " In the yeore IGIO. the Coini>anie set out iwo
Ships, viz. the Lionesse for CJicrie Hand, Thonun IJdpe Com-
mander ; and the Amitie, for a Kortherne Discoverie, tlie Mas-
ter of which ship was Jonas Foole : who in the moneth of May
fell with a Land, and called it Greenland, this is the Land that
was discovered by Sir Hugh WiUonghby long before [Spctsberg
of the Hollanders], which Shij) Anitie continued upon the coast
of Greenland, discovering the Harbours and killing of Morces
[the first killed by the English on Spit>.bergen], untill the moneth
of August, and so returned for England, having gotten about
some twelve Tunnes of goods, and an Unicornes home.

"In the yeere 1611. the Companie set foorth two Ships, the
Mark Margaret Admirall, burthen one hundred and sixtie
tunnes, Thomas Edge Commander ; and the Elizabeth, burthen
sixtie tunnes, Jonas Poole Master, well manned and furnished
•with all necessarie Provisions, they departed from Blackwall
the twentieth of Aprill, and arrived at the Foreland in Green-
land in the Latitude of 79. degrees, the twentieth of May fol-
lowing, the Admirall had in her six Biskayners expert men for
the killing of the Whale : this was the first yeere the Compa-
nie set out for the killing of Whales in Greenland, and about
the twelfth of June the Biskayners killed a small Whale, which
jeelded twelve Tunnes of Oyle, being the first Oyle that ever
was made in Greenland. The Companies two Shalops looking
about the Harbour for Whales, about the five and twentieth of
June rowing into Sir Thomas Smith his Bay, on the East side
of the Sound saw on the shoare great store of Sea-horses: after
they had found the Morses they presently rowed unto the ship,
being in crosse Eoad seven leagues off, and acquainted the Cap-
tayne what they had found. The Captaync i nderstanding of
it, gave order to the Master, Stephen Bennet, that he should take
into his Ship flftie tunnes of emptie Caske, and set sayje with
the Ship to goe into Foule Sound. The Captayne went pres-
ently aw{iy in one Shallop with sixe men unto the Seamorse,
and tooke with him L&nces, and comming to them they set on
them and killed five hundred Morses, and kept one thousand
Morses living on shoare, because it was not profitable to kill
them all at one time. The next day the Ship being gone unto
the place & well mored where the Morse were killed, all the men
belonging to the Ship went on shoare, to worke and make Oyle
of the Morses ; and when they had wrought two or three dayes,

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

it fortuued that a small quantitie of Ice come out of Foule
Sound, and put the Ship from her Moriiig, . . . The Ship
being cast away without hope of recoverie, the Commander
Thomas Edge gave order, that all the Morse li^aug on shoare
shoold be let goe into the Sea, and so gave over making of
Oylc. . . ." Fitting np their boats as Avell as they could
they soon after abandoned the coast of Spitzbergen (" Green-
land "), and set sail for Cherie Island, ^\ here they found the
"Elizabeth" and returned to Spitzbergen "to take in such
Goods as the sayd Edge had left in Foule Sound, woorth flfteene
hundred pounds.'*"

As early as the year 1611, the previous persecutions of the
Walruses at Cherie Island had made them very wary. Thomas
Finch, in his account of a visit to this island by William Gom'-
don in August of that year, says: "At our comming to the
Hand, wee had three or foure dayes together very fine weather:
in which time came in reasonable store of Morses, . . . yet
by no meanes would they go on those beaches and places, that
formerly they have been killed on. But fortie or flftie of them
together, went into little holes within the Eocke, which were so
little, steepe and slipperie, that as soone as wee did approach
towards them, they would tumble all into the sea. The like
whereof by the Masters and William Oourdons leyort, was never
done."t

During the years 1612, 1613, 1614, and 1615, numerous vessels
were sent out from England to Spitzbergen for the products of
the Walruses and Whales, but generally met with indifferent
success, being much troubled with Spanish, Dutch, and Dan-
ish " interlopers." ' ' •' ' ■'

" In the yeere 1616, the Companie set out for Greenland eight
Sayle of great ships, and two Pinnasses under the command of
Thomas Edge, v, ho following his course, arrived in Greenland
about the fourtii of June, having formerly appointed all his
ships for their severall Harbours, for their making of their Voy-
age upon the Whale, and having in every Harbour a sufficient
number of expert men, and all provisions fitting for such a Voy-
age. This yeere it pleased God to blesse them by their labours,
that they full laded all their ships with Oyle, and left an over-
plus in the Countrey^ which their ships could not take in.
They imployed this yeere a small Pinnasse unto the East-ward
part of Greenland, Namely, the Hand called now Edges Hand,

* PurcluiH his Pilgrimes, vol. iii, pp. 4(54, 465

tlbid., p. 536.

ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

and other Hands lying to the Korth-wards as farre as seventie
eight degrees, this Pinnasse was some twentie tunnes, and had
t\.elve men in her, who killed one thousand Sea-horses on
^flges Hand, and brought all their Teeth home for London^

In 1017, they " employed a ship of sixtie tunnes, with twenty
men in her, who discovered to the Eastward of Greenland, as
farre J^ or th- wards as seventy-nine degrees, and an Hand which
he named Witches Hand, and divers other Hands as by the
Map appearoth, and killed store of Sea-horses there . . ."*

The Dutch, Danes, and Spaniards began, in 1612, also to
visit Spitzbergen in pursuit of Whales and Sea-horses, but axe
reported by the EngUsli to have made indifferent voyages. The
company soon also had rivals in the " Hull-men," who, as well
as the Dutch, did them much "ill service."!

About the years 1611 and 1612, the Whale-fishery was found
to be more profitable than Walrus-hunting, and subsequently
became the main pursuit, not only by the English, but by the
Dutch and Danes. Yet the Walruses were by no means left
wh jily unmolested, having been constantly hunted, with more
or less persistency, down to the present day, and, as already
shown, were long since exterminated from Oherie Island and
other smaller islands more to the northward, and greatly re-
duced in numbers on the shores of Spitzbergen.

Walruses have been recently reported as occurring on the
outer or northwestern coast of Nova. Zembla, but as not exist-
ing on the inner or southeastern coast. Von Baer, on the au-
thority of S. G. Gmeliu and others, gave the eastern lunit of the
distribution of the Atlantic Walruses as the mouth of the Jene-
sei River, though very rarely single individuals wandered as
far eastward as the Piasina Kiver. He even regarded the Gulf
of Obi as almost beyond tlieir true home.| Von Middendorff,
however, considers von Baer's eastern limit as incorrect, and
cites old Eussian manuscript log-books ("handschriftliche
Schiftsbiicher") in proof of their occurrence in numbers in Au-
gust, 1736, as far east as the eastern Taimyr Peninsula, and of
their being met with in August, 1739, as far east as Chatauja
Bay. Still further eastward, in the vicinity of the mouth oi the
Lena Elver, he gives similar authority for their occurrence in
August, 1735, and says that Dr. Figurin attests tlieir presence

*Purclia8 his Pilgrimes, vol. iii, p. 467. tibid., pp. 472, 473.

tMdni. do I'Acad. des Sci. de St. P(5tersb.. vi° 8<5r., Sci. math., phys. etnat.,
tome iv, 2''" pars, pp. 174, 184.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

-on the shores of the delta-islands of the Lena. Eespecting the
move easterly coast of the Siberian Ice Sea, he says it is cer-
tainly known that the Walruses of B iring's Sea extend west-
ward in great numbers to Koljutschiu Island. Only the males,
however, reach this limit, th'j females not extending beyond the
Aicinity of the mouth of the Kolyma Eiver.*

It lience appears that about 1735 to 1739 Walruses were
met with as far eastward as the mouth of the Lena Eiver; but
Wrangell, nearly a century later, explored quite thoroughly
this whole region without meeting with them, and I have found
only one reference to their existence on the Siberian coast be-
tween the Kolyma and Jenesei Elvers later than those cited by
von Middendorff.

According to a recent letter t from Professor iNordenskjold, of
the Swedish Northeast Passage Expedition, "two Walruses"
T\ere seen in August, 1878, a little to the eastward of the Jenesei
River, and that open water was found as far as the mouth of
the Lena. From this it would seem that there is nothing to
prevent, at least in favorable years, the W^alruses from passing
eastward to the mouth of the Lena. There still remains, how-
ever, a breadth of some thirty degrees of longitude (between
13(P and 3 60°) where as yet no Walruses have been seen. They
appear to have been only verj^ rarely met with to the eastward
of the Jenesei (longitude 82° E.), and to be uncommon east of
tlie Gulf of Obi.

At present the Atlantic Wiilrus ranges along the northeast-
eru coast of North America from Labrador northward to Ee-
pulse Bay and Prince Eegent's Inlet, and along the shores of
Greenland; in the Old World only about the islands and in
the icy seas to the northward of Eastern Europe and the neigh-
boring portions of Western Asia, where it rarely, if ever, now
visits the shores of the continent.

On the easttmi coast of North America, Walruses have been
met with as fiir north as explorers have penetrated, and as far
as the Esquimaux live. They winter as far north as they can
find open water, retiring southward in autumn before the ad-
vance of the unbroken ice-sheet. Kane speaks of their remain-
ing in Eenssellaer Harbor (latitude 78° 37') in 1853, till the sec-
ond week of September, when the temperature reached zero
of Pahreuheit. |

* Von MiddeiKloiiPs Sibiiischo Reise, Bd. iv, 1867, pp. 935, 936.
t Soo Nature, vol. xix, p. 102, December 5, 1878.
t Arctic Exploration, vol. i, p. 140.

ODOB^NUS ROSMARUS ATLANTIC WALRUS.

Nomenclature. — Several specific ntunes have been iii moro
or less current use for the Atlantic Walrus, or rather for the
Atlantic and Pacific species collectively. Accepting Odoba'nus
as the proper generic name of the group, there is nothing to
prevent the adoption of rosmarm for the specific name of the
Atlantic species. It Avas used for this species exclusively by
Linn<;, Erxleben, and other early systematic writers, the Pacific
Walrus being at that time unknown to the systematists. If lios-
marus be used as the geneiic name of the group, as it lias been
by a few late writers, as a substitute for the wholly untenable
one of Trichechtis, it will be, of course, necessary to adopt some
other name for the si)ecies. Dr. Gill has used obesus of Illiger ;
but as this was applied by Illiger exclusively to the Pacific Wal-
rus, it cannot properly be used for the Atlantic species. It
would be difl&cidt to select a subsequent name that would not
be open to objection, if one should stop short of trichechus, used
(inadvertently?) in a specific sense {^^ Rosmarus trichechus^') by
Lament in 1861. The name lonaidem of Fremery, 1831, was
based on what subsequent writers have considered as probably
the female, but the name is highly inai)propriate, inasmuch as
it is the Pacific species, and not the Atlantic, that has the longer
tusks. There are left virginianus of DeKay and dtMm of
Stannius : the first is objectionable on account of its geograph-
ical significance ; the other is only doubtfully referable to the
Atlantic species. Adopting Odohcenus for the genus, leaves
rosmartts available for the species, thus settling the whole diffi-
culty.

As aheady noticed [antea, p. 20), two species besides virgi-
nianus have been based on fossil remains, and have been made
the basis of new genera. The first of these is the Odobenothe-
rium lartetianum of Gratiolet, since referred by Defrance to the
existi":'ig species ; the other is the Tricheeodon huxleyi of Lan-
kester, which there is perhaps reason for regarding as the large
extinct progenitor of the existing Walruses.

Etymology. — The term rosmarm was originally used by
Olaus Magnus, about the middle of the sixteenth century, in a
vernacular sense, interchangeably with morstis, the Latinized
form of the Eussian word niorsz (or morss). It was used in tho
same way by Geaner a few years later, as well as by numerous
other pre-Linnaean authors. Eespecting the etymology of the
word, von Baer gives the following : " In dem historisch-topo-

ETYMOLOGY.

grapliischen Werke : Be gentium septentrionalium conditionibus
cet. Komae 1555 lieisst es : Normgium littns maximoa ac grandes
places elephantis hahet, qui morsi seu rosmari vocantur, forsitan
oh asperitate mordendi sic appellati, (Eine recht witzige Etymo-
logic !) quia, si quem hominem in maris littore viderint apprehen-
dereque poterint, in eum celerime insiliunt, ac dente lacerant et in
momento interimunty *

The same author also gives the following from Herbeistain
(1567): "Under andern ist auch ein thier, so grosse wie ein
ochs, und von den einwonem Mors oder der Tod geheissen
wird." t Hence, either from superstitious notions of the terri-
ble character of this animal, or from the resemblance of the
iiussian word morss to the Latin word mors, these terms be-
came early confounded, and rendered by the German word Tod,
or death, f

In the account of the exploits of the Norman Othere, where
the Walrus first finds its place in literature, it is termed Horse-
wael. As noted by Martens § and other writers, equivalent
words in other languages have become current for this animal,
as Walross or Wallross of the Germans, Wallrus of the Dutch,

*In an early (1658) English version of Olaus Magnus's work ("A Com-
pendious > ''story of the Goths, Swedes, &, Vandals and other Northern
Nations. .itten by Olaus Magnus, Arch-Bishop of Upsal, and Metropoli-
tan of Sweden", i». 231), this passage is rendered as follows: "The Xorway
Coast, toward the more Northern parts, hath huge great Fish as big as Ele-
phants, which are called Morn, or Rosmari, may be they aiie so from their
sharp biting ; for if they see any man on the Sea-shore, and can catch him,
they come suddenly upon him, and rend him with their Teeth, that they will
kill him in a trice." From this it would appear that Morsua, as used by
Olaus Magnus, might bo simply the Latin word morsus, from mordere, to bite,

tSee von Baer, M^m, de Acad, des Sci. do St. Pdtersb., vi« 8<5r., So.
math., phys. et nat., tome iv, 2^" pars, pp. 112, 113.

^ Von Baer quotes a passage from the "Rerum Moscoviticarum auctores
varii," originally published early in the sixteenth century, in which occurs
the phrase " scandut ex mari pisces morss nuncupati," which he regards as
the first introduction into Latin of the Sclavic name MopiKb. In Western
Europe it a little ^ater became current in the form oi Morse, whicii was soon
written Moras or Mors, from which Buflfon later forme*' the name Morse,
which has since been the common appellation of this animal among French
^vrite^9. Von Baer further observes that the accidental resemblance in
sound of this word to that of the Latin word for death (mors) appears to
have contributed not a little to the strange conception of the torribleness of
this animal whicli was early entertained and even still prevails in Western
Europe, although the Russian accounts do not speak of it.

«Zoolog, Garten, Jahrg. xi, 1870, p. 283, where the etymology of tho
numes of tho Walvus is briefly discussed.
Misc. Pub. No. 12 6

ODOBiENUS R08MARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

and Walrm of the English. By the early Scandinavian writer*
it was termed Bosmhvzlr, which later became resolved into Boa-
mul, from which, perhaps, originated the Latin term Boamarm,
which has the same significance, introduced by Olaus Magnus
and Gesner, and the Norwegian word Boatungr. Gesner and
several subsequent writers also used the word Meerroaa, and we
have in English the equivalent term Sea-horae^ as one of the ap-
pellations of the Walrus, and also, but more rarely, Meerpferd
in German, and Clwval marin in French.

The current French term Morae appears, as already stated, to
have been introduced by Buffon as a modification of the Eus-
sian word moraa, used by Michow (1517) and Herberstain (1649).
Among other old vernacular names we find in English Sea
Coic, in French Vache marine, in Latin Boa marinm^ etc., while
by the early French settlers in America it was commonly termed
Bete f> la grande dent. ^

Literature. — 1. General Hiatory. — Passing over the by some
supposed allusions to the Walrus by Pliny as too vague and
uncertain for positive identification, * we meet, according to
von Baer, with ^^he flist positive reference to the present
species in the account of the exploits of the famous Norman ex-
plorer Othere, or Octher, who, about the year 871 (890 accord-
ing to some authorities), made a voyage to some point beyond
the North Cape, where he met with large herds of Walruses,
some of the tusks of which he is said to have taken to England
as a present to King Alfred, t Walruses appear to have been

* See K. E. von Baer, M6in, de I'Acad. Imp. des Sci. de St. Pdtersb., vi'""
s^r., Sci. math., pliys. et nat., tome iv, 3™« livr., 1836, (1837), pp. 101, 102. T ..
this admirable monograph I am greatly indebted for information respecting
the earlier publications bearing upon the history of the Walruses. To this
exhaustive memoir the reader is referred for a full exposition of this part of
the subject. The following short summary is based, so far as the early his-
tory of the subject is concerned, mainly upon von Baer's monograph, an
analysis of which will be presented at a subsequent page. (See posted,, p. 88,
footnote.)

t Hakluyt's rendering of this account is as follows: "The principall
purpose of his [Othere's] traveile this way, was to encrcase the knowledge
and discoverio of those coasts and countreyes, for the more comoditie of fish-
ing of horsowhalcH, which have in their teeth bones of great price and ex-
cellcncio : whereof lie brought some at his retume unto the king. Their
skinnes are also very {\;ood to make cables for shippcs, and so used. This
kind of whale is much lesse in quantitie then other kindes, having not in
length above seven elles." — Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. i, p. 5.

GENERAL HISTORY.

an object of chase on the coast of Finmark as early as 980, and
must have been met with by the Norsemen when they visited
Greenland about the end of the tenth century. Their tusks
were an article of commercial value among the Mongolian and
Tartar tribes as early as the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries.
Aside from the various notices by Scandinavian writers, the
earliest unmistakable reference to the Walrus, other than that
connected with Othere, as above mentioned, was, according to
von Baer (1. c, p. 108), by Albertuf^ Magnus, in the first half
of the thirteenth century.

Says this writer (as quoted by von Baer), whose account is here
paraphrased : The hairy Cetaceans have very long tusks, by
which they suspend themselves to the rocks in order to sleep.
Then comes the fisherman and separates near the tail as much
skin as he can from the underlying fat, and then attaches a
cord, which has at the other end a large ring, which he makes
fast to a post or tree. Then when the fish awakens (by all of
these operations he was not yet awakened), they cast a huge
sliug-stone upon his head. Being aroused, he attempts to get
away, and is held by the tail near to the place and captured,
either swimming in the water or half alive on the shore. This
ludicrous description von Baer believes had for its foundation
misunderstood reports of the Walruses' habit of reposing upon
the shore or upon ice-bergs, the use of their tusks in climbing
up to these places of rest, and their deep sleep, and that the
account of the mode of capture was based on an incorrect
knowledge of the use of the harpoon; and that the account
shows that as early as the thirteenth century the Walrus was
harpooned on the coast extending from the White Sea north-
wards. *

* This curious legend is quoted by Gesner in his Historia Animalia Aqua-
tilia, 1558, p. 254. The following rendering appears also in the above-cited
English version of Olaus Magnus : ' ' Therefore, these Fish called Boamari, or
MorA, have heads fashioned like to an Oxes, and a hairy Skin, and hair grow-
ing as thick as straw or corn-reeds, that lye loose very largely. They will raise
themselves with their Teeth as by Ladders to the very tops of Rocks, that
they may feed on the Dewie Grasse, or fresh 'Vater, and role themselves in
it, and then go to the Sea again, unless in the mean while they fall very fiat
asleep, and rest upon the Rocks, for then Fisher-men make all the has.te
they can, and begin at the Tail, and part the Skin from the Fat ; and into
this that is parted, they put most strong cords, and fasten them on the rug-
ged Rocks, or Trees, that are near; then they throw stones at his head, out
of a Sling, to raise him, and they compel him to descend, spoiled of the
greatest part of his Skin which is'fastened to the Ropes : ho being thereby

ODOB^NUS R08MARUS— ATLANTIC WALRUS.

The Walrus is also referred to by Hector Boethius in 1526, in
bis History of Scotland ; * by Herberstain (or Herberstein, as
also written) in 1549; by Par6 about the year 1600; and by Al-
drovandus in 1642.

Herberstain also very correctly indicates the habits of these
animals, which, he says, repair to the shore in large herds to
repose, and that while the herd sleeps one of their number
keeps watch. He compares their feet to those of the Beaver,
and refers to the value of their tusks tc the Russians, Turks,
and Tartars, and observes that they called them fish-teeth, t

Even before the middle of the sixteenth century. Walruses
had been met with on the eastern shore of North America. In
May, 1534, they were seen by Cartier, and later in the same
century by Fischer, Drake, and others, on the coast of Nova
Scotia and adjacent islands, and later still by other explorers on
the islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (see antecl, p. 06), in
the accounts of whose voyages | occur interesting notices of
these animals.

In the year 1553, Edward VI of England sent an expedi-
tion under Willoughby and Chancellor to the White Sea, which
resulted in still further increasing our knowledge of the Wal-
ruses, especially of their distribution eastward along the Arctic
coast of Europe and Asia. Chancellor's short account § refers
especially to the uses made of the skins and tusks.

The earliest delineations of the Walrus appear to have been
made by Olaus Magnus in his " Tabula Terrarum Septentrio-
nalium" (1555), where he has portrayed many strange and fabu-
lous animal forms which there is reason to believe were based
upon this animal. 1 1 Gesner a few years later (1558), in his " His-

debilitated, fearful, and half dead, he is made a rich prey, especially for his
Teeth, that are very pretious amongst the Scythians, the Moscovites, Eua-
aiana, and Tartars, (as Ivory amongst the Indians) by reason of its hardness,
whiteness, and ponderousnesse. For which cause, by excellent industry of
Artificers, they are made fit for handles for Javelins : And this is also testi-
f'ed by Mechovita, an Historian of Poland, in his double Sarmatia, and
FuuIm Jovius after him, relates it by the Relation of one Demetrius, that
was sent from the great Duke of Moscovy, to Pope Clement the 7th." — Loc.
cit., pp. 231,232.

" "Scotorum Regni Descriptio, p. 90," as cit«d by various writers.

t Herberstain, as cited by von Baer, 1. c, p. 111.

tSee Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. iii, ed. 1810, pp. 237,238,242,249,254, etc.

\S See Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. i, ed. 1599, p. 237.

II Olaus Magnus's figures will be noticed later under the section devoted
to the fi};ure8 of the Walrus (posted, p. 92 et seq.).

genp:ral history.

toriuiii Aiiiinalium" (in the volnino devoted to the " Animalia
AquatiliJi "), tiiitlifully copied all ofOlaiis Magnus's figures under
the heading "De Cotis," and then presents, under the name
Ensmonis, the figure of the Walrus from Olaus Magnus. This
figure, however, he judiciously criticises, stating that the tusks
should be in the upper Jaw, and not in the lower, as they were
represented by Olaus Magnus. This last-named author, in the
later editions of his work " De Gentium Septentrionalium Con-
ditionibus," etc. (as in that of 15G3), rightly places, iiecording to
von Baer, the tusks in the upper jaw. Gesner (continues von
Baer) knew only the first edition of this work, and took his
figure from the above-mentioned " Tabula Terrarum Septen-
trionalium." Also were unknown to him the aecounts of the Wal-
rus given by "Herberstain, Chancellor, and Othere," so that he
made extracts from only Michovius and Albertus Magnus. He
also knew no better than to offer, as a figure of the Walrus, a
drawing he had received from Strassburg, representing, pretty
fairly, the head and tusks, while the rest was purely a fabrica-
tion. Some rhymes, which he further inflicts upou his readers,
show clearly how " awful" the conceptions of the Walrus then
were (or, as von Baer puts it, " Wie schauerlich nocli die Yor-
stellungen vom Wallrossewaren").* |, >, v ; .

In 1008, a young living Walrus was taken to England, having
been captured on Bear or Cherie Island off the coast of Nor-
way, t while four years later (1012) another yf ung Walrus, with
the stuffed skin of its mother, was taken to Holland. The first
appears to have been very intelligently described by ^lius Ever-
hard Vorstius, whose description is quoted by De Laet. J The
specimen taken to Holland was well figured by Hessel Gerard,
the young one doubtless from life, the figures being pu^^lished
by him in 1613, § and subsequently repeatedly copied (as will
be more fully noticed later).

In 1625, Purchas, in his history of the voyages of the English
to Cherie Island and Spitzbergen (then called "Greenland"),
gives much interesting information respecting the chase of the

* To ebow what these conceptions were, von Baer cites the passages
ahtady quoted (anted,, p. 81), in reference to the singular misinterpretations
given in Western Europe to the Russian name Moras. See von Baer, 1. c,
p. li:{. .

t Recuoil do Voy. au Nord, 2^ 6A., tome ii, p. 368.

t Nov. Orb. 8. Doscrip. Ind. Occ, 1633, p. 41.

^ See von Baer, 1. c, p. 128; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1853, p. 115.

ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

Walnis at these islands, and in one place a quaint description
and some very curious figures of the animal.*

In J 07.5, the Walrus was again described and wretchedly
flgured by Martens, t who is said to have been the first " natu-
ralist" who ever saw the Walrus in its native haunts. Zorg-
drager, | in 1720, supplied by fiir the fuliost account of these
animals, as observed by him in Spitzbergen, that had appeared
up to that date. He gives not only a quite detailed and truth-
ful account of their habits, especially under persecution, but also
of their wholesale destruction at that early time in the Spitz-
bergen seas, and of their extermination at some of the points
at which they had formerly been accustomed to land in immense
herds. He also notes the increasing difl&culties of their capture
owing to the great shyness of man they had acquired in conse-
quence of persecution, and describes the manner in which they
were captured, and also their products. Copious extracts from
Zorgdrager's account of the Walrus are given by Buffon (trans-
lated into French from a German edition), and he has also been
extensively quoted by even much later writers.

The Greenland Walrus was described by Egede§ in 1741, by
Anderson II in 1747, by Ellis If in 1748, by Cranz** in 1765^
and by Fabricius tt in 1780, some of whom added much infor-
mation respecting its habits and distribution, its usefulness t'j
the natives and their ways of hunting it, as well as respecting
its external characters.

The above-cited accounts of the Walrus formed the basis of
numerous subsequent compilations, and most of those last given
are cited by the early systematic writers, few of whom, as pre-
^^ou8ly shown (see antea, pp. 8-11), had any just appreciation
of even its most obvious external characters. Linn6, as already
noted {anted,, p. 8), profited little by what had been written
by preceding authors, while Brisson, Erxleben, and Gmelin
manifest a scarcely better acquaintance with this badly misrep-
resented and poorly understood creature. No little confu-
sion has hence arisen in systematic works respecting its posi-

* See anted,, p. 74-78, and. posted.
t Spitzbergen, pp. 78-83, pi. P, fig. h.

t Bloeyende Opkonist der Alonde en Hedendaagscho Groenlandsclio Vis-
Bchery, etc., ed. 1720, pp. 165-172.

$ Det gamle Gr(^nland8 nye Perlustration, etc., 1741, p. 45.

II Nachrichten von Island, Gronland und der Straw e Davis, p. 258.

IT Voyage to Hudson's Bay, p. 134.

** Historie von Gronland, pp. 165, 167.

+t Fauna Groenl., p. 4.

■I (

GENERAL niSTORY.

tion and aainities (see antca, pp. 7-12). The accounts by Hoiit-
tuyn, Buftoii, Pennant, P. S. L. Miiller, and Sclireber are excel-
lent for their time. These authors all recofjnized the close
relationship of the Walrus to the Seals, and (piite con-ectly
indicated its external characters and habits. Some of these
accounts, however, include references to both species.

Daubenton, in Buffon's "Histoire Naturelle,"* gavo a de-
scription and figure of a Walrus's skull, and made the first
contribution to our knowledge of its internal anatomy, based
on the dissection of a foetal specimen.

Since the beginning of the present century, the Walrus liaa
been the subject of almost numberless notices, as well as of sev-
eral elaborate papers, devoted in most cases to special points
in its anatomy, very few of which need be here enumerated, t

The elder Cuvier, beginning with his " Legons d'Anatomie
compar^e " (1800-1805), and ending with the third edition of his
''Ossemens fossiles" (1825), contributed considerably to our
general knowledge of its structure and affinities, especially of
its osteology ; he in 1825 1 first figuring and describing its skel-
eton. A paper by Sir Everard Home, § in 1824, figured and de-
scribed the stomach and feet from specimens taken to England
from Hudson's Bay, preserved in salt. This paper is noteworthy
mainly on account of the singularly erroneous interpretation
there made of the structure and functions of the feet, Home
supposing that these organs were provided -with sucking discs,
by means of which th« creature was enabled to adhere firmly
to the ice in climbin ^. The skeleton of the Walrus was again
figured and described by Pander and d'Alton|| in 182G, and
still later by BlainviUe ^ about 1840. Von Baer, ** in 1835,
published some account of the axterial system of the Walrus,
based on a dissection of a young specimen. Its general anato-
my, especially its limb-structure, myology, vascular and respi-
ratory syste. , viscera and generative organs, and external cha-

* Tome xiii, 17*', pp. 415-424, pll. liv, Iv. The skull had been previously
figured by Houttuyu (in 1761), as will be noticed later.

t Those relating to its dentition have been already noticed in detail (see
anted, pp. 47-57) ; several others have also been specially referred to, and
nearly all are cited in the references given at pp. 23-26.

t Ossom. Foss., 3« dd., tome v, ii™" pt., pp. 521-523, pi. xxxiii.

$ Phil. Trans., 1824, pp. 233-241, pi. iv.

II Skeloti der Robben und Lamantine, pll. 1, ii.

IT Osteographie, Des Phoques, pll. i and iv.

** M6m. de I'Acad. St. Pdtersb., vi"" s4r., Sci. mpt?i., phys. et nat., tome
')■"«. 1835, pp. 199-212.

ODOB^.NUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

racters, Avere quite fully and satisfactorily treated by Dr. J.
Murie* in 1872.

lUiger, in 1811, in a paper on the geographical distribution of
the mainmals of the Northern Hemisphere (see antea, p. 18), first
nominally r cognized the Pacific Wah'us as a species distinct
from tie Atlantic animal, while Fremery, in 1831, recognized
three species, and Stannius, in 1842, admitted two,t but, as
already noticed, only one species of Walrus has been commonly
recognized. The matter of variation dependent upon sex, age,
and individual peculiarities, has received, as already noticed
(see anteu,, pp. 38-43), special attention at the hanas of Wieg-
mann, Stannius, Jaeger, and other writers.

Unquestionably, the most important paper relating to the lit-
erature, geographical distribution, and habits of the Walruses
is the well-known an<l justly celebrated memoir by von Baer,|

* Trans. Lond. Zool. Soc, voL vii, pp. 411-462, 8 woodcuts, and pll. li-lv.

t For a notice of the literature of this part of the subject see anted, pp.
17-23.

} Anatomische imd zoologische Untcrsuchungen iiber das Wallross {Triche-
clius rosmaruM) und Vergleichung dieses Thiers mit andern See-Siiugethieren.
Von Dr. K. E. v. Baer. Gelesen den 6. Nov. 1835. <^M^ni. de I'Acad. Im-
p(?r. des Sciences de Saint-Pdtersljourg, vi""' sor., Sc. math., phys. ct nat.,
tome iv'"", pp. 96-236. [Mit ciner Tafel.] Publid par ordre de I'Acaddmie.
En Fdvrier, 1837.

The paper has the following contents :

I. Zoologische Abtlieilung.

Cap. I. Vcranlassung und luhalt diesor Untcrsuchungen (pp. 97-100).
^ 1. Veranlassung. ^ 2. Anatomische Untersuchung. ^ 3. Zoologische
Nachlbrschungen. ^ 4. Alter des lebend beobachteten Thiers.

Cap. II. Geschichte der Kenntniss des Wallrossea und kritische Muste-
rung der bisher gelieferten Abbildungen (pp. 100-130). $ 1. Urzeit und Alter-
thum. § 2. Mittelalter. ^ 3. Vom Sclilusse des fiinfzehnteu Jahrhnnderts bis
auf Linnd und Bnffon. ^ 4. Von Linnd und Buffon bis jetzt. ^ 5. Uebersicht
der bisher gelieferten Abbildungen vom Wallrosse.

Cap. III. Beobachtungen an dem lebenden Thiere (pp. 130-148). $ 1. Frii-
Lere Fiille von der Anweseuheit lebender Wallrosse in mittleren Breiten. $ 2.
Allgemoines Ansehen des Thiers. $ 3. Der Kopf. $ 4. Die Bewegungen. $ 5.
Blasen oder Ansspritzeu von Wasser. ^ 5 {^bis^ Wartung des jungen Wall-
rosses. ^ 6. Geistiges Naturel des Thiers. $ 7. Bildsamkeit und Auhang-
lichkeit.

Cap. IV. AUgemeino Betrachtungen iiber die Bildsamkeit der See-Silugc-
thiere und iiber die Anhtinglichkcit der ludividuen Einv;r Art unter einander
(pp. 148-17) ). § 1. Aufgabe. J 2. Geziihmto Wallrosse. i> 3. Geziihmte Rob-
ben. § 4. Wahro Cetaceen. ^^ .'>. Gesellschaftliches Leben. ^ 6. Liebe dei'
Aeltem zu den JuugCii und dor Jungon gegen die Aelteru. ^ 7. Gatten-
liiebe. $ 8. Allgemeine Begriinduug dieser Verhaltnisse.

Cap. V. Verbreitung dor Wallrosso (pp. 172-204). ^1. Sio wohnen in zwci
getrcnnten Verbreituugs-Bezirken. 'J 2. Ocstlicher Verbreituugs-Bezirk.

GENERAL HISTORY,

published in 1837. This elaborate memoir, so often already
cited in the prescsut article, gives a general summary of nearly
all papers, referenees, and figures relating to the Walruses that
api)cared prior to 1835, the date of its presentation to the Impe-
rial Academy of Sciences of Saint Petersburg for publication.
It also contains iiumy original biological and anatomical ob-
servations, based on a young living specimen brought to Saint
Petersbmg in 1828, which, surviving for only a week after its
arrival, soon fell into his hands for dissection. *

Von Baer, after a few preliminary remarks respecting the
occasion and objects of his paper, and a few words on the
anatomy of the Walnis, devotes some thirty pages to a critical
and exhaustive historical resume of the literature relating to the
general subject. Then follow some eighteen pages detailing
his observations on the living animal, in which he gives some
account of the few young indiAiduals that had, up to that time,
been taken alive to Middle Europe ; also a detailed account of
the external appearance of the specimen he had examined in
life. lie notes especially its attitudes, movements, and limb-
structure, and compares it in these points with the Seals. After
describing the position and character of the limbs in the Seals,
and the restriction of their movements on land to a wriggling
movement, with the belly lying on the ground, he refers to the
freer use of the extremities possessed by the Walrus, Avhich he
found was able to truly stand upon its four feet, and says that,

i 'S. Westlicher Verbreituugs-Bezirk. $ 4. Periodische Wanderuugen der
Wallrosse. ^ 5. Pliysischo VerliuUnisse, welcho die Verbreitung der Wall-
roHse bedingou.

Cap. VI. Ehemalige Verbreitung der Wallrosse (pp. 20.'>-228). $ 1. Mei-
uuugen hieriiber. ^ 2. Veriinderungen ini Vorkommeu der Wallrosse in den
drei letzten Jahrhunderten. $ 3. Ob an den Orkadischen Inseln Wallrosse
bis ins 16te Jalirhundert sich aufgebalten haben 1^4. Beweiss, dass, so weit
liistorische Nachrichton zuriickgehen, kein Wallrossfang an der Kiiste von
Lappland getrieben worden ist. $ 5. Ob die Wallrosse im Mittelalter bei
Island liiiufig waren. $ 6. Verbreitung der Wallrosse zur Zeit der Romer
uud Griechen. $ 7. Ehemaliges Vorkommen an der Nordkiiste der Conti-
uente. . t , , .

Cap. VII. Paarung (pp. 228-230).

Cap. VIII. Nabrung der Walbosso (pp. 231-233).

Cap. IX. Stellung des Wallrosses im Systeme, oder Verwandtscbaft mit
andorn Thieren (pp. 234, 2.35).

* He seems, however, to have never published in full the results of his
observations upon it.s anatomy, he apparently reserving the anatomical
part of his memoir in the liope of perfecting it through the study of addi-
tional m.aterial.

ODOBiEXUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

in respect to the use of its limbs, it occupies an intermediate
place between the Pinnipeds and the ordinary Ibnr-lboted IMam-
mals, amony which latter its less pliant feet jiive it the appear-
ance of a crijiple. If we should call, he says, the Seal a crawler
or slider, we should have to term the Walrus a waddler, since in
walking it throws its pluuij) body to the right and left. Here avc
have fairly described, lor the first time, the tlexibility of the ex-
tremities, — the bending of the hind feet sometimes forward,
sometimes backward, and the free turning of the fore feet, —
although an allusion was made to this by Vorstius* two centu-
ries before, yet the fact of flexibility remained generally unre-
cognized till 1853, when a young living specimen reachetl London,
Yon Baer points out the fallacy of Sir Everard Home's notion
that the feet of the Walrus are provided with suction -discs, ami
the "blowing-' of the Walrus mentioned by Martens, \.-ho de-
scribed it as throwing wattr from its nostrils like a whale.

Following this chapter on its external features, movements,
temperament, behavior, etc., is an interesting dissertation of
some twenty or more pages on the domesticability of the marine
mammals in general, which is devoted largely to a history of
the behavior of the Seals in captivity, with a short notice of
the different examples of the Walrus, the Sireniaus, and the
smaller Cetaceans that had been observed in confinement. The
next thirty pages are given to a discussion of the geogTaph-
ical distribution of the Walruses, the treatment of which subject
is marked by the same pains-taking research that characterizes
the other parts of this learned monograph. He shows that
Walruses are confined to two widely separated habitats, and
not, as previously supposed, found all along the Arctic coasts.
He describes them as limited to two regions, an eastern and a
western, the first including, the northwestern coast of North
America from the Peninsula of Aliaska northward, and the
corresponding parts of the neighboring Asiatic coast. To the
eastward he could trace them only to the \icinity of Point Bar-
row, and to the w^estward only to a few degrees beyond East
Cape.

The western region, he affirmed, embraces only the Arctic
coast of Europe eastward to the mouth of the Jenesei Biver,

* "Pedes nnterioreH antrorsum, posteriores retrorsum siiectabant cmii iii-
grederetur," says Vorstius as quoted by De Laet (see anted, p. 37). The hind
feet are also represeutcd as turned forward in Hessel Gerard's figure, pulj-
lished in 1C13 (see posted).

GENERAL HISTORY.

and, on the other side of the Atlantic, the shores of Greenland
and Arctic America westward to the western shores of Hudson's
Bay a 'd Fox Channel. There is thus left between these two
regions nearly the whole of the coast of Asia bordering on the
Polar Sea on the one hand, and almost the whole of the coast
of Xorth America formed by the Arctic Sea on the other.

In the later portion of his chapter an the distribution of the
Walruses he devotes a few pages to a consideration of their
migrations, and the physical causes which limit their distribu-
tion. Their migrations, he believes, are very imperfectly known,
but he inclines to the opinion that they only periodically visited
such points in their former range as Sable Island and other
southerly lying islands. The causes which limit their range he
considers to be mainly temperature, since he finds the southern
boundary of their distribution is deflected northward and south-
ward in accordance with the curves of isothermal lines.

The former range of the Walruses is also considered at length,
to which subject are devoted nearly twenty-flve pages. A short
account is given of their reproduction and food, the paper clos-
ing with an inquiry into their systematic relationship to other
animals. The map accompanying his memoir shows not only
the distribution of the Walruses as at that time known, but
indicates also the region over which they are known to have
formerly occurred, and also the habitat of the Bhytina, or Sea-
cow of Steller.

The reception in London, in 1853, of a young living Walrus
gave rise to a paper by Owen* on its anatomy and dentition,
and another by Gray,t " On the Attitudes and Figures of the
Morse." A short paper was contributed by Sundevall J in 1859
on its general history.

Leidy, in 1860, published an important paper on the fossil
remains of Walruses found on the eastern coast of the United
States, while Gratiolet, Defrance, Lankester, and Van Beneden
have also written about those that have been met with in
France, England, and Belgium.§

Malmgren, in 1864, in a paper on the Mammalian Fauna of

•Proc. Zoijl. Soc. Lond., 1853, pp. 103-106.

tibicl., pp. 112-116, figs. 1-10.

tOm Walrosseu, Ofversigt K. Vet. Akad. Forb. (Stockh.), xvi, Ib.j'J, pp.
441-447 ; also translated in Zeitschr. gesammt. Natnrw. Halle, xv, 1860, pp.
270-275.

ij See anted, pp. 61-65.

ODOB^NUS ROSMARUS ATLANTIC WALRUS.

Fiumark and Spitzbergen,* jiublisbed many interesting notes
relating to its babits and food, and biter a special paper on its
dentition (noticed anteu, p. Hi.) Malmgren's observations on
tbeii" bal)its, distribution, etc., also appear in tbe history of the
Svredisb Expedition to Spitzbergen and Bear Island in the year
1801,t together with a somewhat detailed and very interesting
general history of the animal, with several illustrations.

Brown, in 1808, in his " J^^otes on the History and Geogi'aph-
ical Kelations of thePinnipedia frequenting the Spitzbergen and
Greenland Seas,"^ devotes several pages to the Walruses (pi).
427-435), in which he considers especially their habits and food,
geographical distribution, and economic value.

In addition to the special papers cited in the foregoing pages,
their general history has been more or less fully presented in
several general works treating of the mammalia, and in several
faunal pubhcations, § Much information respecting their general
history may also be I'oiind in the narratives of various Arctic
€xi)lorer8, as Parry. Wrangell, Keilhau, Kane, Ilayes, Lamont,
and others, whose co"tributions will be more fully noticed in the
following pages relat i ; to the habits of the Walruses.

2. Figures. — As von Baer fiicetiously remarlcs, no animal
has had the honor of being depicted in such strange and widely
diverse representations as the Walrus. These, as has been
previously stated, began with Glaus Magnus, about the middle
of the sixteenth century, who opened the series with half a
dozen phantastic flgui'es, based apparently upon this animal,
only one of which, however, bore the name liosmarus {Bosnia-

* lakttagelser och antcckuiugar till Finmarkcns och Spetsbergens Diigg-
<ljnrsfauna. Ofversigt af Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad, Forhandl. 1863, (1864), pp.
127-155. [Walruses noticed, PI). 130-134.] Also republished iu German in
Wiogniann's Arch. fUr Naturgesch., 1864, pp. 63-97.

tl have seon only Passarge's Gennan translation, entitled " Die schwe-
dischen Expeditioneu nach Spitzbergen und Baren-Eiland ausgefUhrt iu
den Jahren 1861, 1864, und 1868, unter Leitung von 0. Torell und A. E.
Nordenskiold. Aus dem Schwedischen ilbersotzt von L. Passarge. Nebst 9
grossen Ansichteu in Tondruck, 27 Illustrationcn in Holzschnitt und eiuor
Karte von Spitzbergen in Farbendruck. Jena, Hermann Costenoble, 1869."
See pp. 131-143 (general history), 147, 151, etc.

tProc. Zotil. Soc. Lond., 18(58, pp. 405-440.

ij See, among others, Macgillivray, British Quad., 1838, pp. 219-224 ; Ham-
ilton, Amphib. Carnivora, etc., 1839, pp. 103-123; Nilsson, Skaud. Faun., i,
1847, pp. 318-325; Giobd, Siiugethiere, 1855, pp. 127-129; Lilljeborg, Fauna
Sveriges och Norgoa Diiggdj., 1874, pp. G54-()67 ; etc., etc.

FIGURES.

ru8 seu Morms Norvegicm).* This figure t ropresents an auimal
standinji: half erect, resting against a rock, having four feet,

-.f^ ~zrP

FiQ. 4. — "Roamarwi seu Moraus Norvegicus. Olaus Magnus, 15fi8, p. 789."

a long, thick, cylindrical tail, terminating abruptly in an irreg-
ular expansion, with a low dorsal spiny crest, and two rather
long porcine tusks projecting downward from about the middle
of the mouth. Another, J a prone figure, called Porctis mon-

Fig. 5. — "PwciM monstroam Oceani Germanid. Olaus Magnus, 1568, p. 788."

strosus Oceani Germaniei, has a thick, short body, a fish-like
tail, and a swine's head, ears, and tusks; the latter placed
only in the lower jaw and directed upward. Behind tlie prom-
inent pointed ears are two horns. The body is covered with
heavy scales, among which are placed three eyes. The back is
crested with large,.somewhat recurved, spines of irregular size,
and the feet are webbed and fin-like, esi>ecially the anterior.
Another, called Vacca marina, represents the head of an ox,
with a long beard on the chin. A fourth represents a dolphin-
like body, with four feet, a fish's tail, a pair of long, ascending,

*My remarks respecting Olaus Magnus's figures are based on Gesnei's
(Hist. Animal. Aquat., 1558, pp. 247-249), and Gray's copies of tbem (Proc.
Zool. Soc. Loud., 1853, p. 113), Olaus Magnus's work not being accessible to
iiM'. The figures herewith given (Figs. 4-12) are from electros of Gray's
lignrt's.

t Sec Fig. 4, copied by Gray from Ohu.<s JIaguus.

t See Fig. 5, copied by Gray from Olaus Magnus.

ODOILENl'S ROSM Alius ATLANTIC WALRUS.

curved tusks near tlic jMistorior aiigU^ of the mouth, and long
spines from the cliin, tli oat, head, and back.* A fifth t is a

Pig. C}.—" l{oitmarn8i Gesner, Addfiidn, :U58, Ifi, 15fiO. (Reduced one-
ninth.)"

creature liaving^ a swinish head, with lou}?, ascending tusks in
the lower jaw, four short, chiAved feet, and a rather long, cyliu

Pig. 7. — "Vacca viarina. Gesnor, Addenda, p. 369, 1560."

drical body wr.apped in armor ! Another is a monstrous sea
animal, Avith a circle of long spines around the head, and tufts
of spines from the nostrils and (Hiin, four feet, the anterior only
■with clsiws, a forked tail with the points laterally recurved, and

*See Fig. 6, copied by Gray from Gesner.
t Sec Fig. 7, c-tpied by Gray from Gesner.

FIGURES.

two great tmks iu the upper jaw, but uo other resemblance to
the Walrus.*

The figures published by Glaus Magnus were, according to
vou Baer, all faithfully copied by Gesner,t who added to them

Fig. 8. — ^' lloaniariis. Gcsuer, Icnnos Aninialinm, 1560, p. 178. De Cotis,
Old. xii. (Keduced two-tbirds.)"

another, which he received from Strassburg. Thisij: represents,
as von Baer terms it, the " morphological paradox" of a verte-
brate with two pairs of feet, a pair of wings or floats ("Flossen"),
and a fish's tail. Tlie liead has considerable resemblance to that
of a Walrus, with tlie large tusks properly situated in the upper
jaw, and tlio eyes and nose are passably represented. The feet
are all directed backward, in a swimming i)osture, and armed
witli strong claws. The Seal-like body has engrafted upon it the
tail of a fish, while at the shouhler is .seen a sort of wing-like
appendage. The figure of the head is said to have been drawn
in Strassburg from an actual specimen afterward sent by the
bishop of Drontheim to the Pope, but to this was added a
wholly imaginary figure of the body. Gesner's figure was sev-
eral times copied, among others by Ambrosinus in 1642, in
his Addenda to Aldrovandus's work, § and -also by JonstonH in
1G57.

In 1598, De Veer, in a work entitled " The JiTavigatiou into
the North-Seas,"^ gave an illustration entitled "The Portrait-
ure of our boats and how we nearly got into difficulty with the
Seahorses." In this picture are depicted several Seal-liko ani-

"This tifjcnro is not included in Gray's serios.

+ looucs Aninialinm, I'^'i, and Historia Aniinalinin, 1558. ,

t Seo Fig. 8, copied by Gray from Gesner.

iS " Piiralipomena, etc., adnoxa ad Aldrovandi Historiam Monstronnn,
p. 100," according to von Baer.

lIDePi.seibnH, pi. xUv. .

HAinstcrdani, VtOS; translated and ropnblisbcd in London in 1609, and
r.'iirintcd from tbo London edition by tlio Haklnyt Society in 1853, tho last-
named being tlie edition bore quoted.

ODOBJENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

mal.s stPiiding on tlit ice, witl« long tusks and an arched body,
.supported on a docurved bifurraio tail and the fore limbs, while
the heads of several others are seen in the water. They are
represented as having distin<;t pointed ears and no hind feet,
unless the tail-like e.iding of the body may be snpi)ose(l to rep-
resent the hind limbs.* An explanation of tlie inaccnvaey of

Fio. 9.— "Sea Horse, 1()09."

these figures is evidently afforded by the context (pp. 218-219
of the Hakluyt edition), in which we find the following: "And
passing along by it ["Admiralty Island"], we saw about two
hundred seahorses lying ui)on a flake of ice, and we sailed
close by them and draue them from there, which had almost
cast us doun ; for they being mighty strong fishes [Zee-mon-
sters, the editor says is the term used in the original Dutch],
and of great force swam towards us (as if they would revenge
on us for the despight that we had done them) round about
our scuts [boats] with a great noyse, as if they would have de-
voured us; but we escaped from them by reason of a good gale
of wind ; yet it was not wise of us to wake sleeping wolves."

Fig. 10. — " Walruss, Ad vivum delineatum ab HcBselo G. A. 161? (Reduced

four-sevenths. ) "

In 1G13 a very correct and in many ways admirable repre-
sentation of the Walrus was i)ublished by Hessei Gerartlt (or

** One of these tigures lias been copied by Gi. y (Proc. Z(»ol. Soc. Loudon,
1853, p. 114, fig. 6), but omitting the ears and somewhat reduced in size.
Gray's figure is here reproduced (see Fig. 9).

t " Histoire de Spitsberghe," as cried by Gray. Bhimeubach and vou Bati'
cite doubtfully "Descriptio ac delincatio geographica detectionis freti, s.
transitus ad occasum supra terras Amcricanas in China atquc Japonem duc-
turi, etc." Von Hessei Gerard. Amsterdam, 1013. 4^\

FIGURES.

(Jc'rrai(l,as also written), drawn from life from a younj.? animal,
wliicli, with the stuffed skin of its mother, arrived in II )llaiul in
1(»1l;. This representation consists of two fljjnres, one of a fnll-
•irowii animal, the other of a young one a few months old.* The
hind portion of the larger animal is partly hidden by the figure
of the smaller one. The general form of the body, the tusks,
and extremities are all faithlully portrayed, the hind limbs being
turned forward in their natural position, — the first figure, and
tlic only one; for the next two hundred and fifty years, in which
the hind lindis are placed in a natural position. This figure
has been numy times copied, — first by De Laiitt in 1033, and sub-
sequently from De Laet, by Wormiu8| in 1665, by Jou8ton,§
Shaw,i; Schinz,^] Gray,** and doubtless by many others. Most of
the early authors, as Wormius, Jonston, and others, copied, not
directly from Gerard, but from De Laet, while Shaw copied
from Jonston, and Schinz from Blumenbach, in several cases
these second and third hand representations doing great injus-
tice to Gerard's original figure. Blumenbach,tf through the
kindness of his friend Forster, was enabled to take his from
Gerard's original imprint, and it is a much finer illustration
than that afforded by De Laet, the one usually copied. Yon
Baer Jf also refers to a colored copy of Gerard's figure, which he
obtained, with a collection of natural-history illustrations, from
a bookseller in Leipsic, in which the coloring was truthftdly
executed, agreeing closely with the color of the young animal
he saw alive in St. Petersburg. § § Gerard's often-copied drawing

* See Fig. 10, copied by Gray, .and here reproduced.

tNovus Orbis, seu Descrip. Ind. Occident., 1633, p. 38.

tMua. Worm., p. 289.

$ De Piacibus et Cetis, 1649, pi. xliv (also in subsequent editions).

11 General Zool., i, 1800, pi. Ixviii*.

UNaturgesch. und Abbild. der Siiuget., pi. ixv, lower figure.

*^Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1553, p. 115, fig. 9 Gray's figure is here given
(see Fig. 10).

tt Abbild. naturhist. Gegenstiinde, 1796-1810, No. 15 (plate and text).

ULoc. cit., p. 129.

H Von Baer's account of this important early figure is as follows : " Diese
vortrefiUche Zeichnung wurdo iu Kupfer gestochen vnd einigon Exemplaren
von dem Abdrucke der Deacriptio ao delineatio geogruphica detectionia freti, a.
tranaiiua ad occasum aupra terraa Americanaa in Chinam atque Japonem dttcturi
etc., der von Hessel Gerard in Amsterdam 1613, 4°. besorgt ist, beigegeben.
In dio86M Buche wurdo der Originalkupferstich von Forster gefundon und
Blumenbach mitgetheilt. Da er sich, wie Blumenbach sagt, in keiner an-
(leru Ausgabo desselben Werkes und auch in dieser nnr in den wenigsteu
Exemplaren flndet, so ist wohl wahrscheinlich, dass er gar nicht zu dem
Misc. Pub. No. 12 7

ODOBiENUS R0SMARU8 — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

was well worthy of ropotitiou, being incouipuiubly better thau
any other made prior to ^hose taken from the living specimen
received at the Zoological Gardens in London in 1853.

Purchas, in his '* Pilgrimes,"* gives some very interesting,
and in many respects excellent, representations of the Walrus,
to which I find no reference in the writings of von Baer or Gray,
or, in fact, anywhere. In the principal of these figures, the
general form of the Walrus is more correctly delineated than
in any figure, except Gerard's, that appeared prior to 1857.
.'Barring its facial expression, and the presence of what seems
to be a mane, it is excellent. The general outline of both the
body and the limbs are surprisingly truthful, as is likewise the
attitude. The hind feet are turned forward, and the size and
position of the tusks are con'ectly represented. The fsice, how-
ever, has a most ludicrous half-leonine, half-human expression,
which is heightened by the addition of an ear having the gen-
eral form of a human ear. In addition to this, the creature is

Wt'ike geliGrt uii«l niir von tlcni Heranagober oder von don Kiinfern einigen
Excniplaren bcigebundeu ist. Ich habo nicht Gelcgenheit gcliabt, das bier
genannto Werke zu scbeu uud darnaeh zu bestimmcn, ob das Kupfer zii dcui
Bucho gebort, vcrmutbo aber eines Tbeils aiis dcr angegcbenen Scltcubeit
seines Vorkoiuiueus iind audern Tbeils aus dem Unistande, dass die Figiir
in inebreren Werken des 17. Jabiliunderts wiederbolt wurde, dass sie damals
bekannter war, als im 18tcn. Ja, ich besitzo selbst eiu colorirtcs Blatt, das ich
in einer Sammlung natnrbistorlscber Abbildnngcn in Leipzig ans dem Nacb-
lasse eines Naturalienbiindlers kanfte uud welcbes, zwar uicbt dor Original-
Kupferstich, docli eine Copie dcsselbeu ist. Die Farbe, welcbo beido Tbiere
auf moinem Blatto haben, ist ganz Ubereinstimmeud mit der Farbo des
jungen "Wallrosses, das bier zu soben war. Da nun die erwachsonen Wall-
rosse in der Regcl heller sind, so ist es mir wahrscheinlich, dass auch die
Coloriruug damals uach dem jungen Thiero gemacht ist." — VON Baer, I. c,
pp. 128, 129.

Gray says: "In a small quarto tract, called the 'Histoiro du Pays nomm6
Spitsborgho, dcrit par H. G. A., Amsterdam, chez Hessel Gerrard A.', 1613, a
plate at page 20 contains an e scellent figure of the Morso and its young, ' ad
vivum delineatum ab Hessolo 6. A.' This figure was repeated in De Laofw
'Amer. .Descript.', p. 28, 1633, by Jonston, 'Pisces', t. 44, in 1657, and by
Shaw, 'Zoology', t. 68*, from Jonston." Gray copies this figure with the
following title: "Fig. 9. Walrtias. Ad vivum delineatum ab Hesselo G. A.
Histoiro do Spitsberghe, by H. G. A., 1613. Another edition, sanio date.
(Reduced four-sevenths.)" — Proc. Zool. Soc. I.ond., 1853, p. 115.

It would thus appear that either Gerard's figure was pul)Iished simulta-
neously iu sever.al different works, since that mentioned by Grey is not the
one cited l)y von Baer, or else that, ;i8 von Baer 8U8i)ected, and as seems
more probable, the plate did not really I elong to the work von Baer cites,
hut merely happened to l.o bound with ic.

*Vol. iii, pp. 472-473 bis.

FIGURES.

represented as having a heavy mane, extending from the heatl
to the middle of the baek. The flgnre bears the quaint legend,
*^TIic Scamorce is in quantity as bigg as an oxe.''^ Another illustra-
tion on the opposite page shows " The nmnner of killing y"
Seamorces," and represents a small herd of Walruses attacked
by a party of hunters armed with lances. The Walruses are
all headed toward the water, the men being between them and
the sea. The Walruses are depicted in the attitude of walking,
all having the hind feet turned forward, these figures giving
apparently a correct idea of the Walrus's manner of progres-
sion on land. These two illustrations fonn part of a series that
embellish a map of "Greenland" (Spitzbergen), the others rep-
resenting different scenes in Whale-llshing and " the manner
of killing Beares."

Zorgdrager,* in 1720, gave a figure of a Walrus which has a
Seal-like head with two long tusks in the upper jaw, and the
general body-contour of a Walru ». The posterior third of the
body and hind limbs are fortunately, to judge by the rest of the
figure, left to the imagiinition, being hidden behind the figure
of a Seal ("Zee Eob"); the fore limbs bear no resemblance to
those of a Walrus.

In 1741, Egedet gave a Seal-like figure of a AYalrus, with its
calf, confronting a Polar Bear. The open mouth displays a
series of long sharp teeth, looking even less like Walrus tusks
than the general form of the animal does like the outline of a
Walrus. This figure of the Walrus is surprisingly poor, con-
sidering the excellent description Egede gives of the animal.

In 1748, Ellis I further enriched the iconograT>nic literature of
the Walrus by furnishing a figure, respecting which he says :
"I shall not detain the Reader with an Account of a Creature
[" Sea Horse"] so often described, b*t refer him to the Cut, in
which he will find^it very truly repre8ented."§ The figure, how-
ever, is one of the worst imaginable, considering the oppor-
tunity Ellis evidently had for observation. In some respects
it bears some resemblance to that given by De Yeer. EUis's
figure combines a Lynx-Uke f ace withlldon-liko fore limbs, short,

* IJloeycndo Opkonift der Aloude cu Hedendaagsche Groenlandscho Vis-
schciy, 1720, plate facing p. 1()2, upper left-hand figiu-e.

tBfscLrcibung inid Natnrgeschichto von GriJnland, 1763, p. 106, pi. vi,
lower left-hand ligiirc, Knniitz's German translation. The wo .: appeared
in Danish as early as 1741.

{ Voyage to Hudson Bay, pi. facing p. 134, middle figure.

$Loc. cit., p. 236.

100

ODOBiENUS ROSMAUUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

roiiiid, pi'oiiiiiH'iit fill's, Miiiall, [jointcd, inwardcurviii^' tUMkH, no
liitHl t'(\ ',, jind a body tapeiiii}; to a doubly t'liiaiyiiiatc tish-liko
tail, poH^iblv intended to i'(^]ueHt'.it hind lind)s.

J'ontoppidon, in liis Natnral J li story of Norway, published
in IT.')!, ^ave a tljfuie of the WaLns in whieh the resenibhniee
consisted mainly in the presenei! of two huge tusks in the upper
jaw. Only tlu! head, neek, and upper portion of the body are
re]uesented ; but the {general outline, as far as seen, is sug-
gestive «)f the animal it was intended to represent.

Houttuyn,* in 17(Jl, gave a very fair figure of the skull and os
I)enis of a Walrus. As 1*. L. S. Miiller, in 1773, used Houttnyn's
plates in his " Natursystem," these llgures are there again called
into service, to which was added a noteworthy representation
of the animal.t This represents an apparently young Walrus
as lying partly on the side, with the diminutive hind feet

Fig. 11.—" Wall-Iioaa, Marten's Spitzbergen, &c. 1675, t. P, tig, ft. (Reduced

threo-tenths.)"

turned foricard. The general outline of the body indicates
the obese form of the Walrus; but the head, with its small,
short tusks, has scarcely the faintest resemblance to the head
of that animal.

* Natuurlyke Tlistorie of oitvoerige Beschryving der Dieren, Planten en
Mineraalon, volgens het Samenstel van den Heer Linnaeas. Met naaw-
keurige Af beoldingeu. Eerste Deels, tweede Stuk, 1761, pi. xi, figg. 1, 4.

t Des Hitters Carl von LinntS Koniglich Schwedischen Leibarztes, &c. &c.
vollstUnih^'is Natursystem nacb der z wolf ten lateiuisclieii Ausgabe und nacb
Anleitung des holliindisclien Houttuynischen Werks mit einer ausfUhrliohen
Erklarnng ausgefertiget von Philipp Ludwig Statins Miiller, etc. Erster
Theil. Niimberg, 1773. PI. xxix, fig. 2. This is one of the few original

plates added by Miiller to Houttnyn's series

FKirUKS.

101

111 170.'), ii most wrotc'lu'd iiiid IndicrouH cariciitiirc of tho
Wiilriis was coiitrihutcMl l).v ^Murtciis.* In tills lijiuro, tlio iiiucli-
alms«'(l Walrus is iepivs(Mito«l as liaviiif,' an oiHnnioiisly largo
and sliap«'less head, in which tho small tusks are sot widely
up "t : it has small Seal-like tore feet, and no hind lindis, or, if
prf M tit. lliey are directed backward, and look more like a fish's
tail tiian distinct limbs. The tusks alone give tho figure any
suggestion of what it wa,« intended to represent.

The next figure of which I have knowledge was published by
Buffon,t also in 170a, and soon after copied by Schreber.J This

Fig. 12.— "y.c Morse, Huffon, xili, t. 548, 1765. (Reauced two-fifths.)"

was evidently drawn from a stuft'ed specimen, to which the taxi-
dermist had given the attitude cand general form of a common
Seal. In 1827, a very fair figure of tho head (the animal being
sup])osed to be in the water, with only the head visible) was
published in Griffith's Animal ICiugdom (vol. ii, pi. v), which
was later repeated by lIamilton,§ and also elsewhere. In 1830,
a very fiiir, colored figure (evidently from a stuffed specimen),
barring the posterior direction of the hind limbs, appeared in the
" Disciples edition '' 1 1 of Cuvier's E6gne Animal, copied from Pal-

* Spitzbergische Eeisebesclireibiuig, pi. P, fig. i. This fig. is also repro-
duced by Gray (1. c, fig. 7), and is here copied as Fig. 11.

tHistoire Niturelle, t. xiii, pi. liv.

t Siiuget., pi, Ixxix.

$ Amphibious Caiaivora, p. 106, in Jard. Nat. Library, Mam., vol. viii.

II Le E^gne Animal, etc., par Georges Cuvier. "Edition accompagn^e des
planches gravies, .... par une reunion de disciples de Cuvier," etc. Paris,
1836 et seq.

The Walrus is figured in "Mammif feres," pi, xliv. The history of the
figure is given as follows: " Figure dessiii^e d'apriis cello qu'a donn^e Pal-
las dans la Zoographia Rosso -Asiatica, et r^formde, pour lo pose, d'aprfes un
croquis in<5dit de Choris; an vingtifeme environ de la. gi-andour uaturelle,"

The only copy of Pi^Uas's "Icones" accessible to me i.? imperfect, and has
not the figure here copied. There i,;, however, a quite dLforent one, which
will bo noticed later in another connection. Whether Fallas's figure hero
copied represents tho Atlantic or the Pacific species cai:not well be deter-
mined.

102

ODOBiENUS EOSMAEUS — ATLANTIC WALEUS.

las. Another much like it was publislied soon after in Macgil-
livray's British Quadrupeds, * and still another, also quite simi-
lar, in Hamilton's Marine Carnivora.t The vignette-titlepage of
the last-named Avork also rei)resents a "Walrus hunt," in which
a boat's ciew are depicted as attacking a gioup of live old Wal-
ruses. The plate in Hamilton's "Amphibious Carnivora " pui'-
ports to have been drawn from a specimen in the Edinburgh
Eoyal Museum, and seems to be essentially the some as that
in Macgillivray's British Quadrupeds, with a somewhat altered
position and different background. In each of these plates
are represented two other distant figures of the Walrus. In
each, the tusks are long, and seem to represent the Pacific
rather than the Atlantic species, as is also the case in the "Dis-
ciples edition" of the Eegne Animal. In all these last-named
figures, the hind limbs are directed posteriorly, but in other
respects they are fair representations.

Dr. Kane, | in 1856, gave several illustrations of the annual,
and also of its breathing-holes, and of the implements employed
by the Innuits in Walrus-hunting. In Sonntag's "Narrative
of the Grinnell Exploring Expedition," § published in 1857, a

* Jardiue's Nat. Library, Mam., vol. vii, 1838, pi. xx.

tibid., vol. viii, 1839, pi. i.

t Arctic Exploration, vol. i, jip. 141 ("Walrus Sporting"), 142 ("Wah-us-
hole), 419 (''portrait") ; vol. il, plate facing p. 214 ("Walrus Hunt off Pi-
kantlik" — a nearly full tigure.

$Thi8 curious and apparently little known brochure, by the eminent
astronomer of the Expedition, is well worthy of attention, notwithstanding
the ludicrously sensational character of the titlepage affixed by the en-
terprising publishers. The titlepage, transcribed in full, is as follows:
"Professor Sonntag's Thrilling Narrative of the Grinnell Exploring Expe-
dition to the Arctic Ocean, in the years 1853, 1854, and 1855, in search of
Sir John Franklin, under the command of Dr. E. K. Kane, U. S. N. Con-
taining the History of all previous explorations of the Arctic Ocean, from
the year 1618 down to the present time ; showing how far they advanced
northward, what discoveries they made and their scientiiic observations.
The present whereabouts of Sir John Franklin and his party, if they are
still alive. A statement of the only practicable method by which the North
Pole may be reached; the reasons why all exploring expeditions have
hitherto failed to penetrate the icy barriers of the Polar Eegions. Highly
important astronomical observations, jiroving that there is no such thing as
apparent time at the North Pole ; sulferings of Dr. Kane's exploring party;
how they Avere buried for two years in the ice, enduring a degree of cold
never experienced by any human being before; their miraculous escapes
and unprecedented hardships ; their abandonment of the ship ; and perilous
journey of four hundred miles over the ice. With nearly one hundred
Bplendid engravings. By Professor August Sonntag, Astronomer to the

FIGURES.

103

yioui) of four old AValruses is figured (full-page woodcut, p. 113).
The animals are disposed in various attitudes, and represent
admirably tlie grim visage, postures, and uncouth proportions
of the Atlantic Walrus. The figure in the foreground is pre-
sented in inoflle, with both fore and hind limbs in a natural
pimtion; behind this are two old veterans seen in half-profile,
and behind these a third lying on its back with the hind limbs
thrust upward. Tliis illustration, evidently a study from life, is
by far the best representation of the adult Atlantic "Walrus with
which I am acquainted. In 1857, ;!>i'. Gray reproduced, as pre-
viously detailed {antea, pp. 93-100), i series of the early figaires
from Olaus Magnus, Gesner, Jonston, Gerard, Martens, Buffon^
and Cook.

The next original figures of the Walrus with which I am
acquainted were drr.wn from the living specimen in the Gar-
dens of the Zoological Society of London by Mr. Wolf, and
appear in Wolf and Sclater's " Zoological Sketches,"* published
in 18G1. In plate xviii is represented a group of Walruses in
various attitudes. Those in the foreground are young and tusk-
less, with a heavy array of long mystacial bristles, and much
thinner necks and shoulders than the Walrus is commonly repre-
sented as having, doubtless owing to the very emaciated condi-
tion of the Uving original.

At about this date (1861), some very good pictures of groups
of Walruses were published by Mr. Lamont ir his entertaining
and instructive book entitled " Seasons with the Sea-horses."
In a spirited plate (called " Chase of the Walrus"), facing the
titlepage, is portrayed a group of Walruses in the sea, attacked

Expedition, formerly of the Royal Observatory at Vienna, and late of the
U. S. National Observatory, Washir, ^n City, D. C. Philadelphia, Penn. :
Jas. T. Lloyd & Co. Cincinnati, Ohio: Jas. T. Lloyd & Co." No date.
Large 8vo, pp. 176, paper. Copyright dated 1857.

The publishers state: "The undersigned having purchased Professor
Sonntag's Narrative of the Grinnell Expedition, some months sinco, have
used their best judgment and abilities in preparing this thrilling nairativo
for the press, to make it as acceptable to tlio . ^idiug public as possible," etc.

The name of the author is alone suflQcient guaranty of the trustAvorthy
and iustructive character of the work, which, despite the dime-novel aspect
of its exterior, is a valuable contribution to the history of the Arctic Re-
gions. Pages 80 to 85 are devoted to a general account of the Walrus At
page 83 is a sketch of a "Desperate attack of Walruses on the English
Boat," based apparently on Captain Becchey's account of an adventure with
these animals.

*Vol. i, pi. xviii.

104

ODOIJ^ENUS ROSMAKUS ATLANTIC WALRUS.

by a boat's crew, oue of the poor animals having been already
harpooned. Another plate, facing page 72, entitled " Walruses
on the Ice," represents it .-erd on the ice in various attitudes,
most, but not all, of which have the hind feet extended back-
wartV in the manner of Seals. In his later work, " Yachting in
the Arctic Seas," he has given (plate opposite p. 50) a very flue
side-view of the head, and on p. 221 a large vignette figure of
the head seen in front.

Mr. Brown also refers to " the excellent figures of the Wal-
rus taken by the artist of the Swedish Expedition," namely, a
"chromolithograph and head, both drawn by Herrvon Yhlen," —
" under the direction of such well-informed naturalists as Torell,
Malmgren, Smith, Goes, Blomstrand, &c.," in which "the fore
flippers are represented as rather doubled back, and the hind
flippers extended." This work ("Svenska Expeditioner til
Spetsbergen ar 1861, pp. 168-182, pi. facing p. 169, and head
p. 308 ") I have been unable to see, but presume the figures are
the same as those in the German translation of this work,
which appeared in 1869. * The frontispiece of this work repre-
sents a group of ioiu* old Walruses resting on the ice. with a
fifth in the water in the foreground. A woodcut of the head of
a young, or mote probably a female, is given on p. 132, and on
p. 130 a hunting-scene.

In 1867 appeared figures of the second living specimen
received at the Zoological Society's Gardens. According to Dr.
Murie t these were published in " The Field," " Laud and Water,"
" Illustrated London News," and elsewhere. The figure origi-
nally appearing in " The Field" (drawn by Mr. Wood) is repub-
lished by Dr. Murie in his " Memoir on the Anatomy of the
Wah'us " f from the original wood-block. This is a rather more
robust figure than those published by Wolf and Sclater, but is
likewise tuskless (being also that of a very young animal), and
shows similarly the long, descending, curved mystacial bris-
tles.

In 1870, Dr. Gilpin figured a male Walrus killed in March,
1869, in the Straits of Belle Isle, Labrador. In this figure, the
general form of the body is very well represented, but the hind

* Dio Hchwedischen Expeditiouen nach Spitzbergeu iind Btircn-Eiland,
ausgefUbrt iu deu Jalircu 1861, 1864 und 1868, otc. (for full trauscript of
the titlepago sec ante^, p. 92).

t Trans. Zool. Soc. Lend., vol. vii, 1872, p. 413.

t Loc. cit., p. 416.

riGl'RKS.

105

limbs are tniiied l)a('kwurd, as in the coiiunoii Seals. A view
of tlu! muzzle forms a second liguie, and the I'oim of one of the
fore limbs is given in outline.

Wells, in liis "Gateway to the Polynia,"' iniblislied hi 1S73,
gives a plite (faeing page 201) in illustration of the Wakus.
The ligure in the foreground represents an individual tlat on
its belly with all the limbs directed i)osteriorly. Other figures
represent other individuals reijosing in various attitudes.

The above-enumerated figures of the Walrus embrace all the
original figures of the Atlantic si)ecie8 thus far knoAvn to me, and
all to which I have seen references, so far as figure^ of the entire
animal are concerned. In recapitulation, it may be stated that,
Gesners figure, published in 1558, is the first that had an actual
foundation in nature, all t^e preceding (the mythical ones of
Olaus Magnus) being purely fictitious or based on erroneous
conceptions. Gesner's, as already noticed, was a curious combi
nation of reality with myth, the head only being drawn from
nature, and a fanciful body added ! The first really drawn from
nature ("ad vivum") was Hcssel Gerard's excellent figure pub-
lished in IGIS. Subsequently appeared numerous figures in the
works of travellers, drawn apparently either from memory or by
artists who had never seen the aninml they so confidently
attempted to depict.

The first representation based on a museum specimen api)ears
to have been Bufton's, in 1705, which has been aptly described
as being merely a common Seal with tusks. Other figures fol-
lowed later, as those in the so-called " Discip'es edition" of Cu-
vier's Regue Animal, and in the two already cited volumes of
Jardine's Naturalist's Library, drawn also from stuft'ed speci-
mens, in which the hind limbs were always placed in a whoUy
false attitude, though in other re8i)ects passably fair figures. I^^ot
until a living specimen reached London, in 1853, did the cor-
rect attitudes of the animal and the natural position of the hind
limbs become generally known to naturalists, and not until
then was the tnithfulness of Gerard's early figure duly recog-
nized and appreciated, notwithstanding that von Baer, nearly
twenty years earlier, testified to its excellence, and correctly
described the flexibility of the limbs. Now, through the two
living specimens seen and figured in London, and through
excellent recent figures of tlie Pacific Walrus, the attitudes and
oxternr.l bearing of few of our marine mammalia are better
uiown than thoi-,e of the Walruses.

.UG

( )])OI{^E\L'.S I{( )SMA1{U.S ATLANTIC WALIUIS.

In Jidditioii to the iibovtMlcsi'ribcd ti;;iiros of the general ani-
niiil, rcpresentiitions of viirious iinatoniiciil details, both of the
osteohtgy and the soft parts, have been from tinu^ to time ])ub-
lished. As early as 17(51, the skull, as previously stated, was
liyured by llouttuyn, and ajiain by Daubenton* in ITO.j, these
boinj;' the earliest liyin-es of the skull to vhieh I find referen(X'.
Goethe, in his "Morphoh),';ie" (see antca^ V''^^)i gave impcutant
figures illustrati\'e of tlie dentition and strueture of the ante-
rior portion ot the skull.

Home, t in 1824, published a series of exeellent figures of the
extremities and stomach. G. Cuvier, f in 1jSL»5, figured skulls
and the skeleton, his figures of the skull being also reprodueed
in the "Diseiples" edition of Cuvier's liegne Animal. § Pan-
der and d'Alton, in 1820, in their " Vergleichende Osteolo-
gie,"|| gave an excellent figure of the skeleton and detail illns-
trations of the skull and limbs. In the figure of the skeleton,
the hind feet are turned forward in a plantigrade position, and
the fore limbs are given their natural jiose. Von Baer,^] in
1835, figured the blood-vessels of the limbs, and, in ISIO.
De Blainville •* figured the skeleton and the skull. Gray, tt
in 1850, gave a view of the skull, the same figure being re
peated in some of his later works. || Owen, in 1845, figured
the dentition in his " Odontograi)hy " (pi. cxxxii, fig. 8), tlu'
skull and dentition in 1854, §§ and gave another figure in
1868. nil In 1857, Walrus skulls were figured by Blasius, HJI ami
Leidy*** the same year figured a fossil skull from Monmoutli
County, New Jersey. Later, as already noticed {atttea, p. .")4).
the milk dentition was figured by Malmgren, and also by

* Buft'on's Histoire Nat., tome xiii, pi. Iv. An artistically inucli improvtil
(but unaccredited) copy of Daubeuton's figures appears in Hamilton's "Am-
phibious Caniivora" (Jardine's Naturalist's Library, Mam., vol. viii, jip.
100,101).

t Phil. Trans., 1824, pp. 2:i5-241, pll. iv-viii.

t Ossem. Fossiles.

ij Mam., pi. xliv.

II Lieferuiij; xi. Die llobbeu und Lauiantiue, pll. 1, ii.

f Mdm. de I'Aead. St. Pdtersb., Sci. Nat., vi'n« s6r., 1835, t. ill, pi. — .

**Ostdoj^., De.H Phoqiies, pll. i (skeletou) and iv (skull); eight figures.

tt Cat. Mam. Brit. Mus., p. lU, fig. 11 (small woodcut).

tt Cat. Seals and Wliales. IHOli, p. 3,'), tig. 12.

ijij EueyeJ. Brit., artic^le Odoutogr.apliy, p. 4(i;J, fig. 112.

nil Comp. Anat. and Phys. Verteltr., vol. iii, p. 3;]8, fig. '2 ^5.

Hlf Fauna Wirbelth. Deut.schl., ]ti>. 2{)l, 2()2, figg. 14.5-150.

*** Trans. Amcr. Pliil. Sor. Phila., (2), vol. xi, pll. iv, v.

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

107

Peters. Dr. Murie, in 1874, gave immorous figures illustrative
of its external characters, myology, dentition, generative, di-
gestive, and vocal organs, based on a dissection of the young
AValrns that died in the Garden of the Zoological Society of Lon-
don in 1SG7, tliese being the only figures, so far as known to me,
dii voted to the general anatomy. Doubtless other figures of the
skull, and possibly of the dentition, have appeared that are not
here noted.

Habits and the Chase. — The Walruses are at all times more
or less gregarious, occurring generally in large or small compa-
nies, according to their abundance. Like the Seals, they are ^
restricted in their wanderings to the neighborhood of shores or |
large masses of floating ice, being rarely seen far out in the open I
sea. Although moving from one portion of their feeding-grounds-
to another; they are said to be in no true sense a migratory ani-
mal.* They delight in huddling together on the ice-floes or on
shore, to which places they resort to bask in the sun, pressing one
against another like so many swine. They are also said to repair
in large herds to favorable shores or islands,! usually in May
and June, to give birth to their young, at which times they some-
times remain constantly on land for two weeks together, with-
out ever taking food.| They are believed to be monogamous,
and to bring forth usually but a single young at a time, and
never more than two. The period of gestation is commonly be-
lieved to be about nine months. The young are bom from April
to June, the time probably varying with the latitude. Malm-
gren states that the pairing of the Walnises takes place about
the end of May or the beginning of June ; that the female gives
birth to a single young in May or June ; and that the period of
pregnancy lasts probably for a year. He states that Dr. A. von
(loes found a month-old foetus in the uterus of a female on the
Sth of July, in latitude 80° N., but adds that females with ma-
ture young in the uterus have been taken as late as the end of

* Sco Browu, Proc. Zotil. Soc. Loncl., 1868, p. 433.

t Says Zorgdrager (writiug in 1750), as quoted by Buft'ou, in referring to
tills habit : " Aucieunenient & avant d'avoii- 6t6 pers6cnt<^s, lea morses s'avau-
voltiit fort avant dans les terres, de sorto que dans les bautes mardes ils
1 idii'iit asst'z loin do I'eaii, & quo dans le touq)s dc la basse mer, la distance
jt'tupt fiicoro beaucoup plus grande, on le ubordoit aisdmeut. "—Ifisf. Xaf.,
Utinv xlii, p. IWG.

{ Soe SUuldham, Pliil. Trans., vol. Ivi, 1777, p. 249, quoted anteH, p. C7.

108

ODOBiENUS UOSMAUl S ATLANTIC WALRUS.

June or July. The females, he believes, suckle tlieir young for
two years, and that hence not less than three years elapse be-
tween each birth. The feuuiles with their newly-born 5'ouiig
are said to keep alocf from the society of other AValruses, and
that females are never found to be pregnant daring the year
following the birth of their young. Females in the second year
of suckling their young collect in large herds and live apart
from the full-grown males. Of thirty full-grown Walruses killed
by Malmgren's harpooner in Henlopen Straits, in the month of
July, not one was a male. Where the full-grown males were at
this time was unknown, but they were believed by the hunters
to be " on the banks," remote from the land, while the females
with their young sought the bays and open sea near the shores,
the two sexes thus living in separate herds.*

Notwithstanding the explicitness of Malmgren's account,
who no doubt correctly details his own experience in the
matter, there is much rebutting testimony, most observers
reporting that both sexes and the young occur in the same
herds, t The only detailed account of the pairing and repro

* Sco further Malmgren's paper, as translated in Arch, fiir Naturgescb.,
1804, pp. 70-72.

t Says Dr. Kane : " The early spring is the breeding season, ... at
Avliicli time the female with her calf is accompanied by the grim-visageil
father, surging in loving trios from crack tc crack, sporting around the berg-
water, or basking in the sun." — Ardic Exploration, vol. ii, jt. 13L

Dr. Hayes, referring to a herd upon which he made an attack, thus ob-
serves : " Besides the old bulls, the group contained several cows and a fev
calves of various sizes — some evidently yearlings, others but recently boru,
and others but half or three quarters grown. Some were without tusks.
while on others they were just sprouting ; and above this they were of vari-
ous sizes up to those of the big bulls, which had great curved cones of ivory
nearly three feet long." — Open Polar Sea, p. 406.

Lament also refers to the presence of young and old, males and females.
in the same herd, and to the custom of the Walrus-huutcrs of striking a j
young one in order to detain the herd, which, through sympathy, join cod-
certedly in its defense, thus aflfording the hunters opportunity for furthot |
slaughter. — Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. — .

Through the kindness of Prof. Henry A. Ward, of Rochester, N. Y,, I am !
in receii)t, in answer to inquiries respecting +ho habits and reproduction of |
the Walrus, of the following information from the i)en of Captain Adams.
of the whaling-steamer "Aretiirus," from Dundee to Baffin's Bay. Captain j
Adams, writing from long experience in Walrus-hunting, says: "I am of
opinion that the female Walrus prefers low flats of land on which to biinf
forth her young. The time is in mid-spring. In early May I have seen vcrj
young Walruses on the ice with their mothers. I have also seen afterbirths
on the ice, but atill think that low flat land ispreferrcd when attainable. I d"

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

109

(lu(;tlon of the Walrus is that long since given by Shulrtliaui,
l>as('«l on ()l)scrvations made a century ago at the Magdalen
Islands in tlie Gulf of St. LavTcnce (• .e autcCt, p. 07), to which
he says they repair " early in spring " and immediately bring
fortli their young. Captain Parry states that he met with
females a<'Comi)anied by their young in Fox Channel, Jidy 13,
and Mr. Iianu)nt speaks of meeting with y<mng accompanied
by their i»arents at the same season (July 15) in the vicinity of
Spitzbergen. Captain Hayes refers to meeting with "calves
newly born " as early as Julj' 3 in Frobisher's Bay. Captain
I'arry says that W-alruses killed by the Esquinuiux in March (in
I the years 1822 and 1823) were observed to be with young. *

When repairing to the land or to the ice-floes to rest, those
I tirst arriving are described as generally composing themselves
for a nap at the place where they first land, but their cc mules
still in the water having a strong desire to land at the same
spot, the latter force those already on shore higher up, while
they in turn are pushed forward by later comers, their habits in
jthis, as well as in many other respects, resembling those of the
jSea Lions and Sea Bears.

The Walrus, like the common Seals, is said to have its breath-
ling-holes in the ice. These are described by Dr. Kai e as being
jsiniilar to those of the Seals, having "the same circular, cleanly-
inished margin," but made in much thicker ice, with the " radi-
iting lines of fracture round them much more marked." The
[ice around the holes is much discolored, while near them are
lumbers of broken clam-shells, and in one instance Dr. Kane
found " gravel, mingled with about half a peck of coarse shin-
gle of the beaeh. " t Kane says the Walrus often sleeps in the
water between the fields of drift-ice. " In this condition," he
relates, " I frequently surprised the young ones whose mothers
core asleep by their sides." J Other writers refer to the same
labit.

aot tliink that the females and young live in separate herds from males, but
Ihe males herd alone in early spring. In the middle of summer both sexes
|i(Td together ; then the males are very wild. I have seen many females
^lone in the autumn. I do not think the females nurse their young over
Iwelve months."— ComwiMntcaferi 6y Prof. H. A. Ward in a letter of date March
)l, 1878.

* Narrative of Parry's Second Voyage, p. 415.

t Arctic Exploration, vol. i, 185C, pp. 141, 142. On page 142 is a figure
11" ii ' ' Walrus hole." Mr. Robert Brown gives a similar account (Proc. Zool.
Jill'. Loud., 18C8, p. 429), using, in fact, in part the same phraseology.

{ ll)id., vol. i, p. 141.

110 ODOB^NUS UOSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

The voice of the Wakus is a loud roaring or "hiicking," and
can be heard to a great distance, often giving notice of the pres-
ence of a herd long before they can be seen. " Like some of the
higher or<ler of beings to which he has been compared," says Dr,
Kane, ho " is fond of his own music, and will lie for hours hst-
ening to himself. His vocalization is something between the
mooing of a cow and the deepest baying of a mastiff: very round
and full, with its bark or detached notes repeated rather quickly
seven to nine times in succession." * Other writers speak of the
roaring of a herd as being distinguishable at the distance of j
several miles.

The Walrus, unless molested, is represented as inoffensive |
and harmless, but as exhibiting when attacked great fierceness,
and even vindictiveness, proving a powerful and often dan
gerous antagonist. Their strong affection for their young and
their sympathy for each other in times of danger are strong j
traits in their character, in which qualities they are rarely ex
ceeded by any members of the mammalian class. When ont j
of their number is wounded, the whole herd usually join in an
intelligent and concerted defense. With their enormous size
and threatening tusks it is little Avonder that they inspired the
early voyagers with terror, and that their powers and ferocity |
were to some degree overestimated. Their aspect ■!, in short. ,
as affirmed by recent intelligent observers, little less than ter
riDle. That the accounts given by the early navigators of the
fierce attacks made upon them by the "Sea Horses," as then
commonly termed them, are not to be by any means wholljl
attributed to the superstitious fears so prevalent respecting
sea-monsters in the early times, is evident from the trustworthv
accounts given us of these creatures by the intrepid explorers j
of the Arctic region in our own times, as will be shown by
the copious testimony presently to be given. That there i'j
much in his aspect that is tndy formidable is evident from 3Ir.j
Lament's graphic description, wlio says: "The upper lip of tliej
Walrus is thickly set with strong, transparent, bristly hairsj
about six [?] inches long, and as thick as a crow-quill-, audthi<
terrific mustache, together Avitli his long white tusks, and fierce |
looking, blood-shot eyes, gives Eosmarus trichectis altogether a j
most unearthly and demoniacal appearance as he rears his head j
above the waves. I think it not unlikely that the old fable*
the mermaid may have originated by their grim resemblance to j

* Arctic Exploration, vol. i, 1856, p, 410.

riMH

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

Ill

the head of ii human being when in this position."* The
toul'oiuuUug, in early times, of the EuBsiau name Morss by the
jjeoples of Western Europe with the Latin word Mors and the
(lerinan word Tod, as already alluded to {anted,, p. 81), finds its
♦ xplaiiation doubtless in exaggerated accounts of its terrible
aspect and power.

The Walrus, either through confidence in its own power, or
th rough ignorance of the character of it« human foes, is generally
not easily alarmed, and permits a near approach before manifest-
ing uneasiness or fear, sometimes, indeed, treating its human
\isitors with quiet indifference. When found reposing on land,
it is, in fact, easily dispatched, unle s it has been previously
subjected to repeated attacks, when it profits by dearly-bought
experience and makes a timely retreat to the water, and thus
comnionly escapes its pursuers. With due caution, however,
the AValrus-hunters succeed in cutting off their retreat to the
sea, wlien luindreds of the then helpless creatures fall victims
to the hunter's rapacity. Says Zorgdrager, as translated by
JJutfon : "On niarchoit de front vers ces animaux jwur leur cou-
\h'V hi retraite du cote de la mer ; ils voyoient tous ces prepara-
tils sans aucune crainte, & souvent chaque chasseur en tuoit
uu avaiit qu'il put rengagner I'eau. On laisoit une barritrc de
k'lu's eadavres & on laissoit quelques gens lY I'assut jiour assom-
iiier ceux qui restoient. On en tuoit quelquefois trois ou qua-

tre cents On voit par la prodigieuse quantity d'os-

seinens de ces animaux dont la terre est jonchC^e qu'ils out 6t6
autrefois tr6s nombreux."t This manner of attack was also
well described a httle later by Lord Shuldham, his detailed ac-
count of their destruction at the Magdalen Islands during the
last century being fully corroborated by scores of modern ob-
servers at numerous other localities. According to Lord Shnld-
hani, the hunters allowed t'em to come on shore to the number
of several hundred, and then cautiously approaching them from
the seaward, under cover of the darkness of night, would en-
deavor, by the aid of well-trained dogs, to cut oft' their retreat
to the water and drive them further inland. These attacks
were sometimes so successful that fifteen or sixteen hundred
have been killed in a single attack.f A similar wholesale de-
struction of Walruses was carried on by the English in the

•Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. 141, 142. .
tBuffou's Hist. Nat., torn, xiii, pp. ;$6t), 367. '
tFor Lord Slmlubam's account in full see «»<«), p. 67.

112

ODOB^NUS R08MAKr.S — ATLANTIC WAI.UUS.

early jiart of th(i soventeeiitli (tentury iit Cht'iie or Bear Island,
as already related {aniea, pp. 73-78). ^[r. Lainoiit, in his "Sea-
sons with »Sea -horses," gives a similar aceount of their recent
destruction in tin; Spitzberyen Seas, where he says, by a similar
mode of attack, two ships' crews killed nine hundred in a single
day.*

The liabits of the Walruses as met w'ith in their native
waters. — their strong aft'ection for their young and for each
other, inducing the whole h'ird to join in defense of a wounded
comrade, and their power and courage in the water in repelling
the attacks of man, — I have chosen to detail in the language of
actual observers, belie\nng the vivid portrayal of a few scenes
from real life, by trustworthy eye-witnesses, to be far preferable
to any epitomized account of the subject, however well and
carefully elaborated. The personal incidents involved and the
circumstances of pursuit are necessarily important accessories
to a correct appreciation of the scenes described.

As stated in several of the earliest accounts of these animals,
they are always more or less wary, and at times difficult to ap-
proach, usually keeping a sentinel on guard while the herd is
asleep. Respecting their habits at such times, Mr. Eobert Brown
observes as follows : " On the floes, lying over soundings and
shoals, the Walruses often accumulate in immense numbers,
and lie huddled upon the ice. More frequently, in Davis's Strait
and Baffin's Bay, they are found floating about on pieces of drift
ice, in small family parties of six or seven ; and I have even seen
only one lying asleep on the ice. Whether in large or small par-
ties, one is always on the watch, as was long ago observed by
the sagacious Cook : the watch, on the approach of danger, will
rouse those next to them ; and the alarm being 8prea<l, presently
the whole herd will be on the qui vive.^i

Mr. Lamont thus describes a scene in the Spitzbergen waters:
"At 3 a. m. this morning [July 13, 1859], we were aroused by
the cheering cry of 'Hvalruus paa Ysen' (Walruses on the ice).
We both got up immediately, and from tae deck a curious and
exciting spectacle met our admiring gaze. Four large flat ice-
bergs were so densely packed with Walruses that they were
sunk awash with the water, and had the appearance of being
solid islands of Walrus !

" The monsters lay with their heads reclining on one another's

*Mr. Lamont's account will be given later in full. (See p. 114.)
t Eobert Brown in Proc. Zooi. Soc. Lend., 1868, p. 429.

HAKITS AND THK CHASi:.

113

biU'lvs and sterns, Jiint as I have seeu lihiiioceroses lying asleep
in llic Al'ri<*an forests: or, to use a more fanjiliar simile, like a
lot of fat hogs in a British straw-yard. I shonld think there
were about eighty or one hnndred on the ice, and many more
swam grunting and sponting around, and tried to elamber up
amonii their friends, who, like surly people in a full omnibus,
grunted at them angrily, as if to say, 'Confound you, don't you
see that we are I'ulir There were plenty more good Hat ieebergs
about, but they always seem to like being paeked as eloselj'
as possible for mutual warmth. These four islands were several
hundred yards apart, . . . ."•

.Mr. Laniont thus refers to the number seen on another ocea-
sion, and incidentally to their watchful habits: "We had a
pleasant row of four oi- Ave miles over calm water quite free of
ice, and were cheered for the latter half of the distance by the
sonorous bellowing and trumpeting of a vast number of Wal-
ruses. We soon came in sight of a long line of low flat icebergs
crowded with Sea-horses. There were at least ten of these bergs
so packed with the Walruses that in some places they lay two
deep on the ice. There can not have been less than three hun-
dred in sight at once ; but they were very shy and restless, and,
although we tried every troo]> in succession as carefully as pos-
sible, we did not succeed in getting within harpooning distance
of a single Walrus. Many of them were asleep ; but there were
always some moving about who gave the alarm to their sleep-
ing comrades by flapping them with their fore feet, and one troop
after another manage to shuffle into the sea always just a second
or so in time to avoid a deadly harpoon." t

''With reference to the Walrus," says Captain Hall, " Mr.
Kogers told me that one day, when out cruising for Whales, he
went, with two boats and crews, half way across Frobisher Bay,
and then came to an iceberg one hundred feet above the sea,
and, mounting it, with a spy-glass, took a look all around.
Whales there were none ; but Walrus — 'Why', to use his figu-
rative but expressive words, ' there were millions out on the
pieces of ice, drifting with the tide — ^Walrus in every direc-
tion — millions on millions '."J While these numbers are not,
doubtless, to be taken literally, they certainly imply an immense
number of Walruses. The context states that while the whalers

* Seasons with the Sea-horses, p. 73.

tibid., pp. 80, 81. ; ^ ■,:.!;

t Arctic Researches, etc., p. 234.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 8

114 ODOUiENUS R0.SMARU8 — ATLANTIC WALlvi;...

in Frobisher'H IJtiy liad met with no VVlniU's, "Waliais in any
numbers could l»e obtained, and many liad been secured for
their Hkins and tnsk.s."

The WahiiscM in the Spit/.bergcn waters, according to Mr.
Lamont, usually conpegate in August in great niunbers on
hmd, " sometinu's to the number of several thousands, and all
lie down in «ome secluded bay or some rocky island, and there
remain in a semi-toii)id sort of state, for weeks together, with-
out moving or feeding." They do not usually do this, he adds,
till near the end of August, or some nu)nths later than thoy
were found to do in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ou
the shores and islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This is
possibly owing to the difference in tlie climate, although it
seems hardly i>rol)able that this can be the whoh; cause of the
difl'ereiu'e. ]Mr. Lamont, in this connection, makes no reference
to the time of bringing forth of the young, and does 7,iot gi>'e
this as one of the reasons for tlieir ^•isiting the land. lie alludes,
however, to their sudden disappearance at this time from the
ice-lloes. lie says the Wahus-hunters consider themselves
fortunate if they lind one of these resorts, as then they can kill
in a few hours a " small fortune'cj-worth of them." His account
of these " trysting-places," however, is mainly at second hand,
and possibly the date is not carefully given.*

3Ir. Lamont's account of ^A)e great havoc the hunters often
make with the then helpless beasts, destroying many hundreds
in a few hours, is quite similar, so far as the destruction of hfo
is concerned, to the account given by Lord Shuldham of theii-
destruction a century and a half ago at the Magdalen Islands.
Referring to one of the southwesternmost of the Thousand
Islands, Mr. Lamont says : " It seems that this island had long
been a very celebrated place for Walruses going ashore, and
great numbers had been killed upon it at different times in by-
gone years. In August, 1852, two small sloops sailing in com-
pany approached the island, and soon discovered a herd of Wal-
ruses, numbering, as they calcidated, trom three to four thousand,
reposing upon it. Four boats' crews, or sixteen men, proceeded
to the attack with spears. One great mass of Walruses lay in
a small sa '.dy bay, with rocks enclosing it on each side, and on
a little mossy flat above the bay, but to which the bay formed
the only convenient access for such unwieldy aninmls. A great
many hundreds lay on other parts of the island at a little dis-

* Seasons with tho Soa-horses, pp. 173, 174.

HABITS AND TUF. CHASK.

115

taiico. Tlio boiitH liiii(U'«l u little way oil", tso iia not to liis'iten
tlioni, and tlit; Nixtcon men, crccpinjLf alonj^ slioro, not lu'twoen
the sea and tlu^ bay lull of Walruses betbro mentioned, and ini-
iiu'diately ((Uiunenced stabbinj;' the animals next them. The
Waliiis, althou**!! so active ami fierce in the water, is vi-ry nn-
M ieldy and helpless on shore, and those in front soon sueeund)ed
to the lances of their assailants; the i)assa<;e to the shore soon
jjot s() Idocked uj* with the dead and dyiu^' that the unfortunate
wretches belli u«l«',ould not pass over, and were in a manner bar-
ricaded by a wall of carcasses. Considering"' that every thrust
of a lance \>'as worth twenty dollars, the scene must have been
one of terrific excitement to men who had very few or no dol-
lars at all; and my informant's eyes si)arkled as he related it.
lie said the Walruses were then at their mercy, ami they slew,
and stabbed, and slauj-htered, and butchered, and murdered
until most of their lances were renderetl useless, and them-
selves were drenched with blood and exhausted Avith iatigue.
They went on board their vessels, ground their lances, and had
their dinners, and then returned to their sangninary work;
nor <lid they cry 'Hold, enough!' nntil they hrd killed nine
hundred Walruses, and yet so fearless or so lethargic were the
animals, that many hun«lreds more remained sluggishly lying on
other parts of the island at no great distance. . . . When I
visited the island six years afterward, there still remained abun-
dant testimony to corroborate the entire tnitli of the «">cory.
The smell of the island was perceptible at several miles' dis-
tance, and on landing w^e found the carcasses lying as I have
described them, and in one place two and three feet deep. The
skin and flesh of many remained tolerably entire, notwithstand-
ing the ravages of Bears, Foxes and Gulls. So many Wal-
ruses have been killed on this island at different times that a
ship might easily load with hones there. . . ."* The worst
feature of this wholesale slaughter was the fact that their small
vessels, aheady parily loaded, could carry away only a small
portion of the spoil. A subsequent attempt to reach the island
later in the season for the purpose of securing the rest failed,
owing to its being surrounded by impenetrable ice.

Respecting the parental affection displayed by the Walruses,
Mr. Lament relates the following : " 1 never in my life witnessed
anything more interesting and more affecting than the wonder-
ful maternal affection displayed by this poor Walrus. After she
' Seasons -with tlio Sea-horses, pp. 175-177.

116

ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

was fast to the barpoon ami was dragging the boat furiously
through the ict oergs, I was going to shoot her through the head
that we might have time to follow the others ; but Christian
called to me not to shoot, as she had a 'junger' ■ ith her. Al-
though I did not understand liis object, I reserved my fire, and
upon Jooking closely at the Walrus when she came up to bre.ithe,
I then i)erceived that she held a very young calf imder her right
arm, and I saw that he wanted to harijoon it ; but whenever he
poised the Aveapon to throw, the old cow seemed to watch the
direction of it, and interposed her own body, and she seemed
to receive with pleasure several harpoons which were intended
for the young one. At last a well-aimed dart struck the calf,
and we then shortened up the lines attached to the cow and
finished her with the lancet.. Christian now had time and breath
to explain to me why he was so anxious to secure the calf, and
he proceeded to give me a i)ractical illustration of his meaning
by gently ' stirring up ' the unfortunate junger with the butt
end of a harpoon shaft. This caused the poor little animal to
emit a peculiar, plaintive, grunting cry, eminently expressive of
alarm and of a desire for assistance, and Christian said it would
bring all the herd round about the boat immediately. Unfor-
tunately, however, we had been so long in getting hold of om*
poor decoy duck that the others had all gone out of hearing,
and they abandoned their young relative to his fate, which
quickly overtook him in the shape of a lance thrust from the
remorseless Christian.

" I don't think I shall ever forget the faces of the old Walrus
and her calf as they looked back at the boat ! The countenance
of the young one, so expressive of abject terror, and yet of con-
fidence in its mother's power of protecting it, as it swam along
under her wing; and the old cow's face showing such reckless
defiance for all that we could do t;0 herself, and yet such terrible
anxiety as to the safety of her calf!

" This plan of getting hold of a junger and making him grunt
to attract others is a well-known 'dodge' among hunters; and,
although it was not rewarded on this occasion, I have several
times seen it meet with the full mo-asure of success due to its
hiunanity and ingenuity."*

WTien in the water, to again quote from Mr, Lamont, " the herd
generally keep close together, and the simultaneousness with
which they dive and reappear again is remf»jrkable ; one moment

* Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. 70, 71.

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

117

you see a hundred grisly heads and long gleaming white tnsks
ahove the waves; they give one spout* from their blow-holes,
take one breath of fresh air, and the next moment you see a
hundred bro^\ni hemispherical backs, the next a hundred i)air of
hind liippers flourishing, and then they are all down. On, on,
goes the boat as hard as ever we can pull the oars ; up come
the Seahorses again, pretty close this time, and before they can
draw breath the boat rushes into the midst of them : whish !
goes the harpoon: birr! goes the line over the gunwale: and a
luckless junger on whom Christian has kept his eye is 'fast':
his bereaved mother charges the boat instantly with flashing
eyes and snorting with rage ; she quickly receives a harpoon in
the back and a bullet in the brains., and she hangs lifeless on
the hne: now the junger begins to utter his plaintive grunting
bark, and flfty furious Walruses are close round the boat in a
few seconds, rearing up breast high in the water, and snorting
and blowing as if they would tear us all to pieces. Two of these
auxiharies are speedily harpooned in th*^ir turn, and the rest
hang back a little, when, as bad luck would have it, the junger
gives up the ghost, owing to the severity of his harpooning, and
the others no longer attracted by his cries, retire to a more pru-
dent distance. But for the ' untoward ' and premature decease
of the junger, ihe men tell me we should have had more Wal-
ruses on our hands than we could manage. We now devote our
attention to ' polishing oft"' the two live WaLruses — well-sized
young l)ulls — who are still towing the heavy boat, with theu'
two dead comrades attached, as if she were behind a steam-tug,
and straggling mad' ,' to drag us under the icebergs: a vigor-
ous appUcatiou of the lances soon settles the business, and we
now, with some difl&culty, tow our four dead victims to the near-
est flat iceberg and fix the ice-anchor, by which, ^vith the pow-
erful aid of block and tackle, we haul them one by one on the
ice and divest them of their spoils. . . .

" While we were engaged in cutting up these ^/^alruses, there
were at least fifty more surrounding the iceberg, snorting and
bellowing, and rearing up in the water as if smelling the blood

*It is, perhaps, almost needless to say that the " spouting" hero relx^rred
to is merely the spray thrown upward by the forcibly expelled breath as they
rise to the surface, although a "spouting from their blow-holes" has ujca-
sionally been attributed to them since the time of Martens, who says they
" blow water from their lostrils like a whale." See on this point von Baer
(1. c, pp. ISO-l'i?), who has discussed the matter at length in his above-
cited memoir on the Walruses.

118 ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

of their slaughtered liiend.s, and curious to sec what we were
doing to them now. They were so close that I might have shot
a dozen of them ; but, as they would have heeu siu'e to sink be-
fore the boat could get to them, I was not so cniel as wantonly
to take their lives. AVhen the AValruses were all skinned, we
followed the herd again with success ; and when W{? left oft", in
consequence of dense fog suddenly coming on, we had secured
nine altogether — a very fair morning's bag we thought. . . .
During this morning's proceedings I realized the immense
ad\'antage of striking a junger lirst, when inacticable. This
curious (tlanuish practice of coming to assist a calf in distress
arises from their being in the habit of combining to resist the
attacks of the Polar Bear, which is said ofteu to succeed in kill-
ing a Wahiis. If, however. Bruin, pressed by hunger and a
tempting opportunity, is so illadvised as to snap a calf, the
whole herd come upon him, drag him under water, and tear
him to pieces with their long sharp tusks. I am told this has
been seen to occur, and I quite believe it."*

Capt. William Edward Parry, in his narrative of his second
voyage for the discovery of a northwest passage, makes frequent
reference to the Walrus, and his report of encounters with them
shows that serious and even fatal consequences sometimes re-
sult to the boats' crews who venture to attack them.

" In the course of this day [July 15, 1822, in Fox Channel]
the Walruses," says Captain Parry, "became more and more
numerous every hour, lying in large herds ui)on loose pieces of
(kift-ice ; and it having fallen calm sit one r. M., we despatched
our boats to endeavor to kill some for the sake of the oil they
afford. On approaching the ice our people found them huddled
in droves of from twelve to tiiirty, the whole number near the
boats being i)erhaps about two hundred. Most of them waited
quietly to bo fired at, and even after one or two discharges did
not seem to be greatly disturbed but allowed the people to land
on the ice near them, and, when approached, shewed an evident
disposition to give battle. After they had got into the water,
three were struck with harpoons and kille«l from the boats.
When first wounded they became (juite furious, and one, which
had been struck from Captain Lyon's boat, made a resolute
attack upon her, iuuX injured several of the planks with its enor-
mous tusks. A nuiul)er of the others canu; round them, also
repeatedly striking the wounded animals with their tusks, with

* y«'ii8oii!s with tlio tsea-horses, pp. 81-8;}, 84.

m smm

IIAIJITS AND THP: CHASE.

119

the intention of either gettinj;- tliem iiway or else of joining in
the attaek npon them. Many of these animals had young- ones
wliich, Avhcn assaulted, they either took between their fore-tlip-
])('is to carry off, or bore away on their hacks. Both of those
Idllcd by the Fury's hoats were females, and the weight of the
larjii'st Avas lifteen hundred-Aveight and tAvo quarters nearly;
but it was by no means remarkable for the largeness of its
dimensions. The peculiar barking-noise nmde by the Walrus,
when irritated, may be heard, on a calm day, with great dis-
tuictness at the distance of two miles at least. We found raus-
(luet-balls the most certain and expeditious way of despatching
them after they had been once struck with the hai-poon, the
thickness of the skin being such, that whale-lances generally
bend without penetrating it. One of these creatures, being
accidentally touched by one of the oars of Lieutenant Nias's
boat, took hold of it between its flippers and forcibly twisting
it out of the man's hand, snapped it in two."*

Again, says the same writer, " The Heckla's two boats had
one day a very narrow escajjc in assaulting a herd of these ani-
mals [Walruses] ; for several of them, being wounded, made so
fierce an attack on the boats with their tusks, as to stave them
in a number of places, by which one was immediately swamped
and the other much damaged. The Fury's being fortunately
in sight prevented any further danger ; two of the Walruses
were killed and secured, and the damaged boats lightened and
towed to the shore, from which they had been several miles dis-
tant." t

In addition to the foregoing testimony respecting the power
and courage of these animals when in the water, I add the fol-
lowing : Mr. Lamont states that " a boat belonging to a sloop
from Tromsoe had been upset two or three days before, in our
imniQdiate vicinity, and one of the crew killed by a W.alrus. It
seemed that the Walrus, a large old bull, charged the boat, and
the harpooner, as usual, received him with his lance full in the
chest; but the shaft of the lance broke all to shivers, and the
Walrns, getting inside of it, threw himself on the gunwale of
the boat and overset it in an instant. While the men were floun-
dering in the water among their oars and tackle, the infuriated
animal rushed in among them, and, selecting the unlucky har-
pooner, who, I fancy, had fallen next him, he tore him nearly

*Nuirutivo of Parry's Second Voyage, p. 268. tibid., p. 4159.

120

ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

into two halves with Iiis tusks. The rest of the men save«l them-
selves by clambering on to the Ice until the other boat came to
their assistance.

"Upon another occasion I made the acquaintance of the skyp-
par of a sloop who had been seized by a bereaved c<''\ Walrus,
and by lier dragged twice to the bottom of the sea, but without
receiving any injury beyond being nearly drowned, and having
a deep scar plowed in each side of his forehea<l by the tusks of
the animal, which he thought did not wish to hurt him, but mis-
took him for her calf as he floundered in the water.

" Owing to the great coolness and expertness of the men fol-
lowing this pursuit, such mishaps are not of very frequent oc-
currence, but still a season seldom passes without two or three
lives being lost in one way or another."*

Among the numerous writers who have described a " Walras
hunt," no accounts that I have seen more vividly portray the
scene, or give more information respecting the nature find
habits of the Atlantic species, than Dr. 1. 1. Hayes, for which
reason I deem no apology is necessary for transcribing his
lengthy account in full. Under date of July 3, 1801 (the scene
being in Frobisher's Bay), he says:

" I have had a Walrus hunt and a most exciting day's sport.
Much ice has broken adrift and come down the Sound, during
the past few days ; and, wiien the sun is out bright and hot,
the Walrus come up out of the water to slee]) and bask in the
warmth on the pack. Being upon the hilltop this mornhig to
select a place for building a cairn, my ear caught the hoarse bel-
lowing of numerous Walrus; and, upon looking over the sea, 1
observed that the tide was carrying the iiack a(!ross the outer
limit of the bay, and that it was alive Avith the beasts, which
were tilling the air with such uncouth noises. Their numbers
appeared to be even beyond conjectui-e, for they extended as far
as the eye could reach, almost every piece of ice being covered.
There must have been, indeed, many hundreds or even thou-
sands.

" Hurrying from the hill, I called for volunteers, and quickly
had a boat's crew ready for some sport. Putting their rifles, a
hari)oon, and a line into one of the whale boats, Ave dragged it
OA'er the ice to the open water, into whi<'Ji it Avas s])eedily
laimched.

"We had two juiles to pull before the margin of the pack

'Seasons with ilio Soa-liorscH, ])p. 84, 8").

HABl'lVS AND THE CHASE.

12J

"•■vas ]'oa('hed. On the cake of i(!e to wliich we tiist eaine, there
voie perched about two ihrAvu animals; and these we selectc«l
for the attack. Tliey covered the raft ahiiost co!ni>letely, l.viny
huddled tofi'ether, h)uu,i>iiij'- in the sun or hizily roUinj;- and
twistiiiji' themselves about, as if to ex])ose some fresh part of
their uuwichly bodies to the warmth — }>r«'at, uj;iy, wallowing'
sea-hoys, they were evidently enjoyinj? themselves, and were
Avitliuut ai>i)rehension of a])i>ioachiny' danger. We lunired them
slowly, with nuiffled oars.

"As the distance between us and the game steadily narrowed,
we began to realize that we were likely to meet with rather
formidable antagonists. Their aspect was forbidding in the
extreme, and our sensations were perhai^s not unlike those
which the young soldier experiences who hears for the first time
the order to charge the enemy. We should all, very i)0S8ibly,
have been quite willing to retreat had we dared own it. Their
tough, nearly hairless hides, which are about an inch thick, had
a singularly iron-plated look about them, peculiarly suggestive
of defense ; while their huge tusks, which they brandished with
an appcaran(;e of strength that their awkwardness did not
diminish, looked like Aery formidable weajmns of offense if
apphed to a boat's idanking or to the human ribs, if one should
happen to find himself Uoundering in the sea among the thick-
skiiuied brutes. To <-oinplete the hideousiu^ss of a facial exi)res-
sion which the tusks rendered formidable enough in appearance,
Xature had endowed them with broad flat noses, which were
covered all over with stiff whiskers, looking much like porcu
pine <iuills, and extemling up to the edge of a pair of gaping
nostrils. The use of these whiskers is as obscure as that of the
tusks; though it is probable that the latter may be as well
weaj)ous of oft'ense and defense as for the more useful purpose
of grubbing up from the bottom of the sea the mollusks which
<'onstitute their principal fbod. Therii were two tdd bulls in the
herd who appeared to be di\iding their time between sleeping
and Jamming their tusks into each other's faces, although they
aj)peared to treat the matter with pei-fect indifference, as they
<lid not seem to make any impression on each other's thick hides.
As we ajjproached, these old fellows — neither of which (tould
lia\-e been less than sixteen feet long, nor smaller in girth than
a hogshead — raised u]) their heads, and, after taking a leisurely
survey of us, seemed to think us unworthy of further notice ;
and, then punching each other again hi the face, fell once more

122

ODOIM•:^•T^s i?os>rAKUs — att.antic walrus.

asleep. This was exliibitiiifja degree ol'eoolness rather alarming.
If they had slioAved tlie least timidity, we should have found some
exeitemeut in extra caution ; but tln'y seenu'd to nudce so light
of our ai)])roa<'h that it was not easy to keep up the bold front
with wiiich we had eonuneneed the adventure. But we liad
come (|uite too far to thiidc of baeking out; so we judled in and
made i-eady for tlu> fray.

'' Beside the old bulls, the group contained several cows and
a lew calves of various sizes, — some evidently yearlings, others
but recently born, and others half or three quarters grown.
Some were without tusks, while on others they were just sprout-
ing; and above this they were of .ill sizes u]) to those of big bulls,
which had great curved cones of ivory, nearly three feet long. At
length we were within a few boat's lengths of the ice raft, and
the game had not taken alarm. They had prol)ably never seen
a boat before. Our jireparations were made as we approached.
The Walrus will always sink when dead, unless held by a harpoon
line ; and there were therefore but two chances for us to secure
our game — either to shoot the beast dead on the raft, or lo get
a harpoon well into him after he was wounded, and hold on to
him until he was killed. As to killing the animal where he lay,
that was not likely to happen, for the thick skin destroys the
force of the ball before it can reach a vital part, and indeed, at
a distance, actually Hattens it; and the skull is so heavy that
it is hard to penetrate with an ordinary bullet, unless the ball
hapi>ens to strike through the eje.

" To Miller, a cool and spirited fellow, w ho had been after
whales on the 'nor- west coast', was given the hariwon, and he
took his station at the bows; while Kuorr, Jensen, and myself
kept our places in the stern-sheets, and held our rifles in readi-
ness. Each selected his" aiumal, and we fired in concert over
the heads of the oarsmen. As soon as the rifles were discharged,
I ordered my men to 'give way', and the boat ^hot right among
the 8tartle<l animals as they rolled off" pell-mell into the sea.
Jensen had ttred at the head of one of the bulls, and hit him in
the neck ; Knorr killed a young one, which was pushed off" in
the hasty scramble and sank; while I planted a minie-ball
.somewhere in the head of the other bull and drew from him a
most frightful bellow, — louder, T venture to say, than ever came
from wild bull of Bashan. When he rolled over into the water,
which he did with a splash that sent the spray flying all over
lis, he almost touched the bows of the boat and gave Miller ii

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

123

good opportunity to get in his harpoon, which he did in capital

style.

" Tlie alarmed herd seemed to make straight for the bottom,
and the lino spun out over the gunwale at a fearful pace; but,
having? several coils in the boat, the end was not reached before
the animals began to rise, and we took in the slack and got
ready lor what was to follow. The strain of the line wliipped
the boat around among some loose fragments of ice, and the
line having fouled among it, we should have been in great jeo-
pardy had not one of the sailors promptly sprung out, cleared
the line, and defended the boat.

•' In a few minutes the whole herd appeared at the surface,
about flfty yards away from us, the harpooned animal being
among them. Miller held fast to his line, and the boat was
started with a rush. The coming up of the herd was the signal
for a scene which baffles description. They uttered one wild
concerted shriek, as if an agonized caU for help; and then the
air was tilled with answering shrieks. The * hulc! htik! huk!^ of
the wounded bulls seemed to find an echo everywhere, as the
cry was taken up and passed along from floe to floe, like the
bugle-blast passed from squadron to squadron along a line of
battle ; and down from every piece of ice plunged the startled
beasts, as quickly as the sailor drops from his hammock when
the long-roll beats to quarters. With their ugly heads just
above the water, and with mouths wide open, belching forth
the dismal ^huJc! link! huk!^ they came tearing toward the boat.

" In a few moments we were completely surrounded, and the
numbers kept multiplying with astonishing rapidity. The water
soon became alive and black with them.

" They seemed at first to be frightened and irresolute, and for
a time it did not seem that they meditated mischief; but this
pleasing prospect was soon dissipated, and we were forced to
look well to our safety.

" That they meditated an attack there could be no longer a
doubt. To escape the onslaught was impossible. We had raised
a hornets' nest about our ears in a most astonishingly short sj)ace
of time, and we must do the best we could.

"• It seemed to be the purpose of the Walrus to get their tusks
over the giuiwale of the boat, and it was evident that, in the
event of one such monster hooking on us, that the boat would
bo torn in. pieces, and we would bo hJ't floating in the sea help-
less. We had good motive therefore to be active. Miller

Ill

124

ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

plied his lance from the bows, jumI gave many a serious wouiul.
The iiicu pushed back the onset with their oars, while Knorr,
Jensen, and myself loaded ami fired our rifles as rapidly as wo
could. Several times Ave were in great jeopardy, but the timely
thrust of an oar, or the lance, or a bullet saved us. One' I
thought we were surely gone. 1 had fued and was hastening
to load ; a wicked-looking brute was making at us, and it seemed
probable that he would be upon us. I stopped loading, and was
preparing to cram my rifle down his throat, when Knorr, Avho
had got ready his weapon, sent a fatal shot into his head.
Again, an immense animal, the largest that I had ever seen,
and with tusks apparently three feet long, was observed to be
makiug his way through the herd, with mouth Avide open, bel-
lowing dreadfully. I was now as before busy loading ; Knorr
and Jensen had just discharged their pieces, and the men were
well engaged Avith their oars. It Avas a critical moment, but,
happily, I was in time. The monster, his head high above the
boat, Avas within two feet of the gunwale, Avhen I raised my
piece and fired into his mouth. The discharge killed him in-
stantly and he Avent down like a stone.

*' This ended the fray. I knoAV not AA'hy, but the Avhole herd
seemed suddenly to take alarm, and all doAe doAvu Avith a tre-
juendous splash almost at the same instant. When they came
up again, still shrieking as before, they were some distance from
us, their heads all noAV pointed seaAvard, making from us as fast
as they could go, their cries groAving more and more faiut as
they retreated in the distance.

" We must have killed at least a dozen, and mortally Avouuded
as many more. The Avater Avas in places red Avith blood, and
several half-dead and dying animals lay floating aboui us. The
bull to which we Avere made fast pulled aAvay Avith all his might
after the retreating herd, but his strength soon became ex-
hausted ; and, as his speed slackened, we managed to haul iu
the line, and finally approached him so nearly that our rifle-balls
took effect and Miller at length gave him the coup de grace %. ith
his lance. We then di*ew him to the nearest piece of ice, and I
had soon a fine specimen to add to my Natural History collec-
tions. Of the others Ave secured only one ; the rest had died
and sunk before avc coidd reach them.

'' I haA^e never before regarded the Walrus as a formidable
animal ; but this contest convinces me that I have done their
courage great injustice. They are full of fight ; and, had Ave not

■■■■■■i

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

125

been very active and self -possessed, our boat would have been
torn to itieces, and we either drowned or killed. A more fierce
attack tlian that which they made n])on u.s could liardly be
iiuajiiiicfl, and a more formidable hjokinj;' enemy than one of
these liujic monsters, with liis immense tusks and beUowing
throat, wouhl be ditticult to lind. Xext time I try them I will
arm iny boat's (;rew with Lmces. The rifle is a poor reliance,
and. but tor the oars, the hertl would have been on top of us at
any time."*

('ai>fain llall, in his "Arctic llesearches," also thus nuikes
reference to a Walrus-fight in Frobisher Bay: "On their way
back, ^Ir. Lamb, in charge of the second boat, had a fight with
some Walrus in the following manner. Approaching a piece of
ice on wiiich some of these creatures were basking, he attacked
one <tf them, whereupon all the rest immediately rushed toward
tlie boat, and vigorously set upon him and his crew. For a
time it seemed necessary to fly for safety ; but all hands resisted
the attack, and would have got off very well, but that one of
the Walrus herd pierced the boat's side with his tusks, and
made the invaders retreat to repair damages. Mr. Lamb had
to drag his boat upon an ice-floe near by, and stuff in oakum
to stop a serious leak thus caused. Finally he succeeded,
though with some difficulty, in getting back, and thus ended his
encounter with a shoal of Walrus."!

Dr. Kane, in describing the Innuit method of attacking the
Walrus from the ice, says : "When wounded, he rises high out
of the water, plunges heavily against the ice, and strives to
raise himself with his fore-flippers upon its surface. As it
breaks under his weight, his countenance assumes a still more
vindictive expression, his bark changes to a roar, and the foam
pours from his jaws till it froths his beard. ... He can
strike a fearful blow ; but prefers charging in a soldierly man-
ner. I do not doubt the old stories of the Spitzbergen and Che-
rie Island fisheries, where the Walrus put to flight the crowds
of European boats. Awuk [Walrus] is the lion of the Esqui-
maux and they always speak of him with the highest respect.

" I have heard of oomiaks being detained for days at a time
at a crossing of straits and passages which he infested. Gov-
ernor Flaischer told me that, in 1830, a brown Walras, which
according to the Esquimaux is the fiercest, after being lanced

• The Open Polar Sea, pp. 404-411.

tArctic Researches and Life among the Esquimaux, pp. 334, 335.

12(i

ODOUiTiNUS KOSMAKl'S ATLANTIC WALUl'S.

siiid iiiiiiined iit IJporiiiivik, routed his nnnicrous assnilants.
anil drove them in fear to seek for lielp IVoin the settU'iacnt.
lliy movements were so violent as to jerk out tiu' hurjjoous that
were stuck into him. The ^jovernor slew him with j^n'at difli-
culty after several ritie-shots an<l hmee-wcmnds from his whaU'-
boat.

'•On mother occasion, a younfj; and adventurous Inuit
ldun{i;ed his nah^fjeit into a brown Wahiis; but, startled by the
savage demeanor of tlu; beast, called for lu'lj) before usiujji: iiis
lance. The older men in vain cautioiu'd him to desist. ' It is a
brown Walrus,' sai<l they; '■Aiirel-Kaiok!' 'Ilohl back!' l^Mml
iufj: the caution disrcj^arded, his only brother rowed forward
and plunjii'd the second harpoon. .Vlniost in an instant the
animal <!har<;ed upon the kayacker, ri|tpin}i' him u]>, as the de
scription went, after the fashion of his sylvan brother, the wild
boar. The st<u'y was t«)ld me with much animation; how the
brother remainin}f rescued the (!orpseof the brotiier dead; tand
how, as they hauled it u\> on the ice-Hoes, the ferocious beast
])hui}4cd in foaminji' cinles. si-ekinji' fresh victims in that part
of the sea which was discolored by his blood.

" Some idea may be formed of the lerocity of the AValrns,"
continues Dr. Kane, " from \\w fact that the battle which
3Iortou witnessed, not without sharinj;' some of its danger,
lasted four hours; duriufi; which the animal rushed continually
at the Esquunaux as they ap]noached, tearing off great tables
of ice with his tusks, and showing no indication of fear what-
ever. He received upward of seventy lance-wounds,— Morton
counted over sixty; and even then he remained hooked by
his tusks to the margin of the ice, unable or unwilling to retire.
His female fought in the same manner, but tied on receiving a
lance-wound. The Es(iuimaux seemed to be fully aware of the
danger of venturing too near; for at the lirst onset of the Wal-
rus they jumped back far enough to be clear of the l)roken ice.
Morton described the last three hours as wearing, on both
sides, the aspect of an unbroken and seendngly doubtful com-
bat."*

From the foregoing it appesws that the early accounts of the
courage of the Walrus and its attacking and ev<»n destroying
boats in defense of its young, or in retaliation for an assault,
finds ami)le corroboration. I conclude the abundant evidence
on this subject by the following from the ])en of ]VIr. llobert

* Arctic Kxploiation, vol. i, pp. 414-417.

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

127

Brown, who sa,v«: "When attacked, unliko the othcT Seals
(uiih'ss it be the Vyntophora [Iloodel Seal]), it [the WalniSj will
not retreat but boldly meet its enemies. I wa8 one of a party
ill a boat whieli harpooned a solitary Walrus asleep on a i)iece
oi" i('«'. It immediately divetl, but jnesently arose, and, not-
witlistandinj;' all our exertions with lance, axe, and rille, stove
ill the bows of the boat ; indeed wo were only too };lad to (ait
the line adrift and save ourselves on the tloe which the Walrus
had left, until assistance could rejich us. Luckily for us the
eiirafietl ]\lorse was nmj^nanimous enough not to attack its
oli()i)-falleu enemies, but made otf j>runting iiulignantly, with a
;> an harpoon and a new whaleliue danyliuf"- from its bleeding
llauk^."*

TIh^ foreyoiny i)ayes sufliciently indicate the methods and im-
lileiiients commonly employed in destroyinj,' the Walrus for com-
mercial or other ])uri)ctses. To com])lete the aecount of the
«liase it is only necessiuy to note the special equij)ment of a
Walrus-hunter, and to desciibe the iiiannev of disimsinj;" of the
aiiinial when captiuvd, with a 1»rief account of its products and
tlieii uses. This will be jiiven from Mr. Lamont's work, already
s(i often ([noted, who, in a (jhapter devot(»d to the subject, has
riiniished the only connected and detailed account known tome.
I'l'om this 1 ('onde'is(^ the following':

A well-api)ointe(l Walrus-boat for Ave men is twenty-one feet
lonji by five feet beam, haviu};' her main breadth about one-third
from the bow, and strongly built. She is how-shaped at both
ciuls, and should be light, swift, and strong, and easy to man-
ajic, and hence has the keel well depressed in the middle. She
is always " carvel-built," being thus much less liable to injury
from ice or the tusks of the Wa' uses than if "'clinker-built,''
and easier to repair when daumged. She is braced with thick
and strong stem- and stern-pieces, to resist con(5U8sions with the
ice. There is a deep notch in the centre of the stem-piee^, and ,
three others in a block of hard wood on each side of it, for the^
lines to run through, in addition to which there is also some- 1
times an upright post on the bow for making fast the lines, but
usually the foremost thw art is iiied for this purpose. Each nmn
rows with a i)air of oars hung in grumniets to single stout thole
pins. The steersman rows with his face to the bow, and steers
with his pair of oars instead of Avith a single oar or rudder ; and
each man rowing with a pair of oars enables the crew to turn

* Proc. Zooi. Soe. Loud., WiS, p. 4'^

■■■i

128

f)UOH/ENUS HOSMAUrS — ATLANTIC WAIiRUS.

tho boat much (flicker tlmii it could be done otlu'rwiw, while
the Mhortness of tlu; oars renders them easier to handler and less
in the way amonj;the ie«' than lon;;'erones would be. The har-
pooner rows the bow-oars and is the connnander of the boat, he
ahnie usin^" the weapons and tin' telescope. The strongest man
in the boat is placed next the harpocmer, to haul in the line wlien
a Walrus is struck and to bo the assistant of tlu^ harpooner.
The boats are always painted white outside to assimilate their
(jolor to that of the ice. Each boat ir provided with six har-
poons, placed in racks, three on each side of the bow (inside),
and protected by a painted canvas curtain. To each harpoon
is attached twelve or tifteen fathoms of line, each coiled sepa-
rately in flat boxes under the front thwart, the en'^ beiufr linnly
fastenejl to some strong part of the boat. The liiies should b(^
of the finest (luality of two-inch tarred rope, "very soft laid,"
of the best workmanship and materials. Four shafts for the
hari)oons are usually earned, made of white-i)ine poles about
twelve feet long, and about an inch and a half in thickness,
fitted at one end to enter the socket ol the harpoon. The har-
poons are iised for either thrusting or darting, and a skillful
harpooner is said to be able to secure a Walrus at a distance of
four or five fathoms. When possible, they are thrust into the
victim, and a precautionary twist given in order to disengage
the shaft and more securely entangle the barbs in the monster's
blubber or skin. In addition to the harpoons are usually car-
ried four or five very large lances, with heavy, white-pine shafts
r *■ line feet long, and increasing in thickness from an inch
iialf to two and a half where it enters the socket of the
.e. This is for the double purpose of giving the necessary
strength to the shaft, and to afford buoyancy enough to float
the lance-head in ease it becomes disengaged from the animal,
the lance-head being secured to the shaft by a double thong of
raw seal-skin. Each boat is also provided with five "haak-
picks," or boat-hooks, which may be used in dispatching Seals, as
well as for the ordinary uses of a boat-hook ; also with several
axes, a large one for decapitating the dead Walruses, and a small
^ one for cutting the line in case the Walrus proves too fierce and
mischievous, or in case of accidents ; five or six large, sharp
" flensing " knives ; an ice-anchor, with tackle for hauling the
dead Walruses on to flat icebergs ; lockers supplied with vari-
ous smaller implements and a small outfit of provisions, to guard
against the uncertainties arising from accidents and thick

msm

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

129

woiitbjT. In the way of additional weapons, heavy rifles with
]>h'uty of iuunuinition are considered desirable, and often prove
of iivant service when the Walruses are too wary to permit a
near ai)proach, as often happens. Generally a mast and sail
are, or should be, also carried, though by no means always
needed.*

Ai'cordinj;; to the same writer, the manner of " flensiny;,'' or
taking otf and securing the skin and blubber, is as follows:
The liufie beasts being drawn up on to an ice-floe, the skin, with
the blubber adhering, is then removed by dividing the skin into
iialvest by a slit along the ventral and dorsal lines of the body.
It is then loaded into the boats and taken to the ships and
thrown into the hold in bulk. Afterward, as leisure or oppor-
tunity oft'ers, the skins are drawn up, spread across an inclined
platform erected on deck for the purpose, and the blubber re-
moved. This is done by two men who act as " blubber-cutters,"
clad in oil-skin suits, and armed with large, sharp knives hav-
ing curved edges. The blubber is then dexterously removed
from the skin, c»it into slabs of twenty or thirty pounds' weight,
and thrown down the hatchway, where two men are stationed
to receive it and slip it into the square bung-holes of the casks.
From its oiliness it soon finds its own level in tlie casks, which,
when full, are tightly closed, f

Captain Hall describes the Esquimaux method of taking the
Walrus as follows : " The hunter has a peculia • spear, to whicli
is attached a long line made of Walrus hide ; t^is line is coiled,
and hung about the neck; thus prepared, he hides himself
1. ^oug the broken drifting ice, and awaits the moment for strik-
ing; bis game. The spear is then thrown, and the hunter at
once slips the coil of line off his head, fastens the end to the ice
by driving a spear thi'ough a loop in it, and waits till the Wal-
nis comes co the surface of the water, into which he has plunged
on feeling the stroke of the harpoon; then the animal is quickly
dispatched by the use of a long lance. The recklessness and
cool daring of the Innuit is forcibly shown in this operation, for
if he should fail to free his neck of the coil at just the right
moment, he would inevitably be drawn headlong beneath the
ice."§

* Compiled from Lament's Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. 43-51.
tin the case of full-grown Walruses; but in the case of "calves," the skin
is left entire.
t Compiled from Lament's Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. 76, 77.
5 Arctic Researches, etc., p. .500.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 9

130

ODOB^NUS ROSMARUS ATLANTIC WALRUS.

"In attacking the Walrus in the water they [the Esquimaux]
use the same gear [as in attacking Whales], but much more
caution than with the Whale, always throwing the katteelik from
some distance, lest the animal should attack the canoe and
demolish it with his tusks. The Walrus is iu fact the only
animal with which they use any caution of this kind."* This
"gear," oi Mtteelik, is said to be the largest-of their weapons,
and to be used only in attacking Whales and Wabuses. It
has a shaft of light wood, about four feet in length, like those
of their weapons used in killing Seals, but the shaft is much
thicker than in the others, especially near the middle, where is
lashed a small shoulder of i jry for the thumb to rest against,
in order to give additional force iu thr wing or thrusting the
spear. The spear-point is of ivory, litter- into the socket at the
end of the shaft, where it is secured by double thongs, in such
a way as to give it steadiness when a strain is put upon it in the
diiectiou of its axis, but provided with a spring that disengages
it when a lateral strain endangers its breaking. To the line
attached to the katteelik a Avholc Seal-skin, inflated like a bladder,
is fastened, for the purpose of impeding the progress of the
animal iu the water when struck, f

Dr. Kane gives a graphic account of a Wakus hunt by a party
of Innuits. They set off with three sledges drawn by dogs, for
the open wat'^r, ten miles distant. As they ueared the new ice,
they would from time to time remove their hoods and listen in-
tently for the animars voice. Myouk, one of the party, becom-
ing convinced, by signs or sounds, or both, that the Walruses
were waiting for him, moved gently on and soon heard the cha-
racteristic bellow of a bull. The party now forming in single
file followed in each other's steps, winding among hummocks
and approaching in a serpentine course the recently frozen ice
spots surrounded by firmer ice. " When within half a mile of
these, the line broke, and each man crawled toward a separate
pool ; Morton on his hands and knees following Myouk. In a
few minutes the Walrus were in sight. They were five in num
ber, rising at '• ^^ervals through the ice in a body, and breaking
it up \ (th an explosive puff that might have been heard for
miles. Two large grim-looking males were conspicuous as the
leaders of the group.

" Now for the marvel of the craft. When the Walrus is above

* Narrative cf Parry's Second Voyage, p. 510.

tSeo Parry's Second Voyage, pp. o07,T)08, and pi. facing j). 550, flgs. 20,21

HABITS AND THE CHASE.

131

water, the hunter is flat and motionless ; as he begins to sink,
alert ami ready for a spring. The animal's head is hardly be-
lov\- the water-line before every man is in a rapid run; and
again, as if by instinct, before the beast returns, all are motion-
less behind protecting knolls of ice. They seem to know before-
hand not only the time he vnM be absent, but the very spot at
which he will reappear. In this way, hiding and advancing by
turns, Myouk, with Morton at his heels, has reached a plate
of thin ice, hardly strong enough to bear them, at the very brink
of the water-pool the Walrus are curvetting in.

'' Myouk, till now phlegmatic, seems to waken with excite-
ment. His coil of Walrus-hide, a well-trimmed line of many
lathoms' length, is lying at his side. He fixes one end of it in
an iron barb, and fastens this loosely by a socket upon a shaft
of Unicorn's [Narwhal's] horn : the other end is already looped,
or, as sailors would say, ' doubled in a bight'. It is the work of
a moment. He has grasped the harpoon : the water is in mo-
rion. Pufling with pent-up respiration, the Walnis is within a
couple of fathoms, close before him. Mj-ouk rises slowly ; his
right arm thrown back, the left flat at his side. The Walrus
looks about him, shaking the water from his crest : Myouk throws
up his left arm ; and the animal, rising breast-high, fixes one
look before he plunges. It has cost him all that curiosity can
cost : the harpoon is buried under his left flipper.

'' Though the Awiik [Innuit name of the Walrus] is down in
a moment, Myouk is running at desperate speed from the scene
of his victory, paying off" his coil freely, but clutching the end
by its loop. He seizes as he runs a small stick of bone, rudely
pointed with iron, and by a sudden movement drives it into the
ice : to this he secures his line, pressing it close down to the
ice surface with his feet.

" Now comes the struggle. The hole is dashed in mad com-
motion with tb ; struggles of the wounded beast ; the line is
drawn tight at one moment, the next relaxed : the hunter has
not left his station. There is a crash of the ice ; and rearing up
through it are two Walruses, not many yards from where he
stands. One of them, the male, is excited and seemingly terri-
fied : the other, the female, collected and vengeful. Down they
so again, after one grim survey of the field ; and on the instant
MyoiLc has changed his position, carrj ing his coil with him and
fixing it anew.

" He has hardly fixed it before the pair have again risen,

132

ODOBJENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

breaking up an area of ten feet diameter about tlie very spot
lie left. As they sink once more be again changes his place.
And so the conflict goes on between address and force, till the
victim, half exhausted, receives a second Avound, and is played
like a trout by the angler's reel."

The method of landing the beast upon the ice is thus de-
scribed : " They made two pair of incisions in the neck, where
the hide is very thick, about six inches apart and parallel to each
other, 80 as to form a couple of bands. A line of cut hide, about
a quarter of an inch in diameter, was passed under one of these
bands and carried up on the ice to a firm stick well secured in
the floe, where it went through a loop, and was then taken back
to the animal, made to pass under the second band, and led off
to the Esquimaux. This formed a sort of ' double purchase ',
the blubber so lubricating the cord as to adm'i of a free move-
ment. By this contrivance the beast, weighing some seven
hundred pounds, was hauled up and butchered at leisure." *

Referring again to the chase of the Walrus, Dr. Kane says
the manner of hunting varies considerably with the season of
the year. In the fall, when the pack is but i)artly closed, they
are found in numbers about the neutral region of mixed ice and
water, when the Esquimaux assail them in cracks and holes
with nalegeit and line. This fishery, as the season grows colder,
darker, and more tempestuous, is attended with great hazard,
and scarcely a year passes without a catastrophe. The spring
fishery begins in March. Tlxe Walrus is now taken in two ways.
Sometimes when he has come up by the side of an iceberg or
through a tide-crack to enjoy the sunshine, he lingers so long
that he finds his retreat cut off by the freezing-up of the open-
ing through which he ascended. The Esquimaux, scouring the
ice-floes with keen hunter-craft, then scent him out by the aid
of their dogs and despatch him with spears. Again thoy are
found " surging in loving trios from crack to crack, sijorting
around the berg-water or basking in the sun," when they are
^tacked by their vigilant enemies Avith the spear and harpoon.
This mode of attack " often becomes a regular battle, the male
gallantly fronting the assault and charging the hunters with
furious bravery. Not unfrequently the entire family, mother,
calf, and bull, are killed in one of these combats." t

* Arctic Exploration, vol. i, pp, 407-414, 417. t Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 131-133.

PRODUCTS.

133

ruoDUCTS. — The couiiuercial products of the Walrus are its
oil, liido, and tusks. The oil is said to bo much inferior in quality
to that of Seals, but is used for nearly the same purposes.* The
yield is also much less in proportion to the size of the animal, in
the larj;est specimens seldom exceeding five hundred pounds.t
The hide is said to be a valuable commodity, and '' sells for from
two to foiu' dollars per half skin, calves only counting for a half;
it is principally exported to Russia and Sweden, where it is used
to mauufacturo harness and sole leather ; it is also twisted into
tiller-ropes, and is used for protecting the rigging of ships from
chafing. In former times nearly all the rigging of vessels on
the north coasts of Norway and Bussla used to be composed of
Wahnis-skin. [J] When there is a superfluity of the article in the
market I believe it is boiled into glue. It is from an inch to an
inch and a half thick, very pliable in its green state, but slightly
spongy, so that I shoidd doubt the quality of the leather made
from it."§

As noted in the earlier j)ortions of this paper, the tusks were
in very early times a valuable article of traffic among the bar-
barous tribes of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Brown
states that "there is said to be a letter in th(; library of the
Vatican proving that the old Norre and Icelandic colonists in
Greenland i)aid theu- ''Peter's Pence' in the shape of Walrus
tusks and hides." || The ivory afforded by the tusks, though

*Lainont says it is usual to mix tlio Seal and Walrus oil indiscriniiuatoly
together, and that "the compound is always exported into Southern Europe
under the name of Seal oil." — Yachting in the Arctic Scaa, p. 89.

t Scoresby states that ho " -lover met with any that afforded above twenty
or thirty gallons of oil." — Account of the Arctic Regions, vol. i, p. 503.

t [In the instructions given to Jonas Poolo by the Muscovie Company in
March, 1610, occurs the following : "And in as much as we have agreed here
with a Tanner for all the Morses hides which wee kill and bring into England,
and have sent men of purpose for the slaying, salting, and ordering of the
same, whereof we have appointed one to goe in your ship : We would have
you reserve the hides, and stooro yonr ship therewith in stead of ballast.
And if you obtayne a greater quantitie then you can bring away with you,
having alwayes regard to commodities of more value, which are Oyle, Teeth,
and Whales flnnes [whalebone], that none of them be left behind ; We would
have you leave the said overplus of hides in some convenient place, till the
next yeere, that we send more store of shipping." — Purchaa his Pilgrimes, vol.
iii, p. 709.]

i Seasons with the Sea-horses, p. 77.

llProc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1868, p. 434.

134 ODOHiENUS U0SMA1UI8 ATLANTIC WALitUS.

inferior in (jUiili*^" to Elephant ivory, is used for nearly the saui*^
])iiri)()ses. It is ^..id, howevc^r, to sooner become yellow by ex-
posure, to be of coarser texture, and lieuce to have less commer-
cial value. I have met with Jio statistics relating; to the amount
annually obtained, or the price it brings in market.*

The llesh of the Walrus is sometimes used as food by Arctic
voyayers, and foi-ms an important article of diet \vith the Esqui-
maux and Tsehuchchis. Captain Hall states that while his
party remained at Cape Tru(5 they were never in want of food.
''Walrus," he says, "was abundant, and was indeed almost
exclusively our diet. We had Walrus bruins for supper; stewed
Walrus, or Walrus boiled, for dinner ; but always Walrus, and
uo bread." f Kichardson states that ''their llesh is preferred
by the Escpumaux before that of the Small Seal {Fhoca JuHjyida),
their feet or tins are considered delicacies, and the heart and
liver were pronounced by our navigators to be excellent. The
tongue is said to be good when fresh, but becomes oily by kv*ep-
iug." I In the narrative of Cook's last voyage it is stated that
the fat of the Pacitic Walrus " is as sweet as marrow," but that
it soon grows rancid unless salted, when it will " keep much
longer." The lean flesh is described as being coarse and black,
and as having a rather strong taste, but the heart is said to be
"nearly as well tasted as that of a bullock." § Captaiii Parry,
in a passage already quoted {antea, p. 119), states that the meat
was not only eaten by his men, but was " eagerly sought after
on this and e>ery other occasion throughout the \oyage, b;\ all
those among us who could overcome the prejudice arisuig chiefly
from he dark color of the llesh. In uo other respect that I
couM <'ver discover, is the meat of the Walrus when fresh-killed
iii the slightest degree oflensive or unpalatable. The heart and
liver are indeed excellent," 11

Food. — The food of the Walruses has long been a subject of
dispute, not less from the varied character of the substances

*Mr. Lainont sajN, rospccting products of flic Walni.s juid their value;
"Cnriosify Icil inc once to wcijfli inid value tlio marketable jjaits of a larj;e
lUill Walrus, au<l the following results were airivcd at: — Weight of Walrus
blubber = r)'Jl) jiounds, about one fifth of a ton, which at 40/, a tcui is worth
8/, ; .100 pounds of skin at 2(1. a ]i<uiud = 2/. 10«., ami 8 pounds of ivory at 5«.
a pound ="2/., giving a value of 121. 10«." — Yachting in the Arctic Seas, p. 89.

t Arcfie Iiesr-iircjies, etc., p. "j')?.

{Supi)I. Parry's Second Voyage, )>. X\8.

^S Cook's l^ast Voyiige, vol. ii, p. 457,

II Narrative of Pairy's Second Voyage, p. 268.

FOOD.

135

luiiiid ill tlioir .stomachs l»,v (liU'cicnt ob.scrvcrs than from tho
IMciiIiarrontbriuiitiou of (hoirtciUh. i\Iartens,.jiKlg'injj^ from tho
apiK'araiico of their cxcroincnt, thought it must subsist mostly
upon si'a-jiTass. Auclcrson, liowcver, correctly stated that they
siiltsistcd uiion ^lolhisca, Avhich tliey (»l)laiiied from tho bottom
of the sea by dijifiiuf;- Avith their t usks. Crauz also says its food
scciiis to (;onsist \vholly of ''muscles and such kind of shell-
lish" and "sea-grass." F. Cuvier, Bell, and others, thought tho
dentition indicated tliat their diet must be mainly, if not wholly,
\ cgetable. Most modern observers who have given attention
to tlie matter state that they have often found vegetable mat-
ter mixed with other food in their stomachs, some claiming the
food to bo in small i)art vegetable, but mainly animal, while
otliers think the fragments of sea-weed so frequently met with
in their stomachs are only accidentally i)resent. Mr. Browji, who
appears to have had excellent opportunity of obtaining infor-
mation on this point, observes: "I have generally found in its
stomach various species of shelled Mollusca, chiefly Mya trun-
cata, a bivalve very common in the Arctic regions on banks and
shoals, and a quantity of green slimy matter which I took to
be decomposed Algai which had accidentally found their way
into its stomach through being attached to tho shells of the
^loUusoa of which the food of the Walrus chiefly consists. I
cannot say that I ever saw any vegetable matter in its stomach
which could be decided to have been taken in as food, or which
could be distinguished as such. As for its not [sic] being car-
nivorous, if further proof were necessary, I have only to add
that whenever it was killed neu. where a "Whale's carcass had
been let adrift, its stomach Avas invariably found crammed full
of the Iranf) or flesh of that Cetacean. As for its not being
able to hold the slippery cuirass of a fish, I fear the distin-
guished author of ' The British Mammalia' [Bell ] is in error. Tho
Narwhal, which is even less fitted in its want of dentition for
an ichthy()])hagous existence, lives almost entirely upon i)la-
ticlithyoid fishes and Cephalopoda. Finally the ex})erim<ntum
vruciH has been performed, in the fact tliat lish have been taken
<»ut of its stomach j and a most trustworthy man, the captain
of a Norwegian sealer, has assured me (without possessing any
theory on the subject) that he has seen one rise out of th<' water
with a tish in its mouth."*
That it will readily subsist on fish, as well as other animal
•Proc. Zoiil. Soo. Lond., 1868, pp. 430, 4:51.

136

ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

loo«l, i.s furtlicr proveu by Mr. Baitlett, who states that tbe one
received at tbe Gardens of tbe London Zoological Society in
18G7 was fed on flsb, mussels, wbelks, clams, and tbe stomachs,
intestines, and other soft parts of fishes, and that while on the
way from tbe IJavis's Straits to tbe Shetland Islands was fed
on strips of boiled pork, and subsequently during tbe voyage
on mussels. He says he is inclined to believe it would eat car-
rion or decomposed flesh, and raises the question whether the
Walruses may not " be the scavengers of the Arctic seas, the
Vultiu'es among mammals," and suggests that the strong bris-
tles of tbe muzzle may have something to do with tbe gather-
ing of this kind of food, "as well as with shrimp-catching."
He further states that it declined every kind of sea- weed
offered.*

Mr. Lamont informs us that he has found their stomachs
to contain great quantities of sand-worms, starfish, shrimps,
clams {Tridacna), and cockles {Cardhim), and that he helieves
that they also eat marine algae, or sea-weeds.

Malmgren states that be found that the Walruses of Spitz-
btrgen subsist almost exclusively upon two species of mussel,
namely, Mya truncata and Saxicava nigosa, which live buried
fi'om 3 to 7 inches deep in the mud, in 10 to 50 fathoms of water.
By aid of their grindhig teeth and tongue they remove the shells,
and swallow usually only the soft ])arts of tbe animal. Only once
among many thousands examined did Malmgren find any to
which a piece of the shell adhered. The young subsist for two
years almost solely ujion the milk of the mother, they bemj"
unable to dig mussels from tbe mud until their tusks have'
attained a length of 3 or 4: inches, which length is not acquired
till the animals have reached the age of two years.t

In common with some other Pinnipeds, the White Whale and
probably other Cetaceans, the Walrus takes into its stomach
small stones and gravel, but for what purpose appears as yet
unknown. Mr. Brown tells us that considerable quantities of
these are always seen around its atluk, or breathing-boles.J;

* Proc. Zotil. Soc. Loud., 18C7, p. 820.

t Sec Malmgren as translated in Toschel's Arch, ilir Natiugescb., 1864,
l)p. 68-72. The reasons here given to account for the long period of nursing
seem reasonable, but other authorities believe th.it they derive nourishment
ftom the mother for only one year.

tProc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, p. 430.

FUNCTIONS OF THE TUSKS.

137

Functions of the Tusks. — The fiiuctioDs of the tusks litive
beoi also a matter of dispute, more especially as to whether they
are to any decree ori^ians of locomotion. l\efei"ences to their use in
<'lic('tinj;a landing- upon ice bergsor uixni icy or rocky shores have
euiue down to ns from tlie earliest times, iind enter into nearly
all the at'connts of this animal i hat have hitherto ai)peared. Thar
they aie thus used rests upon the testimony of a multitude of
observers, yet some have i'laimed that this is not one of their
functions. ^lalmyreu states most explicitly that these reports
are false, and that the tusks are useful only as weapons, and for
the far more important service of digging iii> the moUusks, that
almost exclusively constitute their food.* Other writers, how-
ever, who appear to have had equally as good oi>portunity for
observation, refer to the tusks as being of considerable service to
the animals in climbing. Cranz says: "The use the Sea-cow
Tiakes of these tusks seems to be in part to scrape muscles and
such kind of shellfish out of the sand and from the rocks, for these
and sea-grass seem to be its only food ; and also to grai)i>le and
j;et along by, for he fastens them in the ice or rocks, and thus
«hin\ s up his unwieldj' helpless trunk ; and fiimlly 'tis a weapon
of defence both against the white bear on the land and ice, and
the sword-fish in the sea."t

Most of the other early accounts of the "Walrus contain simi-
lar statements respecting the use of the tusks as locomotive
organs, and many later writers also refer to this use of them.
Mr. Brown says: "I have seen it also use them [the tusks] to

' Say« Maluigieu ; "In lii'trett' der eigeutlicheu Beatimmuug dcr ZUlme
bin ich iia Stuiulc die iiotliigo AufklUniug zu gelicii. Es liisst sicli uiclit
bcstifiten, dass dieselben als Wafleu angewendet werdou uud als solchc audi
furchtbar sind ; dass sic ivbei- anch als Lokoraotionsorgane dienen sollten,
ist cine Fabel, und daher der Nam** Odoutobwmts Steenstr. nicht pasaend.
Gleich dcu Robbeu bewegen sioli die Walrosse iiur init HUlfe iliier Fiisse,
sowohl auf dera Eise als au den saiidigeu Meeiesgestadeii, an deneu sio bis-
weilcu biuaiifsteigeu, luu zu schlafeu, oft zu Hundorten neben eiiiander.
Die Bestininiung der Ziiline ist eiue ganz andorc uud fiir die Existeuz des
AValrossea bei weiteni wiclitigere, deun niu* niit HUlfe derselben kann ea zu
Ht'inrr Nabrung koninieu. Ich fand, dass das Walroas sicli auaaclilieslich
vein zwei Mus',:belu, Mya truncata und Saxkava rugosa, niibrt, welcbo in oiner
^^'llssertiet■e von lO-fjO Faden 3-7 Zoll in deni Bodenlebm eingegraben lebeu.
I'm au diese zu kouuneu, muss das Walrosa sie aus dcni Lelim aufgraben." —
Ofarmijt Vvknuk. Akad. Forhaiidl. Sioclholm, 18(5.1, p. VM, as translated in
Ardiiv fiir Naturgesch., 18G4, p. UP.

*Tbe History of Greenland, etc., Brethren's Society's English translation,
LkikIou, 17()7, p. 127.

138 ODOBiENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

tlnig its huge body on to the ice. In progressii'-g' on shore it
aids its chnnsy progression by their means."*

Dr. Kane observes : "l"]veu Avhen not excited, lie manages liis
tusks bravely. They are so strong that he uses them to grapple
the rocks with, and climbs steejis of ice and land Avhich Avould be
inaccessible to him without their aid. He ascends in this Wiiy
rocky islands that an; sixty and a hundred feet above the level
the of sea; and I have myself seen him in these elevated posi-
tions basking with his young in the cool sunshine of August and
September.'' t

Enemies In respect to the enemies of the Walruses, nuui is,

of course, their chief foe ; but, after man, all writers rank the Polar
Bears as their i)rincipal adversaries. In their contlicts with this
formidable antagonist, the Walrus is usually the reputed victor.
Says Mr. Brown : " The Eskimo used to tell many tales of theii
battles ; and though I have uever beeu fortunate enough to see
any of these scenes, yet I have heard the whalers give most
circumstantial accounts of the Walrus drowning the Bear, etc.
These accounts may be taken merely for what they are worth ;
but still this shows that they are not wholly confined to Eskimo
fable, and ought therefore not to be hastily thrown aside. There
is no doubt, however, that the Bear and Walrus are (like all
the Piunipedia) but indiflferent friends." |

Captain Hall, however, relates the following story, rife amoiij;
the Inuuits, of a very ingenious w ay the Polar Bear has of kill-
ing the Walrus. The bear is said to take up his position on a
cliflf to which Walruses are accustomed to resort in tine weather
to bask in the sun on the rocks at its base. The Bear, mounted
on the cliif, watches his opportunity, and " throws down upon
the animal's head a large rock, calculating the distance and
the curve with astonishing accuracy, and thus crushing the thick,
bullet-proof skull. If the Walrus is not instantly killed — simply
stunned — the Bear rushes down to the Walrus, seizes the rook,
and hammers away at the head till the skull is broken. A fat
feast follows. Unless the Bear is very hungry, it eats only the
blubber of the Wjilrus, Seal and Whale." Captain Hall accoiii
panics his account with a i)icture of a Bear in the act of hurlinj; ii
stone upon the head of a Walrus ! § The story, doubtless without

» Proc. Zool. Soc. LoncL, 1868, p. 430. t Proc. ZotiL Soc. Loud., 18G8, p. 4:W.
t Arctic Exploration, vol, i, p. 415. ^S Arctic Researches, etc., p. 581.

OBM

ENEMIES.

139

basis in fact, is of interest in i*^^ bearingupon tLo mythical history
of tlio Walrus. In fact, Dr. Kane, on the other hand, says : " The
goneiiilly-received idea of the Polar Bear battling with the Wal-
rus ]ii(H>ts little favor among- the Esquimaux of Smith's Straits.
My own experience is directly adverse to the truth of the story.
The Walrus is never out of reach of water, and, in his peculiar
(,'leiuent. is without a rival. I have seen the Bear follow the
Ubsnk [Bearded Seal, Erignathns harbatiis] by diving ; but the
toui^ii hide and great power of the Walrus forbid such an at-
tack." *

The Walrus is also greatly persecuted, with parasites. These,
according to Brown, are two species of Hccmatopimis, one of
which invariably infests the base of the mystacial bristles, and
the other its body. " I have seen," says this writer, "the Wal-
rus iiu'itking loudly on the ice, tumbling about and rushing back
from the water to the ice, and from the ice to the water, and then
swimming off to another piece, and repeating the same ope-
ration, as if in pain. A few hours afterwards I saw a flock
of Saxicola cenanthe (it was on a land floe, close to the Fni
Islands) alight on the spot. On going over, I found the ice
speckled with one of these species of Hcematc^inus, on which the
birds had been feeding ; and the unfortunate Walrus seems to
have been in the throes of clearing itself of these troublesome
friends, after the approved fashion. Subsequently I have seen
these and other small birds alight on the back of the Walrus to
peck at these insects, just as crows may be seen sitting on the
backs of cattle in our fields." t It seems also to be infested with
intestinal parasites. Dr. Murie, J in his report iii>on the causes
of the death of the specimen in the Zoological Society's Gai'dens,
found it infested by a species of Ascaris {A. blcolor, Baird) to
sncli an extent that it was probably the cause of its death. He
states that he removed from its stomach about " half a pailful"
of small round worms, two and. a half to three inches in length.
Their presence had evidently induced chronic gastritis, death
resulting from ulceration. Circumstances seemed to indicate
that they had not been introduced with its food since its cap-
ture, but that it was infested with them before its capture and
confinement.

•Arctic Exploration, vol. i, j). 203.
tProc. Zool. Soo. Loiul., 1868, p. 430.
t Ibid., pp. (57-71.

140

ODOBiTlNUS ROSMARIIS — ATLANTIC WALl J8.

Domestication. — The AV'alruH i)osse.s.se.s ii high «h^yrcc of
c't'n;brul d('VC'h)i)UK'nt, und seems to be easily 8UH('ei)til)le of
domestication, ft appears, liowevor, to be dillicult to ]nn)\)
aliv*' in conflnenient, especially when taken far south of its
natural home. Doubtless the long period occupied in its trans-
portation from the Arctic; regions to the /ooloyical gardens of
European cities, during which time it is necessarily subject to
very unnatural conditions and unsuitable food, does nuicli
toward reducing it to a greatly enfeebled state before it reaches
European i)ort8. It appears, however, that three specimens
have at difterent times reached England, while two at least
have been taken to Ilollaud and one to St. Petersburg. In each
case they were quite young animals, probably less than a year
old. The first specimen seen alive in England reached London
August 20, 1G08. The account of the capture of this si)ecimen
and of its arrival in Loudon is thus detailed by Purchas. It was
brought in the ship "God-speed," commanded by Thomas Wei
den, on its return from a voyage to Cherie (now Beai) Islanci.
The account says : " On the twelfth [of July, 1008,] we took into
our ship two young Morses, male and female, alive : the female
died before we came into England : the male lived about ten
Aveeks. When wee had watered, we set sayle for England about
foure of the (ilock in the morning. . . . The twentieth of
August, wee arrived at London, and having disi>atched some pri-
vate business, we brought our living Morse to the Court, where
the king and many honoiu^able personages beheld it with ad-
miration for the strangenesse of the same, the like whereof had
never before been scene alive in England. Not long after it
fell sicke and died. As the beast in shape is very strange,
so is it of strange docilitie and apt to be taught, as by good
experience we often proved."* It hence appears that this spe-
cimen lived for only about three weeks after its arrival in Lon-
don.

Another is reported to have been exhibited alive in Hol-
land in 1612. This specimen was secured with its mother, which
died on the voyage to Holland, but its skin was preserved and
stuflfed, the two forming the originals of Gerard's famous draw-
ing already noticed. Von Baer,t however, raises the question
whether the London and Holland specimens were not really the

*Furchas his Pilgriines, etc., 1()24, vol. iii, p.
tLoc. cit., p. 1!U.

,60.

domestication'.

141

same indiviiliial exhibited at ditfen^nt times in the two eoun-
tri«>s, and devises an ingenious explanation lor the origin of the
supposed discrepaney of dates. He seonis to be led into tlieso
doubts by the similarity of some of the eirennistanees attend-
in;; tlie ( iiptuni and exhibition of these animals, and the elose
jigreenient of the dates. Master Welden's aecount of the eap-
tir.'e and transportation of his speeimen to London, and of its
early death there, seems, however, too oxplieit to be overthrown
by mere (jonjecture. There is apparently no reason for suppos-
ing that the Lon«lon specimen was ever seen alive in Holla icd.

From a statement in Camper's writings, it would appear that
a living s]>(!eimen reached Amsterdam sibont or before 1 780, as
he refers to having seen the living Walrus in that city.* But
of this specimen there appears to be no further record. The
specimen taken to St. Petersburg from Archangel, and described
by von lUier, lived only a week after its anlval in St. Peters-
burg.

In isr>3, a second living specimen reached London, and was
placed in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, where, how-
ever, it survived only a few days, dying apparentlj' of improper
and insufficient food. A third specimen, captured in Davis's
Straits, August 28, 1807, reached the Zoological Society's Gar-
dens in London about October 28 of the same year, where it
lived till December 19, or for nearly five weeks, when it died of
chronic gastritis induced by the immense number of intestinal
worms {Ascaris), by which it was unfortunately infested.t The
first London and Holland specimens were quite young animals,
as were also probably all the others. The second London speci-
men (1853) was a " very yoimg" female, but I have seen no fur-
ther statement respecting its probable age or its size. The
third London specimen (1807), a male, was judged to be less
than a year old, but measured 8 feet in length and weighed
about 250 pounds. No other specimen has thus far, so far as I
can learn, been taken alive to any point south of the Scandi-
navian ports, to which, according to Brown, they have of late
been frequently carried. J

That the Walrus, when young, possesses, like the common
Seals, a high degree of docility and intelligence, is amply evi-

* Camper says: "... . et que j'en avois vii plusieitrs mfime un
vivaut ii Amsterdam."— fflwvj-es, tome ii, 1803, p. 481.
tbeo Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1867, p. 818, and 1868, p. 67.
tProc. Zool. Soc, 1868, p. 431.

■■

142

ODOBiENUS R0SMARU8 — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

,:i

dent from observations made upon it in captivity. In fur-
ther illustration of tliis point I quote the following from Mr.
Brown's important paper on the Seals of Greenland and Spitz-
bergen, from wliicli T have already quoted so largely. Mr.
Brown says, in referring to the subject of its naturalization in
zoological gardens : " I cannot better conclude these notes on
the habits of the Walrus than b.\ lescribing a young one I saw
on board a ship in Davis's Straits, in 1861, and which, had it
survived, was intended for the Zoological Society. It was
caught near the Duck-Islands off the coast of North Green-
land, and at the same time its mother was killed ; it was then
sucking, and too young to take the water, so that it fell an easy
prey to its captors. It could only have been jiupped a very few
hours. It was then three feet in length, but filready the canine
tusks were beginning to cut the gums. When I first saw it, it
was grunting about the deck, sucking a piece of its mother's
blubber, or suckitig the fskin which lay on deck, at the place
where the teats were. It was subsequently fed on oatmeal and
water and i)ea-soup, and seemed to thrive upon this outre nour-
ishment. No fish could be got for it ; and the only animal food
which it obtained was a little freshened beef or pork, or Bear's
flesh, which it readily ate. It had its likes and dislikes, and its
favorites on board, whom it instantly recognized. It became
exceedingly irritated if a newspaper was shaken in its face,
when it would run open-mouthed all over the deck after the
perpetrator of this literarj^ outrage. When a 'fall'* was
called it would immediately run at a clumsy rate (about one
and a half or two miles an hour), first into the surgeon's cabin,
then into the captain's (being on a level with the quarterdeck),
apparently to see if they were up, and then out again, grunting
all about the deck in a most excited manner ^awuk! moult V
When the men were 'rallying'! it would imitate the operation,
though clumsily, rarely managing to get more than its own
length before it required to turn again. It lay during the day
basking in the sun, lazily tossing its flippers in the air, and ap-
peared perfectly at home and not at all inclined to change its
condition. One day the captain tried it in the water for the

* " When a boat gets ' last' to a whale, .all tlio rest of the crew run shout-
ing about the decks, as they got the other boats out, 'A fall ! a fall! ' It is
apparently derived from the Dutch word ' Val', a whale."

t "When a ship gets impeded by loose ice gathering around it, the crew rush
in a body from side to side so as to loosen it, by swaying the ship from
beam to beam. This is called 'rallying the ship'."

MMMia

■HM

DOMKSTICATIOX,

i4n

first tiino; Imt it wiLs <niit«! awkwanl and got umlci tlie floe,
wliciKT it wiis iinablo to extricate itself, until, guitleA by its
\}\\i'ons '■ (I ini hi ii<i\ its master went out on the iee and I'alled
it by iianie, when it immediately came out I'nnn under the
ice and was assisted on board again, ai)i>arently heartily sick
ut its mother element. After surviving for more than three
months, it «lied,.just before the vessel left for England. As T
wits not near at the time, I was unable to nmke a dissection in
ordei' to learn the cause of its death.''*

3Ir. Lamont thus describes a young Walrus he saw on board
the Norwegian brig "Nordby,"' in the possession of Captain Eric-
sou : " IJetbre parting <!ompany, we went on board the 'Xordby'
to .ice a young live Walrus ('a leetle boy-"\Valrus ', as Ericson
in ills broken English called it), which they had on board as a
jxt. This interesting little animal was about the size of a sheep,
and was the most comical fac-similo imaginable of the old Wal-
ins. lie had been taken aliv(? after the liar])ooningof his mother
;i few weeks ago, and now seemed ])erfectly healthy, and tame
iintl i>layi'ul as a kitten. It was, of course, a great pet with all
on board, and scented much nn)re intelligent <han I believed;
ilic only thingwhich seemed to destroy its ecpiaiiimity was i)ull-
ing its whiskers, or pretending to use a ' rope's end' to it, when
it would sneak otl", looking over its shoulder, just like a dog
when chastised. They sai<l it would eat sal . lish, salt-beef,
blnbbc)', or anything ottered it; but 1 strong.y advised Ericson
to give it, if possible, a mixture of vegetables or sea-weed along
witli such strong diet. I assured him that, if he succeeded in
taking it alive to the Regent's Park or the Jardin des Plantes,
he would get a large price for it ; but before 1 left Spitzbergen
in iSoptember, I heard with regret that the curious little beast
had died." t

Mr. Lamont, on one of his later Arctic exi)editions, captured
several young Walruses, and seems to have had three alive at
one tune on board the " Diane." The first was captured on May
27, and safely landed on board, " uttering the most discordant
cries which ever assailed the (?ars of man." ''A harsh note — or,
mora properly speaking, noise, something between a grunt and
a bark — henceforth, till avc were hardened to the ainioyance,
broke our slumbers at night and destroyed the peace and (piiet
of the day. Though particularly anxious to secure and carry

"Proc. ZoOl. Soc. Loiul., ims, pi). 131. 432.
t Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. ;$!), 40.

144 ODOB^NUS ROSMAItUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

liome a youug specimeu of this interesting animal, we soon found
the company of so noisy a shipmate, with the anxiety connected
with its weaning, was not an unmixed blessing." Again he
says :".... we found amusement in attemjits to wean
the Walrus-cub, who still proved obstreperous when attempts
were made to inject preserved milk into his guzzle by means of
a special piece of apparatus borrowed from the doctor's case.
In all other respects he comported himself with the ' strauge
docilitie ' noted by Master Thomas Welden of the God Speed
in 1608. He became a great pet with the men : a dear, loving-
little creature, combining the afiection of a spaniel with the pro-
portions of a j)rize pig. What struck us in watchhig its singu-
lar dexterity was that there could be any difference of opinion
as to the hind-Sippers of the Walrus being used in conjunction
with the forepaws after the ordinary method of quadruijeds for
walking on land or ice. ' Tommy ' also exhibited a marvellous
knack in climbing, or rather wriggling, his supple carcase uj) on
to casks and packages in the hold." Later two others were cap-
tured, and the three were kept in a pen together. The unlucky
fate that finally befell "Tommy" is thus related : "'Tommy',
the first young Walrus picked up at Xovaya Zemlya, a month
ago, to the great grief of every one except ' Sailor ' and the cook,
was found dead, with his face immersed in a pail of gruel and
one of the others lying on top of him — clearly suffocated. They
were confined in a pen forward well out of the way ; for they
lately had become a great nuisance, crawling about the deck,
always in someone's way, and had taken to roaring like bears
down the companion at night. A few nights before his death
this little beast had fallen down the hatchway; this might have
had something to do with his untimely end. Nothing was found
on examination but a total absence of fat, the rest of the dis-
section was reserved for the anatomical rooms of the University
of Edinburgh, our late companion and playmate being duly
salted and packed in an old pork-barrel." * Of the fate of the
others I find no record, but they evidently did not Ua e to reach
England. " Taking into consideration," says Mr. Lamont, on
an early page of his work last cited, " the facility Avith which a
Walrus 3ub may be captured, it seems strange that they are
not more often met with in the zoological gardens of Europe."
After alluding to previous attemi)ts to take them to Europeau
cities, he sajs : " Until some special vessel, with cows on board,

* Yachting iu the. Arctic Seas, pp. 47, 48, G2, 218.

DOMESTICATION.

145

or plenty of Swiss preserved milk, visits the Walrus haunts and
thus solves the difficulty of weaniug", it will not be easy to Import
a young Walrus in good condition, and many of the interesting
habits and traits of this animal will remain unknown. Although
the calf of the previous season frequently accoujpanies the dam
with her more recent offspring, at that age the ' half- Wahais '
is too unwieldy a beast to be cap*ared alive ; if this were prac-
ticable, there can be no doubt its nutrition would be a simple
matter."*

From the foregoing accounts of the survival for a considera-
ble period in captivity, and from the hardships we are told the
third London (1867) specimen t survived daring its long voyage
to London, it is evident that with a suflflcient supply of proper
food, and due arrangement for the comfort of the captives dur-
ing transportation, coupled with a speedy voyage, as by steam-
ship, young Walruses might easily be taken in luimbers and
brought safely to southern ports. Whether, however, they
(iould long endure the great change of climate they would be
thus forced to experience is a matter of more uncertainty, yet
they in all probability would not suffer more than the Polar
Bear, or the Sea Lions and Sea Bears, which have of late been
frequently seen in different zoological gardens. A Sea Lion, as
is well known, not only s* r>'ived a voyage from Buenos Ayres,

* Yachting iu the Arctic Seas, p. H2.

tTliis specimen was captured iu Davis Strait, August 25, "by a noose
swung over his head and one foro limb from the ship and hauled on board.
For some days the captive was kept tied to a ring-bolt on deck, and refused
food altogether. Subsequently ho was induced to swallow thin strips of
boiled pork, and was thus fed until the vessel reached the Shetlands, when
a supply of fresh mussels was provided for its use. A large box with openings
at the sides was fabricated ; and the animal, secured therein, was brought
safely to Dundee on the 26th ult. [October]. From that port to London
the Walrus had been conveyed in the steamer 'j^glia' under the care of the
society's superintendent."— Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Land., 1867, p. 819. Mr. Bartlett
furtbei' says, in referring to the specimen : " As regards the present animal,
I may state that on my arrival at Dundee, on the 29th of October, I found
tlio young Walrus in a very restless state, and, as I thought, hungry ; it was
bcinij; fed upon largo mussels ; about twenty of these were opened at a meal,
and the poor beast Avas fed about three times a day. [1] I immediately told
\\\o. owners that I thought the animal was being starved. Stevens at once
iii;r(('(l and a codfish Avas procured ' the neighborhood, and by lue cut
into long tliin strips. On offering thc;c (lieccs of cod to the animal, he greed-
ily devoured Ihoni. Since that time I have fed the Walrus upon ^is/t, mussels,
whvlhs, clams, and tlie stomachs and inteatincs and other soft parts of fishes cut
suiall; for I find that it <!annot swallow anything larger than a Avalnut."—
Ihkl, pp. 819, 820.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 10

146

ODOKyENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS.

across th« tropics, to London, but lived there for more than a
year,* and finally died " from natural causes."

Since writing the above I have met with the following from
the pen of Mr. Alfred Newton, respecting the feasibility of ob-
taining living specimens of the Walrus for the Gardens of the
London Zoological Society. Beferriug to the specimen taken to
London in 1608, Mr. Newton says: "Now surely what a rude
skipjjer, in the days of James I, could without any preparation
accomplish, this Society ought to have no diflaculty in eflfef/ting ;
and I trust that the example may not be lost upon those who
control our operations. From inquiries I liave made, I find it is
quite the exception for any year to pass without an opportu-
nity of capturing alive one or more young examples of Triche-
chus rosmarns occurring to the twenty or thirty ships which
annually sail from the northern ports of Norway, to pursue this
animal in the Spitsbergen seas. It has several times happened
that young Walruses thus taken are brought to Hammerfest;
but, the voyage ended, they are sold to the lir^it i)urchaser, gen-
erally for a very kifling sum, and, their food and accommodation
not being duly considered, they of course soon die. Lord
Dufi'erin brought one which had been t.aken to Bergen, and
succeeded in bringing it alive to Ullapool;! and Mr. Lamout
mentions another which he saw in the possession of Captain
Erichson.f In making an attempt to place a live Walrus in
our Gardens, I do not think we ought to be discouraged by the
bad luck which has attended our eifo/ts in the case of the larger
marine Manimjilia. Every person I have spoken with on tlio
subject corroborates the account given by honest Master AVel
den of the 'strange docilitie' of this beast; and that in a mere
financial point of view the attempt would be worth undertaking
is, I think, manifest. To the general public perhaps the most
IJermauently attractive animals exhibited in our Gardens arc
the Hippopotamuses and the Seals. What then would be the
case of a species like the Walrus, wherein the active intelli-
gence of the latter is added to the powerful bulk of the I'or-
mer?"§

Since ^Nlr. Newton wrote the above, another specimen lias
reached London, as already detailed, but this was ten years

*Soc' Millie. Ti'iins. Zoijl. Soc. LoiuL, vol. vii, 1872, p. 528.
t "Letters IVoin High Latitudes, pp. 387-389."
i: " Seasons with the Sea-horses, pp. 20, 27."
i Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1804, 'j, 500,

ODOBiENUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

147

ago. What efforts have been made, if any, since tliat date,
I know not, bnt the skill, energy, and money which, some
fifteen years ago, placed a White Whale {Belnga catoilon) in the
Aquarial Gardens of Boston, and has recently safely brought
another to I^Tew YArk, and has taken others ali\'e into the inte-
rior nearly to Cincinnati (the latter dying, however, before quite
reaching that city), ought certainly, if directed toward securing
liviug specimens of the Walrus for public exhibition, meet with
easy success. As to the influence of a change from an Arctic
climate to mild temperate latitudes, it may be well to recall the
fact thcit not many centuries since the natural habitat of the
Walnis extended to the southern shores of Nova Scotia and
Cape Breton.

ODOB^NUS OBESUS, [III) Allen.
Paciflc Walrus.

"Walhoss, Steller, Besehreib. von flem Lando Kamtsch., 1774, 106."

Sea Horse, Cook's Third Voyage, ii, 1784, 456, pi. lii; ibid., abridged ed.,

iii, 40.
Tridicchiis rosmarus, Shaw, Gen. Zoul., i, 1800, 234 (iu part), fig. Gri* (from

Cook). — Vox SCHKEXCK, Relscn im Amur Laude, i, 7859, 179, (iu

part).— Leidy, Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc, xi, 1860 (in part).— Vox

MiDDEXDOUFi", Sibirische Reise, iv, 1867, 934 (in part). Also iu

part of most recent authors.
Trichcchiia obeaua, Illigeu, Abhandl. d. iierlin. .'vkad. (1804-11), 1815, 64,

70,75 (distribution).
Trivhfckus dirergcns, Ii.ligek, Abhaudl. d. Berlin. Akad. (1804-11), 1815, 68

(based ou Cook's description and figure of the Pacific Walrus).
liosmarHs obesus, Gill, Proe. Essex lust., v, 1860, 13 (iu part only). — Dall,

Alaska and its Resources, 1870, 503, 577. — Scammox, Marino Mam.,

1874, 176 (figure of animal).
Trkhcchiis cookii, Frkmery, Bijdrag. tot dc uaturkuuud. Weteusch., vi,

1831, 385.
liomarus cooki, Gill, Intern. Exh., 1876, Anini. Resources U. S., No. 2, 1876,

4 ("Pacific Walrus"; no description); Johnson's New Univ. CycL,

iii, 1877, 1725 (no description).
EiiKiiKinin arcticus, Pallas, Zoiil. Rosso-Asiat., 1831, 269, "pis. xxviii,

xxix.-'- Elliott, Cond. of Afi'airs iu Alaska, 1875. 121, 160

(Prybilov Islands).
liomarus trichcchuH, Gill, Johnson's Ne.w Univ. Cyclop., iii, 1877, 633 (iu
part only).

External Characters and Skeleton. — Similar iu size
(or i)os.sibly rather larger) and probably in general contour
(thongli commonly depicted and described as more robust or
thicker at the shoulders) to the Oilohwmis rosmarus, but quite
(lifl'erent in its liicial outline. Tlie tusks are longer and thinner,

148

ODOB^NUS OBESUS PACIFIC WALIIUS.

gcuerally more convergent, with niiich greater inward (airva-
ture; tLe uiystacial bristles shorter and smaller, and the muzzle
relatively deeper and broader, in correlation with the greater
breadth and depth of the skull anteriorly. The Pacific Walrus
has been supposed to further differ from the Atlantic species
by the more naked condition of the skin ; but this seems to be
merely a feature of age, baldness being more or less common in
old age to both species. The color of the hair is nearly the same
in both. A large old male in the Museum of Comparative Zool-
ogy, Cambridge, collected at the Prybilov Islands by Capt.
Charles Bryant, is entirely destitute of hair, except around the
edge of numerous old scars, and on the breast and ventral sur-
face where here and there are patches very thinly clothed with
very short hair, hardly sufficient in amount to remove the gen-
eral impression of almost complete baldness. The longest mys-
facial bristles are scarcely more than an inch in length, while
the greater part barely project beyond the skin. There is an-
other similar specimen in the collection of the National Museum.
A much younger specimen (a female) in the coUectlm of Prof.
H. A. Ward, of Rochester, is as well clothed Avith hair as is the
Atlantic species at the same age, from which the color of the
hair does not appreciably differ. The mystacial bristles are
somewhat longer than in the above-described very old specimens,
but are rather shorter than in the Atlantic species at the same
age. Probably in young individuals the bristles are much longer
than in the adult, as is the case in the Atlantic species. The
chief external difference between the two species appears to
consist ia the shape of the muzzle and the size and form of the
bristly nose-pad, which has a vertical breadth at least one-fourth
greater than in the Atiuutic species. Very important differ-
ences between the two species are exhibited in the skull, as will
be presently described.

The old male Alaskan Walrus in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology has a length as mounted of 3350 mm. (about lOJ feet),
and a circumference at the shoulders (axillae) of 3050 mm. The
skeleton, as measured while the bones were still connected by
cartilage, gave a total length of 0^ feet (264G mm.), of wliich the
skull measured 15i inches (354 mm.); the cervical vertebra?
13 (330 mm.) ; the dorsal vertebra 45 (1130 mm.) ; the lumbar 15
(370 mm.) ; and the caudal L*3 (580 n)m.). The fore limb, from
the proximal end of the humerus to the end of the first or
longest digit has a length of 40 inches (1010 ram.), and the hind
limb, from the proximal end of the femur to the end of the Ion-

MEASUREMENTS.

149

iivst (lij^it, ii k'liyth of 5J: inches (1040 juiii.). The .scapula has a
Iciiji'th of Uii inches (420 nun.), and the innominate bones a
leujith of 13 inches (330 nun.). Tlie ineasuienicnts more in de-
tail of the principal bones, taken from the skeleton as mounted,
are as follows:

Meamrements of an adult male akclelon of Oilohmius ohesm.

mm,

T'.)tiinen<,'tliof8kek'ton 2890

Total It'iigth of HkiiU... 390

ExtreiiK! breadth of skull 305

Length of canines (from plauo of molars) 559

Length of lower jaw 290

J3readth at condyles 238

Length of cervical -leries of vertebrje 400

Length of dorsal series of vertebra} 1170

Length of lumbar series of vertebrro 380

Leugl h of the sacral and caudal series of vertebras 550

Length of tirst rib, osseous portion ...., 150

Length of iirst rib, cartilaginous portion 95

Length of first rib, total 245

Ticngth of second rib, osseous portion 240

Leng* li of second rib, cartilaginous portion 160

Li' 'th of second rib, total 400

i^iii^ih (if third rib, osseous portion 310

Length of third rib, cartilaginous portion 180

Lciigtliofthird rib, total 590

Length of fourth rib, osseous jwrtiou 440

Length of fourth rib, cartilaginous portion 190

Length of fourth rib, total 630

Length of fifth rib, osseous portion 480

Length of tifth rib, cartilaginous portion 220

Length of fifth rib, total 700

Length of sixth rib, osseous portion 565

Length of sixth rib, cartilaginous portion 255

Length of sixth rib, total 890

Length of sc venth\ib, osseous portion 575

Length of seventh rib, cartilagiuoua portion 285

Length of seventh rib, total , 860

Length of eighth rib, osseous portion 580

Length of eighth rib, cartilaginous portion 275

Length of eighth rib, total 855

Length of ninth rib, osseous portion 57(i

Length of ninth rib, cartilaginous portion 345

Lenglh of ninth rib, total IH5

Length of tenth rib, osseous portion 5(10

Length of tenth rib, cartilaginous portion 400

Length of tenth rib, total 960

Length of eleventh rib, osseous x>ortiou 525

Length of eleventh rib, cartilaginous portiou 380

Length of eleventh rib, total 905

150

ODOB^NUS OIJESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

mm.

Length of twelfth rib, osseous portion GOO

Length of twelfth ril>, cartilaginous portion '^'i{)

Length of twelfth rill, total d'JU

Length of thirteenth rib, osseous portion 4r)0

Length of tliirteeuth rib, cartilaginous portion 210

Lengtli of thirteenth rib, total OtiU

Length of fourteenth rib, osseous portion 3G5

Li'ugth of fourteenth rib, eavtilagiuous portion 120

Length of fourteenth rib, total 48.')

Length of tifteenth rib, osseous poi'tion 70

Length of lifteentli rib, cartilaginous portion 00

Length of tifteenth rib, total 70

Length of sternum, osseous portion 540

Length of steniuui, total 650

Length of scapula 420

Breadth of scapula * 24")

Oreatest height of its spine (at base of acromion) ^t,\

Length of the humerus 390

Tr.'insverse diameter of its head 110

Antero-posterior diameter of its head 132

Transverse diameter of distal end 138

Length of radius 273

Length of ulna :Ui2

Longest diameter of proximal end of ulna 130

Length of carpus 48

Length of first digit 124

Length of metacarpal of second digit 87

Length of thii'd digit 68

Length of foiirth digit 68

Length of tifth digit 75

Length of femur 250

Circumference of neck of femur *.. 135

Least transverse diameter of shaft 55

Transverse diametttr of shaft at end 116

Length of tibia 380

Length of tibula 375

Length of tarsus 172

Length of metatarsal of first digit 142

Length of second digit 126

Length of third digit 1 123

Length of fourth digit 132

Length of fifth digit 158

Length of innominate bone 430

Greatest width of pelvis anteriorly 320

Length of ilium 475

Ijcngth of ischio-pubic bones 245

Length of thyroid foranuai 153

Length of os penis 710

Width of manus at base of metacarpus 140

Width of pes at base of metatarsus 130

rnggmM

MKASUREMENTS AND EXTKKXAL CHARACTERS. IT)!

Ivospcctiiij;' tlir si/c iiii<l external ilinioiisioiis, Mr. I'jlliott says,
'•tlio a<liilt male is about 12 feet in length from nostrils to tip
of tail fi)rol)ably in a (airved lin«> over the inequalities of the
siuracel and lias 10 or 12 feet of jfirth, and an old bull, shot by
the natives on Walrus Island, July 5, 1S72, Avas nearly l.'J feet
lonu. with the enormous <>irth of 14 feet. The immense mass
of l»I.il>ber on the shcmlders and around the neck makes the
1m ad and i)osteriors look small in proportion and attenuated."*
He estimates the ^iross weij^ht of a well-eonditioned old bull at
>'t\vo tliousan<l p<mnds," the skin alone weighing from '"two
hundred and tifty to four hundred pounds," and the head " from
sixty to eighty." The head, he adds, will measure eighteen
in(?hes in length from between the nostrils to the occiput.+

Captain Cook says the weight of one, " which was none of the
largest," was eleven hundred pounds without the entrails, the
hea<l weighing forty-two and the skin two hundred and five.
Of this specimen he gives the following measurements:

Ft. In.

Length from the miout to the tail 9 4

Lengtli of the neck from t he suoiit to the shoiilder-bone 'i 6

Height of the shou Icr r>

J fore 2 4

Length of the fina / , . , „ ^

fore 1 2i

Rrcadtli of the fins n , . , -. n.

hind 2

(breadth - 5J

•'"""M depth 1 3

Circumference of the neck close to the ears 2 7

Circumference of the body at ftie shoulder 7 10

Circumference near the hind tins ") 6

From the snout to the eyes '• 7t

This was evidently either a female or not fully grown. The
circumference, as here given, is somewhat less than the length.

Respecting the external appearance of the old males as ob-
served in life by Mr. Elliott on Walrus Island, Mr. Elliott says :
" I was surprised to observe the raw, naked appearance of the
hide, a skin covered with a multitude of pustular-looking warts
and pimples, without hair or fur, deeply wrinkled, with dark
red venous lines, showing out in bold contrast through the thick
yoUowishbrown cuticle, which seemed to be scaling off in
places as if with leprosy. They struck my eye at first in a

'This is well shown in Mr. Elliott's tigures.

t Condition of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 161, 162.

+ Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, etc., vol. ii, p. 459. ' ''

ir)2

ODOn^ENUS OIJESIIS rAf'IKK" WAKHIS.

Ill

■
I?,

most unploasant iiianiu'r, lor tlit-y looked, like bloated, iiiortity-
iny, shapeless masses of fleshy the elusters of swollen, warty
pimples, of a yellow, i)arboiled flesh-eolor, over the shoulders
and around tlu^ neek, sujjgested lunvholesonieness foreihly." *
The old male, in tlie Mu.-- eum of Comparative Zoiiloj^y, of whieli
measurements are given, above, is almost wholly naked, except
about the numerous old healed pishes and sears, which arc
generally bordered with very short, stitf, brownish hair, ('aj)-
tain Scammon, however, who has also observed them in their
native waters, states that the hair that covers " most individn
als is short and of a dark brown ; yet there is no lack of exam-
ples where it is of a much lighter shade, or of a light dingy
gray. . . . The young, however, before its cumbrous canines
protrude . . . is of a black color." t

The mysta<jial bristles appear to vary in length in dift'ereiit
individuals. Pallas's figure of a rather young animal represents
them as thick and long. In the old specimen in the Museum of
Comparative Zoology they are very short, and do not form a very
prominent feature of the physiognomy. On the upper part of
the nuizzle they arc merely short, small-pointed spines, one-
fourth to one-half or three-quarters of an inch in length ; they
increase somewhat in length toward the edge of the lip, w hero
the longest obtain a length of abc it two inches. They are quite
slender, the coarsest having a diameter of not more than eight
onehundredths of an inch.

Captain Scammon states that '' The cheeks are studded with
four or five hundred spines or whiskers, some of which are rudi
mentary, while others grow to the length of three or four inches.
They are transparent, curved, abruptly pointed, and about the
size of a straw, but not twisted, as has been stated by some
writers." | Mr. Elliott describes them as being " short, stubbed,
gray- white bristles, from one-half to three inches long."§ The
descriptions of the bristles of the Atlantic Walrus, as given by
numerous writers, agree in representing them as much longer
and thicker than in the Pacific species, the dimensions usually
assigned being a length of four or five inches, or even, in some
cases, six, and about one-twelfth of an inch thick. The figures
and descriptions commonly represent them as forming, by their

*Coiulilion of AifairM in Alaska, j). 160.

t Marine Maninialia, ji. 177.

t Marine Maninialia, p. 17().

J Condition of Aftair.s in Alaska, p. 161,

i %

■■■Ml

EXTERNAL CHATIACTKRS.

153

.>izc iind U'lif^tli, next to the long tusks, oiieol' tlu' most striking
Iciinuvs of tlio pliysioguouiy. Jn Cook's and Elliott's figures of
tlic I'iicilic siH'cies, liow-
ivt'i', tliey arc I>y no means
ii prominent feature, and
tlit'ican' nosueli allusions
to the formidable asi>eet
tliey give to the facial ex-
picssion as are (commonly
iiu't with in the a(!Couuts
of tlm Atlantic! species. A
duect comparison of speci-
HK^ns of (•orrespouding ages
shows them to be much
shorter than in the Atlan-
tic Walrus.

The eyes of the Atlantic
\N'idrus are described as
tiery retl, one writer (jom-
l»iiring them to glowiiig
(•(Jills. Mv. Elliott refers to
th(>s(M»f the Pacific species
iis having the sclerotic coat
••of a dirty, mottled coii'ee-
ycllow and brown, with
an occasional admixture of
white; the iris light-brown,
with dark-brown rays and
spots" ; and in no case have
I seen any referen(!e to
their being "red." While
most writers who have de-
scribed e Atlantic AVal-
riis from life refer to the
redness of the eyes as a
remarkable and striking-
feature. Cook, Scammon,
and others (Mr. Elliott ex-
oei»ted) make no reference to the color of the eyes, which would
hardly have escaped them had they possessed the redness char-
acteristic of the Atlantic species.

3Ir. Elliott further describes the eyes as small, but pronnneut,
"protruding from their sockets like those of a lobster," and

11). — Odohiiinii ohenH».

154

ODOli.KM S OMKsrS— PACIFIC WAr^HUS.

stnti's tliiit the iiiiiiiiiils liiivc the powiTot' rolliiifj; tlM'in about in
every (lin'ctioii, so that wlicn arousotl tlu'.v schloui move tlie
head more tliaii to <'levate it, the position of the eyes near tlic
top of the head Ki^'i"!^ them the needed raiiye of vision.

The nostrils, as in the Athinti«' species, are at the toj) (►f the
muzzle; they are ''oval, and about an inch in their <;Teat('st
diameter." The auricular openinj;' is placed nearly in a. line with
the nostails and eye, and henc«' near the top of the head in a
fold of the skin. Tin* animal is said to have a keen sense of
smell and an a(!ute ])ercei)tion of sound, but a limited power of
vision. *

An idea of the lun'onth and peculiar facial aspect of tbe Pa-
cific Walrus may be derived from the above-fjfiven figures (Fig.
13) drawn by Mr. Elliott, to Avhose kindness I am indebted for
tlielr presentation in tin- present cimnection.

I append herewith nn ., iirements of a considerable series of
skulls, of different ages, one oidy of which is marked as that of a
female, they being mostly skulls of middle-aged or very old
uiales.

* See Elliott, 1. c, pp. 161, 162.

t; I

MEASUREMENTS OF SKULLS.

155

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ODOUiENUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

Differential Characters.— As already stated, the I'a-
cilic Walrus differs I'roiu the Atlautic Walrus very little in
external characters, except iii facial outline and in the size aud

Fig. 14. — Odohauus obeaus.

*' set " or curvature of the tusks. The skulls, however, afford
many important differential characters, and on these differ-

mttmm^

DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERS.

167

enccs I veuturo to predicate tbo existence of two 8i)ecies, using
the term " species " in its commonly accepted sense. To show
inoro readily what these differences are, I present herewith a
.series of figures of skulls of both old and young of the two
Ibrnis. Tlio skulls selected for this purpose are average exam-
](les of ii considerable series, the adiUt skulls being those of
males of strictly comparable ages. ^s

Fig. 15.^ — Odobcenus roamarus.

The skulls of the two species seen in profile (Figs. 14 and 15)
exhibit the following differences: The first and most obvious

158

ODOH^NUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALKUS.

is pel uaps that preseiitetl by the tusks, which, iu the Pacific
species (Fig. 14), are mnvAi longer and thicker than in the other

(Fig. 15), less incurved aud

more convergent; their alve

oli are deeper and thickev.

with heavier walls, theryby

giving much gxeater fullness

to the front wall of the skull,

j even modifying the form of

the nasal bones. The front

outline, as seen in profile, is

very oblique in the Atlantic

species, while iu the Pacific

species it is nearly vertical,

the front edge of the nasal

bones being verj- little liostc-

rior to the/Vow* border of the

base of the tusk, while iu tbc

1 Atlantic species the., scarcely

Fig. 16.- Odob'niKHnxiiiumt^. pass beyond a vertical liuc

drawn from the himler border of the tusk. Tlie orbits in the

Pacific species arc
placed more ante-
riorly than iu tlie
other.

In the trout view
of the skulls, the
muzzle is seen to be
much smaller in the
Atlantic spades
(Fig. IG) than in the
Pacific (Fig. 17),
with, however, not
very marked differ-
ences in outlines and
proportions. The
receding ujiper bor-
der in tlie latter is a
marked feature.
The difiereuce iu
size hero shown is
an important one,
since the '■tino skulls compared dift'er very little in geuei'iil size,

Fig. 17.— ^loho'iiuH ohcsun.

DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERS.

159

tliey giviug ve v nearly tlie same measurements in respect to
extreme dimensions oi length and breadth. The difference is

Fig. \fi. — OdoUrnm romnaruH.

lieuce one of proportion, resulting from the far greater develop-
ment in both breadth and depth of the anterior portion of
the skull in the Pacitic species. IJut while the skull of the

Fig. l!). — ()tl<ih((iiiin obemiH.

Adiiiitic species is smaller anteriorly than the other, it has the
occipital regiou (Fig. ]^) is.orc heavily developed than is the
ciistf iu the I'acilic speci s (Fig. ID). The dittevence in dcvelop-
Hiciit of the n.astoid pro<',esses is strongly appare'it, not only as
lospcets nuissiveness, but iu the general outline. ^Jn thelMcitic

160

ODOB.ENUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

Ill

■I'!
i.

species there is a thiuness and anterior deflection not seen in
the other. Tlie sculpturing of the occipital plane (after allow-
ing for a considerable range of individual variation in this
respect) is quite different, as well as the relative degree of
verticality. The occipital breadth of the skull, as compared
with the total length of the skull, is not greatly different in the
two forms. In the Pacific species, the occipital condyles are
narrower than in the other, and are placed at a somewhat dif-
ferent angle, both laterally and vertically.

Fig. 20. — Odohwnua rosmarus.

The difference in relative development of the anterior and
posterior portions of the skull in the two species is best seeu
from above (Figs. 20 and 21). In this view, the narrow facial
breadth in the Atlantic species (Fig. 20) is in striking contrast
with its great occipital breadth, whereas in the Pacific species
(Fig. 21) the two regions are more equally developed. Anotlior
difference brought out in tliis view is the greater iuterorbital von-
striction in the Pacific si)0('ios, which is not only relatively but
actually much narrower than in the other, wliih; the point of

DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERS.

161

{ireatest coustriction is considerably posterior to tlie same point
in the AtJautic species.

There are also important differences in the form of the differ-
ent bones of the skull, as shown in the young. In the Pacific
species (Fig. 22), the nasals are nearly one-third longer and
narrower than in the Atlantic species (Fig. 23), and the frontals
have a quite different posterior outline, they being abruptly

Fig. 21. — Odohamia dbeaus.

nijrrowed just behind the orbital fbssfe to less than half tbe
breadth they present in the Atlantic Walrus, and extend further
posteriorly in a narrow point instead of being rather abruptly
triuioatod. In the Atlantic species, the lateral anterior angle
of the nontals is in a line with the most laterally projecting
portion of the maxillaries, Avhile in the racifi<; species the
Itreadth at this point is considerably greater than at the ante-
rior border of the frontals. While the frontals present in each
species a considerable range of variation in resi)ect to their poo-
terior outlines, the average difference is very nearly as here rep-
Misc. Pub. Ko. 12- — 11

162

ODOIiiENUS OBESUS PACIFIC WALRUS.

WW^

' ■ '•■,;-

' '■ ■ '!'•

resented. The young skulls here compared are of nearly the
same age ; but unfortunately the absence of the occipital por
tion of the skull in the only Pacific specimen of this age (Fig.
22) I am able to figure renders it Impossible to compare by fig
nres the occipital region in young specimens. Other specimens

Fig. 22. — Odobwnus obesua.

Fig. 23. — OdohmiuH rosmarus.

young enough to have the sutures still open show the differ
euces seen iu the occipital region of older skulls.

Another difference, but one apparently less constant than tlie
others, is the presence in the young skull of the Pacific Wali'ii>
(Figs. 22 and 24) of an extension posteriorly of the interniaxilla
ries for two-thirds of the length of the nasals. In the Atlantic
skull (Figs. 23 and 25), the intermaxillaries do not enter into tlie
dorsal outline of the skull, but terminate at the anterior l»i
der of the nasals. This difference is open to exceptions, and is
not offered as a character of importance, since the same modifi
cation or backward prolongation of the intermaxillaries occurs
occasionally in the i^ tlantic species, and is sometimes absent in |
the Pacific species, while in some exami)les the intermaxillaries
reach the dorsal surface only as isolated ossicles between tlie
nasals and maxillaries. As a rule, however, the conditions in |
this respect shown in the young skulls here figured appear to
be diagnostic of the two species.

DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERS.

163

A comparison of tue skulls as seen from below (Figs. 26 and
27) sliows not only che considerably greater contraction of the
skull anteriorly, and the greater massiveness and different form
of the mastoid processes in the Atlantic Walrus, but other
weighty differences. These are especially seen in the size and
fonn of the auditory buUte, and, to a less extent, in the form of
the occipital condyles, the form of the glenoid cavity, the orb-
ital fossa), etc. In the Atlantic Walrus (Fig. 26), the auditory

Fig. 24. — Odobcenus obesus.

Fig. 25. — Odohwnus ro»maru«.

bullic are relatively larger than in the other (Fig. 27), more
<iuadrilateral in outline, and rather more swolk n. The differ-
ences in size and outline arc very considerable, the auditory bullse
ill the Pai'iiic species being, as respects outline, nearly triangular.
The inner anterior angle is also strongly developed, being by
far the most imvardly salient portion of the bulhe, while in the
AtliMitic skull it is grcj'tly suppressed. As regar( Is the ojoipital
cou(lyl(»s, they are broader and sliorter in the Atlantic species,
and less produced anteriorly. The space between them is also

164

ODOlJyEMTIS OBESrS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

considerably Inoadcr tliaii in the otlicr, ami the plane of artic-
ulation is more nearly vertical. This seeius conelate with the
gi'eater incurvation of the tusks; these, being almost vertical
in the Pacitic species, allow a greater «leclination of the head.

Another ditt'erence a]>])areiit in this aspect of the skull is the
relative posterior extension of the condylar portion, which, in the
Pacific species, extends nuu;h further beyond the posterior bor-
der of the mastoids than in the other. This is obviouslj- due to
greater length of the basioccipital segment of the skull in the
Pacific species, which is clearly shown in the annexed figures

FiG-^G.— Odolcrnusrosmarus.

(Figs. 20 and 27). The position of the foramina of the basal
portion of the skiUl is ilso quite different in the two, as is
especially seen in respect to the condylar foramina, which are
situated more posteriorly in the Atlantic species than in tbo
other, due, ]»erhaps, to the shortness in this form of the basi-
occipital region.

■to

DIFFERENTIAL {'IIAHACTERS.

165

Aiiotlu'v (liftbreiicc not yet noted consists in the greater
[('ii;itli iind massiveness ol' tiie /yjioiiiatsi in the Tacific species,
II which tliey are fully oue-thinl heavier than in the Atlantic
species; they being in the former both deeper and thicker.
This is well shown in the above given figures of the skulls as
5CCI1 in prolile and from above and below, but especially as
IS seen from below.) The orbital fossa' are also quite dift'erent,
:licy being relatively long and narrow in the Paciflo, and shorter
uul broader in the Atlantic Wahois.

Fui. 27. — Dilohivinis obvHux.

To sum ui) in a word the above-detailed cranial tlifterences
between the two species of AValruses, the skuU of the Pacific
animal is heavily developed anteriorly and relatively much less
so posteriorly, while in tlie Atlantic Walrus just the reverse of
this obtains, the skull in the latter being heavily developed
posteriorly ixnd relatively less so anteriorly. The axis of vari-
ation being- at the posterior border of the orbital fossae, the

166

ODOB^NUS 0BE8U.S — PACIFIC WALRUS.

zygomata share the general character of the anterior half of the
skull.

Fig. 28. — Vdohanua rosmarua. Adult.
But equally striking differences are seen in a comparison of
the lower jaws of the two species. These differences correlate

Fni. '«i'.). — OiLbfenus ohesus. Adult,
in a most interesting manner with those that characterize the
cranium. Tims, in the Atla-itic species (Figs. 28 and 30), the

DIFrKKENTIAL CHARACTERS.

167

iiiinidiblc is far less iiiiis.sive aiitciiorly than iii the Atlantic
"Wiilrns (Fi^s. IM) ami .'U), while it is much more massive pos-
tcriuily. There is also eoiisiderahle <lifference in the mandibles
of tilt' two ill otliei- respects. Thus, not only is the mandible
of tlie racilic AValrus much thicker, both laterally and ver-
tically, at the symphysis, but the border of the ramus is widely
unlike in the two fin-ms. In the Atlantic Walrus (Fig. 30), the

Fia. 30. — Odohosnua rosmarus. Adult.

inferior border of the ramus, from the posterior end of the sym-
physis to the front of the jaw, rises by a gradual and nearly
uniform curve ; in the Paciflc Walrus (Fig. 31), the inferior bor-
der scarcely rises at all, the jaw in front being simply bluntly
rounded. In respect to the posterior portion of the ramus, the
differences consist in the greater breadth of the condylar por-
tion in the Atlantic specie?^ and the greater thickness of the

Fig. 31. — Odobcenua ohems. Adult.

coronoid process. These differences are all strongly i)ro-
nounced in even quite young skulls, this being especially the
case with respect to the inferior border of the symphysial por-
tion of the jaw (Figs. 32 and 34). Another difference consists
in the position^ of the coronoid process, which in the Paciflc
Walrus, especially in the young, is cexit) j'I to the axis of the
ramus, while in the Atlantic species it rises more from the inner

ICS

ODOHiENUS OnESUS — I'ACIFIC WAI.RU8.

■! <■£«

edge, and the process itnelt' has an iiiwanl (juivatnre not seen
in the other (Fij;s. .'53 and 35).

The eranial ditl'erences here detailed as obtaining; between

the Athmtie and I'aeilie
Wahnises are btu'ne out by
a hirge series of the skulls of
the two species, juimberiug
uot less than twelve to fifteen
of each. There is in each spe-
cies a considerable range of
individual variation; but the
differences jiresented by the
skulls here figured fairly rep-
resent average conditions.
The only exception to be
made is in respect to the
tusks of the Pacific apeci-
Fio. 32.— OrfoftcPHHs 7-o8maru8. Young, nieu figured, which are per-
haps above the average in size, while they are remarkably di-
vergent, more so than in any other specimen of this species
that I have seen. Ordinarily, or as a rule, they are more or

less convergent, and some-
tim«?s even meet or overlap,
while in the Atlantic species
they are, as a rule, (7tvergeut,
While in the Pacific species
the tusks descend almost ver-
tically^ in the Atlantic spe-
cies they are quite uniformly
strongly incurved.

In view of the differences
in the skulls here described,
together with the correlating
differences of facial expres-
sion, notwithstanding the ab-
Fig. 33.—odobcBmt8 obeaus. Young, senco of other very strongly
marked external differences, I have little hesitation in accord-
ing to these two forms specific rank. Added to these differ-
ences is the fact of their unquestionably long geographic
separation. Whether an individual of one jpecies may not oc-
casionally find its way to the habitat of the otter is a question
for future consideration. That such an occurrence is not impos-

1 >l ri-KUKX TI A L ( 1 1 A MM TEU'S.

I(i9

sililc serins ovidcnl iVoiii tlic tact cil' the «'\islc'iu'(', (luiiii;;' \un-
lions of the year at least, of areas of open water alon;;' those
|i(>rtioiis (»f the Aretie eoast supposed to separate the haltitats
111' ihe two species. Further fiiau tliis, I luive seen a skull (now
ill the 3Inseum of the Boston Society of Natural History) which
L'apt. Charles Hryaiit (certainly a trustworthy authority)
issiu'cs me was taken by his assistant, on Wali'us Islaud, in
the suminer of 1871 or 1872, that agrees in every particular
rtitli the skulls of the Atlan-
tic species. This skull hav-
iiif;' been somewhat fantas-
tically painted (the lower
surface deep red and tlie
upper yellowish-white), led
QIC at iirst to doubt the cor-
rectuess of the alleged local- FiO- ^i.—Odohamus ronmarun. Youug.
ity. su])posing that if really obtained at the Prybilov Islands
it lai^iht have been brought there from some distant point.
This quaint ornamentation proves, however, an aid in fixing
the locality of its capture as Walrus Island. It differing so
widely from the form usually occurring in those waters, it at
once attracted attention, and was mounted on a bracket and
preserved as a curiosity, the paint being applied, as Captain
Bryant inforius me, to facilitate its being kept free of dust!
Cai)tain Bryant states (in a letter to the Avriter) that he has
hinist'lf "seen two specimens like it," but adds that he "did not
succeed in killing them." Hence, of course, their resemblance
to the one now in question is
ouly presumed, the animals
being only seen alive. He
Aviites, further, that this
"head" was recognized as
"different from any before
seen there." I will merely add

that this skull is indistin- ^^*^- '^^^•—Odohamua obesus. Young,
giiisliable in any essential detail from skidls of corresponding
age from the Atlantic waters, and points to the occasional oc-
currence of Odobwnus rosmarus within the habitat of Odohcvnm
ok'niis. As von Middendorft" has showai (see iintea, p. 78), the
Ti alrus (presumably" the Atlantic species) has occurred much
further to the eastward than the limits assigned it by von Baer,
lie having traced it, satisfactorily to himself, api)arentl.y, to

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170

ODOB^NUS OIJESrS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

witliin thiity (lf,'noos of the western limit of the range of tlie
Pacific animal. Ii vicAv of these facts, the question arises ns
to "whether the Atlantic species may not occasionally pass aloiiji'
the northern coast of Asia so far as to sometimes reach tlit'
habitat of the Pacific species.

Nomenclature. — The first specific mime applied to the Ta-
ciflc Walrus is ohisufi, given by Illiger in 1815, in his " Uebei-
blick tier Saugethiere nach ihrer Vertheilung iiber die AVelt-
theile."* In this paper this name is three times used as a dis-
tinctive appellation for the Pacific Walrus, namely, (1) in his
list of the species of Northern Asia, in which " Triclteehus ros-
inarus^^ and " Trichcchus ohesus^' are both given; (2) in his list
of the species of North America ; and (3) in his remarks respect-
ing the first-named list. In these remarks (1. c, p. 75) he says,
" Die beiden Arten des Wallrosses, Trichcchm ohesus uud [T.]
Eosmarus, sind schon bei Nord-Asien vorgekommen." For Eu-
rope he gives only T. rosmariis (I. c, p. 5G), respecting the dis-
tribution of which he says, " Der Trichechus Eosmarus, das Wiill-
ross, lebt an den eisigen Kiisten von Nord-Europa, Nord-Asieu.
und des ostlichen Nord- America " (1. c, p. 61). It is thus not
quite clear whether he considered his T. rosmarus to have u
complete circumpolar range, with T. ohesus as a second species
occurring only on the northeastern shores of Asia and the north
western shores of North America, or whether, as is more probable,
hemerely meant that T. rosmarus ranged eastward along the Arc-
tic coast of the Old World to the northern shore of Western Asia
(as is the fa<;t), and was replaced on the Pacific shors^s of Asia and
America by T. ohestis. In cither case he I'ccogiiized as a distinct
species, under the name T. obesus, the Walrus of the North Pa-
cific and adjacent portions of the Arctic Ocean. In the same
paper is also a reference to a Trichechus " lUvergens,'" respctiiig
which he thus observes : "Auser dem schon bei Europa erwiilin-
ten Wallross, Trichechus Eosmarus, flndec sich an der westUclien
Nord-Amerkanischen und nahen Oat-Asiatischen Kiiste, uikI
dem Else dieser Meere, vielleicht aber auch an der ganzen Iviiste
des Eismeers das von Cook beschriebene und abgebildete Wall-
ross, das ich wegen mehrerer Verschiedenheiten, besonders <ler
Hauziihne, als eigne Art. unter dem Namen divcrf/ens aufjic
fiihrt habe " (1. c, ]>. (>.S). lie thus, in the same paper, appears to
recognize two species of Pacific Walruses. The name din'rueim.

' * Al)liaii<l. ik'i- Akad. ilci

70, o.

\ViMscii«ch. /ii Hcrliu

1804-1811, (1H15), lil'.^4.

NOMENCLATURE AND HISTORY.

171

lioAvever, does not again occur, so far as I can find, either in
this paper or in any of the writings of this author. The name
vhcsKs has several pages priority over divcrgcns, and must hence
be adopted for the Pacific Wabus.

The next names applied to the Walruses are those used by
Froniery, who, in 1831, recognized three species, namely, Triclie-
elms rosmarus, T. longidcns, and T. cooki. The first is the com-
mon Walrus of the North Atlantic. The second was founded
on a skull with long, slender, and somew hat converging tusks,
tlie locality of which is not stated, but the species is usually
considered as based on the skull of a female Atlantic Walrus.
The third is obviously the Walrus described and figured by Cap-
tain Cook. The latter is hence synonymous with obesm (and
lUvergens) of lUiger. The second (longidens) has generally been,
as just stated, considered as based on a female skull of the
common Atlantic Walrus.

In 1842, Stannius, while referring all the previously given
names to one species, characterized what he believed to be a
second species, under the name duMus, based on a large skull
presenting unusual features of individual variation. I do not
find that the locality of this specimen is distinctly given, but
von Middendorflf appears to consider Stannius's T. dubins to
have reference to the Pacific Walrus.*

In 186G, Gill, in adopting Bosmarus as the generic name of
the Walruses, took lUiger's name obesus for the specific name of
the single species he (Gill) at that time recognized. Later (as
already noticed, see antea^ p. 22), in naming the two presumed
species of Walruses, Gill chose obesus as the name of the Atlantic
species, and took cooJcii of Fremery for the Pacific species, over-
looking the fact that ohesm was originally applied to the Pacific
species, in obvious allusion to its supposed more robust or
thicker form as compared with the Atlantic Walrus.

History. — ^The Pacific Walrus appears to have received its first
introduction into literature through the early exploration of the

* Von Middendorflf says: "Ersteror verglich [he refers at this point iu a.
footnote to Stanniiis's paper] Schiidel nnd Gehisse der WalroHse unter einau-
•Icr nnd fand die Hauer bei don Walrossen der Beringsstrasso etwas liinger,
iliiimcr und gelinde spiralig gegon einandcr gckriimmt, ini Vergleiche mit
(lenen des atlantischen Eismeeres. Seine eigenen schliesslichen Zweifel
Hl»ri(lit ahev der vorgesehlageuc Name, Tricheehm dtthius, dentlich geuug
ails." — Sihirhchc lieUc, lUl. iv, p. 792. I do not nnderstand, however, that
Stiuniius's T. ffu/oHP had Hiiy reference to eitlier these characters or to tlie
I'acilie Walrnses. (Compare Stanuius's iiaper in Milller's Areli. fiir Aiiat.,
IS^, pp. ;U)2, 405-407).

172

ODOlJvENUS OliESUS PACIFIC WALRUS.

easteru portion of the Arctic coast of Asia, about the middle of tlie
seventeeutli century, by the Cossack adventurer Staduchin, who
found (about 1015 to 1018) its tusks on tlie Tschuktschi coast,
near the mouth of the Kolyma Eiver. A century later Deschnew
found also large quantities of Walrus teeth on the Siind-bars at
the mouth of the Anadyr. These exjilorations, so interesting
geographically', appear not to have been known in Moscow till
Miiller, in 1735, discovered the reports of them at Jakutsk which
he published in his "Sammlung russischer Geschichte." *
Hence not until the last half of the eighteenth century did the
Paeiflc Walrus become fairly known, mainly through the exi)lora-
tions of Steller, Kraschininnikoff, Coo ^ Kotzebue, Liitke, Bil-
lings, Pallas, and others, each of whom n ferred to or gave
more or less full accounts of it. The Paeiflc Walrus was first
figured in Cook's "Last Voyage," and subsequently by Pallas.
Later it was noticed by Wrangell on the Tschutkchi coast and
by Beechey in Behring's Straits and the neighboring waters.
More recently we have notices of it by Dall, Scammon, and
Elliott, the two last-named authors giving us by far the most
detailed account of these animals which has, to my knowledge,
thus far ai)peared, and from whose writings I have freely bor-
rowed in the preparation of the following pages.

Figures. — The first figures of the Pacific Walms appear to
be those published in Cook's "Last Voyage,"! in 1784, when a
group of Walruses is represented as resting on the ice. The
more prominent of these figures was copied by Shawf in 1800,
and later by Godman§ and others. It was also reproduced by
Gray in 1853, || and is here republished (Fig. 36).

According to von Baer, Pallas, in his "Icones,"^] gave two
illustrations of the Walrus. The one, he says, shows the animal
from the side, the other as lying on its back. Von Baer describes
these as being far better than any figures of the Walrus that
had preceded them, with the exception of Gerard's (1612), al-
ready described. The structure "^f the hind feet, he says, is well
represented, except that the nans on all the feet are too long.

* For this history in {fioatcr detail, sec von Baer, 1. c, pp. 175-177.

t Voyage to the Pacific Ocoaii, etc., under the direction of Captains Cook,
Clerke, and Gore, in tlie years 17()G-1780, vol. ii, pi. Hi.

t General Zool., vol. i, 1600, pi. ixviii, facing p. 234. Also Nat. Miscel.,
pi. Ixxvi.

vSAiner. Nat. Hist., vol. i, 165)0, pi.

II Proe. Zoiil. Sor. Lond., IH.",;!, jt. IKi.

•I ''Icones ad Pallasii Zoogri'phiam, fase. ii."

FIGURES.

173

The fore foot, however, he says, is wrongly represented. Von
Daer critic es the form of the nose, the front part of which he
says is too prominent, and lias the angles or wings (Nasenfliigel)
too distinct, and adds that the coloring is also faulty. But von
Baer's comparison is made with the young specimen of the At-

lantic Walrus he observed in St. Petersburg, aid perhaps indi-
cates the difterences between the two species, rather than any
incorrectness in Talhis's drawings. Von Baer also refers to the
lijtures in Cook's "Last Voyage" as behig somewhat exagger-

174

ODOBiENUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

ated in regard to the pliunp or robust form of the animal, unless,
as he says, the Eastern (or Pacific) Walruses are fatter than the
Western ones. Pallas, in his "Zoographia Bosso-Asiatica,"
cites "tab. xxviii. et xxix." of his accompanying "Icones," but
the only copy of the "Icones" I have seen contains only one
plate, marked as referring to page 269 of his "Zoographia"
(the plates are not numbered), where the Walrus is described.
This is a most indifferent and badly colored figure of an appar-
ently not half-grown animal, in which the tusks are quite short,
the mystacial bristles long and thick, the hind feet extended
backward, the tail distinct and prominent, as well as the thighs
and shoulders, and all the toes of both the fore and hind limbs
are provided with long, conspicuous nails.

The next illustration of the Pacific Walrus appears to have
been published by Mr. H. W. EUiott* in 1873. This is the result
of a careful study of the animals from lifet (on Walrus Island,
Alaska, in July, 1872), by an artist not only qualified to do jus-
tice to the subject from an artistic point of view, but who brings
to his work the trained eye of a naturalist. This illustration
represents a group of some t^n or more old males quietly repos-
ing on the rocks in a variety of postures. The figures in the
foreground are expressive and detailed, and alibrd i far the
best representations of an adult Walrus yet extant. The edi-
tion of the work embraced onlj* one hundred and twenty -five
copies, and can hence, unfortunately, have but a very limited
circulation. Two of the figures seen in the foreground, how-
ever, liave been reproduced by ScammonJ from Mr. Elliott's
drawings, and give a good idea of the form of these nuAneldy
creatures.

I can refer with certainty to no heretofore-published figures
of the skull or general anatomy, but some of the representations
of tlie skull already mentioned in the account of the figures of
the Atlantic species may i)ossibly represent this species.

Geographical Distribution.— The habitat of the Pacific
Walrus embraces a much smaller extent of coast and a mucli
narrower breadth of both latitude and longitude than the Atlan-
tic species. It is confined on the one hand to a comparatively
small stretch of the northern and eastern coasts of Jxsia, and to

* Report on the Prybilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Al.aska (plates not num-
bered and text unpaged). Wasliingtoji, 187.3.
tSee beyond, p. 179.
t Marine ^lammals of the Northwest Coast of North. America, 1874, p. 17".

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

175

ji still smaller i)ortioii of the opposite American coast. To the
westwanl the Walrus appears not to have been traced beyond
Ciip<' Sc'lielatskoi (157° 30' east longitude), and to have occurred
in large herds only as far west as Koljutschin Island (185° east
longitude). These herds are reported as composed almost solely
of males, the females rarely passing beyond the mouth of the
Koljina Eiver.* Wrangell, who passed two winters at the
mouth of the Kolyma Eiver, asberts confidently that the Wal-
rus of Behring's Straits were abundant at Cape Jakan (176° 3(y
east longitude), but only once reached Cape Schelatskoi, while
he found them numerous at Koljutschin Island. Thence east-
ward they form the chief subsistence of the Tschutschi.t

On the eastern coast of Asia, Steller (according to von Baer)
reports that as early as 1742 none were killed by the Eussians
south of Karaginskoi Island in latitude 60°. He reports, how-
ever, finding one on the southern point of Kamtschatka, but von
Baer questions whether in this isolated instance of its supposed
occurrence so far south there may not be some mistake, and
that the animal was really a large Seal or a Sea-cow {Ehyti)ia).X
Kiasliinuinikow states that in his day they were confined to the
iioithern se.as. He says, "On voit peu de chevaux marins dans
les environs de Kamtschatla, on si I'on en trouve, ce n'est que
tliiiis les mers qui sont au nord. On en prend beaueoup plus
pii's du cap Tchukotskoi, oil ils y sont plus gros & plus nombreux
(lue par tout ailleurs".§ Liitke found a dead one as far south
iis Karaginskoi Ostrow (latitude 58°). || Higher up the coast
from Capo Thaddeus northward and westward, the;^ wv.a met
with in great numbers by the early Russian explorer j. In the
Arctic Sea north of Behring's Straits they have been met with
iihnndantly as far north as ships have penetrated, their north-
ward range being only limited by the unbroken ice sheet.

On the American coast they have been traced eastward only
as far as Point Barrow, v^here they were observed by Beech '^y

* Si'o von Middondorff, Sil irisclio Reisc, Bd. iv, p. 936, footnote.

t "Anf der Inscl Koliutschin -werdon niancLnial oine grosso Meuge Wall-
losso crlogt, indcni die Eingeboruen sic, wenn sic ana dem Mcoro auf das Ufor
stcigcn, pliitzlich Uberfallcn, ihnen den Riickweg ins Wasser absclinoiden
mill mit Peitschcn und Stocken weitcr liiuanl'treibcu, wo sio sio dann mit
Iticlitcv Miilio erlegen. — DasWallross ist dem sitzendenTscliuklsclion, weun
iUKli niclit 80 r.Miuittolbar, doch fast ebon so aligemoiu niitzlicU, als dcni
Xoniaden das Renntbier." — Xordkiiste von Sibirien, vol. ii, 1839, pp. 224, 225.

tSoc von Baer, 1. e., p. 183.

vvllist. de Kamtsch., etc., a,s translated by "M. E. . . ." (Eidona), torn. 1,
lT(ir, J). 283.

II Voyage antour du Monde, toni. 11, !>. 178.

176

ODOIJ^NUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

in 1823. Cook, in 1799, found tliem nuinerons in the neighbor-
hood of Icy Cape. They were also met with by lieeehey on
Diomede and Saint Lawrence Ishinds* and on other i.shmds
more to the soutliward.* Liitke found great herds at Saint
Mathew's Island, in latitude (JOo,t where their teeth were seen
later by BMlings-f They formerly resorted in summer in large
numbers to Saint Paul's and Saint George's Islands, Avhere, ac-
cording to Sarytschew, 28,000 pounds of their teeth were ob-
tained in a single year. They still resort, in small numbers, to a
neighboring islet (Walrus Island), and even to the easternmost of
the Aleutian chain, as will be presently more fully noted. For-
merly they were also abundant on Nunivak Island, situated to
the eastward of Mathew's Island, and not far from the Alaskan
coast.

On the coast of the mainland they have been met with in
great herds at different times in Kotzebue and Norton Sounds
and in Bristol Bay. Captain Cook appears not to have ob-
served them south of latitude 58° 42', at which point he found
them in Bristol Bay, as well as more to the northward.§ There
appears to be no certain proof that they were in early times ever
met with on the outermost of the Aleutian Islands, || and no
early reference to their occurrence anywhere south of Bristol
Bay and the Prybilov Islands. Brown, however, as late as
1868, says: "On the northwest coast of America I have known
it to come as far south as 50° north latitude.''^] Of this I can
find only a partial confirmation, and think that possibly there is
a mistake in respect to the latitude here given.** Elliott says,

* Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific ami BcLringV f*traits, vol. ii, p. 'J71,

t Voyage autour du Monde, torn, ii, p. 176.

t Sauer's Account of Billings' Expcd. to the North Parts of Russia, p. 2'i'>,

$ Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, etc., vol. i, i)p. 43n, 455, 457; vol. ii,»l»p.
245, 248, 249, 259.

II On this point, see vou Baer, 1. c, i». 182.

U Proc. ZoiJl. Soc. Loud., 18(W, p. 4'.52.

**Mr. Brown further states in'the same connection that "It [the Walrus]
is found all along the circumpolar shores of Asia, America and Europe," and that
"Jt is not unlikely that it may cren be found in the Antarctic regions" ! L. c, p.
432. This idea I liave not seen elsewhere revived since tlie early part of the
present century. (On this point see vou Baer, 1. c, p. 173, and footnoti'.)
Dr. Gray refers to the reported occurrence by Bouelli of "Sea Horses" on
the Island of Saint Lorenzo, Callao. As this author describes "the two
great white tusks projecting from the mouth on either side," and further
says that "the tusks are of great value and form an important article of
commerce," Dr. Gra.V concludes these remarks "cannot apply to the tusks
of the Sea Bear"; but ho adds tliat he had "never heard of the genus Trichc-

ill

.jaiuiL iJLJU.il

OEOORAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

177

AVI it ill}? in 1874, tluit "not more tban tliirty or thirty-fivo years
iif^o small numbers of these animals were killed now and then
on islands between Kodiak and Oonemak Pass" (hit. 55° to 57°).
lb' adds none "arc now found south of the Aleutian Islands."*

Kespectinfj their present €listribution, Captain Scammon, writ-
iiif; in 1S74, from personal observation, says: "Great numbers
of Walruses are found where the waters of the Arctie Sea unite
with those of Behring Straits, and also in Behriug Sea, and
that innumerable herds still resort in the summer months to dif-
ferent points on the southern or central coasts of Alaska, par-
ticularly at Amak Island and Point MoUer, on the northern
shore of the Alaskan peninsula. Within the last ten years many
of these animals have been destroyed by the whalers, both in
the Arctic and Behinng Seas."t

According to Mr. Elliott, the Walruses are now to be seen
in the Prybilov Islands only on Walrus Island,^ they being
so shy and timid that thej' deserted the other islands as they
became poi)ulated by man. In early days, or when the Rus-
sians first took possession, a great many Walruses were found
at Northeast Point, and along the south shore of Saint Paul's
Island, but with the landing of the traders and seal-hunters
the Walruses abruptly took their departure, and Walrus Island
alone is now frequented by them, being isolated and seldom
visited during the year by tne natives. He adds that they
are now most numerous, outside of the Arctic circle, in Bristol
Bay, where "great numbers congregate on the sandy bars and
flats, and Avhere they are hunted to a considerable extent for
their ivory ."§

They are now far less numerous than formerly, having greatly
decreased in numbers within the last fifty years. So numerous
were they in Behring's Straits about 1821, that a Eussian writer

elms living out of tho Arctic Ocean, and should have believed that he [Bo-
nolli] had uiistakcn the Sea Bear {Otaria leonina) for the Sea Horse," if he
biid not so particularly described the tusks. — Cat. Seals and Wlialea, p. 37.
Tile reference by Bonclli to the great white tusks of the " Sea Horses" relates,
in all probability, to tho large canines of the Sea Elephant, which were for-
merly eniiiloyed for a variety of uses.

'Condition if Affairs in Alaska, p. 1G4, footnote.

♦ Marine Mammalia, p. 180.

t A low rocky island, about half a mile long by one-eighth of a mile in
lireadtli, situated a few miles to tho southeastward of tho eastern end of
Saint Paul's Island.

H'ondilion of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 161, 164.
>Iisc. Pub. No. 12 12

178

ODOBJENUS OBESUS — PACIFIC WALRUS.

i^f!

reports meeting with herds there embraciug thousands, and
even hundreds of thousands, of individuals.*

During recent years, in addition to the number killed by the
natives, the whalers are said to have destroyed as many as 12,000
annually, so reducing their numbers that the natives have be-
come anxious lest they shall soon lose this source of subsist-
ence, upon which they are so dependent.

Habits, Food, Commercial Products, and the Chase.—
The Pacific Walrus appears to agree quite nearly in habits ^v itli
its closely allied congener of the Atlantic waters. It has tlie
same gregarious propensity, the same intense affection for its
young, the same strong sympathy for a distressed comrade,
lives upon similar food, and is limited in its distribution by
about the same isotherms. Its leading characteristics were
concisely stated nearly a century since by Captain Cook in the
following words :

" They lie, in herds of many hundreds, upon the ice ; hud-
dling one over the other like swine ; and roar or bray very loud ; so
that, in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice of
the vicinity of the ice, before we could see it! We never fouud
the whole herd asleep ; some being always on the watch. These,
on the approach of the boat, would wake those next to them ;
and the alarm being thus gradually communicated, the whole
herd would be awake presently. But they were seldom iii a
hurry to get away, till after they had been once fired at. Tlieu
they would tumble one over the other, into tlie sea, in the utmost
confusion. And, if we did not, az the first discharge, kill those
we fired at, we generally lost them, though mortally wounded.
They did not appear to be that dangerous animal some autliors
havo described ; not even when attacked. They are rather more
so, to appearance, than in reality. Vast numbers of them would
follow, and come close up to the boats. But the flash of a iiius-
quet in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one at them, would
send them down in an instant. The female will defend the
young one to the very last, and at the expense of her own life.
whether in the water or upon the ice. Nor will the youny one

* Von MiddendorfF says, " Taasende ja Hunderttansende im lebensfiisclie-
reu Berings-Eismeere," and cites as authority a Russian writer named
HUlsen. Von Middendorff continues, " Jm Jahre 1821 Uber Bah er [Hiilsen]
dort im Dezember Tausende, zu Ende des Juni Hunderttansende von Wal-
Tossen zugleich,welche die Luft mit ihrem Stuhnen erfiillten und von dcneu
einige, fnichtlos kratzond, sinTi bemiihten an den Schiffswandungeu ompor-
zuklimmen." — Sibiriacke Beiae, Bii. iv, p. 913, and footnote.

iiii:

HABITS.

179

quit the dam, though she be dead ; so ;'iat, if you kill one, you
arc sure of tlie other. The dnni, whou iu the water, liolds the
young one between her fore fins."*

In Captain King's continuation of the narrative of Cook's
last voyage, reference is made to a "Sea Horse" hunt. "Our
])e(»i)k'," says the account, " were more successful than they
had been before, returning with three large ones, and a joung
one, besides killing and Avounding several others. The gentle-
inou who went on this party were witnesses of several remark-
able instances of parental affection in those animals. On the
approach of our boats toward the ice, they all took their cubs
under their fins and endeavored to escape with them into the
sea. Several, whose young were killed or wounded and left
floating on the surface, rose again and carried them down. Some-
times just as our people were going to take them up into the
boat, and might be traced bearing them to a great distance
tluough the water, which was colored with their blood. We
afterward observed them bringing them, at times, above the
surface, as if for air, and again diving under it with a dreadful
behowing. The female, in particular, whose young had been
ileslioyed and taken into the boat, became so enraged that
she attacked the cutter and struck her two tusks through the
bottom of it."t

Tlie accounts given by subsequent observers confirm the
general truthfulnt ss of this brief but comprehensive sketch,
and supply some further details respecting its interesting his-
tory. Mr. II. W. Elliott, recently an agent in the employ of
the Treasury Department of the United States Government,
stationed at the Prybilov Islands, has made these animals a
special study, under opportunities unusually favorable for
observation. On Walrus Island, well known as being still a
favorite resort for a large herd of old males, he was able to ap-
proach within a few yards of a herd of several hundred old
bulls, which lay closely packed upon a series of low basaltic
tables, elevated but little above the wash of the surf. Here he
studied and painted them from life,f seated upon a rocky ledge
a few feet distant from and above them. He describes these
scarred, wrinkled, and almost naked old veterans as of by no
means prepossessing appearance. He says they are sluggish

* Cook's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, etc., vol. ii, p. 458.
tibid., vol. iii, p. 248.
t See anteh, p. 174.

180

ODOU^NUy 0UE.SU8 — PACIFIC WALRUS.

and chiinsy in the wutor siiul almost helpless on land, their im-
mense bulk and weif^ht, in comparison with the size and strength
of their lin)bs, ri'ndering them qnite impotent for terrestrial
movement. " Like the seal, it swims entirely under water when
traveling, not rising, however, quite so frequently to breathe;
then it 'blows' not nnlike a whale. On a cool, quiet May
morning, I watched a herd off the east coast o*" the island,
tracing its progress by the tiny jets of vapor thrown off as tli«j
animals rose to respire.

" In lauding and climbing over the low rocky shelves," he
continues, " this animal is almost as clumsy and indolent as
the sloth ; they crowd up from the water, one after the otht^r,
in the most ungainly manner, accompanying their movements
with low grunts and bellowings ; the first one up from the sea
no sorner gets composed upon the rocks for sleep than the sec-
ond one comes i)rodding and poking with its blunt tusks, de-
manding room also, and causing the first to change its position
to another still tiirther off from the water ; and the second is
in turn treated in the same way by t) third, and so on, until
hundreds will be i)aeked together on che shore as thickly as
they can lie, frecpiently i)illowing their heads or posteriors upon
the bodies of one another, and not at all quarrelsome ; as they
pass all the time when on land in sluggish basking or deep
sleep, they seem to resort to a very irregular method of keep-
ing guard, if I may so term it, for in this herd of three or fonr
hundred bulls under my eye, though all were sleeping, yet the
movement of one would disturb the other, which would raise
its head in a stupid manner, grunt once or twice, and before
lying down to sleep again, in a few moments, it would strike
the slumbering form of its nearest companion with its tusks,
causing that animal to rouse up for a few minutes also, grunt
and pass the blow on to the next in the same manner, and so
on, through the whole herd; this disturbance among then Ives
always kept some one or two aroused, and consequently more
alert than the rest.

" In moving on land they have no power in the hind limbs,
which are dragged and twitched up behind; progression is
slowly and tediously matle by a succession of short steps for-
ward on thfe fore feet. How long they remain out from the
water at any one time I am unable to say. Unlike the seals,
they breathe heavily and snore.

" The natives told me the walrus of Bering Sea is monoga-

wammmm

IIAUriS — FOOD.

181

iiious, iind that the <litl'oiviice iM'twoeii tlio sexes in size, eolor,
iuid sh!i])e is ineonsiderable ; tliat the fen lah' lnin<''s forth her
vdunjj, a sinj;le calf, in Jnne, nsnally on the iee-fh)e8 in the
Antic Ocean, above liering' Straits ; tliat the calf closely resem-
bles the ])arent in {general proportions and coh)r, bnt that the
tusks Avhich give it its most distinguishing- expression are not
visible until the end of the second year of its lite ; that the
walrus mother is strongly attached to her offspring, and nurses
it later in the season in the sea ; that the walrus sleeps pro-
foundly in the water, floating almost vertically, with barely more
than the nostrils above water, and can be easily approached, if
care be taken, to within easy spearing distance ; that the bulls
do not tight as savagely as the fur-seal or sea-lion, the blunted
tusks of the combatants seldom penetrate the thick hide ;• that
they can remain under water nearly an hour, or twice as long as
tho seals, and that they sink like so many stones immediately
after being shot."

jMr. Elliott adds : " As the females never come down to the
Prybilov Islands, 1 have never had an opportunity of observing
thoni. . . . The reason why this band of males, many of
tliem old ones, should be here by themselves .ill through the
year is not plain to me ; the natives assure me that the females,
or their young, never have been seen around the shores of these
islands. Over in Bristol Bay great numbers of walrus con-
g;rcgaie on the sandy bars and flats, where they are hunted
to a considerable extent for their ivory." On Walrus Island,
however, they are said to be comparatively unmolested, the
natives here " not making any use of their flesh, fat, or hides."
They are hence shot here only by the natives of Saint Paul's
Island, who visit Walrus Island for the purpose of getting eggs,
iu June and July, when they often shoot the Walruses wan-
tonly .t Their comparative imraimity here from persecution is
lionce apparently the reason why they select this island as one
of their favorite reposing grounds.

Their food is described by Mr. Elliott as consisting exclu-
sively of shell-fish (principally clams), " and the bulbous roots of
certain marine grasses and plants, which grow in great abun-
tlance iu the broad, shallow lagoons and bays of the mainland

* Tliiit their blows are at times not lacking in force is sufficiently proven
l^y tlio too well-known fact of their striking them through the planking of
a ship's boat.

t Condition of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 160-1G4.

182

ODOB^NUS OBESUS rACIFIC WALRUS.

coast. I have taken from the paunch of a walrus," he adds,
"over a bushel of crushed dams, shells and all, which the ammal
had but I'eccntly swiillowed, since digestion had scarcely com-
menced. j\rany of the clams in the stomach were not even
broken ;* and it is in digging these shell-fish that the service
rendered by the enormous tusks becomes evident."t Mr. ^V.
n. Ball also says, "They feed principally upon shell-fish which
they swallow whole, and the shells, which remain after they
have digested the contents, are found in large numbers about
the localities they frequent."|

Among the enemies of the Pacific Walrus are not only to be
reckoned man, both savage and civilized, but also the Polar
Bear and the Orca or " Killer," while, like the Atlantic species,
it is said to by gTeatly infested with parasites. According to
Captain Scammon, the Polar Bear, when meeting Avith a herd
in its prowlings, " selects and seizes one of the smallest indi-
viduals with his capacious jaws, and the resisting struggles of
the poor victim to free itself are quickly suppressed by repeated
blows with Bruin's paws, which cause almost instant death.
The murderous beast then quickly tears the skin from the body
by means of his long, sharp claws, when the remains are de-
voured." That carnivorous Cetacean, the Orca, he continues,
" also watches for the young cubs' of the Walrus, and if there
is floating ice at hand, the mother with lier charge clambers
upon it to avoid the pursuer ; if this fails, however, the cub will
mount the mother's back as the only place of refuge. But the
Killer is rarely baffled in obtaining the object it seeks by this
mode of the mother's protection, for the pursuing animal dives
deeply, and then comes head up under the old Walrus, Anth
such force as to throw the cub from the dam's back into the
water, when it is instantly seized and swallowed by its adver-
sary. Instances have been known, however, when the Orca
has paid dearly for its murderous temerity, as the enraged
Walrus, when bereft of her young, will sometimes strike her
tusks into her foe with such eft'ect as to cause a mortal wound
or instant death."§

Captain Scammon says the period of gestation is " about iiiue

* Conipiiro on this poi.it Maliiigrou's .stutemrut that the Atlantic Walrus
rejecta the shells, swallowing only tlic soft parts. See anted, p. 13G.
tC<Hi(lition of Affairs in Alaslca, p. 162.
t Alnslcii and its Resonrces, 1H70, p. 504.
^^ Murine Munnnalia, pp. 180, 181.

AFFIX'TION.

183

iiioiitlis," and that both sexes and the yonug arc often foimd in
(OiiiiKiny. lie adds tluit the paring season occurs during the
••Iitst of the spring months or the first of sununer." His gen-
ciiil iu'count of their habits is (piito in liarmony with the early
account given by Cook. " The mother and her offspring,'" ke
says, '' iiiauifest a stronger nuitual affection than we have ob-
sci'\ cd iu any otlier of the marine mammals ; the cub seeks her
protection, clinging to lier bade whenever there is cause for
alarm, and she will at all times place herself between the foe
and her helpless charge; frequently has she been known to
clasp to her breast the terrified little one, embracing it with her
fore flippers, while receiving mortal wounds fi'om the whale-
man's lance." Captain Scammon further states, iu respect to the
affection of the young for its mother, on the authority of Capt.
T. W. Williams, an experienced and observing whaling master,
that " a female was captured two miles from the ship and the
young cub kept close to the boats that were towing its dead
mother to the vessel ; and when arrived, made every effort to
follow her as she was being hoisted on board. A rope with a
bowline was easily thrown over it, and the bereaved creature
taken on deck, when it instantly mounted its mother's back and
there clung with mournful solicitude, until forced by the sailors
to again retiu-n to the sea ; but even then it remained in the
vicinity of the ship, bemoaning the loss of its parent by utter-
ing distressful cries." "A male, and a female with her cub,"
continues our author, " are often seen together ; yet herds of
old and young, of both sexes, are met with, both iu the water
and upon the ice. When undisturbed they are quite inoffensive,
but if hotly pursued they make a fierce resistance ; their mode of
attack is by hooking their tusks over the gunwales of the boat,
which may overturn them, or they strike a blow through the
planking, which has repeatedly been the means of staving and
sinking them."*

The commercial products of the Pacific Walrus are, as in the
case of the other species, its tusks, oil, and hide. They are, fur-
thermore, to the Tschuktschi what the Greenland Walrus is to
the Esquimaux, their most important source of food, utensils,
and means of commercial interchange. Cook, Wrangell, and
nnmerous other explorers of the Arctic waters beyond Behring's
Straits, unite in the testimony that they form the chief means of
support of the coast tribes. Tp quote the words of a recent

* Murine Mnininalia, p. 17d.

184

ODOBiENl'S OBESUS PACIFIC WALRUS.

writer, their "flesh supplies them with food; the ivory tusks
are made into implements used in the chase, and for other do-
mestic purposes, as well as affording n valuable article jf barter;
and the skin furnishes the materif' for covering their summer
habitations, planking for their baid irras, harness for their dog-
teams, and lines for their fishing-gear."*

According to Wrangell, "the Walrus is almost as useful to
the settled as the Reindeer is to the nomad Tschuktschi. The
flesh and the blubber are both used as food, and the latter for
their lamps ; the skin is made into durable thongs for harness
and other purposes, and into strong soles for boots ; the intes-
tines furnish a material for light water-proof upper garments
for summer use; a very durable threa<l is prepared from the
sinews ; and, lastly, the tusks, which are of the finest ivory, are
sometimes formed into long narrow drinking vessels, such as
takes a long time to hollow out, but are more frequently sold to
the Reindeer Tschuktschi, who dispose of them to the Rus-
sians."t

As already incidentally noted in the foregoing pages, their
tusks have been an important article of traflflc from the earliest
times to which the history of this region extends, and the source
of this valuable commodity was the "Eldorado" of the Russiau
adventurers of the middle of the seventeenth century who first
explored the Arctic coast of Eastern Asia. ]!fow, as then, the
tusks have the highest commercial value of any of the products
of the Walrus, and thousands of these animals have annually
been sacrificed, for perhaps the greater part of the last two cen-
turies, in order to meet the demand for them. Mr. Dall, writing
in 1870 of the Alaskan Walrus, states that " the quantity of
Walrus tusks annually obtained will average 100,000 pounds."|
Allowing the average weight of a pair of Walrus tusks to be 15
to 20 pounds (I have found the weight of large tusks to varj'
from (5 to 8 pounds each, the very largest 1 have seen weighuig
less than 9 pounds) — a very high estimate — this enormous
quantity implies the destruction of more than six thousand
Walruses annually in the waters bordering Behring's Straits.

According to Captain Scammon, the whalers have of late been
largely instrumental in the destruction of the Alaskan Walrus,
they having, owing to the scarcity of Whales, become more or

* Scamuiou, Marino Mniniunlia, p. 180.

t WrangoU's I'olar Expl., Harper's Amer. ed., p. 282.

t Alaska ami its Kesources, p. 504.

PRODUCTS.

185

less interested in Walrus-liunting. According to a quotation
given by Captain Scammon from The Friend* of March 1, 1872,
"the wlialers first began to turn their attention to Walrus-
catching about the year 18G8, and the work has continue«l up
to tlie present time [1874]. Usually, during the first part of
every season, there has been but little opportunity to capture
whales, they being within the limits of the icy barrier. Hence,
much of the whalers' time during the months of JuI.n' and Au-
gust has been devoted to capturing the Walrus ; and it is esti-
mated that at least 60,000 of these animals have been destroyed
by the whale-fishers in the Arctic Ocean and Behring Sea dur-
ing the last five years, which produced about 50,000 barrels of
oil, with a proportionate amount of ivory." t This would make
an average annual destruction of 12,000, in addition to the large
niuuber habitually destroyed by the natives.

In the "Annual Eeview" of the products of the North Pacific
Whaling Fleet f for 1877, it is stated that the whalers arriving
at the port of San Francisco during 1877 reported 74,753 pounds
of Walrus teeth and 2,178 barrels of Walrus oil. The amount
of Walrus ivory "received in the customs district of San Fran-
cisco'' for 1870 is given as 33,934 pounds. The same authority
gives the following statistics for previous years, beginning with
187;J :

Tear.

Number of
vessels.

1
Pounds of !
ivory.

1873

16
12
11
7
16

12, 142

7,600
'25, 400

7,000§
74,000 j

1874

1875

1876

1877

Total for the last five years, 153,070 pounds, with an eotimated
value of about $55,000. This amount implies an annual destruc-
tion of at least ten to twelve thousand Walruses. It thus ai)-
pears that for the last ten years the number of Walruses taken

* A newspaper published in Honolulu.

t Marino Mammalia, p. 181.

{ "Commercial Herald and Ma'ket Review," vol. xii. No. 531, San Fran-
cisco, Cal., Jan. 17, 1878.

} There is an unexplained discrepancy here, for another statcmeut in the
same connection gives the quantity of "Walrus teeth" for 187(5 as 33,934
pounds.

186

ODOIJiENUS OBESUS PACIFIC WALRUS.

by tlio whalers alone canuot fall far sliort of one hundred and
twenty thousand. It is lienee little wonder that these animals
are rapidly declining in number, and that the natives manil'csr
alarm at the disai)pearancc of their main reliance for support.
The destru(!tion of the Alaskan Walrus is now largely effected
by the use of firearms, even the natives shooting them on slioro
with ritles and heavy muskets, although they still also practice
their former method of pursuing them in the water and there
dispatching them with spears and lances.

FAMILY OTARIID^.

Eared Seals.

I'koqiux (I orcilles, Buffon, Hist. Nat. SuppL, vi, 1782, 305.

riioaicm (tiiriculata, Pi5noN, Voy. Ten-. Austr., ii, 181G, 37.

ntiirht, Pkhon, Voy. Terr. Aiistr., ii, 181C, 37(gcuu8).

OtariiiKi, Gray, Aun. of Phil., 1825, 340 (subfamily).

Otariudw, "Brookes, Cat. Anat. and Zoiil. Mus., 1828, 36."— Gray, Ann. and

Mil),'. Nut., Hiat., 3d sor., xviii, 1866, 228.— Allen, Ball. Mus. Comp.

Zoiii., ii, 1870, 19.
OtarUdiv, Gill, Proc. Essex lust., v, 1866, 7.

Antoecplialiiia, Gray, Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist., i, 1837, 583.
Otaridex, Gervais, Hist. Nat. des Mammifferes, ii, 1855, 305.

Fore limbs placed far back, and, like the hind limbs, compar-
atively free aiid serviceable for terrestriallocomotion ; hind feet
susceptible of being turned forward. The digits of the manus
successively decrease very much in size and length from the
first to the fifth, without well-developed nails, and with the
manus bordered with a naked cartiliginous extension. Of
the pes the three middle digits are shorter and weaker thau
the others, with well-developed nails ; the others strong and
thick, the first rather stouter than the fifth, both with only rudi-
mentary nails; all terminate in hairless, long cartilaginous flaps,
which vary in length in the diiferent genera. Soles and palms
and mo t of the upper digital surface hairless. Scapula large,
the blade very broad, the crests high, and the acromion greatly
developed. Femur with a trochanter minor, which in adult
males is strongly developed. Pubic bones unanchylosed, and
in the females considerably separated. Ilia long and slender,
not abruptly turned outward posteriorly. Acetabula opposite
the posterior end of the second sacral vertebra. Skull with well-
developed orbital processes, and an alisphenoid canal ; mastoid
process strong and salient, distinct from the auditory bulla;, which
arp small and but slightly inflated. Incisors always ^, the two
middle pairs of upper with the crown deeply grooved trans-
versely, the outer caniniform. Dental formulae: Milk dentition,
I- S»^'iEi)M.g; permanent dentition, I. ~, 0. J^}, M. g,
or !^, = 34 or 30. Ears with a subcylindrical external conch.
Testes scrotal.

4Sr

188

FA:MILY OTAKIIDiE.

TECHNICAL IIISTOnY.

Higher Gijoups. — T'.u^ Eiiie<l Son Is wore referred by the
older writers to tlie Liiniiicjii. };i'nnfs Plwca, Bnffbn, in 1782, ic-
cognized the Seals as eoiisist'iijn' of two gronjjs, ehiiraeterized
by the presence or absenee of external ears. Peron, in 181G,
first divided the Seals into two genera, he se])arating the Eared
Seals from the earless ones under the name Otaria. Later,
Brookes, in 1828, raised the group of Eared Seals to the rank of
a family, under the name of Otariatla: This classification was
not, however, generally adopted till 18GG, when it was revived
by Gill, and immediately adopted by Gray, and it has been ac-
cepted by most subsequent writers. Gray, Turner, and others,
had previously considered the Eared Seals as forming a sub-
family of the Phocidie, for which Gray, at different times, used the
names Otariina and Arctocephalina, which latter was also adopted
for the name of the group by Turner in 1848. In 1870 I di-
vided the Eared Seals into two groups, which I provisionally
adopted as subfamilies, with the names Trichiphocinw and Ouli-
phocincc, in allusion to the nature of the pelage. The charac-
ters assigned, while perhaps of small importance, relating maiuly
to size, charactei' of the pelage, and size and shape of the ear,
and insufficient to chtaracterize divisions of this grade, serve
to mark two natural groups, the so-called Sea Lions, or Hair
Seals, forming the one, and the Sea Bears, or the Fur Seals of
commerce,^ the other.

Dr. Gray, in 1869,* divided the family into five " tribes,''
which he termed, respectively, Otariina, Callorhinina, Arcto-
cephalina, ZalopMna, and Eumetopiina, mainly with reference to
the number of the grinders and the position of the hinder pair.
These " tribes" he at the same time combined into two " sections,''
the one embracing the Otariina (consisting of his genus Otaria),
and the other all the others, this division being based on the
posterior extension of the bony palate. To his first i^rimary
division ("Section I"), consisting, as just stated, of the single
genus Otaria as limited bj' Gray, and, as seems to me, embrac-
ing only the single species 0. juhata of recejit authors, he re
stricted the name " Sea Lions," applying to the other, embi uc
ing all the other Eared Seals, the name " Sea Bears." This
latter group, however, embraces not only the animals connnonly
called Sea Bears by other authors, as well as by travelers aud

"~\^ *Aun. uud Mag. Nat. Hist., 4tL sor., vol. iv, pp. '2G4-270.

1 ■' vj

iUi

IIIGHKK GUOUPS.

189

seal rs (/. c, tAie "Fur Seals'" of conmicrcc), but also the two
Si'ii liioiis (conmiouly so <'alle(l) of tlie noitlieru lieniispliere,
iiiid all the Eared Hair Seals of the Soutli, exeept Otariajubata.
This classilieation, with seareely any inodiheation, he followed
also in liis]>ai»er:s treatinji' of this j?rou]> in 1871;* but in 1872 1
he i»i()|>()se«l a new arrangement of the "Sea Bears." The sub-
division of this group into "tribes" is not here eleaily hidi-
cated, although he arranges the genera in four unnamed sec-
tions. In 187o| he proposed another arrangement of the "Sea
Hears," in which they were ^naced iu two i^rimary divisions, in

.C— 6

aeeordaneewith whether the number of molars is^ or '~.

His

later moditicationw were more formally jnesented iu his last gen-
eral account of the group published in 1874,§ in Avhicli theclas-
silication then presented diflered very much from that adopted
l>y him in 1808 and 1871. Although a new "tribe" ("Tribe 2,
(Ijllisophociua^^) was instituted, his former "tribes," CuUorhi-
hUuu Arctoc€2)hulina, and Eumeto]}iina, were united into one,
under the luime Arctoccphalina, thus reducing the whole num-
ber of "tribes" to four, as follows: 1. Otariina; 2. Gypsopho-
cina; 3. Arctoccphalina; 4. Zalophina. As before, he recognized
two primary "sections," by means of which Otaria is opposed
to all the other genera as a group co-ordinate in rank with all
the rest. Also the " sections," or primary divisions, are still
based on the posterior prolongation of the bony palate, and the
"tribes," or secondary divisions, on the number of the molars
aiul the position of the hinder pair relative to the "front edge
of the zygomatic arch." It is needless to add that a more purely
artificial and valueless basis could scarcely be devised. In his
later schemes, Eumctopias is placed under the division charac-
terized as having the molars ^, on the wholly theoretical
ground that "the fifth upper molar on each side [is] wanting,"
leaving "the sixth separated from the fourth by a wide space."
Ou similar grounds his Phocarctos elongatus, — based, as I shall
later give reasons for believing, in part on an adult female
Eumetopias stelleri and iu part on the young of the Japan species
of Zaloplms, — is considered as lacking the " fifth grinder" when
adult, though i)osses8ing it when young. As late as 1873, Eu-
mvtftpiafi is placed in a group explicitly characterized as having

*Supi>l. Cat. Soiils ami Wluiles, 1871, p. 11.
tProc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 187^, p. G55.
tProc. Zool. Soe. Loutl., 1873, p. 779.
^Hand-List of Seals.

190

FAMILY OTARIID^.

'thick under-fur" ! In his latest notice of the species (in 1874) his
synonymy of the species shows that he still believed the skin
of a young Callorhinus ursinus, referred in 18CG to his Arctoce-
phalus montcriensis, belonged to this species, although in 1871*
he properly assigned it to Callorhimis ursinus, which I had
shown in 1870 was its proper allocation.

Dr. Gill, in 1871,t made two primarj" divisions of the family, the
genus Zalophus alone constituting one division, which was thus
contrasted with all the others. The characters cited as the basis
of this division are the rostra^ profile (whether " more or less
decurved," or "straight or incurved") and the sagittal crest.
The last distinction was based wholly on a misapprehension
of the facts in the case,t and the first proves to be open to very
obvious exceptions. Although Dr. Gill, in his later papers on
this group, retains these divisions as originally proposed by
him, he has adduced no additional characters in support of
them.

ill

Genera. — The first generic division of the Eared Seals was
made by F. Cuvier in 1824,§ who separated them as "Arctoc^-
phales" (Arctocephahis) and "Platyrhinques" {Platyrhinclius),
with '■''Phoca ursina^^ (= Arctocephahis (lelalandi,V. Cuvier; A.
aw/flrcfjcMS, Gray) as the type of the former and ^^ Phoca leonimP
(= Otariajvhata of recent authors) as the type of the latter. Suc-
ceeding writers very generally adopted the name Arctoceplialus
for the greater part of the species, while PlatyrMnchus was con-
sidered as equivalent to Otaria of Peron, of prior date. Otaria
has, by some writers, even down to the present time, been used
in a generic sense for all the species of the family, sometimes
with and sometimes without subgeneric divisions. In 1859, Gray
separated generically the .'N'orthern Fur Seal from ArctocepMlm
under the name GallorJdnus, and the group has been since very
generally recognized a3 of generic or subgeneric value. Prior
to this date the only commonly recognized genera were Otark
and Arctocephalus. The next generic subdivisions of the Ota-
ries were institiited by GUI in 1866,1] namely, Sumetopias and
Zahphu ^ the former having for its type and only species the
Uorthem Sea Lion, or Leo marinus of Steller, while the latter

* Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, p. 15.
' ^"^-^ t Amer. Nat., vol. iv, Jan., 1871, p. 681.

tSee Am. Nat., vol. v, Marcli, 1871, p. 41.

$M^m. duMus. d'Hlst. Nat., vol. xi, xd24, 205.

II Proc. Essex Institute, vol. v, pp. 1-13, March, 1866.

il ■ ti

-m

- .^'^'-*t

OENEKA.

191

AViis f()iiii(lt'<l on tlio Otnria (pUcsin of IM'Bain. The generu recojj-
iii/,((l were live in numbo', luimoly: 1. Otaria ("Poron, 181G,
type riiocdjuhata Schrcber"); 2. Arctocephalus (" F. Cuvier, 1824,
.... type Fhoea ursina Linna^ns," hence = Callorhimitt, Gray,
IS,')!), and not Arctocephalus, F. Cuvier) ; u. Eumetopian, Gill (nov.
oiMi., "type Otaria californiana J jChhou, = Arctocephalus monte-
ricnsin Gray," the intended type being Otaria ntellcri of Miiller) ;
4. Zttlophns, Gill (nov. gen., "type Otaria Gilliespii, Macbain"); 5.
EalarctuSj Gill ("type Arctocephalus Belalundii, Gray," hence =
Arctocephalus, F. Cuvier, 1824). Although three new^ names
Avore proposed, only two new genera were added, Halarctus be-
ing synonymous with Arctocephalus of F. Cuvier, and Arctoce-
phalus, as hero detined, with Callorhinus, Gray, as speedily and
almost simultaneously pointed out by Gray* and Peter8,t and
as has been since freely conceded by Gill. A few montlis later
Professor Peters t adopted, in a subgeneric sense, the genera
prcA'iously recognized by Gray and Gill, and added two other
subgenera, namely, Pliocarctos and Arctophoca. Tl* type of
Phovarctos was Gray's Arctocephalus hoolicri (then known to Pe-
ters apparently only through Gray's; description and figures),
with which, however, was associated the Otaria tillow of von
Tstlauli, which latter api)ears to be merely Otaria jubata, fem.
The type of Arctophoca was originally Otaria philippii, Peters,
sp. nov., probably = ylrc^ocej)/m^j/s falklandicus, fem.; at all
events, a Fur Seal from the Island of Juan Fernandez. These
fji'oups were first established in May, 18GG, but the following
Xoveiiiber, Fhocarctos ullote was removed by Dr. Peters to his
scetion or subgenxis Otaria, and Otaria falMandica, Shaw ( =
"O. nigrescens. Gray"), was taken as the type oi Arctophoca, to
which 0. philippii was now apparently referred as a subspecies
01' a doubtful form. Thus Arctocephalus falklandicus is here re-
moveil from Arctocephalus, Avhere he formerly i)laced it, to be-
oomo a new tjpe of Arcto^^Aoca.'

In September, 1866, | Gray adopted the above named generic
and subgeneric divisions, to which he added Neophoca as a " new
gemis," based on his Arctocephalus lohatus, referred previously
by lY'ters to Za tophus, and Euotaria and Qypsophoca as subgen-
era of Arctocephalus. Euotaria was based on his Arctocephalus
niyrcscens, and Qypsophoca on his Arctocephalus cinereus. In

"Anil, ami Mag. Nat. Ili.st., :5(l 8cr., vol. xvii, y\\. 444-447, .June, 18G6.
t Mouatsb, (1. k. P. Akad. zu Berliu, l«(i<;, pp. ^((9, 27(), G7CM572.
t Ann. .andMag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., vol. xviii, pp. 2ii8-2:?7.

192

FAMILY OTARIID^.

18GS* he nmed IJiiotaria am\ Gypsophoca to the rank of genera,
ten (jnivra of Eared Seals being now reeogni/ed by this anthor.
In liis formal synopsis of the family presented in 18(]{),t these
ten genera were all retaineil, and are the following:

tli!

1. Oturiu.

2. Calloi'hinuH,

3. Phocarctos.

4. Arc'tot't'pbiilu.s.

5. Kuotariii.

0. (lyiiNoplioc'ii.

7. Zaloitbiis.

.'^. Xt(ti»hot'a.

9. KiiinetopiaN.

10. Arctophoca.

; ;.

In 1871 ho again treated two of them {Euotaria and Gypso-
phoca) as subgenera of Arctocephalm, thereby redneing the
number of genera to eight. In 1873 1 eight genera of " Sea
Bears" alone (t. e., Eared Seals exehisive of Otaria) are enunier
ated, Euotaria being omitted. In 1874, § however, both Euota-
ria and Gypsophoca are given full generie rank, but no reference
is nuule to Arctophoca, the speeies {Arctophoca phillppii) formerly
referred to it b<nng neither recognized nor accounted for. The
number of genera is thus reduced to nine. Dr. Gill, in 1871* ||
and in 1870,^ retained the tive generic groups tirst recognized
by him in 18GG, with, however, the corrections in nomenclature
introduced by Gray and Peters later in the same year. These
five genera, namely, Otaria, Eumetopias, Zalophus, Callorhinm,
and Arctocephalns, were adopted by myself in 1870, in my p!i])er
on the Eared Seals of the North Pacific.**

Di". Peters, in 1871,tt referred .'dl the South American Fur
Seals (of which he then recognized four, namely, A. falMandicug,
A. nigresccns, A. argentata, A.philippii) to his subgenus (" Uuter-
gattung") Arctophoca. Dr. Peters's later views respecting the
genera of the Otairiidw are given in his paper on the Eared Seals
published in August, 1877,ff in which he reduces the genera to
three, namely, Otaria, Eiiwctopia^, and ArctocepJutliis. The Fur
Seals are all iinited under Arctocephalns ; Otaria includes only 0.
juhata (to which his 0. leoniri and 0. ullow are referred as " Lo-
calrassen"), Eumctopias being made to include all the other

'Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4t]i ser., vol. i, pp. 99-110, Feb., 1868.

t Ann. and Mag. Xat. Hist., 4tb ser., vol. iv, pp. '■2(H-'270.

tProc. Zool. Soe.Lond., 1873, p. 779.

^ Ilaud-List of Soals.

II Arraugenicnt of Fauiilifs of Maumials, p. U9.

H.Tobuson's Cyclopedia, vol. iii.p. 1018.

•'Bull.Mns. eonip.Zool., vol. ii, No. 1, Angiist, 1870.

ttMonatsb. d. k. P. Akad. d. AVlNMcnstb. zu Btnlin, 1871, i>. 564.

UMonatsb. d. k. P. Akad. d. Wissenseb. zn Bnlin, 1877, pp. 505-507.

SPECIES.

193

IJiiir Sciils ( = tlic sul>Henerii EumctojHitfi, Zalophun, and Phoc-
(tirtos (if IN'tt'i's's «'avli('r papers).

SPKriKS. — I'l'ior to about the begiuninj^' of the present cen-
tui'\ , the Eared Seals then known were eoninionly referred to
two species, cue of which was termed, in eoinnion parlance, the
Sea Hear, Ours niarin, Meerbiir, etc., and the other Sea Lion,
Lion iiiarin, Meerlowe, etc. They were hardly mon; definitely
known in technical terminology, the "Sea Bear" being Phoca
uysina, and the " Sea Lion" the Phoca jubata. The first of these
names originated witii Linn<5 in 1758,* and the other with
Forstor in 1775.t Phoca urnina was based originally on Stel-
ler's Ur.su8 marinus, and Phoca jubata on the Southern Sea Lion,
or "Lion marin," of Penietty, to which species these specific
names have of late been properly restricted. Zimmermann, in
[1782,1 named the Southern Sea Bear Phoca «M«^rflZ/»(=" Falk-
land Seal, Pennant II, p. 521," the Sea Bear of Forster), which
Shaw, in i800, renamed Phoca falklanilica. Both names were
based on the "Falkland Isle Seal" of Pennant, but Zimmer-
mann's seems to have been entirely overlooked by subsequent
rritors. As it has eighteen years' priority, it must be adopted
in place of falklandica.

During the last half of the last century and the early part of tlie
present, the early voyagers to the southern seas (as Anson, Per-
netty, Forster, Weddel, Pdron and Lesueur, Quoy and Gaimard,
Lesson and Garnot, and Byron, among others) met with different
species of Sea Lions and Sea Bears. They described these ani-
mals very imperfectly, their accounts relating mainly to tlieir
liabits and localities of occurrence, and they brought with them
to Europe very few si3ecimens.§ Desmarest in 1817, and Lesson
in 1828, gave names to the species thus obscurely indicated, the
latter renaming several that had already received names. To
these authors, and to the often-quoted remark of P^ron that he
believed there were not less than twenty species of Otaries, we
are indebted for much of the confusion and obscurity that must
ever be inseparable from the early history of this group. Des-
marest alone, in his article on the Otaries in the " Dictionnaire
•I'Histoire naturelle" (vol. xxv, 1817, pp. 590-603), lecognized

'S.vst. Nat. i. 17r)8, 37. '

tDpsciip. \iiiin., pp. 6(5, 317.
tGeograiili. GoHcliicute, Thell iii, 1V82, p. 276.

^ G. Cuvicr, accorrtiug to Gray (Catalogue of Seals, 1850, p. 2), had skulls
of only two Hpccies of Eared Seals when ho wrote the "Ossemens Fossiles."
Misc. Pub. No. 12 13

194

FAMILY OTAimi)iE.

niiio spocios, only two of which hiiv«i any tan^^ibh) basis, or cau
bo dt'torminod except conjecturally, and mainly on the basis of
their habitat. In fact, it is abnost impossible to say whotlier
they are "hair" Seals or "far" Seals; the dt'scriptions sluiw
merely that they were sona^ kind of Ear* il 8e'>l. Desmari'st's
81)ecies are the following;: 1. Otnr'm konimi (= ^farin juhnUij-
EHmctopinH sh'lhri)', 2. Otaria ursimi {=(Muo/,t nun ursiintii):
3. Otaria pcroni (n. sj)., based on a vaj^n^ account by M. IJiiillv'
of an Eared Seal seen in great numbers on llottnest Island, west
coast of Aust ralia. Desmarest doubtfully refers to it two mounted
skins in the Paris Mtiseum, both of very young animals, the
larger only about two feet and a half long, brought from " Ter
res Australes ") ; 4. Oiaria vinvrea ( l*6ron et Lesutnir, Voy. an
Terr. Austr., ii, 77; habitat, "lie Decres," coast of Australia;
an Eared Seal, with rough hair, described only in general terms,
ami undeterminable ; probably = Zalophm lohatus) ; 5. Otam
alhkollis (Perou et Lesueur, 1. c, 118 ; habitat, " lie Engtiie,"
coast of Austraba ; an Eared Seal, eight or nine feet long, char
acterized by a white spot on the middle and upper part of tlie
neck ; perhaps the same as the last, but not certainly detti
minable) ; 0. Otaria flarescens (ShaAV, Mus. Lev. ; Gen Zoiil., i,
200, pi. ixxiii; habitat. Straits of Magellan; a "Yellowish Seai,
with pointed ears " ; not determinable, but probably = O. juhata]
7. Otaria falklandiaa {— Plioca faJldandim Sh aw = iVtoca «««
iralis, Zimm. ; " Cinereous Seal, witli small pointed ears, aiultli.,
cutting-teeth marked with furrows " ; presumably the common
Fur Seal of the Falkland Islands) ; 8. Otaria porcina (= P/iotd
poreina, Molina ; habitat, coast of Chili ; wholly uudetermiuable ;
9. Otaria punilla { = '■'■ I*hoca pusilla, Linn."; a wholly mythical
" Otary " as described by Desmarest, supposed to inhabit theMdi-
terranean S^^a ! t Of these nine siiecies, only one ( Otaria iirsina).

* P6ron ct Lcsueur's Voy. Terr. Auatr., vol. i, p. 189.

t In view of recent attempts to revive tlie name imsilla as a touablo desig-
natioji for some species of Eared Seal, it seems desirable to slate fully tk
original badis and early history of th^s name. It was given originally')?
Schreber, in 1776, to "Le Tetit Phoqne" of Buffon, Schreber oven copyinj
Buflbn's figure (Hist. Nat., xiii, 1765, pi. liii). Buflfon introduces his uotiff
of this species as follows : " Le second [ osp^co] (planche LIII ) qui est le phoqne j
de la Mdditerrande & des mcrs du Midi, & que nous pr^sumons 6tre \cpho»
des Ancienq, paroit 6tro d'une autre espfece, car il difffere des autres par )°
quality & la couleur du poll qui est ondoyant & presque noir, tandis qnek
poll des premiers est gris & rude, il en difffere encore par la forme des dents
& par celle des oreilles; car 11 a une espfece d'oreille exteme tres-petiteili
v€rit^ ..." Then follows a good description of a young Fur Seal; lint in

SPKCIKS.

105

or possiltly a socoiul {O./alklamlien), is positively referablo to
any ])ai"ti(!nlar specicH as now known.

Tlii'C'c years later (in 18LM)) J)esniarcst again, in his "Manuna-
loj-ic'' {EiK'yclop(i(lie Metliodicpie, vol. clxxxii, pp. 248-252), re-
(li'siiilKMl the Otaries, reducing the number of species to eight
by uniting his Otaria pimUa to his Otaria peroni under the
latter name, which now relates not only to the Fur Seals of the
western coast of Australia, but also to those of the Cape of Good
Hope.

Lesson, eight years later, in his article on the Otaries (Dic-
tionnaire classique d'Histoire Naturelle, vol. xiii, 1828, pp. 419-
426), raised the number to fifteen. One is purely mythical ; live
or six can be determined as equivalent to species now commonly
recognized, but the greater part are not satisfactorily identifia-
ble. His species are the following : 1. Otaria fabricii ( = " Plioca
?/r«/««Fabricius"; habitat, Greenland; wholly undeterminable;
certainly not an Eared Seal, and probably wholly mythical) ; 2.
0tariastelleri{=Leomarinu8, iitQ\ler,=Eum€topias stelleri, which
here receives its first distinctive name) ; 3. Otaria californiana
(="jeune Lion mariu de la Califomie," of Choris, and hence =
Zabj)hus (jillespii of recent authors, which here received its first
specific name*) ; 4. Otaria Jcraschenninikoicii {= Ursus marimtSy

n long footnote to tbis description he gives quotations from Glaus Magnus,
Zorgdrager, Charlevoix, and from collections of voyages, which relate to the
Seals of both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, none of which probably re-
fer to any species of Eared Seal. On the following page ho says: "C'est
par line convenauce qui d'abord parolt assez Idgiire, & par (inelques rapports
fiigitifs que nous avons jugd que ce second phoque (pL LIU) <5toit le phoca
de» anoieus ; on nous a assurd que I'individu que nous avons vu venoit des
Imles, & il est an moins tr6s-probable qu'il venoit desmers du Lev.ant; . . ."
—Hist. Nat., xiii, 1765, pp. 340, 341. Though assumed to be a Medttci-^aueau
species, the origin of the specimen here described and figured as " Le Petit
Phoque " is .avowedly unknown, and a certainly ereoneous habit.at is as-
signed to it. This is the sole basis, however, for the Phoca pmilla of .all the
earlier systciuatists, and of some modem ones. As already stated, Desma-
rests Otaria piisilla is purely mythical; for while he describes an Eared Seal,
lie elainis for it a Mediterranean habit.at, and deems; it to be the species
ileserihed by Aristotle, Pliny, and ^Elian, and figured by Belon, .and even
goes so far as to say, "Buffon et Erxleben parolssent avoir confondu, avec
ee plwKiue, de jennes individus d'autres espfeces particuliJ^res aux Torres Aus-
trales, et particulierement i\ I'ours-marin de I'Ue de Juan-Femandez. Quant
a lui, il seiiible p -pre b, la Mdditflrrande." The Phoca pmilla of Erxleben and
Gineliu is a heterogenous compound of Eared and Earless Seals from both
lieiuisphereM.

* See further remarks, poetea, unJer Eumetopiaa atelleri and Zalophm califor-

mnus.

196

FA:HILY OTAKIID/E.

SteWer =C((lJorhiin(s urshius); 5. Otariu pernetUji { = Otaria juh-
ta) ; 0. Otariaforateri (cnibraces all the Fur Seals of the Soutlievn
Hemisi)here) j 7. Otaria mollissina ("Lesson et Ganiot, Zoolope
dehiCoqiiille,pl. iii,p. 140"; habitat, " lies Malouiues " ; the long
description contains nothing in itself distinctive of any species,
but it has Ijeen determined, by Nilsson and Gray, from the skull
and skin in the Paris Museum, to be a young Otaria juhata)',S.
Otaria peroni {='"'■ Otaria peroni, Desm., sp. 382"; embraces
^'' Plioca piisilla Linn.", "Petit Phoque, Buffon," "Otarie de La
lande, F. Cuvier," and "Loup marin, Pag^s"; habitat, Cape
of Good Hope ; formerly referred by Gray to his Arctocephalm
delalandi, to which it is mainly referable); 9. Otaria coronak
("Desm., spec. 383; Phoca coronata, Blainv."; undetermhiaUe,
and habitat unknown); 10. Otaria cinerea ("P<5ron et Lesueiir/'
as above); 11. Otaria alhicollis ("P^ron et Lesueur," as above);
12. Otaria flaveseens (= ^^ Phoca Jlavescens, Shaw," as above; uot
determinable); 13. Otaria sliawi {= Phoca falJdandicus, Sha.\!,
therefore = Arctocephalus falklandicus, auct.) ; 14. Otaria hmi-
villii ("G. Cuvier, Oss.Foss.jt.v, p. 220"; = Arctocephalus fall
landicus, auct.; habitat, "Hes Malouines"): 15. ^'•Otaria moll-
naiV {=^^ Phoca porcina, Molina"; no tangible description, and
wholly undeterminable).

Fischer, in 1829-30,* appears to have recognized fifteen (only
twelve have numerals prefixed) species of Eared Seals, whicli
are the same as those describ'^d by Lesson in 1828, with the ex-
ception that Lesson's Otaria fabricii is not admitted, and Gray's
Arctocephalus lohatus is added.

Hamilton, in 1839,t recognized twelve species, as follows: 1.
" Sea-Lion of Steller" (= Uui etopias stelleri) ; 2. " Sea-Lior, of
'FoTnter^ {= Otaria jubata)', 3. " Sea-Lion of Pernetty" (=Of<i
ria jubata, mainly); 4. "Pusilla, or Cape Otary" ("Ofarw
pusilla, Desm.," but really based on a skull from the Cape of
Good Hope); 5. " Ursine Seal, or Sea Bear of Steller {=Ci-
lorhimis ursintis) ; 6. " Ursine Seal, or Sea Bear of Forster "
{= Arctocephalus falklandicKS, auct.); 7. " Sea Bear, from speci-
men in the British Museum" {=? Otaria jubataj according to
Gray); 8. " Lesson's Otary, O. mollissina, Lesson" {=Arctoce][)k-
lus falklandicus) ; 9. and 10. "Ash-coloured and white-ueclietl
Otaries" (= OtoWa ciwermand 0. albicoUis,F6ron)', 12. "Com
mon Fur-Seal of Commerce" {= Arctocephalus falklandicus).

* Synopsis Marumalmm, pp. 230-234, 374 (i. e 574).

t Amphibious Camivora, etc. ( Jardine's Nat. Library, Mam., vol. viii).

SPECIES.

197

He very Judiciously refers to Otarla porcina, 0. coronata, 0.
(lehdnndi, and 0. /trt?a"<7/ii as species so slightly indicated "as
still to remaiu doubtful."

Nilsson, iu bis celebrated paper on tlie Seals, published in
1837,* reduced the species to three, reunitiug all the Sea Lions
(except one) under the name Otarki jubata, {-.lid all the Sea
Bears under the name Otaria ursina. His tliiri' ?*pecies is the
Otaria aiistralk of Quoy and Gaimard, from Australia (= Arc-
tocephalus lohatuSf Gray, Spicel. ZooL, i, 1828). Miiller, in his
appeodix to Mlsson's paper, t recognized five species, as repre-
sented in the Berlin Museum, namely : 1. Otaria stelleri ; 2.
Otaria ursina; 3. Otaria platyrhinchus (= O.jubata, auct.); 4.
Otaria chilensis (described as new from a skull received from
Ciiili, but really = 0. juhata); 5. Otaria lamari {= Arctocepha-
hs lohatus Gray, as above). He recognized as " eine sechste
Art" the Otaria aiistralis, Quoy and Gaimard, and Nilsson.

The next general rev 'ew of the group is contained in Gray's
Catalogue of the Seals of the British Museum, published in
1850, in which eight species are formally recognized. These
are: 1. Arctocephalus ursinus ; 2. A. falklandieiis ; 3. A. cine-
rcuH (—".** Otaria cinerea, P6ron," as noticed above) ; 4. A. loba-
tuts; 0. A.australis ("Qr jy and Gaimard" = A. lobatus, Gray) ;
0. .1. hool-eri ; 7. Otaria stelleri ; 8. Otaria leonina. All but A.
(itostralis probably re^/resent good species. In 18GG, in his
'• Catalogue of Seals and Whales," he raised the number to
twelve by adding, 1. Arctocephalus monteriensis (first described
by hiui in 1859 = Eumetopias stelleri, plus a skin referable to
CaUorliinus ursinus); 2. A. californianu8,n. 8ii.{ = A.monterien-
s(s, Gva; 1859, in part, really = Eumetopias stelleri) ; 3. A. nigres-
mn, first named in Zoiil. Erebus and Terror ; not mentioned
iu Cat. Seals of 1850, but revived in 1859, when it was really
iirst published (= A. falklandicus) ; 4. A. delalavii {— Petit
Phoque, BuflTon, hence Phoca pusilla, Schreber, plus Otaria dcia-
kndi, ¥. Cuvi<^r, 1828,— the Fur Seal of the Cape of Good
Hope): 5. ^l. '■^ Gilliespii^'' (= Otaria gillespi, M'Bain, 1858, =
Otaria californiana, Lesson, 1828). Of these five, two {A. mon-
h'rivnsis and A. califormam(s) are strictly nominal, as is prob-
ably a third {A. nigresccns) ; two valid species {A. '■^ delalandi^^

' K. Vet. Akad. Iliuull. Stockliohn, 1837, pp. y:55-24.'). Translated by Peters
in Wic'ifuiiiiiu's Arcliiv liir Katurgescli., 1841, pp. 301-3:W, with notes and an
iippmtUx by J, MUUcr.

tWiogmaun's Archiv, 1841, pp. 333, 334.

198

FAMILY OTAKIIDiE.

■■::. ,1

.-: ;i:il

■'

and A. ^^(lUUcHini ") arc added to those leeognized by this author
in 1850.

Tlic saine year (1800), Peters* recofiiii/ed t'onrtecJi spoi-ies
(three of them won' treated as donbtl'ul), as Ibllows: 1. O/fow
jttbuta ; " ?2. Otarlu konina'\ = (}. JKhdla); .">. OUtria (jodcfrotji m
sp.=:(>. Jnhaid); -l. ^*^ ? OUiria hi/roiiid"' { — I'liocd hiiroiiia, ]>lniii
\'\\\c. — <K Jiibata): 'a. Otoria !,ool,rfi : (i. Ola rid ullod: (= I).
ultod', von Tselindi, = O.Jidmtd, leiii.); 7. (Hdvia inis'iUd ( = rvtit
PlKHine. IJntfon, I'liocd intnilld, S<'hr('b('r. Oftirid dvldhiuiJi, F.Cii
vier, ete.); 8. Otarid ciiicrcd ( = ''(>, ci)i<'rvd, I'eroii and LesiK'ur.
Qnoy and Claimard"; " 0. stcllcri, Sehlef;el,'' in part,ete.); ?('.
Ota rid falklditdicd (= An'tocephalus falhldndicus, anet.); 10.
Otdria uvsiud { = Cnllorhinus iirshris); 11. Otdrid stcUcri {Eimt
topias ,stelle)-i); 12. Otdria gillcspl {= ■ <■ phius californianus); 13.
Otdrid lobdta (= Arctocephalus lob. , Gray, 1.S2S, Otarid am-
tralis, Quoy and Gainiard, 1830, 0. uteUeri, " Schlegel," in
part, = Zalophxts hbatua)-, 14. Otaria philippii (n. sp. = Arda-
eephalusfalklandicuH, anet.). Six months later, on again review
ing the group,! the same writer redneed the number of speciis
to ten. In this paper he referred the 0. byronia, 0. leonina, aud
0. (jodeffroyi of his former paper to O.jubata, and his O.philipph
to 0. fallxlandica. 0. idlow is still retained as a valid specitvs
and " Otaria steUeri, Sehlegel," is determined to be the 0.
ffillcspi, M'Bain.

In 1808 f Dr. Gray deseribed as a new species Arctoccphalm
uirosus {= A. autarcticus, H. 7>«s///«s) from the Cape of Good
Hope, and Professor Turner added,§ as a new species, Anio-
ccphaluH schisthyperol's (later corrected to nchisitKperus by Giiu-
ther), from Desolation Island, considered later by Gray,|| aftoi
an examination of the type, to be referable to his A. dcJaUmli
(therefore = A. antarcticm). !M'Bain, tlie same year,^ described
an imperfect skull of what he called "0. uUowf'' {=Otark
jubata, fem.), adding that in case it proved to be a new species it
might be called " 0. graiiP

In 1870 ** I was able to recognize only six species as well
established, but gave two more as probably valid, the latter

*Mouat8b. d. k. I'. Akucl. Wissonsch. zu Berlin, 18GG, pp. 261-'281.
tibiil., 1860, pp. r)(]!>-G7'2.

t Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., vol. i, p. 21'J.
^ Journ. Anat. and Pliys., vol. iii, pp. 113-117.
II Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th scr., vol. iv, p. 264.
• H Ibid., pp. 109-112.

"'Bnll. MnH. Comp. Zoiil., vol. ii, pp. 44, 45.

SPEC IKS.

199!

licinj;' A rctoiTphalm cinercvs, ( Jray (Australia and New Zcalaiul),
;iii(l A.((iit((r('ticiis,(\vi\y (Capo of (Jood Hope). The othev.s are:
1. OitifUi jubatn (iiudcr \vlii<'li was wionjily included 0. haolcen,
(;i;iy);2. Eumctopinx stiKcrl ; 'A. Zdloplius (iHlc.spi ; I. Zalophus
IdIiiiIiis; 5. ('allorliiniot urniitHN ; (». Afcto(Tpii(iliis/<illd(in(licu8,

111 ISTl, l*liilii)i)i and Peters* added AMoccphalm {Arcto-
liliiint) (ir<fciit((ta, ii Vnv Seal IVoni the island of Juan Fernandez
[ = ArcfocephalKN (iiixtmliN, iViH.). The latter here divided the
Tiir .Seals of South Aineriea into four speeies, two of whi<'h {A.
Mnlamlka and A. nUjrcsceuK) are Ironi the Atlantic Ocean and
two {A. anjciitata and A. philippii) from the Pacitie.

The same year (1871) (Jrayt I'eeognized thirteen specie.-; of
Eared Seals, as follows : 1. Otaria Jubata {vuihvimwg (). Icnuina
of Gray and Peters, ami (). f/odep'roifi, 0. hironia, (>. idUnv of
Peters). L*. Callorhhius nrninus. 'A. riiocarctoxhool-eri. i. Arcto-
ccph(th(s auta)'cticus (Cape of Good Hope = Fhoca nnturcfica,
Thunherg", 1811, and Fhoca [s. Otaria] jno^ida and dchilandi^
iUiot.). r). Arctoccpludus nif/rcscohs {=A. OKstrtdis). (». Arcto-
vvpludus ci»crc»s. 7. ArctoccphiduH footer i ("IN^ew Zealand, "'=
''•riwca nrxina, Forster," = 0^flr(Vt forsteri, Lesson, formerly re-
ferred hy him to his A. /(dJdaudicits!). 8. ArctoccpMho^ fidlc-
hmlicus. i). ^^Arctoeejyhainsf nivosus^^ {= A. antarcticiiN). 10.
Zalophiis (/dlcspi. 11. Kcophoca loibata. VI. Eumetopias KtcUcri
(embracing his Arctoccphalm montcrkiisis and A. califoniiduns).
13. Aritophoca philipjiii (= Arctoccphalm aus'traJis). A.forsteri
is tbeonly species added, while no less than six species, recognized
by either himself or Peters in 18GG, are reduced to synonyms.

Gray, in ]87L*,{ added Gypsophoca trojiictdis, based on a young
skull from Auckland Island, to which siK^cimens from X()rtk
Australia are also referred. This Clarlv§ believes to be in part
based on the young of Otaria hooker i, and in part referable to
A rctoccph (diis cin ere us.

Scott, in 1873, in his account of the Otariid(V,\\ described (p.
10) what he regarded as two new species of ArctocephahiSf
namely, '■'■ Arctoccphalm GrayW'' and '■'■ Arctoccphalm eulophus.^^
The first is equivalent to Gray's A. faVdandicm of his Cata-

' Mdiiiitsh. a. k. r. Akiul.Wissoiiscli. zn Berlin, 1871, pp. 5.'>d-.'>()6.

tiSupltl. (Jilt. Sfiils aiul WiUik\s.

tPn.c. Zool. Soc. I<()iul., 187i*, pp. CW, 743.

^^ I'roc. Zd.il. Soi'. Lond., l'-'7:{,p. 759.

ilMiiiiiiimlia, Kocciii and Extinct, nn elemcntnry treatise for tlio iiso of the
imlili, s(li,)<)lsotN<'\vSonthWak'H. By A. W. Scott, M. A. Sidney, 1873. Sec-
tion H, rinnata, Seals, DnjfongN, Whales, &c. &c. &c. — Otariidse, pp, 7-25.

200

FAMILY OTAllIlDi^i:.

mi-

I: i

I"-) ''1-

logiu' of Seals and Whales (1S0(5, j). r»r)),aiKl the "Supplein«'iit"
to the same (1871, p. 2~)), whieli ]\rr. Seott gives as a syiionym.
After quoting Gray's deseriptioii oi A. /((nda)uliciis, he says:
"This is <;learly a s])eeies distiiiet from the eonimon Southern
Fur Seal. . . . The speeitie name Fidkbtmlieus haviiijj;
been ai)pro])riate<l almost by {i'cneral consent for another ani-
mal, I beg" to substitute that of 6'>'wj//i." The Aretocephalm
eulopliUH is based on verbal information from Mr. Morris, an
experienced sealer, Avho infornied him " that during his sealing
voyages he occasionally met with a fur-seal, which he aud
those connected with him in the trade readily recognized as a
distinct kind — by the diminutive size of the adult animal ; by
a top-knot of hair on the crown of the head; aud by the soft,
beautiful under-fur, unlike in colour to, and mucli more valna
ble for articles of ladies' wear than that of any other fur-seal
they were in the habit of captiu'ing." " This seal," continues
Mr. Scott, '* appears to be rare, only a few specimens having
been taken ; some were seen on the south-east coast of New
Zealand, evidently stragglers driven far away from home. i\Ir.
Morris has been told that they were formerly common on tho
shores of Patagonia and the Island of Juan Feriumdez." AVith
all due deference to the opinions of ]\Ir. Morris and Mr. Scott,
this information hardly forms a satisfactory basis for the erec-
tion of a new species in this obscure group, where external
characters, when well known, are of slight distinctive value.
The Arctocephalus eulophiis can only be assigned to the category
of vaguely described and indeterminable species, of which the
writings of P6ron, Desmarest, and Lesson were so prolific half
a century ago. Only six other species were recognized by Mr.
Scott, namely: 1. Arctocephalus nmnun {= Callorhluus ursi-
mis). 2. Arcfnceplialus falklamlieus (embracing all the Southern
Fur Seals, with the exception of his two " nes? species," already
noticed). 3. Zalophus gillespi. 4. Z.lobatus. 5. Otaria stelleri.
6. 0. jubata {= 0. jiibata and Phocarctos hoolccri Grdy).

In 1873, Dr. Gray described* a Eumetopias elongatus, ])ased
in part on a skull from Japan he had the previous yeart referred
to U. stelleri, and in part on a joung skull, also from Japan,
which, doubtless, is the same as the Otaria stelleri of Temminck
(Fauna Japonica).

*Proc. Zool. Soc, 1873, p. 776.

tibid., 1872, p. 738.

-;i'S*=ii

SPECIKS.

201

In 1874, the sauie author* addrd two more •' now species" of
Otaria, this time whoUy from old material, from unknown loj-ali-
ties,which he had had before him in tlu' 1 >ritish ^I useum for uearly
twenty years, and which he had hitherto uniformly referred to
Otaria juhata ! Ilaving', however, found that the lower Jaws
ilitl'ored from those of the other sp«;cimens in beinji " straight,
not bowed on the side, and elong.ate," and that " the scar of the
temporal muscle is elongate, nanow in front," instead of being
" broad, rounded in front." One of the species, base<l on the
"skull of an adult male 11^ inches long, and 0^ wide at the
condyles," etc., lie calls ^^ Otaria minor, the Smaller Sea Lion."
The other, based on " the skull of an adult (female) OJ inches long,
and 5J broad at the condyles," he calls '' Otaria i^ygmwa, the
Piffmy Sea Lion." The last-mentioned skull is " partly broken
behind, and wants all the gi'inders and the greater part of the
cutiiiig teeth." They are unquestionably referable to the re-
stricted genus Otaria, and there is nothing in the descriptions
indicating that Dr. Gray's reference of them for twenty j'ears
to 0. jubata was erroneous. The skull of Otaria minor is later
lif^uredin the "Hand-List of Seals" (pi. xvi), and is evidently
that of a young male Otaria jubata.

In this year (1874) also appeared the lastt of Gray's long
series of publications relating to the Eared Seals, in which avc
ba\t' his latest views respecting the sp»'cies t>f this grouj*. In
this work two other "new sj)ecies" are added, making in all
eighteen species of Otariidw now recognized by Dr. Gray!
These are: 1. Otaria jnltata. 2. 0/arm »M/«or (see above, hist
paragraph). ,3. Otaria tdloa' {=0. iiHoa, you Tschudi and
Peters, and O. pygmcca, Gray, both formerly, and, I believe, cor-
rectly, referred by him to 0. Jubata). 4. Gypsonhnca tropicalis
{=Arctocephalus cinereus). /). Phocarctoa hoolioi >. H. Phocarc-
tns clongatm { = Eumctopia8 stelleri, in part, and Otaria stelleri,
Tciiiniinck, in part). 7. CaUorhimis ursinus. 8. Arcfocephalun
oittarcticuH. 9. Euotaria cinerea (includes Aretocephalus fomtcri
of Gray's Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales [see above, p. 199] ).
10. Euotaria nigrcscenn {= Arctocc2}haluii austral is). 11. Euoia-
via hitirontri.'i (n. sj)., based on a skull supposed to have come
from the Falkland Islands, formerly releried to his A. nigrcs-
ccns. lie now says, " The skull may belong to the Arctocepha-
hiH faUdandicu.'i, of which [/. c, his A./allcIandicus] the skull is

*Ann. nudMag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., vol. xiii, p. ;i;'4. t Hiuul-List of Seals, etc.

202

FAMILY OTAKIIDiE.

not known, or it may he a (listiuct upccics'^). 12. Euotarin com-
prcssus (n. sp. ; lial>. '^ South Africa? ^^'arwi(•k^^•, formeily iv-
foiTcd by liini to Arvtocc.phalaH hoolerl a.s "9 .skull, South
Sea, 3Ir. Warwick's colh'ction"*). !.">. Eitotaria .svh isf In/ jk nil's
(=.Arclocq>li<(li"< ■sclilstlii/jxrors/Vuvuvv, formerly referred, witii-
out reservation, by (f ray liiniself to his. l>T^o(r/>/<«/w.s««/«r(//V».s).
14. Einnctopids Ntclltri. 1~k ZolopliKs jfifJeKpi. 10. Xeopliacn
lobiita. Two other species are also <>iven, as follows : 17. ^'Arrto-
(■(pliahis .^ iiivoNiis"' ( = .l. (i)if((rcticus)', IS. ''Arctorcphahis.'/dJh
h(H(licuH " ( = ,1 . ((Kstralis), These are Fur Seals, referred (h»ubt-
fully to Arctoceplialus from lack of knowledji'e of the skulls.
The first, he says, "nniy be the skin of Euotaria coi)ipri'N,su or
schisthyporoi'ti^'', to the latter he refers the '-'■Arvtocipluilux iirdjiii"
and "('h/o/>/<».s" of Scott (see abov<', p. 200), the latter, however,
doid)tfully.

In 1875 Dr. Peters described t still another si)ecies, based uu
two .specimens, an old male and a youus" female, brought home
by the German Transit-of- Venus Expedition (supposed by liiiii
to have both come from Kergfuelen Island), to which he ^^avc
the name Arctophoca yazeUa. Externally A. gazella appears to
differ little from the other Southern Sea Bears, the distinctive
characters resting in the form of the hinder border of the bony
palate, which has ji triangular projection at the middle, in the
very small size of the tympanic bones, and in other «letails of
the skuU-structure.f Later he found that only one of the spcei
mens on Avhich A. yazella was based came from Kerguck'ii
Island, the other having been brought either from "der Insel
St. I'aul o«Ier Amsterdam." In 187(»,§ therefore, in referriu;i
again to these specimens, after the discovery of the error in
locality respecting one of the specimens, he renamed the Saint
Paul or ^Vmsterdam Island skin Otaria {Arctophoca) elegaiis.

In 1877, Dr. Peters again reviewed! | the Avhole group of
Eared Seal, of which he at this time recognized three genera
and thirteen species. He refers to having had access to uuicU
new material, and it is greatly to be regretted that he has not

* Cat. Seals, Brit. Mils., 1850, p. 16; Cat. Seals and Wlialos, 18(56. p. .'.4.

tMonatsb. <l. k. I'. Akad. Wisseusch. zii Berlin, 187.'., pp. :W3-399.

{In this paper Iks refers incidentally to tlie Sontli American Fur St-alj,
stilting that in conseqnenee of the reception of more materiiil sinci! the
publication of his last paper lespectius them, he is led to nnit<i the Jrcto-
cephnlus argentata with A. pliHijipii, and the J. nigrrscena with A. faUlandiai
(1. e., p. 395).

Ubid., 1876, pp. 315, 316.

II Ibid., 1877, pp. 50.5-507.

SPECIES.

203

.stated of what it consisted, and osjiccially what types it em-
braced, aii<l that he has not jtivsented the results of his invcsti-
<iatu»iis in di'tail, witli iiioic explicit expression of his later
views i-esiteetinfi' tlie nuiaerous syiioiiyiiis of tin; yronp, very
lew of the many nominal species )>einy here delinitely allocated,
lie liavinji' here made ri!di<!al chan{,'es of nomenclature, not
onlv from that of his fornu'r papers of 18()0, but from that of
iill ])re\ ions authors, without ji'iviny his reasons for such a pro-
cedure, such information would have in this connection espe-
cial value. Of the restricted yeiuis Otaria he recoj;ni/.es only
the single species O.jubata. lie yives its habitat as extending
from the Kio de la Plata and Callao and the Chincha Islands
southward. He rofers 0. leonitia, F. (,'uvier, and 0. ulloa', von
Tschudi, tt» this specii s as "local races," and leaves it to bo
inferred that his O. f/odcfroyi and Gray's 0. minor and 0. pyg-
ituva are regarded by him as purely synonyms, (h'ay's Phoc-
«/•( .'o.v clongatus, he says, beltuigs, without doubt, to EumeiopiaH
(jUk'xpU and gives Japan as falling witiiin its range, (iray's
yMlophm lobaiUH he refers to Otaria cincrca, Peron, to which he
also assigns 0. alblcoUls of the same author and <). australiti
of (Juoy and Gaimard. He adopts Peron's apparently wholly
indeterminable name cinerea* for this species, without giving
liis reasons or stating Avhether he has obtained new light on
this intricate matter since 18GG, when he referred it to a group
having thick under -fur, and associated with it the Otaria cinerea
of Quoy and Gaimard, and the Otaria forsteri of Lesson, both
of which he now treats as distinct species belonging to another
{i'ouus. Xo reference being made to Turner's Arctoccphahis
wlmthjperoiis, nor to Gray's A. nivosus and Enotaria com-
prcssa, nor to the 0. peroni, 0. hauriUi, etc., of the French
writers, it is to be inferred that they are regarded us syno-
nyms, but of what species we are left in doubt. He adopts
Areioccplmlus ])imllu8 (from Schreber) as the name of the .South
African Fur Seal, on the supposition that Buflbn's "Petit

* It has been supposed by Gray aud others that P^ron took with him to
Franco uo specimeus of liis Otaria chicrva, but G. Ciivier (Oss. Foss., v, 3d
t'd., i». 221) refers to a specimen of Otary '*vieut dc Peron (c'est la seule
<iu'il ait rapportde), elle n'a quo denx pieds neuf ponces do long, et est un
pen plus blunchdtre que celle du Cap." He adds in a footnote, "C'est pro-
balik-nient cello dont il parte sous le nom A'otarie cendn'e de I'ile Decrfes;
roij. aiix Terr>» Australea, t. ii, p. 54," The Otary of the Cape here referred
t(» is the one biought by M. Delalaude, whicli is the Fur Seal of the Cape
of Good Hope.

^ '11

;]

204

FAMIL^' OTAPilDiE.

Phoque," on which the name pusiUa rests,* must have come
from tlie Cape of Good Ilope.t Tlie Fur Seals of South
Ameriea are reeoyiiized as behuiyiu}^ to two si)eeies, those of
the east coast, tlie l-'alklaml Islands, the southern extremity of
the continent, antl the west coast northward to Ciiili i>ein};' ro-
fened to ArctoccphaliiH falkhuHlicm, while those from Juan Fer-
nandez and Masafuera Islands are assigned to A liliiUppi. We
are therefore left to suppose that his and Gray's A. nigrescens,
bis A. argentata,X Gray's Euotaria latirostris, and Scott's ^1.
grayi and A. euhphm, are regarded by him as synonyms of
these species. The Fur Seal of Australia he calls Arctocepluilm
brevipes, citing " Otaria einerea Quoy et Gaimard, Voy. Astro
labe, Zoolog. i, p. 89 (non P6ron)." He also recognized A. ek-
gam from Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands (to which he
doubtfully referred A. tropicalis, Gray); A. gnzella, from Ker-
gueleu Island; and the A./orsteri, Lessoji, from New Zealand
and the Antarctic Seas to the southward of New Zealand. Four
of his species, namely, Arctocephalus ckgan,s, A.forfiteri, A. (fa-
zella, and A.pMUppii, ai)pear to me to be invalitl, while under
his Eunietoinati giUespi, I l>elieve he has c«mf()unded two quite
distinct species, namely, ZaIo2)hus aiUcspi and Z. lohatus, Pe-
ti'rs's thirteen species i. .» the foUowinji :

8. Arctocppliiiliis Itrcvipcs, Peters.

9. Arctocepliiiliis elcjfans, Peters.

10. Arctoeeitlialiia foiHteii, Lesson.

11. Arctoceph.alus gazellii, Peters.

12. Arctocephalus pliilippi, Peters.
! 13. Arctocoplialus ursinus (Liuiid).

1. Otaria jubata (Forster).

2. Eumetopias stelleri (Lesson).

3. Enmetopias gillespi (M'Baiu).

4. Eumetopias einerea (Pdron).

5. Eumetopias liookeri (Gray).

6. Arctocephalus pu8illus(Schreber).

7. Arctocephalusfalklandicua, Shaw. |

Five are Hair Seals and eight are Fnr Seals. Three only are
given as found in the northern seas, while ten are recognized
as occurring in the southern.

From the foregoing it will be seen how widely opinions have
differed respecting the number of species and their generic
afBnities among recent writers on this group, and how unstable
have been the Aiews of the two leading authorities in this field

*See antm, p. 194, second footnote.

tG. Cuvier supposed it to have como from the Cape, because! Pagiia (see
Bufion's Hist. N.at., Suppl., vi, 357) had reported the young Otaries ol' the
Cape as of a l)lack color (Oss. Foss., 3d od., v, 220) ; but it is now Avell known
that all Fur Seals ar<3 black when young. On the other haml, Daubcutnii
insisted that Buffon's "Petit Phoiiuo" (sec Desmarest, Mam., p. 251) came
from "I'Indc."

{ J (i7e<i, p. 202, footnote.

SPECIES.

205

(liiriii}; the last ton ov twdvo years. Pctois and (iray have both
repeatedly during this time radically moditied their views re-
spectiufi; b«)tli the jimnber of genera and species; yreatly, in the
case of (iray at least, out of proportion to the new material they
have examined. This thictuation of oi)inion shows, in a most
eiiijihatic maimer, how imperfect our knowledg*' still is respect-
h\<<: the Otaries of the Southern Hemisphere. Those of the
Xitrthern an; nuich better known, the only <loubts still existing
liaviny relation to those of Japan. Kespeeting all the others,
there has been for the last eight years an almost perfect una
nimity of opinion, so far as the (piestion of species is concerned.
In 1.S70 I could find no satisfactory basis for the discrimina-
tion of more than a single species of Fur Seal in the Southern
IhMuispliere, and to my mind the case is now scarcely better,
since I have as yet had opportunity of examining only speci-
mens from South American localities, with the exception of a
skin and skull of a very young individual from Australia. I
now add one species of Hair Seal to the number I then recog-
nized. These, which will be discussed more fully later, are the
following:

Fur Seah or Sea-Beara.

6. Callorhiuus iirsiuus.

7. ArctocophaluB falklandicus.
f 8. Arctoccphaliis antarcticus.
?9. Arctocephalus forateri.

Hair Seals or Sea-IAona.

1, Otaria jubata.

2. Enmetopias stelleri.
H. Zaloplius californianus.

4. Zulophus lobatus.

5. Phocarctos liookeri.

Although taken severely to task by Gray and others for my
" conservatism," especially respecting Otaria liookeri, auct. (the
justness of which in this instance I now concede), but also as
regards the Southern Fm* Seals, I must still confess my inability
to satisfactorily distinguish them by the published figures and
descriptions. I find only such differences indicated as a large
series of specimens, embracing both skulls and skins, of two
iiUied species (namely, CallorhinusursinuH undArctocephalmfalk-
Jandicus, auct., aiistralis, Zimm.) show to have no importance as
specific characters. Indeed, I find Gray himself, in his latest ref-
erence to two of these species, writing as follows : " The New-
Zealand skull ['•'' Etiotaria ciwfi/crt"] is very like the skull of the
Southern Fur-Seal {Arctoccphalus nigrescenx) from the Falkhind
Islands and the south-west coast of Patagonia. It differs in the
position and form of the grinders, and in the form of the jialate,
and its contracted sides and truncated hinder part; it differs
considerably from it in the outline and prominence of the tern-

206

FAMILY OTAUIIDiE.

jail '

l)onil bullji3 and tho os i)etro8iim. Tlic upper wurfaccs arc vory
imich alike, and the orbits are very large and of the same s'zv.
The lower jaws are very Niniilar; but tlie eallosity of the Falk
land Island si)eeinien is rather lonjjjer, and the erowu of the teeth
is longer and rather more slender — the erowu of the New-Zeu
land speeiuien beiufj as long- as broad, that of the Falkland
Island sp.'einien beiuj^ one-third longer than broad."* I eite
the diflereuees here noted by Gray to show how trivial are the
grounds of separation. A skull of eaeh of the sui)posed species
only is liere compared. The differences are JiiSt such as occur
between undoubted specimens of Callorhinus urshins, no two ul"
which, even of the same age and sex, can be compared without
observing differences, while there is no difticulty in selecting
specimens that are very unlike in characters that have beeu
taken, in discussing other species of this group, as having great
signilicance. Again Dr. Gray, in comparing his Gypsophoca
iropk'id'iH from Xorth Australia with I'eters's Arctophoca argen-
tatti and A. 2>hfUppi i fvom Juan Fernandez and Masafuera, says:
" These three skulls have nearly the same teeth, and appear to
nie to belong to one group; btit whether they are three distinct
species (two from the west coast of South America and one from
North Australia) 1 will not attempt to determine, as 1 have only
seen the skins and skulls of the one from the latter region; but
they are all Fur-Seals and may be distinct.''t Dr. Gray says
his genus Qypsophoca "is most like Arctophoca in the position
of the teeth ; hut the pala*<) h much narroiccr, the face shorter, and
the hinder part of the ulcuU much larger and more ventricose^^',1^ but,
as Clark has shown,§ and as is evident from Gray's figures, Gyp-
sophoca was based on a young skull, and young skulls of Otaries
differ from adult ones of the same si)ecies iu just these characters.
It nuiy here be noted that in several instances the so-called "spe-
cies" of Fur Seals differ from others recognized by the same
authors only through differences that can be demonstrated to
be, ill other Avell-known allied species, simply sexual. Hence,
until writers ou this group have learned to discriminate the
sexes, and to make due allowance for the great changes iii
contour and details of structure that result from age in the
skidls of Otaries, we can hardly hope to have the subject of
species i)laced on a jiroper basis.

* Hand-List, p. 36. ~

t Hand-List, p. 28; first printed in Proc. ZooLSoc. Lond., 1872, p. 661.
tProo. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1872, p. 659.
$ Ibid., 1873, p. 759.

.SI'KCIHS.

207

TIh' (listrilmtiiMi of Iho Kiir Srals in tlic Southoni Sea.s pix'
.st'iits no obstacle to the siijuiosition of tliolr t'Oiispeiillc rola-
tionsliij). TlH'y occur not only on both the Atlantic and Pacific
coasts of the South Aniciican contiiu'ut, about its southern ex-
tremity, and on all the outlying islands, including' not only the
Falklands, the South Shetland, and South Georjiian, but at
otiicr small islands more to the eastward, ut Prince Edward's,
the t'rozets, Kerguelen, Saint l*aul, and Ajusterdam, the south-
ern ami western shores of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealiind,
and at the numerous smaller islands south of the two last
named. They have been found, in fact, at all the islands nuik-
iuji up the chain of pelagic islets stretching somewhat inter-
rnptedly from Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands eastward
to Australia and New Zealand, including among others those
south of the Cape of Good Hope, so famous in the annals of the
soal-tishery. It has been stated by Gray and others that the
Cape of Good Hope Fur. Seals (really those of the Crozets and
neighboring islands) are far inferior in commercial value to
tliose of other regions ; but in tracing the history of the sealing
business I have failed to notice any reference to the inferioi-
(luality of those from the last-named locality, or that there has
been any difference in the commercial value of the Fur Seal
skins obtained at dift'erent localities in the Southern Seas. The
(jnality differs at the same locality, wherever the Fur Seals are
found, with the season of the year and age of the animals, so
that skins may come not only from the Cape of Good Hope,
but from any other of the sealing-i)laces, that one " might feel
convinced could not be dressed as furs," being " without very
thick under fur."

In this connection I may add that Gray's figure (Hand-List
of Seals, pi. xxiii) of an old male skidl of Aretocephalm antarc-
ticus so closely resembles an aged male skull (No. 1125, M. C.
Z. Coll.) of Arctocephalus amtralis { — falMandums, auct.), that
the latter might have served as the original of the figures ! while
other skulls of the last-named species bear a striking resem-
blance to Gray's figures of his Euotaria cinerea (Hand- List, pi.
xxvi) and Ids E. latirostris (ib., pi. xxvii). In fact, the series of
skulls of J.rctocepAa?M« australis in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology, from the Straits of Magellan and the west coast of
South America, presents variations that seem to cover all of
Gray's species of Arctocephalus and Evotaria as figured by him
iu the Hand-List of Seals.

208

FAMILY OTAKIIDA:.

Syiiiipsin of the (linvnt itiul SpccicH,

A. I'i'liimiharNli. witlidiit iiiiilcr-fiir. KiiiMNliort. MolaiH

(1— (I.
fi — 5'

Yo' SiH'cics j;t'iu'iiilly of liu'nc nI/.c. Color yt'llowish-ltrowii ; rcil-
(liHh-hrown y\hm youiin Tuicnoi-irocAiA:.

I. dcHUH Otauia, dill ex I'cron.

Otaria, P^:j{on, Voy. aux 'ft-rr. AuHtr., ii, 181(i, :J7, lootiiotti (in part).
[Platiirhhirhm] J'latyrhiiDiue, V. CUVIEK, Mi^in. dii Muh., xi, 1824,208, pi. iv,

li«. 2.
riatyrhhuua, Y. CuviER, Diet, des 8c. Nat., xxxix, 1827, T").— LK8.son,

Man. de Maui., 1827, 20:i (in part).
Otaria, Git.l, Proc. Essex IriHt., v, 1860, 7.

Char. Gen.— I'alatine liones extending nearly to the pterygoid i»roce88e8,
deeply eoneuvo, trunente behind. Molars ^^ = ^^.

1. Otaria jubata ("Forster") Blaiuvillo.

Phocajiibata, "Forster, 177.'j"; Sciirebeu, Erxleben, Gmelin, and other

early writers.
Phoca jubata, Forster, DeHerij). Anini. ndLicht., 1844, 317 (" Terra Statuum ;

Insula Novi-anni").
Otaria jubata, Desmarest. Mam., 1820, 248 (in part), and of most recent

writers.
t Phoca flavcscena, Suaw, Gen. Zool., i, 1800, 2C0 (young).
Otaria leonina, P£rox, Voy. aux Terr. Austr., ii, 1816, 40. Also of Desmarest,

Gray, Peters, and some others. ,

Platyrhincua honinun, F. CuviER, Lesson.
Phoca byroni, Blainville, Jonm. de Phys., xci, 1820, 287.— Desmarest,

Mam., 1820, 240 (Jide Gray, Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 13),
Otaria moUosmna, Lesson vl Garnot, Voy. Co(|., Zool., i, 1820, 140, pi. iii

("IlosMalouines").
riatyrhyneus motlosainua et urauiw, Lesson, Man. de Mam., 1827, 204.
Otaria pernettyi, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 420.
Otaria platyrhinchu8 et chilrnniH, MtUxER, Wiegmann's Archiv fWrNaturgesch.,

1841, :m.

Otaria honina, goihffroyi, hyronia, et uUow, Peter.'^, Monatsb. Akad. Berlin,

18(i6, 2(J4. 2»)(), 2()y, 270, (i/O, (>71.
Otaria uUoa; von Tsciiudi, Fauna Peruana, 1842-44, 13.'). 136, pi. vi.
Arctocephahta falklaiidiciia, Burmei.ster, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser.,

xviii, 186(), pi. ix, ligs. 1-4 (at least in part).
Otaria minor, et pyymmi. Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., viii,

326.
Otaria hookeri, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1806, 80.

Habitat. — Galapagos I>*land8 (Coll. Mus. Comp. Zool., from Hassler
Expedition), and coasts of South America from Peru and Chili on the Pacific
side, and Rio de la Plata on the Atlantic side southward.

SPECIES.

209

II. Genun riiocARCTOS, Peters.

Aniocvpnnliis, ni part, of GHAY, i»rior to IHtJG.

I'liocanioH (milij;i'iuiM), I'l/iKiis, ALoiiatHb. Akatl. Berlin, IrffiO, 269.

CiiAii. (iKN. — I'lilatiiu' lioiu'H eniliii}; conHnltTably in front of tho pterygoid
iiKKcssci*, (li'ci»ly t'oucavo in front, nurrowotl and fniarginutc behind. Mo-

tl-t! 12

'i. PhooarctOB hookerl (Gray) PetcrH.

.iirhctphahiH hookcri, GnAY, "ZoiU. Voy. Kn-buH and Terror, pll. xiv, xv";

Cat. ScalH and WbaleH, Ir^fiO, .'»:», tig. 15.
VhiidrvloH lioohrri, Ghay, iSnppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, l.'i; Hand-
List Seals, 1H74, "29, pi. xx.
(iliiria jiiliata, Ai.LKN, Unll. Mns. Coinp. Zool., ii, 1870, 45 (in jtart).
iiliirid hookni, Ci-AHK, Proe. Zool. See. Lond.. 187:{, 754, ilgs.

llAiiiTAT. — Auckland Islands. (Orif^inally (h'serihed from specimens »«j>-
liimil to have come from tho " Talkhmd Islands and Cape Horn." See Clark,
US aliove cited, and Gray, Ann. and Maj;. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., vol. xiv, 1874,

\i\>. -jf;-;!!'.)

III. Getni8 El'METOPlAS, Gill.

Oliirid, in part, of earlier aiithors.

Kiimi1(>ii)(ts, Gll.L, I'roc. Essex In8t.,v, 18()(), 7, 11.

( iiAU. Gkx. — PaIatin(^ hones ending very far in front of pterygoid pro-
(csscs, Hat, or nearly so; hinder border hollowed or cniarginate. Molars
lzl~ fO' *'^*'' 1"*"' separated by a considerable space from the fourth pair.

3. Eumetopias stelleri Peters. *

IIaihtat. — Pacific coast of North America from California to Alaska;
I'acitic consf of Asia from Ja])an ncrthward.

IV. Genus Zalopiius, Gill.

Anloccphaliix, in part, of GiiAY, prior to 1866.

/.(dopliiis, Gii.l, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 7, 11.

XivpliDra, GuAY, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., xviii, 1866, 231; Suppl.

Cat. feo-xls and Wh.ales, 1871, 28.
EumetopiuH, Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1877, 506 (in part).

Char. Gex. — Pala+ino much as in Eumetopias. Sagittal crest very high.
Interorbital region greatly constricted. Molars ^^^ = ^, in a continuous
.■'Ones.

4. Zalophus californlanus (Lesson) Allen.t

Habitat.— Coast of California.

5. Zalophus lobatus (Gray) Gill.
'HOtaria uWicollis, P^ron, Voy. Terr. Austr., ii, 1816, 118.
(^iaria cincrea, Gray, King's Narr. Austral., ii, 413.

ArdocepMhis lohatus, Gray, "Spic. Zoolog., i, 1828, pi. — "; Cat. Seals, 1850,
_ 44 ; Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 50.

* For synonymy, see infra, under the general history of Eumetopias stelleri.
*lor synonymy, see infra, under tho general history of the species.
Misc. Pub. ISo. 12 14

210

FAMILY OTARIID^.

■j

Ncophoca lobata, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d scr., xviii, 1866, 231;

Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 28 ; Hand-List Seals, 1874,

43, pi. ..XX.
Otaria auatralia, Quoy &, Gaimakd, Zool. Voy. Astrolabe, i, 1830, 95; 1833,

pi. xiv (animal), xv, figg. 3,4 (skull), "Nouvelle Hollande."
Arctocephalus auatralia, Gray, Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, i")7 (not Pima

auatralia of Zimmemianii and Kerr).
Otaria atelleri, Temminck, Faura Japon. (at least in part).
Phocarctoa clongatua, Gray, Hand-List of Seals, 1874, 30, pU. xxi, xxii.
Eumeiopiaa clnerca, Peters (ex l^dron), Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1877, 506.

Habitat. — Australian Seas. Japan??

B.— Pelage soft, with abundautnnder-fiir. Earelonger. Molars 5E5=Jq- Size
smaller. Color gray ; black when young OuLiPHOCAca;,

V. Genua Callorhinus, Gray.

Callorhinua, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1859, 357.

Arctocephalua, Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 7, 11 (not of F. Cuvier).

Char. Gen. — Facial portion of the skull short, convex,

Molars 5^:1 = io^

G. Callorhinus ursinus Gray.

Habitat. — Shores of the North Pacific, from California and Japan (Pe/m)
northward.

VI. Genua Arctocephalus, F. Cuvier.

lArctocephalua'l Arctocephalea, F. Cuvier, Mdm. du Mus., xi, 1824, 205, pi.

iv, fig. 1.
Arctocephalua, F. Cuvier, Diet, dcs Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1827, 554.
Hdlarctua, Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 7, 11.
Arctophoca, Peters, lionatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1866, 276.— Gray, Suppl. Cat.

Seals and Whales, 1871, 31.
Euotaria, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., iv, 1869, 269; nanJ-

List Seals, 1874, 34.
GypaopUoca, Gray, Ann, and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., iv, 1869,269; Hand-

List Seals, 1874, 27.
Char. Gen. — Facial portion of skull slender, elongated, pointed, gently
declined. Molars ^^^^ = ^, much larger than in CallorMnua.

7. Arctocephalus australis (Zimincrmann) Allen.

Phoca uraina, in part, of various early writers.

Phoca auatralia, Zimmermann, Geograph. Geschichte, iii, 1782, 276 (= "Falk-
land Seal, Pennant, ii, 521")-— Kerr, Anim. King., 1792, 12^
(= "Falkland Seal, Penu., Hist. Quad. N., 378").
. PlMcafalklandica, Shaw, Gen. Zool., i, 1800, 256 (= "Falkland Isle Seal" of
Pennant — the Fur Seal of the Falkland Islands).

Otaria falklandica, Desmarest, Diet. d'Hist. Nat., xxv, 1817, 601, and of I
many subsequent writers.

Otoria s. Arctocephalua falklandicua. Gray, Peters, and others.

•For synonjrmy see infra, under the general history of the species.

SPECIES.

211

Olurla nhawi et hanviUei, Lksson, Diet. CIush. tVIIist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 425.

ArdoccphnluK nigresccns, Gray, Pktkrs.

Otaria (Arvtophoca) philippii, I'KTKns, Mouatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1866, 276,

pi. ii.
Utitria (Ardophoca) argcntata, I'lULim & I'etkijs, Moiiatab. Akad. Berliu,

1871, 560, pll. i, ii.
AntocqihaluH grayi, Scott, Mam. lieeeut and Extiuet, 1873, 19.
Kiiotarid latirosfris, Gray, Hand-List Seals, 1874, 37, pi. xxvii.

Habitat. — Galapagos Islands (sitecimens in Mns. Comp. Zoiil., Hassler
Exp. *) and shores and iglands of South America, from Chili and the Rio de la
Plata soatlnvard.

•Specimens of both Otaria juhata and Arctocephahis misiralis were col-
lected by members of the Hassler Expedit ion at the Galapagos Islands, show-
ing that they both rangi> much farther northward than has hitherto been gen-
erally supposed. For the following observations respecting their numbers
iinrl habits I am indebted to my friend Mr. J. H. Blake, artist of the Expe-
dition, who h.as kindly transcribed them from his note-book:

'^Charles Island, Galapagos Group, June 10, [1872]. — On an island at the
easteru side of Post-Offlce Bay is a Sea Lion rookery, where at almost any
time can be seen hundreds of Sea Lions lying at a little distance from the
water. Two of our company, in a little boat about ten feet long called the
'Dingy', went near the shore Avhere they were, when the Seals innnediately
ran into tlu^ water and surrounded the boat. The Seals came close to and
iindcr the boat, so that there was danger of their capsizing it, some of them
being as largo as the boat, and some were even hirger; hence it was deemed
Vi'iuk'ut to leave them. Toward evening the Captain, with others, took a
largfr boat and landed on the shore below the Seals, and while they were
nuniiug toward the water one measuring six o^ seven feet in length was shot.
Many of them were of enoiinous size, and great numbers could easily have
boon killed. They made a noise when rushing to the water louder than 'ho
waves on the shore. We saved one skeleton, and next day two half-grown
Seals were brought on shipboard and also saved.

'••fun'w hliiml, June 16, 1872. — At this island we saw many Seals, and some
were killed, one small one being preserved in alcohol. I went on shore in
the second boat, and as our boat landed we were surrounded with Seals of
different sizes, which came near the boat. Near where we landed was a
mother Seal und her two young ones lying together in a shallow excavation
tliey had made in the sand. They lay very quietly and appeared to be not
much disturbed by our presence as we gathered about them, excei)t when

we offerod to touch the young The mother was about six feet long,

and of ii light grayish color, with the head small and shaped like that of a
dog. The young resembled their mother but had shorter noses and were
about three or four feet long.

"In walking along the beach I came to another small rookery where
tlierc were family groups similar to that above described, lying about in all
kinds of positions, and so comfortably situated I did not disturb them.
One Seal, about six or seven feet long, which I met with at some distance
from the water, I drove some distance to study its movements in walking
and running. It would nearly raise itself from the ground and walk like

212

FAMILY OTARIIDiE.

ell

Hi' ''''

-1

H. Arctocephalus antarcticus (Tluiultirg) Allen.

Phom iirsina, roitsTKit, and in part of many early writirs.

t Phoca pmiUa, SriiKicniMi, Sihifj^et., iii, [177(>f], 1511 (=Le Petit Plioque.
Bnllon, based on .a yonnf^ I'lir Seal, from an nnknowu locality,
but stipposed to have come from India or t\w Levant,* but as no
Seals exist tbere, and as many ;Miinials Avbieb, in fonner ycarsi.
jtnr]torted to liave been brouj^ht from India were found to lie
really African, some late writers have assumed that Butl'iiu's
"Petit Pboque" must liave been also Afrean, but the pertineiicc
of the name 7)«s(7/« to tlie African I'ur .Seal is not beyond reason-
able doubt). t Also of EuxLEBKX, Gmklix, and others.

f OtariapiiKilla, Dksmakkst, ^ouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., xxv, 1827, <>0*i (liiiswl
on (he sauuO.

Otaria puailla, Pktkus, Monatsb. Akad. Herlin, 18()(), 271, f)71 (nauio adopted
from Sehrebtu').

Arctovt'plinhix piixUliiK, Pktkks. Jlonatsb. Akad. IJerlin, 1H77, 506.

/ ^* I'lioca parra, Hoddakkt, Elenehus Anim., pi. Ixxvii" (= liutt'on's IVtit
Phoque, as above).

Phova antarrtiva, TiifNHKm;, Mem. Acad. St.-P<<tersb., iii, 1811,222.

Arctoaphalux (iiitarcticuH, Aij.kx, Hull. Mus. Comit. Zool., ii, 187tt, 4ri.—
Gkay, Sui>pl. Cat. Seals an<l Whales, 1871, 17.

f Otiiria pcroiii, I)i:.><makkst, Mam., 1820, 2.")0 (— Otarki ptmUa, Desniarest,
as above).

Otaria peroni, " Smith, South African Quart. Journ. ii, C2."

any four-footed auinuil by ben<lin<; the fore-tlippers and turning the liiiid-
flippers forward as here represented [in some sketches accompaiiyinf; llii'sc
notes, but not here reproduced]. Tiny {galloped alonj? the sandy sliorc at
quite good speed. In going over the rocks they tumbled abotit in everyway
but would still manage to get along with surprising rapidity. I .saw iiiaiiy
lying on the shore asleep, and there were huudri'ds more in tins water near
the shore. On iiiqtroaching within a few feet of them they would cmue
towards me as if they had been tamed. From a j)rojecting rock I watched
their movements in the water — a beautiful sight. They would roll over
uiulor water, turning comidete somersaults, swim on their backs or side;;,
and in almost every position would glide about in the most graceful niaiiiier
around the rock on which I was sitting, looking up at me. They ofteu \m\

their ncses together in the most aft'ectitmatc? way When annoyed

by flies alighting on their noses they would open their mouths widely and
snap at them as dogs do.

".Just back of the beach, and separated from the ocean by a row of man-
grove trees, was a lagoon of bracki.sh water in which were a number of
Seals, while lying abcujt on the bord<'r of the lagoon were many skeletons ot
those that had died."

* Burton says: " . , . . on nous a assure (jue I'individu quo nonsavonsvu
venoit ties Indes, & il est au nioins trea-probabh^ qu'il venoit des nicrsdn
Levant." — ItiKt. Xaf„ tome xiii, p. ;!11.

t Gray says: "It is as likely to have come fro^. the Falkland Islamls as
from the Cape, as the French had traffic with Les Ilea Malouines, as they
cull them." — Siippl, Cat, Seah and JVhalcs, 1871, p. 19.

SPECIES.

213

Otarinlc Tklalaiide, V. CuviKK, Diet. Sci. Nat., xxxix. 1826, 5r)8.»
Arctoci'phdhiHdelalatxIi, Gkay, Troc. ZoiH. Sor. Loud., lt'.'>9, 107, IlfiO, pi. Ixix;

Cat. Seals and Whales, IHWJ, .Vi; Anu. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d

M'l"., xviii, IdlU), 235.
Anloic]iliahtaf(ilklati(HviiH {hi iKirt), Gkay, Cat. Seal.s, 1850, 42.
Jrcloeephalun nrhinthyprrovx, Ti'itXKit, .lonrn. Anat. and Pliys., iii, 1868,

113, fig.
Antuccjilitiluii tiiroHiiH, Gkav, 8ui>i)1. Cat. Seals and Wluvles, 1871, 27.
/ Euotar'iH ivmjtreami, Gray, Hand-last, 1874, 38, pi. xxiv ("South Africa T").
Habitat. — Cai)c of Good Hope.

TO. ArctocephaluB foreterl (Lesson) Gray.

Phoca ursina, FORSTEB, Descrip. Auiin. (ad Lichtenstein), 1844, 64 (New
Zealand) = Sea Bear, Forster, Cook's Second Voyage, 1777,
= Ours Marin, Biiffon, Hist. Nat., Suppl., vi, 1782, 336, pi. xlvli,
so far as it relates to Forster's figure and notes).

Otaria fomtiri, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 421 (=:Sea Bear
of Forster, whieh became, later, Phoca Hr»ina, Forster, exclusive
of references to Stollei-'s Ursus mnrinun).

AntocephaIii»J'orntiri, GRAY, Snppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 25.

Otaria ciiima, QuoY &. Gaimard, Zool. Voy. Astrolabe, i, 1830, 89; Atlas,
1833, pU. xii (animal), xiii (animal), xv, tigg. 1,2, skull ("Nouvello
Hollaude"; probably not Oiaria vhnrid, Perron, Voy. Terr. Austr.,
ii, 18(5(5, 54, 77, which, however, is indeterminable). — Peters,
Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 180(5, 272, (571 (exclnsive of some syno-
nyms).

Anton phaliix diifreim, (Jray, Cat. Seals, 1850,43; Cat. Seals and Whales,
18G(), 5(5; Snppl. Cat. Seals an\l Whales, 1871, 24, etc.

Liiotaria nncrva, GRAY, Hand-List Seals, 1874, 34, pi. xxvi.

f Otarui lamarii, MCller, Wiegmann's Arch. f. Naturgcs., 1841, 334 (in part
Hi \onHt,—fide Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1866, 271, 272).

(Ijipsophoca tropicalis, GRAY, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1872, (5.59, figg. 5, 6;
Hand-List Seals, 1874, 28, pi. wiii.

fAntoplioca gazelln, Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1875, 396 (Kergueleu
Island).

J Otaria (Arctophocn) cleyaitH, Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1876, 316 (St.
Paul Odd Amsterdam Islands).

Arvtoceplialm Vrcripes, forateri, fclegans, ot f gazeUa, Peters, Monatsb. Akad.

Bovlin, 1877, .507.
llAniTAT. — Australia, New Zealand, Auckland Island ; f Kergueleu Island ;

f Saint T'uul and Amsterdam Islands.

*" Otaria ihlalamlii, F. CuviER. Diet. Sci. Nat., xxxix, 423," cited by
lisflicr (Syu. Mam., 232), and repeatedly by Gray and by Peters, is evidently
on'oiu'ous, lis the article " Phoqmi " begins on p. 540, and no spocics of Seal or
Otaiy is nienticmed on p. 423. The correct citation is not " Otaria dela-
kndii" Init " Olarie de Delalandc," as given above. G. Cuvier refers (Oss.
Fos.. ;til (Ml., v, 1825, 220, pi. xv5" , fig. 5. skull) to it as "Otarie du Cap" " recu
Piir M. Delalande."

214

FAMILY OTARIIDiE.

MYTIIICAIi AND UNDiyi'lOKMINAllLE SPECIES.

In tlic. |)n!(;(i«liiif;' piij^c's r<'i<'i'('.n<'('- has bocii iiiiido to v.'irious
siMMrics (IcsciiluMl loo iiiipcilecMy to iidinit of rcoo/^iiHioii.
Sonic ol" lln'sc, 1 liiivo (loiilttl'iilly ;illo(!iito<l iissibov*^; otlici's I
liiiNc iiiiulc no iittonijjl lo (Iclcrniinc. Ainoiijn' tlu^s(' nrc tln'
follow in;^' :

I. l*/i()c<i pusillo, H(!iiKEr.i;i{, Siiiij^ct., iii, |177(;?|, .'{I4, biiscd,
US Jiln'iuly stilted (s«',c above, p. 11)1), on Hulfon's " IN^lit IMuKpic,"
a yoim^- I'^iir Seal from an unknown locaHty. iJnffon speaks ol
it as i'eported to liavt- been brou<;lit from the Indies and the
|j(!vant (Hist. Nat., \..i, 1705, ;Ul),and lat(!r (ib.,.'Mr>) (lalls it ''Ic
IMitit phoipie noil' <l('.s liides & <lu Ijovaiit."

Li. I'liora lov{firolli^<,HuA^V, (Jeiieial Zoiil., i, I.SOO, 25(), Itascd
on tlio Iion;4-n«'eked Seal of Vtvow (IMiisenm, n»S(», 115) iiiid
Paisons (IMiik Trans., xlvii, 1751-51', pi. vi). Though said hy
Sliaw to 1m! "earless," (Iray* eontribiit<!s the following his
tory; "Theie formerly existed in tli«^ Miisoum of tlie b'oyal
!Soei<'ty an IOare<l Seal without any habitat; it is <'alled tiic
lionjjf-neeked Seal in (Irew's 'Rarities', p. *.>5, described iiiid
lij;iii'cd under that name by Parsons in the Phil Trans, xlvii, t.
(i, and iH)ticed inrennant's '(J|iia«lrupeds', ii,p. ii74. Dr. Slinw.
ill his 'Zoolojiy', i, ]». 250, Iranslatcd the iiaiiic. into I'lutni Ion-
{ficollis, ami copied Parsons's lijiiir<'s. The name; and the loriii
of the fi'ont feet are enough to show that it is an Fiare<l Sciil;
for Ihe neck of theses animals is always lonj; compared with tiic
lu'ck of tlu^ lOarless Seals or PlioritUv. I-'iseher, in his 'Synopisis'.
j>. 240, overlookinji' this character aiul the (h's<'rii»tion of tlic
front feet, (considers it as the saiiK*. as tin* Sea-Leopard of AVcd-
dell {I'lioea Weddcllii) from the Antarctic (hreaii, an Earless
Seal. Thou{;h the habitat is not ;;iven, there can be no donhf,
when we consider the, ••eojiraphieal distribution of the lOiircd
Seal, that it must have been receiv«'d either from the soiithcni
part of South America or from the (Jape of (rood Flope, as tlic
animals of the North Paeille and of Australia were not known
or brou^jht to l<^ny,iand in 1(JS(». As no a<'count of the i'olorot
the fur is j;iven, it is impossible to (h^termine to which species
inhabitiufjf these c(mntries it should be referred. It is most
I)robably the Sea Lion {Otaria leonina), as that is the aniiiiiO
which is most {generally distributed and commonly brou{,ditt(!
England. The sailors sometimes call it the 'Long necked

•Ann. iinil Mii^;. Xuf. HiMl., 4tli Hcr., i, 18(W, j)]), 217, 218,

mtgmmm

SPECIES.

215

Soul'." ^Jniy, liow(;v('r, liinl Ibniicily iclornMl if (l()ul)tliilly
(C)it. Seals, lS.j(>, i;{; O.it. S«':i1h aiul WliiilcH, ISfX;, r.(5) to
An-lorcplitiliiN foll.hniiliciis.

.!. I'lioni JhirrNcnis, SlIAW, < Icii. Zoiil., i, LSOO, li(J(), ii .siiiiill,
••vfllowislr' l')iir<'(l Seal, (l«'S<'ril)('(l ('loiii a spcciiiH'ii in llio
liCvcriaii .Miisciirii Itioiijilil from llic Straits of Ma;;«'l!aii. It is
tlic "l-laicd Seal" of I'ciinaiil ((^>iia(l., ii, L'TS), an<l tlie. (Hnria
Jlanncriis of Dcsiiiaicst (Mam., ISL'O, LTjL'). I"'i(»m its size (al)oiit
(wo feci loiij"), cohtr, ainl lialiitat, it is pn'siimably refciaWh' to
(Htiria jiih(tt(t, hut lias hox'.u rcfern-il by (Jray 1(» his I'honirctnH
lioolitri.

I. Oturid rinerca, rj^;i.H)N, Voy. Terr. Aiistr., ii, 1S1(», .Vt, 77,
is iiicicly icfcnc'l to in such j^ein'ral terms that it, is Avholly iu-
deterininaldc. The name, h<)\ve\ei', has Iwen commonly referred
to the llairSeal of Australia, for \vhi(^li species (ho name has
l»('cn adopted hy I'eters (see above, p. L'O.'J).

."». Olarid (ilhintllis, I'l^iKON, V^)y. aux T<'ri'. Austr., ii, ISKJ,
IIS. An l'iai('<l Seal, cu^^ht to nine feet lonj;', distinsnisiied by
ii hnj;(' white spot on the middle an<l upper i)art of the neck.
()l)scrved in ;j;i('at numbers on the islaiuls near Ihiss Straits.
No taii^fibh' <*haractcrs jfiven, and wholly Jinn'cof^iiizable. Ite-
fcrred, liow(^ver, by I'eters, in I.S77, to his '■'■ I'himctop'mH ciuvrea
(I'ci'oii)," the Znloplnix lohatiis of (Iray.

(!. (Haria voronnta, Dksmauks'I', Mam., bS2(), 251. Saya
Dcsman'st : '■'■ I'hoca ri)ron<(ta, Ulainv. ICspece, nouvelh^observ6(i
dans U\ Musi'iim <le Hidlock, A Londres." Locality unknown.
Tliouj-h said to be an Kan-d Seal, one loot and a lialf long,
black, sparsely and irrefiidarly sp(>tted with yellow, the Ibro
feet are said to hsiv<! live toes, nearly equal, and armed with
very strong, curved, sharp nails, while the liind feet have live
nails, '' H/a/.s <h}passen par den pointCH mcmhrancunes^'' — a (!oinbi-
nation of characters iinkDown in nature.

7. Otarin porelnu, F. CuviEU, iJict. des Sci. Nat.,xxxix, 182G,
55!). Has<Ml on the Phoca porcina, Molina, J Fist. Nat. du Chile,
200, recognizable merely as an Eared Seal, which (jlray and
l*(!teis have thouglit jmsaibly nrferable to the Arctocephalns
faUdmidicuH.

<S. Oinria pvronl, Desmakest, Mam., 1820, 250. The Hame
as Phoca ptmlla, Schreber, and t\w Petit Phoquo of IJuffon,
already noticed.

!>. Otariafabricii, LESSON, Uict. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii,1828,
419,= Phoca ursina, Fabricius, Faun. Grcenl., 6. Based on a

216

FAMILY OTAKIID^.

■ii

supposed species of Eared Seal erroneously believed by Fabri-
eius to exist in the Greenland seas, but wlio never saw tbe
animal, and described it mainly from what were <loubtless fab-
ulous reports rife among the Greeulanders. The sup])osed
species is entirely a myth, at least so far as having any relation
to an Otary. (See, further, Brown, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Loud., 18G8,
pj). 357, 358.)

10. "Ofarm aurita, Hi^mboldt." This is unknown to me.
Peters, in 1877, referred it doubtfully to Arctocephalus falkland-
icus.

11. Arctocephalus eulophus, Scott, Mam. Eecent and Ex-
tinct, 1873, 19. Based wholly on the testimony of an " expe-
rienced sealer." Not determinable. Habitat. — "New Zea-
land," "Patagonia," "Juan Fernandez"! (See above, p. 199.)

Other species, composite in character, are determinable only
by reterence to the types, among which are Otaria stelleri, Tern-
minck, Otaria lamari, Miiller, etc., noticed elsewhere.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The most striking fact in respect to the distribution of tlie
Otariidw is their entire absence from the waters of the North
Atlantic.

As already noticed, the Eared Seals are obviously divisible
by the charfuiter of the pelage, into two groups, which are com-
mercially distinguished as the "Uair Seals" and the "Fur Seals,'"
which are likewise respectively known as the "Sea Lions" aud
the- " Sea Bears." The two groups have nearly the same geo-
graphical distribution, and are commonly found frequenting the
same shores, but generally living apart. Usually only one spe-
cies of each is met with at the same localities, and it is worthy
of note, that, with the exception of the coast of California, uo
naturalist has ever reported the occurrence together of two
species of Hair Seals or two species of Fur Seals, althongb
doubtless two species of Hair Seals exist on the islands and
shores of Tasmania and Australia, as well as on the Califomiaii
coast.

The Ilair and Fur Seals are about equally and similarly
represented on both sides of the equator, but they are confined
almost wholly to the temperate and colder latitudes. Of the
nine species provisionally above recognized, two of the five
Hair Seals are northern and three southern j of the four Fur

FOSSIL OTARIES

217

Seals, throe an' southern and one only is northern, but the
tlinc southern are elosel.v related (perhaps doubtfully distinet,
at least two of them), and ar«' evidently reeent and but slij^htly
(lilleientiated forms of a eommon aneestral sto<'k. Of the two
Eared Seals of largest size {Eidiietopiax HtcUeri and Of arid ju-
h(iUt), one is northern and the other southern, and, though dif-
fering generically in the structure of the skull, are very similar
iu external characters, and geographically are strictly represent-
ative. ZalophuH is the only genus occurriifg on both sides of
the equator, but the species are diflereut in the two hemispheres.*
The Fur Seals of the north are the strict geographical repre-
sentatives of those of the south. Phocarctos Jioolceri is Austral-
asian, and has no corresponding form in the Northern Hemi-
sphere. No species of Eared Seal is known from the North
Atlantic. Several of the southern species range northward
into the equatorial regions, reaching the Galapagos Islands and
the northern shores of Australia.

FOSSIL OTARIES.

Tlie only fossil renuiins unquestionably referable to the Ota-
lies are those found by Dr. Ilaastt in the Moa Caves of New
Zealand. These have been referred by Dr. Haast to the species
of Kared Seals still inhabiting the New Zealand coast. | Hence
no fossil remains have thus far been discovered outside of the
lacsi'iit habitat of the grouj), their supi)osed occurrence in the
Tertiary formations of Europe requiring confirmation. The
abseuci. of the Otariida' from the North ^Vtlantic renders any

* This statement is made with Bomc reservation, owing to the fact that
it is not quite clear what the species arc that are found in the Japan Seas.
Both EnmvtopiaH aUlleri and CallorhiniiH urniinin extend southward, appa-
rently in small numbers, along the east coast of Asia to Japan. Zalo})huii
lohatiiK has been accredited to Japan, but apparently on the basis of Teni-
niinik's Oluria sfelleri, which is evidently a composite spiu-ies, which has been
vct'cned, at different times, in part to Z. lobatiin and Z. valifoiuiaiiiiK {—{/H-
h'lpii, uiitt.). The latter has as yet been certainly found nowhere except on
till' Pacific coast of the United States, and Z. lobatun has not been positively
iihntitied from any point north of Australia. Temmiuck'slignres 1-4, pi. xxii,
ol the Fauna Japonica, seem unquestionably to represent skulls of Zalophus,
'mt whethtT the Australian or the Californiun species, or a third, as yet un-
iiaiueil, is apparently by no means settled. If ititroves to be the Z. lohatns,
it fonn.i an exceptional case of the same species occumng on both sides of
'111' I'ciuiitor.

t-Vrtdor, V(d. xiv, pp. 517, 518, Oct.26, lri7().

tDi". Haast identities them as "Arctocej)halii8 hbatioi (?) and A. vincrcuv"
ami '■L!iip(<oj)hoca /)'oj>tcfl?i»."

218

FAMILY OTARIID/E.

indications of tlioirf(»ni!('ri)i('scncT in Knioiicofsiu'cinl intorcsi,
and calls l"oi- a <'ntical examination of the sn]ti)oscd evidence ot
tlieir loiiner existence tliere.

(iervais, many years sin<-e,* described and liyni'ed a tooth
which he releired, with (hnibt, to Otaria {'■^Otnria i priscu"),
Itnt Van Ueneden has since determined it to be referable to
Sqtidlndon. ]M. K. l)elfortrie,+ in 1871*. described two fossil teeth
fi'om the bone l)reecia of Saint-Medard-en-.Ialle, near Uordeaiix.
which he considei'cd as represent injj;" two s]»ecies of Otary, wiiich
he named, iv ])ectively, 0/<r/*m (niilrimw and Otnria levlvml.
The tirst is based nj)on a last upper molar havinj;' some resem-
blance to the last superior molar of Eunictojnafi steUerl ; tlic
(►tlier is an "incisive inferieure externe," not nuich unlik*' the
corres])ondin}i' tooth of sonu' of tlu^ Otaries. 31. Delfortrie
observes that these teeth have a strikinjj^ analogy to those of
OtarUi jubma tigured by Blainville, and to those o\' Eumeiop'm
sti-IJeri and ('allorhiuus ursinus tigiired by myseli. "Cette anii
logic," says 'M. Delfortrie, "disons-nous, nous permet d'attribiicr
sans hesitation ji des Otarides, les deux dents de Saint-^bMlanl.
en en faisant toutefois deux especes distinctes, en raisoii des
caracteres bien tranches qu'elles presentent." T?esi)ectin{' tiiese
teeth, I^rofessor Van Beneden remarks: "Ces dents de VOtom
Oiuh'iana me semblant bien se rapprocher do celles de rchijiiits

In another connection, the same writer adds : " Sans avoir vii
les originaux nous ne pouvons toutefois nous defendrederidw
que ces molaires et ces incisives pourraient bien appartcnir a
un anim il fossile voisin du Felaglus monavhm de la 3Ie(litcni!
n^e. Xous esp^roUiS que I'on pourra bientot comparer avec le
soin necessaire ces dents interessantes avec les especes voisiiie^
vivantes et fossiles et nous ne serious pas surpris de voir leu-
contrer certaines affinites <iui echappent jusqu'sV present. Le
genre Falaophom que nous <lecrivons plus loin n'est pasbieii
61oigne des rclmjivH de la Mediterranee, et la dent qui a seni
de type a VOiariu OudHana n'est pent etre (lu'une preniolaiit
de notre Fahvophoca ; celle sur laquelle est 6tablie YOtariaL(
clercii, est pent etre une incisive sup6rieure du meme aniinal.'j
I agree entirely with M. Van Beneden that these teeth cannot k

■' Zoolofjfie ft la Piil(5oiito]ogie fran^aises, 18.')0-r)5, p. 5J70, pi. viii, lig. l^'
t Acti'H (le la Soiidt*^ Linndenue de Bordeaux, xxviii, 4« livr., 1872.
{Ann. dii Mu8, Roy. d'llist. Nat. de Belgique, i, jirem. part., 1877, p. 25.
i^Ibid., J). 57.

FOSSIL OTARIES.

219

acci'i>tO(l as satisfactory ])r()of of tlie presence of Otaries iu the
Tertiary fauna of lOiiropo.

N'mii lU'iK'dcii also n'fcrs t(» a Immorns oi'un Otary iu the Mu-
s(Miiii of tli(^ CJeoloyieal Institute of Vienna, supposed to have
hccii taken from the bed of the Danube, and adds that it bears
ii close resenibhince to the same part in Otariajnhata, if indeed
it is not referable to that species, but adds: "Get os, en
tout cas, n'est pas fossile," He also refers to a skull found by
Valenciennes on the shore iu the department of Laude, meu-
tioned by Gervais,* and says it is still unknown how it came to
bo fount on the coast.

Van r>enedcu, however, believes that he has proof of the ex-
istence of fossil Otaries in Europe iu his Mesotaria ambigua,i a
species i)reseuting many remarkable charactei's, which ally it,
he believes, in some points, to the Otaries. This species is rep-
resented by the greater jiart of the bones of the skeleton aud
iiuinerous teeth, but the skull is not known.| The teeth, he
says, arc unlike those of any other genus, while the bones indi-
cate a s])ccial mode of life, and a size about equal to or rather
larger than that of Phoca (jnenlundka.^ The ilium is described
as resembling more the san)e part in the Otaries than the Seals,
and as indicating a mode of life more terrestrial than aquatic.
Tlie humerus, on the other hand, is stated to more resemble
tiiat of the Seals than that of the Otaries.

Of tlie fenuu' he says: "Nous avons trois fenuirs assez complets
qui indiquent que cet os s'^loigne par sa conformation des autres
Aui]>hit(''riens. La tete, ainsi que le col, tieuLcnt de I'Otarie,
coiiune les condyles, et le (jrarnl trochanter, pen large, ue s'eleve
I>as au-dessus de la tetc de I'os. La tete est comparativement
petite. La cavit6 trochant<5rique est profonde et etroite vers le
milieu <le I'os et tout contre le col. Le caractere se rapporte A la
position du membre posterieur qui rapproche ainsi des Otaries
raiiimal qui nous occupe. Les Mds(>taries etaient moins aqua-
ti([ues que les Phoques actuels."

Upon careful comparison of his excellent flgures (pi. ix) of
the fenuir, humerus, scapula, and fragment of pelvis, with the

*Zo()logie ct la Pal^-ontologio fran5ai.es, p. 27<>.

tAim. (In Mns. Roy. d'Hist. Nat. do Belgiqne, i, 1877, p. 5C, pi. i.

{Van IJenedcn reports having two canines, three molars, seven cervical
vcrtcline and an axis, eix dorsal and seven Ininb.ar vertebrie, aright ilinni and
11 left iscliinui, the distal end of a scapnla, four right and five left humeri, a
loft and a right femur, six tibiic, and four metatarsal bones.

^ The parts of the skeleton figured by Van Beneden correspond very nearly
iu size with the corresponding parts of Cj/ntophora cristata.

220

FAMILY OTARIID^:.

rorrespondiiifj; i)arts of tin: skelt'ton in Iiv«' siu'cies of Otarics,
vcpirst'iitiii;'' all tlio j-ciu'ia of that yronp, aiul with tlio primi-
l»al types of tlu' IMiocids, 1 fail to api)r.t'<'iat«> any iiiij)ortaiit up
l)roa('h toward thf fonnor, or any niarketl departure from tiic
latt«'r, especially tiie snl)fauiil> Ci/ntophorina'. In tii«' femur, f(»r
e.\anJi)le, there is in Memtaria no trace of a trochanter mi)t<n\
wlneh is always strongly developed in the Otaries, as well a.s
in the AValruses, but absent in the Plioiads, this feature alone
serving to at on(!e distinguish the (Iressigrade from the Kepti-
grade Pinnipeds. The thick short form of the femur in Men-
otnria, with its greatly enlarged distal extremity, and the great
transverse breadth and thickness of the whole uoue in propor-
tion to its length, gives it a very close resemblance in its gen-
eral form and proportions to the same part in Cytitophora and
MncrorhinuH {Morunga of many authors), while it places it in
strong contrast with the same bor in any of the Otariids.
The scapula is also a very characteristic bone among the Pin-
nipeds, and even the small portion (the lower extremity) shown
in Van Beneden's figure (pi. ix, fig. 7) serves to emphasize and
contirm the relationship of jl/t'.sofar/rt with the Plioeids, and the
wide divergence of this type from tlie Otarii<ls, as shown eispc-
I'ially in the obli(piity of the articular surface of the glenoid
cavity. The portion of the pelvis figured fpl. ix, fig. .S) is de-
cidedly Phocine in its proportions, and in the: tlivergenct^ of the
iliac, crest, while it is very unlike the same part in the Otariids.
Finally, it may be noted that the tout enaemhlc of all the bones
of McHotnrla represented in Van Beneden's plate is strikingly
that met with in the heavier types of Phocids, especially the
genera Cystophora and Macrorhinux, and very unlike that of the
Otaries. In all the latter, the bones are relatively snuill, dense,
and slender, and especially is this the case with the bones of
the limbs, none of them approaching the thick stout form char-
acterizing these parts in Meaotaria. The proportions, to say noth-
ing of details of structure in the principal bones in the Otaries,
are so widely different from what is met with in the Phocids, that
general contour alone serves at once as a basis for their dis
crimination.

In view of the foregoing, it seems to me evident that if the
distribution of the OtariUhv formerly embraced the shores of
Europe, we have still to wait for evidence of such a former dis-
tribution ; and that iti Europe, as on the Atlantic seaboard of
North .America, the only fossil remains of Pinnipeds tlius far

^iL,

MILK DENTITION.

221

found aro ivfi'iabU' to the IMiocids on the one liiuul, and to the
WiiliMsos on \\n\ otlu'i", indicatin};' for the Otaiiids tlic same
(•uri(»iislv limited habitat as now.

MILK DENTITION.

Tlic milk tlentition in the IMnnijieds rarely persists much
lu'voinl fo'tal life, and is never to any |j[reat de}>ree fnnetional,
1111(1 the dental formnla of the temporary teeth is snbstan-
tially the same in all. In the Walrnses, however, two of the
posterior npi)er milk nudars and the last lower one often remain
till a comparatively late jjeriod of life, but all traces of the
otliers disappear soon alter birth. The two nuddlo pairs ot*
incisois probably never pieree the <;ums, and the others scarcely
]i('isist beyond the fcetal period. The feruuda for the temporary
dentition of this <;roni) is usually reeofjfnized as I. i|~;J, C. \~^,
M. ,|~..| iov M. ]~l)- I" tl'^ Seals, however, the nund)er of
molars appears to never exceed ij^jj • l'» the P^arless Seals ''the
milk-teeth are extremely rudimentary in size and form, and per-
tl'c'tly lunetionless. The majority of them never ent the gums
and are absorbed actually before birth, and certainly within a
week after birth scarcely a trace of any of them remains.''*
The milk molars are three in inind)er on each side, both above
aud below, and are replaced respectively by the second, third,
and fourth molars of the permanent set. The canines are
all represented in the temporary set. The number of tem-
porary incisors varies in the ditterent genera, it corresponding
up arently with the juimber in the permanent set. In Phoca
I- ilina, 1\ j/r<xnlan(lica, and I*, foetida, they ha^e been found
to b(^ :!~;^, but the two inner ones of the npper jaw are absorbed
lonji before birth. In the Elephant Seal, Professor Flower
found, in a specimen eleven inches long, " a complete set of
vory minnte teeth, viz. I. ^, V. \, M. §, on each side ; all of the
f<implest character."t

In the Eared Seals, the milk molars are of the same num-
ber as in the Phocinic, namely l^l, and hold, approximately at
least, the same position relatively to the molars of the perma-
nent set. They are separated by wide diastema, and the middle

* Flower, " Kcin.arks on tlic Ilomologitis and Notation of thcj Teeth of the
Jlainnialia," Jouni. Pliys. and Anat., iii, 1868, p. 2(59.
tll)i(I., p. 271, tig. 4. ' '

222

FAMILY OTARIIDiE.

molar is much smaller than either of the others. The miO
incisors are rei)laced early in fcetal life by the permanent oi
which are ready to cut the gum at birth. The outer up
incisor remains much longer, persisting quite till after birth
do also the temporary molars, while the canines are not si
for some weeks, at least Ave or six weeks. As Professor Fh»i
has observed, " It is very interesting t.) note that in the Ea
Seal3 (genus Otaria [or family Otariidw]}. which more nesi
approach the terrestrial Carnivora in many i«oint8 of struct
as well as habits, the milk-teeth are less rudimentary j
evanescent than in the true Heals, the canines especially be
of moderate si? ".nd retained for several weeks."*

The milk dentition of the Eared Seals has already been
scribed in two sjecies of Arctocephulm, amt I am able to i
some account of it in Enmetopian and Zalophus.

Van Beneden found, in 1871, in a young skull of " Otaria
silla-'f ("= Otaria delalandi,''^ C\\y.,= Arctocephalus antarctic
Allen, ex Thunberg), the Fur Seal of the Cape of Good Hope,
milk dentition to be 1. j^, C. J~J^ 31. ^; but he supposed
absence of the other lower incisors to be due to their havi
already fallen. The two inner superioi- incisors were mi
smaller than the outer one, appearing like little white gra
stuck upon the gum. The outer had a long slender root am
distinct crown. The canines were comparatively large, w
long roots and a lengthened crown, and both the upi)er ii
lower were of siu)ilar form. The superior molars were se
rated by considerable intervals, the iirs"- being over the spi
between the first and second permanent im ^lars, the second o'
the space between the second and third, and the fourth o^
the fourth permanent tooth. The middle milk molar he fou
to be uuich smaller than either the first or third, the two li
named being of nearly equal size, but only the third was doul
rooted. The lower milk molars were smaller than the upj
all single-rooted, and held the same position relatively to 1
l^ermanent teeth as the upper ones. The middle one, as in 1
upper series, was much smaller than either the first or third

Later Malm described the milk dentition of Arctoceplia
nigrescensX {=Arctocephalu8 australia) as existing in a special

* Journ. Phys. and Anat., iii, 1868, p. 269.

i "Sur lea dents de lait de V Otaria puailla," Bull, de la Acad. Eoy. de I
giqne, t. xxxi, 1871, pp. 61-67 (illustrations).
t(EfveT. af Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad, Forhandl., 1872, No. 7, p. 63.

MILK DENTITION.

223

iiiciisiirinj; 7.'M» iiiiii. from tln' nose to tlic end of tlic tail, the .skull
hiiviii^t ii It'iiylli of IL'.'J mill., the spei-imeii when killed haviiiy
hct'ii inobaltly a few weeks old. The formula of the milk den-
til ion foniid by Malm in thi.ssjM'eies isyiven asl. J~^, ('. Jl£j, IM. rJlE"i'
Tilt' third or last lower molar he describes as standiii},' over the
t'oiiitli of tlni iiennanent set, and as havinj^ two iliverj-iny roots.
The lirst of the two upper milk molars stands over the third
pcvinaiient molar, and the second (also double-rooted) over the
fourth, these milk molars beinjj^ probably in reality the second
and third respe<!tively, the lirst haviii}; doubtless already fallen,
as had all the incisors except the exterior upper ones, owiii};' to
the post ftetal aj^e of the specimens. The formula j^iven by
Malm corresponds nearly with that of youny; skulls of ZalophuH,
presently to be noticed, taken probably from individuals one or
two months old.

In a very young skull of Emnctopim atelier i (No. 4703, Nat.
Mas., Ban Francisco, Cal., Dr. "NV. O. Ay res, labelled by the
collector as "three or four days old"), the milk teeth have all
fallen (probably by maceration), l)ut the alveoli of all but the
middle incisors are still distinct, and indicate the following
forinula: I. J~J, C\ \'^\, M. i^!|. Thus, of the incisors the pres-
ence of only a:, outer pair is indicated, the middle ones, beinj-i
rootless and probably imidanted only on the yum, would leave
no trace of their former presence. The alveoli of the molars
show that, b> th above and below, the middle one was much
smaller than the others. These alveoli are exterior to the per-
uianent teeth, which do not vertically reiduce them, that of the
Hist upper milk molar being opposite the spaee between the
tirst and second permanent molars; the second opposite the
space between the second and third permanent molars, while
the third is nearly opposite the fourth tooth of the permanent
set. In the lower jaw the alveoli of the milk molars are re-
spectively just behind and exterior respectively to the second,
third, and fourth permanent teeth.

Ill three foetal skulls of ZaUphiu (No. (•15G, Mus. Comp. Zool..
Xos. 15G60, (J , 15661, 9 , Nat. Mus., all from the Santa Barbara
Jslands), the milk teeth are all still in situ, except the middle
incisors, which are replaced by permanent incisors that were
apparently about ready to pierce the gum. As in EumetopiuH
and Arctoeephalns, the middle molar, both above and below,
is much the smallest, and is placed very close to the third, leav-

224

FAMILY OTABIIDiE.

k--

inj; ii vory brand ijitcrval Ixitwcon tli<! lii'Hi iiiul hwjoihI. TlKt
first (ill Xo. inOdO) stiiiidH above lli«' sccoisd pcriiuiiH'iit foolli;
(lie sct.-oiid is Just bchiiKl tlu^ tiiird, wliilc tlic foin.'!i is a little
imti'rior to, i»iit iiciirly over, tlic I'oiirtli. In No. <)!.'»(» the milk
iii)»lin's stiiiid directly over the sei'oiid, thii'd, iiiid ibiirtli iicr
iiiiiiieiit ones. In w^veriil other yonn;; skidls, the tliird milk
moliir is still in i)lii< e, while all the others, excrept 'Ik eiiiiiiics.
liiivc disappeared. Some of them were prohahly seNcral weeks
old, showing; that at, hiast tln'- eanines are persistent for h eon
siderable period after birth. In two yonnj;- sknlls of ('ullorliiiniK,
known to liav<^ been kilhid when betw<'en fonr and live weeks
(»ld, the milk eanines are still in pla<M', and a trae<M'emaiiis ot'
the iilveolns of the third su]Krrior milk molar.

in all probability, the dental lormida is the, same in all tli*-
Kared S«siIh, the in(!isors, exeept tin; extc^rior npi)er, <lisappeiir
inp' Ix'fore birth. Of the. molars the middle is smaller than tlie
others, while the, thii'd is lonf',<'sl j)ersiHtent. The eanines ap-
])(^ar to Miinain for stn'eral months.

IllUK(ii;LAUITIi;S oi" dkntition.

TUo. Eared Seals seem to rather frecpiently jtresent (sases of
Hnjiernuinerary molars, and nior»' rarely <'ases of suppression of
Tn<»larH. In resixict to sniierniimerary molars, I am able t<>
ree«)rd the followiiiff instanees: In (UillorhiniiH ursinus I have
noted the following' irref,adarities: Skull No. L'DL'l* (M. ('. Z.
(!«;ll.) has M. J^~J, the normal niiiiib<!r bein;^ """; in anotluT
(Nat. Mas. Coll., No. 11701), M. Il'|; ami in still (►thers (.M. C
Z. (^oll.. No. 17H7; N. M. Coll., 113270), M. ;^-f;. In eaeh ease,
the idt'iitity of the species is Ix^yond qiuistion. In Zttloithnu
ml'tfortiiannH = (jillr.-ipii, aiujt., I hav<^ noted the followinj;': two
sknlls (Nat. Miis. Coll., Xo. lol'.")!; M. C. Z. Coll., "So. (ll(iL')
eaeh with M. "-J, ami one (M. i). Z. Coll., No.^JHW) with M. ":';.
the normal iiuud»er Ixunji M. l~~. In nearly ev<ay case tlic
supernumerary iiiohirs were as ])«frfeetly<leveh)p<'d aw the others.
About flver cent, of the skidls of these two spe<!ies (of wliidi
I have (>xamined not less than thirty of ea«!h) lU'esent one <»'
more supernumerary molars. I have also found su|)i)ressi(»ii <>t
molars in ArvtoatjihabiH amUutliH (M. i\ Z. Coll., N<». ll.'U,—

M. :■-•;).

The supernumerary molars are placed (in all the iiistance.s 1

OKNERAL OHSKRVATIONS.

225

liavt' seen) hcliiiid tin- liist, molar ol' flic, noniiiil ,s«>ri<'H. They
iii'c iisiimII.v smaller than the iiocrna! inolai'H, sonictiiiieH alinoHt
iiidiiiifiitai'.v, usually wilhont accessory cusps, and with ii
siiiiiotli or nearly Ninooth ciii^'iiliiiii. They are lieiKre <>;eiierally
M-ce^^iii/altle by their size and I'orni. In (^ases of snppressiou
:', is usually th<'. antepennltiniate nu)hir rhaf is missing'. This
iiiohir also I'rccpHMitly tails late in lite, Init traces of an alveolus
ill siicli cases usually atti'st its t'onner presence.

I'OSlTKtN ()!•' I'lli; LAST IJIM'KK I'lOUMAM'-N'r MOLAK.

Ill species with the snp<'rioi' molars a — 5, the last (<'.\cept in
Eiiiiirtojti(iH) is j»la<*e<l opposite the: posterioi- edj;-e (»f the /.yf,'o-
iiiatic process of the nmxillary, varying' sli;;htly in position in
(litl'cicnt individuals lielon.^in^' to the sann^ speities, maiidy,
lioucxcr, in conse(pH'nc«' of tln^ thickenin;; of the mastoid i)ro-
(css ill old a^-c. In species havin;;' the suiM-rioi- molars ii — (J,
the last is usmdiy* t'utirely Itehind the zy^-aniatic process
ofllic maxillary, the tilth molar holdin^^ tlu' same relalivci posi-
tion as in the tlve-molar<!d s|)ecies. 'I'he excteption presented
iiy KiiiuvlopiuH seems at first view to favoi' the theory that the
last iiiolai- is homoroHJitally tlui sixth, and t' it tlu! lifth is siip-
|)icss('d, hut in reality its position is ]>oHte«ior to that of th«
last molar in tlu', six-molare<l sp((ei(!s, while tlu^ sjjace between
it and tli<' fourth is e(|ual to or ^reat^'r than that occupied
by two molars.

(JKMIKAI. OHSKRVATIONS.

Tlic laru<!St spectic^s (d' the Otaries (}i;«nierii Otaria and Eume-
Idjiidif) uiv I Fair Heals, while th<'. smallest (f^c^nera CallorhinuH
and AnitxTpluduH) are Fur Seals; but the species of Zalophufij
allli()ii>,di Hair tS(!als, arc* hitermediate in size betwetuithe jtlier
Hair Seals and the l''iir Seals. All th<', Ifair S(^als hav, «;osu'.se,
iianl, stilf hail', varyinn" in length with at;e siml seiison, and are
wliolly wit hout soft underfnr. All tlie Fur Hcnils hav<i an abund-
:int soft, silky unih'rfni', ^nvinj;' to the skins of the females und
younger males {^reat. valu<^ as articles of (sominercc. Tho
loii;f(!', coarser ovxirhair vaiies in hiiifffh and abundauco with
siasoii aiidajye. All tln^ Hair Heals ar<'- y«dlowish- or reddish-
lii'(»v'ii{iii ZtUophuH sometimes brownishbhudi), {jfcnerally dark-
'^1 when younji;', and becominj;' lij^liter witli age, ami also in tho
i^aiiK! i idividuals toward the moulting season. There is also

'In J'lioiiirr.tim ]ti}{h thi'i Wi'ili and hixIIi arc Itoluiid llio posterior (!dt(o of
|llii: z,V(r(iiiiiiii(t iii'o<:('HH of till! iiiaxillury.
Misc. i»nb. No. 12 15

226

FAMILY OTARIIDiE.

considerable range of individual variation iu representatives
of the same species, so that coloration alone fails to afford sat-
isfactory diagnostic characters. All the Fur Seals are black
when young, but they become lighter with age, through an
abundant admixture of grayish hairs which vary from yellow
ish-gray to whitish-graj'. The southern Fur Seals are generally,
when adult, much grayer than the northern. There is hence a
wide range of color variation with age in the same species, as
there is also among conspeciflc individuals of the same sex and
age. While some have the breast and sides pale yellowish-giaj ,
others have these parts stronglj' rufous, the general tint also
showing to some extent these differences.

There is also a wonderful disparity in size between the sexes,*
the weight oT the adult males being generally three to live

"The sexual difference in size varies only slightly iu the different genera;
it is greatest, apparently, in Olar'ui, aud least iu ArctocephaUiH. It is very
much less iu Arctocephalus miairalia than in the northern Fur Seal ; whilo
relatively small in Zalophus, it is ^cry great in both Otaria and Eumetop'm.
In Otaria jubata, the average dimensions of eight old male skulls are, length
350 mm., breadth 2*23 mm.; of four old female skulls, length 2G1 mm., breadth
143 mm. In Humdopiaa atelleri the average length of ten old male skulls is
37.') mm., breadth 221 mm.; of two old female skulls, length 29G mm., breadth
157 mm. In Zalophna californianus very old male skulls obtain a length ot
290 mm. to 330 mm., -while very old females reach 220 mm. to 237 mm. I'ivi'
old male skulls average, length 269 mm., i^readth 157 mm: live old female
skulls, length 219 mm., breadth 103 mn. In Arctoccphahtu atiatralia two old
male skulls average, length 260 mm., breadth 145 mm., two old fciiialo
skulls, length 230 mm., breadth 121 mm. In CaUorhimia iirainua eight adult
male skulls (not generally very old) average, length 243 mm., breadth I'ii
mm, ; four female skulls of nearly corresponding age a\ erage, length 188 in. :
breadth 96 mm. These data may be tabulated as follows, 100, in the colnm!!
of "Approximate ratio," representing the male sex:

Species.

otaria jubata

Eiimetopias stcUori

Zalophns californianus .

Arctocephalus australis

Callorhinns nrainus —

?
?

cf
9
d"
9
ef
9

^ a

8
4

10
2
3
5
2
2
8
4

350
261
375
296
289
219
260
230
243
188

Approximate ratio.

223
143
221
157
157
103
145
121
123
02

Length

Brcadtli

Length

Breadth

Length

Breadth

Length

Breadth

Length

Breadth

64-100 >

^"^^O" {=75-100.
76-100 5

«1-100 ). 4.100.

66-100 i

88-100 )^g5.1,X).

83-100 >

77-100)^73.100.

75-100 >

HABITS.

227

times tliat of the adult I'euiales of tlio sanu' spocios. There
aro also veiy great ditt'ereiKH'ts in the form of the skull, esi)e-
cially in iv'spect to the (leveh>]uneut of crests and i»rotul)erauees
for inuscuhir attaehnieut, these being- only slightly (h'veloped
in females and enonuously so in the males. Witli such reunirk-
iible variations in eolor and eianial characters, di'pendent upon
age and sex, it is not a matter of suri)rise that many nominal
species have arisen througli a uiisai)i)reeiation of the real signiti-
cauce of these differences.*

HABITS.

Tlie Eared Seals show also a remarkable resemblaiu'e in tlieir
gregarious and polygamous habits. All the species, wherever
occurring, like the Walruses and Sea Elei)hants, resort iu
great numbers to i)articular breeding stations, which, in seal-
ers' parlance, have acquired the strangely inappropriate name
of " rookeries." The older males arrive tirst at the breeding
grounds, where they immediately select their stations and await
tbe arrival of the females. They keep up a perpetual warfare
for their favorite sites, and afterward iu defense of their harems.
The number of females acquired by the successful males varies
l'roh> a dozen to tifteen or more, which they guard with the utmost
joalous;;, — ujight being with them the law of right. The strong-
est males are miturally the most successful iu gathering about
tlu'ui large harems. The nuiles, during the breeding seasouT^
remain wholly on laud, .and they will sufl'er <leath rather thau
leave their chosen spot. Thej" thus sustain, for a ])eriod of sev^-
eral weeks, an uninterrupted fast. They arrive at the breeding
stations fat and vigorous, and leave them weak and enuiciated,
liaving been nourished through their long i)eriod of fasting
wholly by the fat of their own bodies. The fenuiles remain
uninterruptedly on laud for a much shorter perioil, but for a con-
siderable time after their anival do not leave the harems. The
detailed account given a century ago by Steller, and recently cou-
tirmed by Bryant and Elliott, of the habits of the northern Fur
and Hair Seals during the breeding season, is well known to
apply, in greater or less detail, to nearly all the species of the
feuiily, and presumably to all As the observations by Messrs.
Elliott and Bryant are presented later in this work at length, it
u unnecessary to give further details iu the present connectiou.

"Of about Jifty synouyms pertaining to the Eared Seals, probably two-thirds
liavc bi'cu l)a8e(l, directly or indirectly, upon differences dependent on sex and
ago, and t ho rest npon the defective descriptions of these auiuials by travellers.

♦

228

FAMILY OTAUIID.E.

i
I

■■h

'■i

PRODUCTS.

Tlie prodxu'ts of the EaiTcl Seals vary in iiiiportauce with tlif
speeies, the llair Seals yieldinji' only ()il, their sldns bciiiij
almost Aiilueless except to the natives of the countries these
animals freipient. The produets of the Eared Hair Seals arc.
consequently, not ditferent from those of the common Earless
Seals, and at present are of far h'ss comnu-r. ial imi)or(ance, in
consequence of the more limited source of sui)i»ly. The Fur
Seals, on the other hand, arc hunted almost exclusively f(»r
their fur, which forms the well-known and hi},ddy-valued ''Seal
fur" of furriers. The fur dill'ers in (quality with season and
the sex and ajic of the animals, the most valuable beiiii;
obtained from the females and rather youny males. In the
young of the second year taken "in season," the skin ''uii-
jducked" forms ii rich and soft fur, the very thick, silky red
dish-brown underfur beinj;' slijjjhtl.y overtoi>i»ed by short, very
soft, tine, j^ray overhair. Later in tlu' season, and esi)eciiill.\
iu the old aninuils, the overhair is coarser aiul longer, and even
somewhat harsh, beneath which, however, is still the heavy
soft underfur. Dealers sort the skins into grades, in accord
auce with the size of the skins and the quality of the fur, these
features depending upon the age and sex of the animal, ratlior
than ui>ou the species. i)r. Gray refers to what he <'alls Ardo-
ceplialux faMandkm as being "easily known from all other
Fur Seals in the British Museum by the evenness, shortness.
<doseuess, and elasticity of the fur, and the length of the under
fur. The fur is soft enough to wear as a rich fur, without the
removal of the longer hairs, which are always removed in other
Fur Seals."* This, however, is not a peculiarity of the Falk
land Island Fur Seal, the overh.air in prime young skins of the
Alaskan Fur Seal being equally rich aiul soft. They are also
often made up aiul worn " without the removal of the longer
hairs," and are by some prefeiTed to the prepared or "dressed"
furs of tlie furrier. The Australian Fiu- Seal appears to differ
little in the quality or color of its pelage from the Alaskan and
Falkland Island species. The Fur Seal of the Cape of Good
Hope, although one of the Fur Seals of commerce, appears to
have, according to Gray's account of the few examples ho lias
examined, a shorter coat of underfur. I have, however, met
with no statement respecting the Cape Fur Seal peltries that
indicates that they are inferior in quality to those of other local
• Aun. and Mag. Nat. Hist. , 4tli ser. , i, 1808, p. 103.

DESTRUCTION OF FUR SEALS

229

itk\s. As regards <'()l()r and tlu' variations of color with ago,
the Cape of Good llojx' sjH'cies ai>i)ears not to difler ai)]>re('ia-
l)lv from llie otlu'rs.*

DKSIinCTION »»1' TlIK Fll{ SKALS I'OJI TlIKlll I'KLTlllES.

Tilt' value of tlie jx'lti^es of the l-'nr Seal has led to whole-
sale destruction, amounting at some localities ahnost to I'xter-
iiiiiiatioii. TIh^ tratlic in their skins appears to have begun
toward tlie end of the last century. Captain Fanning, of the
sliii)"r)etsey,"ofXew York, obtained a full cargo of choieo Fur
Seal skius at the island of ^Nfasafuera, on the coast of Chili, in
179S, Avliich lie took to the Canton market. Captain Fanning
states that on h'aving the island, after procuring his cargo, he
ostiinated there were still left on the island between 500,000
and 700,000 Fur Seals, and adds that subsecjuently little less
than a million of Fur Seal skins wei'e taken at the island of
Masafuera alone.t a small islet of not over twenty-five miles
ill circiuiiferencc, iind shijiijed to Caiiton.| Captain Scammon
states that the sealing fleet otV the coast of Chili, in ISOl,
aiii(»iiiited to thirty vessels, many of which were ships of the
h\Y\n'v class, and nearly all carried the American tlag. Xot-
witlistaiidiug this great slaughter, it ai)pears that Fur Seals
ooiitiiiued to exist there as late as 181."), when Captain Fanning
apiiii obtained them at this island.§

In the year 1800, the Fur Seal business appears to have been
at its height at the Georgian Islands, where, in the single season,
112.000 Fur Seals are reported to have been taken, of which
57,000 were secured by a single American vessel (the "Aspasia,"
iiiulor Captain Fanning). Vancouver, at about this date, re-
ported the existence of large numbers of Fur Seals on the south-
west coast of New Holland. Attention was at once turned to
this new field, and in 1804 the brig " Union," of New Yoik, Capt.
Isaac Pendleton, visited this part of the Australian coast, but not
finding these animals there in satisfactory numbers, repaired to
Border's Island, where he secured only part of a cargo (14,000
skins), owing to the lateness of the season. Later G0,000 were
(•btained at Antipodes Island. About 1806, the American ship

'S<c (iiay. Ami, and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th8er.,i, 1868, pp. 218, 219 ; Scott,
Mum. Kcc'iit and Extinct, 1873, pp. 14, 15 ; also Pagfes, iu Iluifon's Hist. Nat.,
Suppl., vi,p.357.

tFaiming's Voyages to the South Sea, etc., pp. 117, 118. .;,.

{II)., i>. :i64.

ni'.,p.299.

2:30

FAMILY OTARIIDiE.

-f

"Catliiuiue," of New York (Capt. IT. raiiniiifi), visited flio Cio-
zetto Islaiids, whore tliey landed, and found vast nunibeis ot
Fur Seals, but obtained tlieir earj^o from Prince Kdwnid's
Islands, situated a few liundred miles southeast of the Cape of
Good Hope, where other vessels the same year obtained lull
carfi'oes.

In ISoO, the supply of Fur Seals in the southern seas luul
so ^ireatly decreased that the vessels enjiaged in this enterpiist'
"{generally made losinj;' voyages, from the fact that those
places which were the resort of Seals," says Captain r>enjaiiiiii
Pendleton, "had been abandoned by them, or cut oif from
them," so that the discovery of new sealing grounds vas
needed. Undiscovered resorts were believed to exist, from tlie
fact that large nund)ers of Fur Seals Avere seen while eruisinj;
far out at sea, which must repair once a year to some favorite
breeding station.*

Captain Weddell states that during the years 1820 an<l 1S1»1
over ;]00,0(K) Fur Seals were taken at the South Shetland Isl
ands alone, and that at the end of the second year the species
had there become almost exterminated. In addition to tlie
inunber killed for their furs, he estimates that not less than
KKMKIO newly-born young died in <'onse(pienee of tlu destnie
tion of their nu)thers. So indiscriminate was the slan^ii-
ter, that whenever a Seal reached the beach, of whatever de-
nomination, it was inunediately killed. ]\rr. Scott states, on
the authority of Mr. INForris, an exix-rienced sealer, that a like
indiscriminate killing was caixied on at Antipodes Island, oti
the coast of New South Wales, from which island alone not
less than 400,000 skins were obtained «luring the years 1S14
and 1815. A single ship is said to have taken home 10(>,(HHi
in bulk, which, through hack of care in curing, si)oiled on the
way, and on the arrival of the ship in London the skins were
dug out of the hold and sold as manure! At about the same
time there was a similar wasteful and indiscriminate slaughter
of Fur Seals at the Aleutian Islands, Avhere for some years
they were killed at the rate of 200,000 a year, glutting the luiii
ket to such an extent that the skins did not bring enou},'h to
defray the expenses of transportation. Later the destruction
of Fur Seals at these islands was placed under rigid restrio
tions (see infra the general history of the Northern Fur Seal).
ill consequence of which undue decrease has been wisely pw-
* Faniiiiig's VoyngeH, p. 487.

GENUS I.UMEIOPIAS.

231

\ ciitod. But ii()\\ii('r<> ('l.s»> liiis there been systematic protection
of tlie Fur Seals, or any nn>iisnres taken to prevent wasteful or
iiiidiic destruction.

(iENu:>« EUIMETOPIAS, (fill

(Hiiria, ill imit of various smllKirs.

AfilKirphuhi^ (ill |>;nl), OitAY. Cat. Seals and Wliali's, 18()(), 51.
IjiiiiiUpiux. (ill, I,. I'nic. Kssi'x IiiHfitnto, v. 7, 11, July, li^6(i. Type '• Ofaria
t)ilii'iinii(iiiiin, I/i'ssou, = Arclorrphalua montt'rienmn, Gray."

Molars ,|~ J =|[;; the ujjper hinder pair separated from the
others by a considerable interval; the last only double -rooted.
Postorbital ]>roccsses (juadrate. Palatine surface of the inter-
iiiaxillaries tiat, only slightly de])re.ssed* and greatly contracted
posteiiorly ; tlu^ i)alatals moderately jtroduced, extending about
three-fourths of the distance from the anterior end of the zygo-
matic arch to the pterygoid ]>rocess; their posterior margiu
straight, ()!• slightly or deeply emarginate; rarely deeply so in
old age.

JjKinetuinas differs from Oturia, as restricted by Gill, in hav-
ing one pair less of upi>er molars, a inU(;h less posterior exten-
sion (»f the palatine bones, and in having the posterior i>ortiou
of the palatal surface less than one-third, instead of more than
one half, the width of the anterior jjortion, and but slightly in-
stead of deei)ly dei)ressedj also in the greater depth of the
skull anteriorly, and in the less de^■elopmellt of the occipital
and sagittal crests. In Euimtopins the depth of the .skull at
the anterior border t)f the orbits is nearly as great as in the
plane of the occiput, while in Otaria these i»roportions are as
13 to 18, there being in the latter a marked declination anteri-
orly in the superior outline of th(? skull. The breadth of the
skull at the temiioral fossai is also much greater than iu Otaria ;
that is, the skull is nuich less constricted behind the orbits.
The postorbital processes also differ considerably iii form iu
the two genera, while another noteworthy difference is the uu-
usnally great development in Otaria of the i)terygoid hamuli.*

*A coniparisou of mlult lualo skulla oi Eumeiopias and Otaria, of strictly
t'oricsiiondiug ages, shows the following differences :

Eumvioima stcUeri (No. 176.")): height of skull iu occipital plane 155 mm.;
lieiglit of skull at anterior edge of orbits 152 mm.

Otaria jubata {No. 1095): height of sknll in occipital plane 180 mm.; height
of skull at anterior edge of orbits 130 mm.

Comparing the same skulls in respect to the development of the pterygoid
hamuli it is found that when placed on a plane surface the skull of E. aiel-

'2:\-2

EiMKToriAs .sti:lm;ri — s tellers sea lion.

Kuiiutopias (lilVcis IVoiii Zdlnitlin-s tliioii^ii the jnosciM'o ol' a
wi(U' space iK'twecii the lotutli iiiid lit'fli i)airs of ii]»ju'r molars,
the less t'lnaijiiiialioii of llic jiostcrior lioidcr of the palatiiu'
l)oiu's, tlio (luadiate instead oi' the tiiaiij^ulav and posterioily
pointed form of tin- postorbital proeesses, li'c less relative
breadth of the i)osterior nares, and the larger size of tlu' faciiil
angle; also throngh its nuieh broader mnzzle. the less degree
of the postorbital eonstrietion of the sknll, and its nineh less
developed sagittal crest.

Enmcf(>pias difl'ers too widely fr»)ni ('(lUorhinUN and Ardoce-
2)hal)is, in dentition and cranial characters as well as in size and'
pelage, to render comparison necessary. The genns is at once
distinguishable from all the others of the family by the wide
space between the fourth and fifth upi)er molars. In distrihu
tion it is restricted to the shores and islands of the North Pa-
cific Ocean, ranging from Southern California northward to
Behring's Straits. Its geographical rt'presentative is the Otarin
jiihata of the Southern Seas, which ranges from tlu^ equatorial
regions (Galapagos Islands) southward.

EUM1':T0PIAS STF.LT.EIU, {/.mo») PHern.

StcUer's Sra Lion.

Leo mariniis, Stki.lku, Nov. Coniiii. rctvop., xi, 1751, :5(iO.

Phoca juhaia, Scin?EBKn, Sangetli., iii, 1778, ;?0(), i»l. Ixxxiii 11 (iu part only;
uot P. Jnhala, Forstpr, with wliicli, however, it is iu part con-
foundi'c)). — Gmkmx, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 63 (iu part ; = P. _/H&a<(i,
Schrol»cr). — Pandeu &■ D'Altox, Skolcte dor Eobbou und Lamau-
tine, 182(i, ])!. iii, figs, d, e, /.— Hamiltox, Marino Aniphib., 1839,232
(iu part — not the fignrc of the skull).

Phoca (Otaria) jubata, Richardson, Zool. Beechey's Voy., 1839, 6.

Otaria jubata, P£uox, Voyage Terr. Austr., ii, 1816, 40.— NiLSSON, Arch. i.
Naturgeseh., 1841, 329 (iu part only ; includes also the true Otaria ju-
bata). — ? Veatcii, J. E. Browne's Resources of the Pacific Slope,
[app.], 150 (probably only iu part, if at all).

Otaria steUeri, Lesson, Diet. Class. Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 420.— J. MCller, Ar-
chivf. Naturgeseh., 1841, 330, 333.— ScHiNZ, Synop. Mam., i, 1844,
473.— Gray, Cat. Seals iu Brit. Mus., 1850, 47 ; Cat. Seals and Whales
iu Brit. Mus., 1866, liO.— Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lend., 1868,
190.— Scott, Mam. Recent and Extinct, 1873, 22.

Phoca atelleri, Fischer, Synop. Maai., 1829, 231.

leri rests anteriorly on the mastoid processes and the points of the canines,
the points of the pterygoid hannili being several millimetres above the plane
of rest, while in O. jubata the skull in the same position, rests posteriorly on
the pterygoid hamuli, which project f)™"* below a plane connecting the mas-
toid processes and the points of the canines.

^i »ii

EXTEKN.M. CHARACTERS.

233

Olai ill [,/■*: iiK'lop'nix) f^tillcii. ri".Ti;i!s, Moimtsl). Akml. liirliii, l-iliJ, ■•i7l,(')71.

Einnrliijiinn stclhri, ('>U\\. Aiiii. mihI Maj;, Xal. llisl., :!il scr., xviii, 18:i;'), 'i:'.:'. ;
Sni)i>l. Cat. Seals ami ^V hairs in lit it. Mils.. 1-^71. :'(l ; I'nir. Zoiil. Sor.
Loud., IHT'J. 7;!7 (in jiart), liK«. ••, ■'> ('l'" yoiiim skull nii wliii li
.iriloci'ithtilii-^ itioiilcniiixin,livn\. was in [larl liascih; I'luc Zixil. ."^or,
Loud., 1-'7;i, 77<) (its (•(•curiciici' in ,lai>an siarcd lolic <lonhiriil) :
Hand-LLsf orSciils, <■!(■., l.>^74, -in.— .\u.l'.x, Bull. .Miis. Coui]). /ool., ii.
1870. ir). jdl. i, iiijiyy;. it-lT), and li.u^'. 1 ■.'>in text.— ScammoN, Maiin--
Maui., l~7-4. i'J4. (our woodcuis of iniinial \<\>. l-'li, l\;7. — Li.i.ioiT,
Kf'l)oit oil the I'lyldlov or S<al Islaud.s of AljisUa, \!*f.i (text not
])af;('d, tiv<' i)lalcs); Coudiliou of .Vllaiis in .\liiska. }!*''■, l.Vi; Scvib-
uer's Montlilv, xvi, Oct., lr<7H, H7i> (iioimlar aciounl, with liffiircs).

'Stemmiito^nan Htdlcri, \\s Ukni-.dk.n, Ann. dn Mus. Roy. d'Hist. Nat. dn IJcl-
yiciui', ]it. i, ]H77, l.">(in text), — la]iHus pcniia' foi' L'liiiiclopiun nlvlhri .*

Pltoca Iconiini, Pai.la.'^, Zoog. Rosso-Asiat., i, IKU, 104 (^— /'.,/«/«(/«, (iincliu).

Arctocrphahiit monU'ru'tigin, GliAY, Proc. Zool, Soc. Lond., Ifihi), :{5H, ;U>0, pi.
Ixxii, .sknli (in part only; the .skin rcffvaMt' to ('uUorUiuHn urxiinis):
Cat. Scal.s and Whahs, IHdO, 4t).

ArctiHq)halusmUj'oniiaiuiii,GnA\', Cat. Seals andAVhalcs, IHtili, .'>! (:^A. nioiili-
/•(('M.SI.S, Gray, lf')\), in part ; not r^- Oluria cnliforninnn, Loason).

IJimitiii>iiin caliJ'oniianii>i, (iiLL, I'roc. Es.scx lust., v, IHtitl, 115 {^^ .Inlocepliuluii
iiioiitn-icimH, Gray, 1859," and i)ossil)ly al.so [identical] with O/ana
xUlleri, Miiller": lienee not =::- (>. lalifoniiaiKi, Lesson).

? Eiiiiiiliiiiidti rloiigulim, Glt.vv, I'roc. Zool. Soc Lond., l<-'7;{, 77t), tigs. 1. 'J
(— A', stelleri, Gray, ib., 187-J, 7;?7, tigs. 1-:?, .Japan ? ).

n'liiiinrclnx cldiiiiafiifi. GlJAY, Hand-List Seals, etc., 1H74, :?n, pi. xxi, xxii.

]l<rrliiw(ii, .Stki.LKK, Hcsclireili. vou sonderbarer Meerthiere, 17.");!, lu'i.

Lv Lion maiiii, BuFFON, Hist. Nat., Sii]t]>l., vi, 178*2, X\7 (in ]>art only).

LcniiiiK Seal, ricxxAxr, Arctic Zool., i, , '200 (in ])art only).

Lion Moriii, CllOUls, ^'oyag•c PittorcsiiiU', lies Alt5outieuue, 18'iiJ, V2 (not
— Lion mariii dr In Califoniic, pi. xi, ''I'ort Sau-Fiancisco et scs
Habitants").

Leo muriiiiiM, the Sra Kuit/, Em.iott, Scribner's Monthly, xvi, 87!), Oct., 1878.

"Sec-Vitchic," Russian; Lion maiin, French: iSccldice, German; Sea Lion,
Hair Seal, English.

Habitat. — Shores of the North Paciti(% from Behriii<>'s
Strait.s .southward to California and Japan.

External Charactersi. — Length of full-grown male eleven
to twelve and a half or thirteen feet, of which the tail forms
three or four inches ; girth about eight to ten feet ; weight vari-
ously estimated at from one thousand to twelve hundred or
thirteen hundred pounds.* The weight of the full-grown female

* A .skull of this species in the National Mnsonm (No. 4702), collected at
Fort Poiut, Bay of San Fraucisco, .luly, 1854, bears a l.-ihel with the fidlow-
ing l('j;i'iid: "Length 13 ft. 8 in. ; weight, by estini.ate, one ton."

Captain Bryant, in some MSS. notes on this species recently received,
states that the full-grown male measures 13^ to 14 feet from the tip of the
nose to the end of the ouMretchcd hind-feet, and from 7i to 9 feet in girth

231 Kl'MllTOIMAM STFJ.LKRI — STELLKH's SEA LION.

is said to rnnjjc from lour ImiMlicd tollNc liiiiidrcd poiiiHls, with
ii lon^rtli of ci^ilil to nine tWi. Tlic color Viirics uitli ;i^M' iiiul
scnsoji. Tlic yoiiii;;' sue ''of :i ricli diirk ('lit'stiiut-l)r(»\vii."
TIk' iiduUs, on their first iirrivid iit tlit'lr breed iti^-;,n'oiiiHls in
spriiij;-, present no sexiinl dissiniilarity of color, wliieli is tlicii
lij-iit l)ro\vnisli-rnfoiis, «'arker lteliin<l the fore limbs and on tiic
abdoawn. Later the color ehan{;es to "brij,dit ;;<)l(len-rulous
or oeher." The pi'layc is moulted in Anj-iist, and the newcdat.
when fully <;rown in NovtMuber. is "li;,dit sepia or xandykc
brown, with deejx'r shades, ainmst <lark upon the belly." At
this season the femah's are somewhat liyhter-eoloi'ed than tlic
males, and occasionally specimens of both sexes are seen with
l>atches of dark brown on a yellowish-rufous ^-round [KUiott).
\\\ two adult males in the .Museum of Comparative Zoiiloj^y.
and another adult male in tin* Xational Museum, the jjcnt ral
color of the upi)er side of the body ^'arios from pale yellow isli
brown to reddish-brown, beeominy; much darker toward the
tail. Tlie sides below the mediairiine are re<ldish, shadiii;.
above into the lif^liter color of tlu^ back, and below ])assin;i into
the dusky reddish-brown of the lower surface, which latter be
comes darker posteriorly. The lind)s are dark red<lish-l»r{>\vn.
ax»proaching black, especially «'xtenially. Th«' hairs are indi-
vidually variable in color, some beiny entirely pale yellowish.
others yellowish only at the tips and dark below, while othcis
are wholly dark reddish-brown or nearly black throujihoiit.
The relative proportion of the light and dark hairs d«'teriniiics
the general color of the body. The pelage consists of two kinds
of hair, the one abundant, straight, stiff", coarse and Hattemd.
and constituting the outer coat ; the other very short, exceed
ingly sparse .and finer, and in such small cjuantity as t(» he
detected only on close inspection. The hair is longest on the
anterior upper portion of the body, where on tlu; neck and
shoulders it attains a length of 40 mm.; it decreases in length pos
teriorly, and toward the tail has a length of only 15 mm. It is
still shorter on the abdomen, becomes still more reduced on the
limbs, and disappears entirely toward the ends of the digits.
The end of the nose, the soles and palms, the anal region, and
the extra-digital cartilaginous flaps are naked and blacdi (in

around the clicst, and that tlu* average weight is over one thousand ])oiimls.
He gives the length of the full-grown fen Ue as 8^ to 9^ feet, and the circiiui-
ference at the shoulders as 4, the I'emal s being relatively much BJciiden'r
than th( males. The weight of the fem 'o he states to bo one-third tbiit
of the male.

EXTERNAL CnARACTERS.

235

lil'r ••(lull MiU'-MiK'lv "). TIh' whiskers are louy, shMider, ami
ryliiulrical, wliilc <»!• hrownisli-wliite, and set in four or five
nitlior iiKlislliifl rows. Some ol" tlie I(m: est liave sometimes ii
l(ii;;tliof")OOmm.,orab(nit twt'iityiuehes, witlia iiiaxiinimi thiek-
iicss o\''2 mm. Tliey are set in several rows, and number between
thirty and forty, incrcasinji' in lenf;tli from tlio inner ones totlio
outer, wliieli are longest. The ears are short an<l iKunted,
liroader, but only half the h'ugth of those of the Northern Fur
Seal {('((UorliiiiK.s iirsiniis).

The fore feet are lari-e, trianyular, situated a little in front of
the middle of the body. They terminate in a thiek, hard, mem-
branous tlai>, whieh is slightly and somewh-»t irregularly in-
dented on the inner side. The terminations of the digits are
indicated by snudl (drcular horny disks or rudimentary nails.
'Die liind feet are broad, ami gradmilly widen from the tarsus,
reaching their greatest breadth at the eml of the toes. Their
length is short as compared to their breadth, tlui distance be-
tween the ends of the outer toes when spread exceeding half
of the length of the foot, nuiasured from the tarsal joint. The
toes terminate in strong cartilaginous tlaps, covered Avitli a,
thick leathei\v naked membrane, which is deeply indented oppo-
site the intervals between the toes, and serves to connect the
(li\ crging digits. The three middle toes are provided with long,
welldeveloped nails; the outer toes a^e without true nails, but
ill place of them are thickened, horny disks. The outer toes
are slightly longer than the three middle ones, which are sub-
e(|ual. The nails on all the feet are bluish horn-color.

The following table of external measurements of two males,
one very aged and the other adult, both from St. Paul's Island,
\la8ka, indicates the general proportions of the body. A part
were taken from a moist flat skin before stuflfing, and the others
from mounted skins.

1 ■■•K .

••• H

-» S o ^ * •

9 r» t ^5

23(J i;UMKT0PIA8 8TELLKHI — STELLEU's 8EA LION.
Mcanurcnicnls from iwo Skhm of Kdmktoi'Iah stki-M'.im.

'No. SO-'l, C..11.
|Ko. 2020,('(>1I. MiiH. Cdiiip. Zim''1.,| Mus. Ciuiiip.
I (/.nljoiit 10 ji'iirsolil, I /<Hil.,o'"i«boiit ,

Length of body |

LcoKth of tail

Extent of outstiotchcd foro limbs

Length of hand i

Breadth of hand

Lengt h (if foot

Breadth of foot at tarsus

Breadth of foot at ends of 1 lie toe-flaps. I

Len^'th of flap of onter toe

Length of flap of second toe

Length of llap of third toe '

Length of flap of fourth toe

Length of flap of inner too '

Distanee from end of nose to eye |

Distanc .> from end of noso to ear

Distuneo between the eyes

Distance between the ears

Lengtli of the ear j

Lengtli of longest harbulo

Dist. between points of longest barbules
Circumference of the body at fore limbs.
Cireumfereuce of tho body uearthotall.
Circumference of tho head at the ears. .
Length of body to end of hind limbs . .

13 years old.

Unmounted.

.Miiuuted.

Motiuted.

2, 750

2, 700

3,010

100

110

2, 302

575

500

flfiO

337

335

•JOO

559

S40

010

210

230

483

445

440

200

220

17&

ISO

210

152

147

190

104

150

100

104

150

165 1

215

100

170

308

303

380

100

105

210

372

370

420 1

35 1

342

800

2,250

2,600

1,000

1,020 '

....

1,000

980

3, 450

8,700 !

il#<

i ,1

CaptJiiii Scanimon gives the following external measurenieiits
of a full-grown male taken at the Farallone Islands, July 17,
1872.

ft. in. mm.

Length from tip of iiose to end of hind flippers 12 :^3, 060

Length of hind flii)pers 2 2= OGO

Breadth of hind flippers (expanded) 9 = 220

Circumference of hody behind fore limbs 7 =2, 150

From nose to fore limb.s 5 =1,526

Length of fore flipper 2 tJ = 753

Breadth of foro flipper 1 4= 470

Distance between extremities of fore limbs 10 0=3,035

Length of ear li= 4*

\ Length of tail 7= 17"

■ Length (.flon'f. eat vhiskers 1 6= 457

. ' Lengtli <il' longest hind claw li= 32

■ , f e , , ," « "i « c , t. » ." •

SKULL.

237

Skill. — The skull Viirios ^fioatly in (lillcivnt in(Uvi<luiils,
even of tlie same «o\, not only in its ycncial form, but in the
sliiipt' oi'its tlin't'n'Ut bon«'s. In tlic niah's tin' occipital and me-
dial crests are not nuicli devi'loped before t!ie fifth or sixth
yciii'. The bones thii'ken ;;reatly after the animal attains ma-
turity, and the palate becomes more llattened. In the adult
male the brain-box naiy be described as sulxpuulrate, nar-
nmcr anteriorly, where the skull is abruptly contracted. The
;;rcatcst diameter of the skull is at the i)osterior end of the
zygoma, and is e«iual to three-lifths of its length. The post-
orbital i)r(K'(»sses are stron^jly <levelope(l and (luadrate; the fore-
licad is tiat, and the facial protile is either abruptly ov yrad-
uiilly dci'linedj the mu/.zle is broad, its breadth at the eanines
bcin;; rather nuue than one-fourth the total length of the skull.
The jtalatal surface of the iutermaxilhiries is Hat, or slif^htly de-
]»rosscd anteriorly, and very sli{;htly contracted posteriorly. Lat-
cnilly the intermaxillaries reach nearly to the end of the palatals.
Tlu' latter are nuicli contracted posteriorly, aud terminate quite
far in front of t'e liauuili i)teryj;()idci. Both the anterior and
posterior nares arc a little narrower than high. The nasals are
widest anteriorly. The last (fifth) pair of upper molars is placed
far behind the fourth pair, the space betAveen them being about
equal to that occupied by two molars. The nmles in old age
huAc exceedingly high occipital aud sagittal crests, most devel-
oped posteriorly; anteriorly they diverge and terminate in the
hinder edge of the postorbital processes.

The lower jaw is massive and strong. Its coronoid i)rocesses
are greatly developed, as are the tuberosities at the angle of
the rami, and a second tuberosity on the lower inner edge of
each ramus.

The skull in the female is not only much smaller than in the
male, but lacks entirely the high crests seen in the male, and
all the processes are much less developed. The teeth, espe-
cially the canines, are much smaller, and the bones are all thin-
ner aud weaker, the weight of the adult female skull being
only about one-third of that of the male of corresponding age.
The skull of a full-grown female of this species attains only
ai)out the linear dimensions of an adult male skull of Callorhinus
ur sinus.

238 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

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TEETH.

239

Tkk'J'II. — TLc lust upper Jiioi.ir is double rooted, sind its erown
directed backward. All the other luolais are single-rooted, with
a sliylit median longitudinal groove on the outside. Their
<;io\viis are irregidarly conical, pointed, aiul jut out over their
contracted necks; inner side of the crowns hollowed. Surface
id the crowns roughened with minute longitudinal grooves and
ridges. The upper molars have no trace of the supplemental
points to the crowns seen in many species of this family. The
lower molars, particularly the third and fourth, ha\e very
slight accessory cusps. Necks of the molars uniform in size
with tho upper part of the fangs. Fangs of the molars gradu-
ally tapering, those of the first and second upper much curved
inward; that of the third less so; that of the fourth straight;
the two fangs of the fifth are directed abruptly forward, the
posterior one much the smaller. Canines of both jaws very
large; the upper, however, much the larger; the lower more
curved. Of the six incisors of the upper jaw, those of the
outer pair are mucli larger than the middle ones, two-thirds
as long as the canines, and much like them in form. The mid-
dle ones have their antero-posterior diameter nearly twice their
lateral diameter, and their crowns are divided transversely.
The fangs of the inner pair are slightly bifid. Of the four
lower incisors, the outer are much the longer. *

MeaaurcmcHtu of the TeethA
A. — Teeth of the UrPEn Jaw.

Holara.

Total length

Length of the crown
" neckt
" ioot§.

1 Aiiteio-postcrior diameter || j 11. 5

j Lateriil fliameter || ^ 6. 5

•

Incisors.

1
1

40
11

6
23
11.5

8.5

29
5

25
4
7

13
10

24
20

15
12

7
5

* For figures of the teeth, see Bull. Mas. Comp. Zool., vol. ii, j)!. i, ligg.
"i-.V (one-half natural size).

tThps"' measurements are takt^n from a middle-aged specimen, in which
the dentition is perfect and normal. Tn old age many of the teeth are usually
1iink(>n, and a portion of them often entirely wanting, through loss from
accident. As the lower canines could not be removed without removing a
portion of the jaw, they have not been fully measured,

{The distaice from the crown to the alveolus.

^ The portion of the tooth inserted in the jaw.

II At tlie base of the crown.

240 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

B. — Tketii of the Lowi;k Jaw.

Molurs.

Iii('is<i;».

30
12

Totallength 28 42 42

Lengtli of the crown 10 12 14

" '• iierk*

'• loott : 11! ^ 2^1 23! -2

Antei'o-posteiior ilianieter^ !t i 13 15 j 12.ri|

Lateral diaincttT J i C i !» 10

10 :i.'.

.' 7
V>

10..". 20

K..') IV

31
H
4

Skeleton. — Vertebral forimila : Cervical vertebra', 7: dorsal.
ir»; lumbar, 5; caudal (iucludiufj the four sacral), variable;
probable average, IG.

Ten of the fifteen ribs articulate with the .st<'rniini; their
sternal portions are entirely cartilaginous. Their os.seous ])(»r-
tions evidently increase niucli in length alter middle age. Tlio
apophyses of the vertebne are well devt;loi>ed. Of the neiinil
spines of the dorsal vertebne, the first, .second, and third are
sub-equal, 130 mm. long; they gradually shoi-ten jwsteriorly, tlie
last having a length of oidy 75 mm.

The sternum is normally composed of nine thick ami broad
osseous segments, the first and last very long, the eighth short-
est. Between the eighth and ninth a shorter cartilaginous
one is sometimes intercalated (as in specimen No. 2020).

The pelvis is well developed. The ilia are very long and nar-
row antero-posteriorly. The i)ubic bones are unanchylosed,
they being merely approximate at their posterior exti'cmitiois.
Probably in the femjiles (as in Callorhimm ursinus), they are
widely separated, and the Avhole pelvis is much smaller than in
the males and differently shaped.

The humerus, as in the other Pinnipeds, is short and thiek.
with the greater tuberosity enormously developed. The bones of
the forearm are also very large and strong, with all their i)io
cesses greatly developed ; in length they but slightly exceed the
humerus. The length of neither of the segments of the arm
quite equals the length of the bones of the first digit (inch'dinjr
its metacarpal Ixme) of the hand. The first digit of the hand is
the longest, twice as long as the fifth, and very thick and strong.

*Tho distance from the crown to the alveolus.
tTho portion inserted in tho jaw.
t At the base oi' tho crown.

SKELETON.

241

The bones of the hinder limbs are also sliort and thick, espe-
cially llie leinur, whieli is scarcely more than one-third as long
as The tibia. The latter in length about e(iuals the foot. The
relative lenj^th of the digits is as follows, tln^ lon{j;est being
niciitioiied lirst: 5th, 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4t[». The third and
lourtli are of equal length, and but little shorter than the sec-
ond. In respect to size, the metatarsal and phalangeal bones
(if the lifth digit are nearly twice as large as those of the lirst,
while those of the lirst are about twice the size of those of
cither of the other three. As previously noticed, the three
iiiitldle digits of the foot are supplied with long narrow nails;
the tirst and fifth with rudimentary ones.

McamremcnUi of the Bones of the Hand (Metacarpal and I'ludamjial).

• length of metncarpal and plip-

langcs -

lA'Dgtli of iiKitacaipal bone

Length of Ist phalanx

Length of 2(1 phalanx

L -ngtli of 3(1 phaloux

Middle-aged Hpcclmen.

Very old specimen.

. I .

•a

4. 1 •■?. :a

352

152

140

310

110

I -^

240
85
70
60
25

200
SO
55
45
20

•a

.4
•a

« . M

177
80
65
20
12

357 320
160 I 110
140 05
57 { 80
, 35

•a

250
00
70
65
25

■a

-3

205
80
60
45
20

185
85
65
18
17

Measuioncnta of the Bones of tlie Foot (Metatarsal and Phalangeal).

Length of metatarsal and phalan-

ges

Length of metatarsal bono . .

Hugth of Ist phalanx

Length of 2d phalanx

Length of 3d phalanx

Length of nail

Middle-aged specimen.

310

120

140

«i

•«i

•a

-d

290
05
00
75
30
40

290
95
90
75
30
40

•a

305
110
90
80
25
37

328

130

Very old specimen.

•a

■a

320
145
130

•a
■■5

317

110

100

•a

327

110

105

•a
■■3

350

120

105

-a
■s

350
130
110

75
35

Tli(3 liyoid bono is greatly developed. Each ramus consists
i)f five segments, its two rami being connected together by a
transverse segment articulating wi*^^h the juncture of the fourth
iiud llfth segments. All the parts Oi" the hyoid bone are very
tliick, esixicially the transverse and anterior segments; rela-
tively much more so than in GallorhintyS, In the common Phoca^
mac. Pub. No, 12 IG

242 EUMETOPIAS 8TELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

the byoid bone is reduced almost to a bony filament. The length
of the hyoid bone in the present species is 270 mm. ; of the trans-
verse segment, 05 mm. ; circumference of the transverse segment,
45 mm.; of this segment at the thickest i^art, 95 mm.

The OS penis is 170 mm. long, slightly arched, somewhat Hat-
tened above, especially posteriorly, sharply convex below, and
abruptly expanded and squarely truncate at the end. Its cir
cumference at the base is 72 mm. ; just behind the terminal ex
pansion, 32 mm. ; of the terminal expansion itself, 65""".
Measurements of the Skeleton.

Whole length of skeleton (including skuU) . .

Length of sknll

Length of cervical vertebras

Length of dorsal vertebras

Length of lumbar verl /bras

Length of caudal vertobras

Length of first rib

Length of first rib, osseous portion

Length of first rib, cartilaginous portion

Length of second rib

Length of second rib, osseous portion

Length of second rib, cartilaginous portion . .

Length of third rib

Length of third rib, osseous portion

Length of third rib, cartilaginous portion

Length of fourth rib

Length of fourth rib, osseous portion

Length of fourth rib. cartilaginous portion...

Length of fifth rib

Length of fifth rib, osseous portion

Length of fifth rib, cartilnginous portion

Length of sixth rib

Length of sixth rib, osseous portion

Length of sixth rib, cartilaginous portion

Length of seventh rib

Length of seventh rib, osseoua portion

Length of seventh rib, cartilaginous portion..

Length of eighth rib

Length of eighth rib, osseous portion

Length of eighth rib, cartilaginous portion. . .

Length of ninth rib

Length of ninth rib, osseous portion

Length of ninth rib, cartilaginous portion

Length of tenth rib ,..

Length of tenth rib, osseous portion

Length of tenth rib, cartilaginous portion

Length of eleventh rib, osseous portion only.

No. 2920,

rf.lOy'rs

old.

2,750
374
600

1,050
340
440
260
130
130
345
175
170
410
230
180
470
280
190
535
320
215
580
360
220
640
400
240
670
420
250
710
420
290
750
420
330
430

No. 2921,

rf.lSy'n!

old.

2,935
3S5
540

1,090
400
520
240
140
100
305
185
120
410
270
140
470
330
140
5J0
370
160
300
4M
170

440
160
670
4S0
190
6M
4«
200
745
4»i

IHi:;

SKELETON.

243

Meaaurvnients of the Skeleton — Coiitinui-d.

No, 2920, I No. 2921,

,^, 10 y'rs 1(^,15 y'rs

old. old.

i Lengtli of twelfth rib, osseous portion only

Length (if thirteenth lib, osseous portion only

I.c'ii);th of fourteenth rili, osseous portion only ,

Len^'l h of flft<'cnth ril), osseous portion only

Lt'ii>;tli of sternum (ossified portion)

L(uj,'th of sternum, Ist scfpiient

Li'iij;th of sternum, 2d segment

Length of st^-rnum, M segment ,

Length of stenimu, 4th segment

Length of sternum, 5tli secment

Length of sternum, 0th segment

Lengtli of gtemum, 7tli segment

Length of sternum, 8tli segment

Lengtli of st^-'inum, 9th segment

Length of supemumery eartiLige (between 8th and 9th)

Lengtli of scupulii

Breadth of scapula ,

Greatest height of its spino ,

Length of humerus ,

( 'ircunifevence of its head

Least eireuraference of the humerus

Length of radius

Length of ulna

Longest diameter of upper end of ulna

Length of earpus

Length of metaearjius and 1st digit

Lengtli of iiiftaeaipus aud 2d digit

Length of metacarpus and 3d digit

Length of metacarpus .and 4th digit

Length of metacarpus and 5th digit

Length of femur

Cheumference of neck •

Length uf tibia •.

Length of fibula

Length of tarsus

Length of metatarsus and Ist digit

Length of metatarsus and 2d digit

Length of metatarsus and 3d digit

Length of metatarsoe and 4tli digit

Length of metatarsus and 5th digit

Length of innominate bono

Greatest width of the pelvis anteriorly

Length of ilium

Length of ischio-pubic bones

Length of thyroid foramen

Lengtli of OS penis

■^iiUhof hand at base of digits

Width of foot at base of digits

490
450
410
340
700
130

30
830
350 I

45 i
300 j
300 I
170 I
260 I
310 I
100 I

80 I
350 j
310 \
240 i
200
170
170
125
320
310
140
310
290
290
305
227
320
140
140
140

500

470

460

350

840

180

370
380

52
285
290
180
260
310
130

80
360
320
250
205
185
220
120
340
330
160
270
290
270
285
310
360
160
160
200
200
170

140

p'iM

244 EUMETOPIAS STELLKRI — STKLIKU's SEA LION.

The above, table j^ivcs the priiK-ipal iiieasiiroiiu'iitsofthebonofj
of tbt' skcU'toii. .McasiirciMcnls of two spcciiiiciis are j^iveii, as
in l>revioiis tables, foi'tlie purpose of illiistratiiij;' the variations
thai oeeur in the relative si/e of (litVerent parts after maturity
is attain«'(l, and also for the [>nrpose of illnstratin<>- individual
variation, whieh in some i)artieulars these specimens exhibit
in a marked dej-Tee. The ribs, it will be observed, diifer hut
isliji'litly in total lenf;th in the two; riot nearly so uuieh as
would be expeeted from the nuieh jL>reater bulk of the body of
the older specimen. It will be noticed that the principal diller
ences in the ribs consist in the relative length of the bony to
the cartilaj-inons portions, in the older the ossified portion be
inj;' nnu'h lonjier and tli«' cartilagin<ms nuich shorter than in tlii'
youn}ier. An irregularity will hi\ also observed in respect to the
sternum, the younger specini'u having a supernumerary car-
tilaginous segment between the eighth and ninth normal onos.

Sexual, Adolescent, and Individual Variation.— In
res[)ect to external characters, m.> material, consisting merely of
three adult males, does not furnish many facts toiichii g these
l)oints. These si)ecimeus, however, dift'er considerably from
each other, not only in color, but in size and i>roportioiis. Some
of these dift'erences are clearly due to age (one of the specimens
being nuich younger than the others), but others equally great
cannot be thus explained. The body increases greatly in bulk,
and the bones in size and density, after the animal has reached
its adult length. The crests of the skull are almost wholly
developed after this period, and in great measure also the spines
or ridges of the scapula. The tuberosities for the attachment of
muscles also increase in size, as do the vertebral or osseous por
tious of the ribs, as shown by the measurements already given.
The teeth also change nuich in size and form after maturity is
attained, and in old age often become much worn and broken
by long use. The general form of the skull in the males differs
considerably in dilBfereut individuals of the same age, and also
undergoes great modification with age.* As already stated, tliis
consists mainly in the development of the crests and processes
for the attachment of muscles, and in the size and form of the
teeth.

Mr. Elliott states that the young, when first born, have ;i
■weight of about twenty to twenty-five pounds, and a l^ugtli of

*Seo Bull. Mu8. Comp. Zool., vol. ii, pp. 56-60.

^TBjf

COMPARISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES.

245

about two i't'oi, and dcst'iiLvf^ their color at tliis ago as being
••(laik clioeolate-brown." When they are a year okl ho says
tlicy liave tlie sain<> (•oh)ras the achilts. On their arrival at the
I'nbilov Islands in s]>rinji', Mi". l''^lliott slates that he was nu-
\[h\v to (liseern any marked dissimilarity of e()!orin;n' between
the males and females, and adds that the "young males and
yearlings" have the same color as tlu' adults, with here and
tluTc an animal marked with irregularly disjjosed patclies of
(lark brown. After their arrival, the general color gradually
becomes .somewhat lighter or more golden, and darker agaiu
after the moult.

As already noted, the .sexual differences in the skull are
strongly marked. They are, however, only parallel Avith those
seen in the other .s])ecics of Otaries. The skeleton of the female
is still unknown to me, but nuiy beiuxvsumed to differ from that
of tlie male very much, as is found to be the case in the Fur Seal,
as described further on.

(lixxHJAPniCAL Vauiation. — The material at hand seems to
indicate that there is no marked variation in size with U)cality.
A considerable series of skulls from the California coast indi-
cates that the species attains fully as large a size there as at the
I'rybilov Islands. One of the largest skulls I have seen came
trom the Farallone Islands, the extreme southern limit repre-
sented by the s})ecimens before ine.

Comparison with Allied Species. — Eumetopias stelleri is
tlie largest of the Eared Seals, very much exceeding in size any
of the other species of the family except Otaria juhata^ which
alone it sufBciently resembles in external features to render com-
parison necessary. While widely distinct from the latter in
cranial characters, it seems to quite closely resemble it in exter-
nal features, so far as may be judged from descriptions. The
character of the pelage, the color, and the conformation of the
linib.s are nuicli the same in both. In neither is there a distinct
"mane," so often attributed to them, and especially to the
Soaiiicrn Sea Lion, although the hair on the neck and shoul-
ders is longer than elseAvhere, the resemblance to the mane of
the Lion being duo to the heavy folds of skin over the shoul-
ders when tlie head is raised, more than to the existence of an
abundance of lengthened hair that can in any true sense be
cousiddied as forming a mane such as is seen in Leo.* The skins

* AtLordiug to Captain Bryant, "At tho fourth year of ago the uceli and
sliouldcrs tlijcken, from having a thick layer of fat nndc-r the skin, tlu' skin

246 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

of tbese two species at my coinniand arc in the one casd those
of very young animals, and in the other of very old males. A
fine series of the skulls of each enables me, however, to s])eiik
with confidence in respect to the matter of comparative size.
The largest old male skull of Eumctopias steJlcri has a length of
400 mm., Avhile none fall below 375 una., the average being about
390 nun. In Otaria jiihata, the largest old male skull in a series
of a dozen barely reaches 372 mm., and several fall below 340 nini.;
the average being about 355 mm., or about 50 mm. shorter than
tlie average of a similar series of Eumctopias steUeri. Adult
female skulls of the last-named species reach 290 to 300 mm,,
while old female skulls of 0*ariajubata about 265 nun. Accord-
ingly it seems fair to conclude that the linear measurements of
Otaria jitbata are about one-eighth less than those of Eumetopm
stelleri, with a corresponding difference in the bulk and weight of
the entire animal in the two species. As very few measure
ments of the skulls of Otaria jubata have been as yet published.
I append the following for comparison with those of Eitmeto-
plan stcUcri already given {antea^ p. 238). The wide differences in
dentition and cranial structure liave already been suflBciently
indicated.

itself beiug loose and flabbj'. When the animal is at rest ou a rock with its
hind flippers folded under its body, its head erect and the shoulders tliiown
back, the loose skin and fat lies in folds, looking like the mane of a Lion;
hence its name Sea Lion. This thickening of the neck is peculiar to the
adult male." — MSS, notes.

mmmmmmmmmasm^sam

COMPARISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES.

247

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24 S EUMETOPIAS STELLKRl— STELLEU's SEA LION.

CiEOGKAl'IIKAL J^I^TKim TIOX. — TllC klloMli riin;;(' of tills
sporh's cxtciids iiloii;;' tlu' west coiist of XorUi AiiH-rica fioiii
the FiniilloiK' Lslaiids, in liititiidc ;57o 10' N., to tlir Prvbilov
Lsliiiids. Its iiortliciii limit ol' distribution is not (h'linitcly
known, bnt it docs not iipia-iir to Imvc been nu't with north nl'
about the latitude of St. Matthew's Island (about latitude OP).
Keither m-. ^^ . II. ])all nor 3Ir. II. \V. Elliott <ias met with it
above this point, and they have both inl'ornu'd nie that tlicv
have no reason to sup[tose it extends any further northward
or beyond the .southern limit of tloating' iee. According td
Steller, it existed in his time alony the whole ea.stern eoa.st of
Kamtehatka and southward to the Kurile Lslands, He found
it abundant on Behring's and Cojtper Islands, where it is still
well known to exist. If Dr. Gray's Eumtioinns eloiuftttus, as
originally described in 1873 (the same specimen was referred by
him in ]871i to U. utelleri), be referable, as I believe (see hij'ra,
p. -52) to the female of JJ. xtellcri, the range of this .sjjecies a])-
pear., to extend .soutliAvard on the Asiatic coast as far as
Japan.

Althongh the Sea Lions of the California coa.st that have of
late years attracted so much attention appear to be tlu; smaller
species (Zalophu-s (■aliforuiauits), the ocenrrence of the present
species there is also fully established, where it is resident the
whole year, and where it brings forth its young, as proven by
specimens transmitted some years since by Dr. Ayres to the
Smithsonian Institution.

General History. — The Northern Sea Liou was first de-
scribed in 1751 by Steller, who, under the name of Leo marims,
gave a somewhat detailed account of its habits and its geograph-
ical range, so far as known to him. His description of the an-
imal, however, is quite unsatisfactory. Steller's Leo marims,
in size^ general form, and color, closely resembles the Southern
Sea Lion {Otaria juhata), with which Steller's animal was con
founded by Pennant, Bufibn, and by nearly all subsequent
writers for. almost a century. Peron, in 181C, first distinctly
affirmed the Northern and Southern Sea Lions to be specifically
distinct, without, as Temminck says, " avoir vu ni I'une ni I'autrc.
et sans ^tablir leurs caracteres distiuctifs."* Lesson, in 1828,
gave it the specific name it now bears, in honor of Steller, its
first describer. The following year Fischer, on the authority of

* Faiiu. Jap., Mara. Marins, 1842, p. 7.

GENERAL HISTOKY.

249

Lesson, also rc(;();;iii/,('(l its distinctin'ss IVoiii llic soutliciii sih'-
civs. Xilssoii, ill IS 10, in Iiis cclchiiitcd nioiioyiiipli <»!' tlif Seals,
reunited them. .Miiller, lioweNcr, in an appendix to Dr. W.
I'eters's translation of Nilsson's «'ssa.v, imhlislied in tiie Areliiv
Inr Xatnrj-vscliielite lor ISll. separated it a^ain, and pointed
oiil some of tile dilVerenccs in the skulls that serve to distin
guisli the two sju'cies. (Irav, in his Catalojiuc of the Seals.
j)iil)lislied in l.S.")(», also rejiarded it as distinct. r>nt one is led
to infer that he had not then seen six-cimens of it, and tliat he
rested his belief in the existence of sueli a species mainly on
^teller's account of it, as he himself expressly states in his
later papers. Tlie skull received sul>se(pu?ntly at the British
^[nsenm from ^lonterey, California, and ti};nred and described by
Gray, in 1859, as a new sjjecies, under the name Arctocephalus
moiitvrlcHffiK, proved, however, to be of this species, as lirst
atliriiied by Dr. Gill, and latei- by Professor Peters and by Gray
himself. AVith the exce])tioii of the (ij;ures of an imi>erfect
skull of Steller's Sea Lion from Kamtchatka, fiiven by Pander
ami D'Alton in 182G, Dr. Gray's excellent ti<4ure* (a view in
laolile) is the only one of its skull published i)rior to 187(5. The
(iiilv specimens of the animal extant, up to about ten years
since, in tU<' Euro])ean museums, seem to have consisted of the
two skulls and a stull'ed skin in the JJerlin Museum mentioned
h,v Peters, and the skull in the British Museum tiyured and
4k'scribed by Gray.

With the Monterey skull abov(^njentioned, Dr. Gray received
another very youny skull, and the skin of a Fur Seal, both of
which were said to have belonged to one animal, and which he
liesitatinyly leferred to his Aretocephalus inonteriemuA Later,
however, he regarded them as representing a new species,!
which he called Arctocephalus caiifornimitis. Still later lie refer
red his A. caUfornianm to Eametopias isteUeri § {=Arctocephalii.s
moHteriemifi, Gray, of earlier date), and in 1872 1| published tigures
of this young California skull. Concerning the skin above re-
ferred to he remarked at one time as follows: "If the skin sent
last year by Mr. Taylor to Mr. Guruey, and by that gentleman
presented to the Museum, is the young of this species [A. mon-

' I'roc. ZoiJl. Soc. Load., 1859, pi. Ixii.
'i'roc. Zool. Soc. Loud., Id59, i». ;358.
;C;it. Seals ami Whales, 18iJ6, p. 49.

v^Aun, and Mag. Nat. Hist., M sories, 186C, voL xviii, p. '2'S'S; Hand-
list of Seals, etc., 1874, 40.
ilPioc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1872, pp. 740,741. . ; .; '

250 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

teriensifi], tlie yoimg: aiiiinal is blackish, silvcrtMl by the slioit
white tips to the short black hairs; those on tho nape and
hinder parts of the body with lonj,a'r Whitii tips, iniikin}^' thoM'
parts whiter and more silvery. The under-fur is very abuinl
ant, reachiny nearly to the eiul ol" the hair. The eiid ot the
nose and sides of the face are whitish. The whiskers are i-loii
;,'uted, rigid, smooth, and white. The hind feet are cloiijAiitc.
with rather long- tlaps to tlM' toes. The skull is small for the
size of the skin, and I should have doubted its belotigiiiy to
the skin if it were not accompjMned by the following labtl:
'Sknll of the ]<\tr Seal I sent last year. It is very imperfect,
from my forgetting where I had put it; but it must «lo until airi
dent throws anotlu'r in the way; the other bones were lost.—
A. S. T.'"* Dr. Gray, in his "Hand-List." published in 1S74.
refers the skidls of both A. mov.tcriennis and A. caJifornionn*
to Eumetopim (ttellvri, but makes no reference to the skin. As
he seems, however, to have become settled in his opinion tbat
this skin is identical with his A. monteriensis, this nisiy nc
count for the statement made by him in 180(5, t and sultse
quently reiterated, | that the Eumetopiax stelleri is a species in
which '' the fur is very dense, staiuling nearly erect from the
skin, forming a very soft, elastic coat, as in O. falldandha and
0. steUeri, which,'' he erroneously says, "are the only Seals
that have a close, soft, elastic fur." §

Lesso; ; gave the name Otaria californiana toasupposed species
of Eared Seal based solely on a figure entitled "Jeune lion nun in
de la Califbrnie," published by Choris.|| The following is tlie
only allusion Choris makes to this animal, in this eoiuieetioii,
in his text: "Les rochers dans le voisinage de la bale Sau
Francisco sont ordinalrement converts de lions marins. PI.
XI." In his chapter on the "lies A16outiennes," in describing
the "Lions marins," he says: "Cesanimaux sontaussi tr^s-com
muns au port de San-Francisco, sur la c6te de Californie, oil

*Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1850, p. :?58.

t Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4tli series, 1866, vol. i, p. 101.

tlbid., p. 'ilij.

$ Dr. Gray's mistake seems to have misled others in respect to the real
characters of Eumetopiaa stclleri, which Dr. Veatch, on the authority of Gray,
refers to as tlie "fur-coated Eumatopias," which he supposed to be the
proper name of the Fur Seal of the North. (See "Report of Dr. John A.
Veatch on Cerros or Cedros Island," in J. Ross Browne's "Resources of the
Pacific Slope," [appendix], p. 150, 1869.)

II Voyage Pittoresque, pi. xi, of the chapter entitled "Port San-Francisco
et ses habitants." Tho date of this work is 1822.

iBiai£S£<SKBfc :=3?S

GENERAL HISTORY.

261

oil U's Noit oil noinbi'c |)i'<)(li;;i('ii\ snr los rochers do la bale.
Ccttc ('s[)('cc iii'ii piini sc (listin^uiiT dc cciix qui iWqiientent
Ics ik'.s AlOoiiticnncs; clh' a la <'()ri)s plus lliu't ct plus allongd,
(>t III tc'tc ])lu.s line: (piaut a la couleur, •■Ho passe lortoiiiont an
lirmi, tandis que ceux des iles Aleouiicunes sont d'une coulcur
plus yiise, out le corps plus lond, les mouvemcnts plus diOiciles,
la tote plus grossc ot plus (5paisse; la coulcur du poll des
iiioustaohcs plus uoiratro que celui des iles Aleoutieunes." *

It thus ai)pears that Choris clearly recognized the larger aud
the smaller Sea Lious of the west coast of North America, aud
coirootly pointed out their more obvious points of external
difleronce. Hence Lesson's name Otaria californiana, founded
on Choris's "Lion marin do la Califoraie," must be considered as
api>lying exclusively to what has till now been commonly known
as ZolopliHK (fiUespii.

Dr. Gill, however, in his "Prodrome," adopted provisionally
Lesson's name [californiana) for the present species, but at the
same tinu' asserted its identity with the ArctocepliahiH - . ,ac-
rlnisin of Gray (1859), and also suggested its probab' identity
with the so-called Otaria stelleri of MUller. Peters, a few months
later, came to the conclusion that Gill's suggestion was correct,
since which time the name stelleri has been universally accepted
lor the laiger northern Hair Seal. The Otaria stelleri of Tern-
uiinck,t formerly supposed by Grayf and also by Peters §
to include both the Australian Eared Seals (viz, Arctoceplialm
cincreits and Zalophvs lobattis), has finally been referred by
the latter, after an examination of the original specimens in
the Leyden Museum, to the so-called Zalophus gillespii. \\ I be-
lieve, however, that the skull of the J'oung female figured
in Fauna Japonica (pi. xxii, flgg. 5 and 6) belongs to some
other species. It certainly differs greatly in proportions, as
well as in dentition, from the other skulls figured in that work
(same plate), and called 0. stelleri.

The northern Sea Lion having become generally recognized
as specifically distinct from the Sea Lion of the southern seas,
Dr. Gill, in 1866, separated the two generically. This had
indeed already been done practically by Dr. Gray, inasmuch as

* Voy. Pittor. aut. tlu Moudo, Iles Al^outieuues, p. 13.
tFauuii Japouica, Mam. inarius, p. 10.

{Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d series, 1866, vol. xviii, p. 229.
Hlouatsberichte Akad. Berlin, 1866, pp. 272,276.

II Ibid., p. 669. See further on this point posted, under Zalophus cal\for-
nianuH.

tlv

252 KUMETOPIAS STEIXERI— STKI-LKU'S 6KA LION

111' ])lacod liis A. montericmiH ( = 0. .sfc//er/, auct.) in the geims
Arc.occpJiahts, and llie .southern Sea Lion in Otaria, with which
he associated the 0. stcUcri. He faiUnl, however, to rccoguizo
the identity of hi« A.montericnxifi with his O.Hfelleri, and hence
the entire jieneric diversity of the northern and southern Sea
Lions seems lo have escape! his observation. Tlie hitter fact
was lirst pointed out by Dr. Gill in his "Prodrome,'' as above
stated.

Dr. Gray has recently described and figured the skull of what
he at first regarded as a second species of Eiwietopian from
Japan, and which he called Eiimetopian elonyafus,* but he sub-
sequently transferred it to his " genus*' Phocarctos.] In his first
mention of it, however, he referred it to Euinetopias stelleri.l
The ^^Phocarctos clongatus'^ was first described from a "nearly
adult " skull (pl. xxi, Hand-List), eleven inches long and seven
and a half broad at the condyles, and placed "in the genus
Eumetop'uiH, because it had a space in the place of the fifth
upper grinder." Judging from the figures § and Dr. Gray's de-
scription, it seems to differ in no important point from the skull
of an adult female, E. sfcllcri. Later !•<: received from Japan
a younger sku?l (pi. xxii, Hand-List), " seven and a Iialf
inches long and lour and a half inches broad," which agrees in
general form with the other, but has a " shortei pa'atej" six
uXiper uiolars (instead of five), and differs "in the form of the
internal nostrils." He considered the two as both belonging
to the same species, and, from the presence of six upper molars
in the young skull, transferred the species to " Phocarctos."

Judging from Dr. Gray's figure of this skull (Hand-List of
Seals, pl. xxii), it seems to be referable to Zalophits (the Japan
species, probably Z. lobatus), the last pair of upper molars
be ng in all probability supernumerary, as they are smalk:
thaJi the others and differ from those jireceding them just as do
the jL'ipcrunmerary molars in skulls of Zaiophiis californixmis.

Dr. Gray seems to have believed that Eumetopias hac in early hfe
six upi)er molars on each side, and that the fifth, or last but one, is
deciduous, thus leaving a vacuity between the last '^"io molars
on either side. Of this T have seen no evidence ; on the con-
trary, I have found in a very young skull the same number of
molars as in the adult. Thus skull Xo. 4703 ( National Museuir'

"i'roc. Zoiil. Soc. Loud., 187;i,7T(i, (igg. 1, '2,

tilaud-liist S<!a)H, etc., 1874, ISO, ])11. xxi, xxii.

tProc. ZooL Soc. Lond., Id72, 7:57, figg. 1 (head), 2, aud ;{ (skull).

$Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1872, pp. 738,739; Hand-List of Seals, pl. xsi.

jgggm^mdgm^mmmfimmm

GENERAL HISTORY.

253

from San Francisco, Cal., labelled by the collector, Dr. Ayres,
as " o or i (lays old," shows distinctl3' the alveoli 6f the milk
tlentitiou, with the permanent molars, five in nnmber, just
cutting the j;um. The last (fifth) uj)per molar is placed but
little further from the fourth than the fourth is from the third.
The broader si)aco between the loiuth and fifth molars is al-
icady indicated, but is, even relatively, nuich less than in the
adults. The last molar stands close to the end of the maxilla,
and hence has the same relative position at this early period
that it has in old age. As the si'^e of the skull increases, how-
over, tlK space between the fourth and fifth molars becomes en-
larged. Dr. Clray says that in a " foetal skull" of this species
" from California the hind ui)per grinder is at a considerable
distance from the others, as in the very old skull in the [British]
Museum and the two adult skulls figured by Mr. Allen ; but
there! is to be observed on each side a concavity in the place of
the fifth grinder — on the right side it is a shallow, small cavity
which has enclosed a rudimentary tooth ;* on the other side the
concavity is larger, but not so evidently the cavity for a tooth. t"

As is well known, the Otaria stelleri of Temminck's " Fauna
Japonica" is a Zaloplms (at least in part).|

Since the publication of my paper on the Eared Seals, in 1870,
our knowledge of this species has greatly increased, mainly
through the published observations of Captain Scammon and
Mr. H, W. Elliott. Captain Scammon, however, seems to have
not distinguished the two species occurring in California, since
he gives no distinct account of the smaller Californian species,
although he appears to have given mef^urements of a female
of the latter, and evidently blends, in a general way, the history
of the two. Mr. Elliott has not only published a very full
account of its habits, as observed by him during several years'
residence at Saint Paul's Island, but also a most admirable
series of sketches of the animals, drawn from life. In the fol-

*As already stated, Dr. Gray appears to have beUoveni.that the last or
fifth grindcrishomologically the sixth, because it h; ~' two roots, and that the
lit'tli i.s deciduous, a theory I believe i.T:°"ppo'ted. Was not the small cav-
ity he liere refers to as having enclosed a tooth merely the alveolus of the
last milk molar, which I have found to occupy just this position? Dr. Gray
liiiiiscir, in jneviously referring to the same skull, alludes to "a small pit"
"at the back edge of the fourth grinder," "from which no doubt a small
rndiiuciitiiry tooth has fallen o\\t."—Supiil. Cat Seals and Whaks, pp. 29, 30.

t Hand-List of Seals, p. 41.

{For further remarks on " Otaria atclleri" Temminck see infra, under Za-
lopliiis californianus, -

254 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

lowing pages I shall borrow largely from his excellent account
of its habits.*

Habits. — Aside from Steller's early account of the northern
Sea Lion, little had been published relating to the habits of this
species prior to 1870. Kcw, Luwever, with possibly one excep-
tion, none of our Pinnipeds is better known.

Steller gave a very full description of the habits of the Sea
Bear {Callorhinus ursinus), and remarked that, with some few
exceptions (which he specifies), those of the Sea Lion closely
resemble those of that animal. Choris states: "On y [Pile
Saint-Georges] tue ime grand quantity de Lions Marins ; mais
seulement des males, a cause de leur grandeur 5 on se sert de
leur peau pour recouvrir les canots, et des intestins pour faire
le kamleyM, especes de blouses que I'on endosse par-dessus les
autres vetements lorsqu'il pluet pour ne pas se mouiller. La
chair, que I'ou fait s^cher, est diT'e; c'est une bonne nourriture

pour I'hiver Les jeunes sont tres-tendres et ont le

gout de poisson."

" Le rivage 6tait convert de troupes innombrables de hous
marins. L'odeur qu'ils r6pandent est insupportable. Ces ani-
maux etaient alors dans le temps du rut. L'on voyait de tons

* Mr. Elliott's account Avas first printed in his " Report on the Prybilov
Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska," in 1873. The work is an oblong quarto
of about 130 pages, interleaved with about 40 photographic plates. The
text, however, is unpaged, and the plates are not numbered, so that it is
almost impossible to eite it definitelj-. As the edition was limited to one
hundred and twenty-live copies, and was privately distributed, it is almost
inaccessible, and can hardly be said to have been published. ["] The text,
however, was reprinted, in substance, in 1875, in octavo form, as one of the
Reports of the Treasury Department (of which Mr. Elliott was Assistant
Special Agent at the Fur Seal Islands;, under the title ' 'A Report upon the
Condition of Affairs in the Territory of Alaska." This edition is the one
quoted in the present Avork. The quarto report contains live plates devoted
to the Sea Lion. The first gives a nearly front view of an adult male. The
second shows several natives creeping along the shore in order to get be-
tween a herd of Sea Lions and the water to intercept their retreat. A third
is entitled " Capturing the Sea Lion — Springing the Alarm," and indicates
the stage of the hunt Avhen the hunters expose themselves to view and rush
unon the herd to drive them inland. A part are retreating land-ward, while
ochers are jdunging precipitately into the sea. The fourth, " Shooting Sen
Lion Bulls," represents the killing of the old males with fii'earms. The
fifth and last depicts the slaughter of the females, and is entitled, "Speai-
iDg Sea Lion Cows, 'The Death Whirl.'"'

{* It Is well known that opinions of " what constitutes pnblication?" lUfl'er. Thavotho
author's permission to record hero my own view, which is, that a printed work is "pub-
lished" if a single copy is placed in a piibix Hbrarv.— Elliott Coues.]

HABITS.

5?55

foics Ics lui'ik's se battle entre eux pour s'enlever les uns aux
aiitirs les femclles. Cbaque male eu rassemble de dix j\ vingt,
sc inontre jaloux, lie souffre aiicuu autre male, et attaque ceux
(ini tentent de s'approcber; il les tue par ses morsures ou s'eii
liiit tuer. Dans le premier cas, il s'empare des femelles du
vaiucii. Nous avons trouve plusieurs males dtendus morts sur
la plage, des seules blessures qu'ils avaient re5ues dans les com-
bats. Quelques femelles avaient dejd des petits. Les Ai^outes
en prirent plusieurs douzaines pour nous. L'animal n'est pas
dangereux; il fuit t\ Tapproche de I'homme, excepts depuls la
mimai jusqu'ii la mi-juin, qui est le plus fort temps du rut, et
oil les femelles mettent bas leurs petits 5 alors 11 ne se laisse
pas approcher et il attaque meme."* Choris's plates (Nos.
XIV and XV of the chapter on the Aleutian Islands, the
worli is not regularly paged) doubtless give a very good idea of
tbe appearance of these animals and the Sea Bears when assem
blocl ou the land. Plate XIV, entitled "Lions Marius dans
I'iU' (le St.-Georges," gives a view of a large assemblage of these
auiinals, in which the various attitudes are duly represented,
the animals in the foreground being depicted with considerablf?
accuracy of detail.

Ill 1870 I was able to add the following remarks by Captain
Bryant: "The Sea Lion visits St. Paul's Island in considerable
numbers to rear its young. It is one of the largest of the
Seal family, the male frequently measuring thirteen feet in
length, and weighing from fifteen to eighteen hundred pound8.[t]
Its habits are the same as those of the Fur Seal. AVhen roused
to auger it has a very marked resemblance, through the form
of its head and neck, to the animal from which it is named, and
its voice, when roaring, can be heard to a great distance. Its
body is thickly covered with fine, short, dark [ifj brown hair,
without any fur. Its skin is of considerable value as an article
of commerce in the Territory, it being used in making all kinds
of boats, from a one-man canoe to a lighter of twenty tons' bur-
den. The natives of all the Aleutian Islands and of the coast as
far east as Sitka, besides those of many ports on the mainland
to the north, rely on this island for a supply of the skins of this
animal. The rookery is on the northeast end of the island, and
the animals have to be driven ten or eleven miles to the village

'! m,

' Voy. Pittoresquo autoiir du Monde, lies Aldoutieuncs, pp. 12, I'.J.
tSeo anted, p. 233, second paragraph ot' Ibotnoto, for Captain Bryant':*
later statemeuts respecting size and weight.

'■i;!i >'•

s; ;

256 EUMET0PIA3 STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION

to brinf;^ tlioir skins to the dryiiij^-frames. It soiiiotiiiM's
roqiiircs live days to make the journe}', as at n'oiiiiont intervals
they have to be allowed to rest. It is a somewhat daujicroiis
animal, and the men frequently j;et seriously hurt by it in driv-
ing and killing' it. They are driven together in the same man-
ner as the Fur Seals are; and v.hile eoniining eaeh other hy
treading upon each otliers' Hippers the small ones are killcil
with lances, but the larger ones have to be shot.

" This animal is the most com[)letely consumed of any on the
island. Their Hesh is preferred to that of the Seal for dryiiijr
for winter use. After the skins are taken off (two thousand of
which are required annually to snpply tin; trading-posts of the
Territory), they are spread in ])iles of twenty-flve each, with
the flesh side down, and left to heat until the haii- is loosened;
it is then scraped off, and the skins are stretched on frames to
dry. The blubber is removed from the carcass for fuel or oil,
and the flesh is cut in strips and dried for winter use. The lin-
ings of their throaty are saved and tanned for making the kj^s
of boots and shoes, and the skin of the flippers is used for tho
soles. Their stomachs are turned, cleaned, and dried, and are
used to put the oil in when boiled out. The intestines are
dressed and sewed together into water-i)roof frocks, which are
worn Avhile hunting and Ashing in the boats. The sinews of tlie
back are dried and stripped to make the thread with whi<^li to
sew together the intestines, and to fasten the skins to the canoe-
frames. The natives receive thirty-five cents apiece for the
skins when ready for shipment. But these skins are not so nnich
valued by the trader for the i)rofit he makes on their sale, as
for the advantage it gives him in bargaining with the luuiters,
since by buying these they are able to secure a right to the
purchase of the hunter's furs on his return, the natives always
considering such contracts binding."*

The following careful description of their movements on land
was also communicated to me by Mr. Theodore Lyman in ISTD.
who had recmtly observed the Sea Lions on the '' Seal Kocks"
near San Francisco. His remarks may, howcer, relate in part
to the smaller species.

" These rocks," he says, "are beset with hundreds of these
animals, — some still, some moving, some on the land, and sonic
in the water. As they ai»proach to ell'cct a landing, the head
only appears decidedly above water. This is their familiar

*Bull. MuH. Coinp. Zool., ii, pp. 64,65.

HABITS

257

ileincnt, and they swim with great speed and ease, qnitc im-
iiiiuU'iil of the heavy surf and of the breakers on the ledges.
[ii liiiuling, they arc apt to take advantage of a heavy wave,
ivhich helps them to get the forward flipj^ers on terra firma.
\stlie wave retreats, they begin to struggle up the steep rocks,
:wisting the body from side to side, with a clumsy worm-like
notion, and thus alternately work their flippers into positions
svbero they imiy force the body a little onward. xVt such times
they have a general appearance of sprawling over the ground.
It is quite astonishing to see how they will go up surfaces having
3ven a greater inclination than 45°, and where a man would have
to creep with much exertion. When the surface is nearly
horizontal, they go faster, and often proceed by gathering their
liin(I-(iuarters under them, raising themselves on the edges
[)f their fore-limbs and then giving a push, whereby they make
a sort of tumble forwards. In their onward path they are
accompanied by the loud barking of all the Seals they pass }
and tliese cries may be heard a great distance. Having
arrived at a good basking-place, they stretch themselves out in
various attitudes, — often on the side, sometimes nearly on the
back, but commonly on the belly, with the flipi)ers somewhat
extended. They seem much oppressed with their oicn weight
(which is usually supported by the water), and it seemed an
exertion for them even to raise the head, though it is often kept
up for a long time. They play among themselves continually
by rolling on each other and feigning to bite. Often, too, they
\rill amuse themselves by pushing off those that are ti-ying to
land. All this is done in a very cumbrous manner, ami is
accompanied by incessant barking. As they issue from the
water, their fur is dark and shining; but, as it dries, it becomes
of a yellowish brown. Then they appear to feel either too dry
or too hot, for they move to the nearest point from which they
may tumble into the sea. I saw many roll off a ledge at least
twenty feet high, and fall, like so many huge brown sacks, into
the water, dashing up showers of spray."*

From the accounts given by various observers, the Sea Lions
evidently move with much less facility on land than do the P r
Seals, doubtless mainly from their much greater size. The young
and the females of several of the different species of these
auiniiils are described as walking with much greater ease and
rapidity than the half-grown and the more unwieldy old males.

*Bull. Mns. Conjp.

xMisc. Pub. No. 12 17

Zool., ii, pp. ()(), 67.

l t .,

li-'i

ffi

258 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI STELLER's SEA LION.

Captaiii Bryant states that the Fur Seal may be driven at the
rate of a mile and a half per hour, while, according to the Kuiue
authority, the Sea Lions can be driven with .safety but about
two miles a day.

Captain Scammou, in 1874, published a very interesting
account of the Sea Lions of the Aleutian Lslands, particularly
as respects the methods employed in their capture, portions of
which will be quoted later. His ac<ount is devoted largely,
however, to the Sea Lions of the Californiii coast, and certainly
includes the history rf the smaller species, if in fact this part
does not relate nminb ' > the latter. At about the same time
appeared Mr. H. W. Elliott's more detailed history of the north-
ern species, which is so full and explicit that I transcribe it
almost entire.

The Sea Lion, he says, "has a really leonine ai>pearance and
bearing, greatly enhanced by the rich, golden-rufous of its coat,
ferocity of expression, and bull-dog-like muzzle and cast of eye,
not round and full, but showing the white, or sclerotic coat,
with a light, bright-brown iris.

" Although provided with flippers to all external view as the
fur-seal, he cannot, however, make use of them in the same free
manner. While the fur-seal can be driven five or six miles in
twenty-four hours, the sea-lion can barely go two, the conditions
of weather and roadway being the same. The sea-lions balance
and saving their long, heavy necks to and fro, with every liitcli
up behind of theii' posteriors, which they seldom raise from the
ground, tlrawing them uj) after the fore feet with a slide over
the grass or sand, rocks, &c., as the case may be, and pausing
frequently to take a sullen and ferocious survey of the tield and
the drivers."

"The sea-lion is polygamous, but does not maintain any snch
regular system and method in preparing for and attention to
its harem like that so finely illustrated on the breeding-grounds
of the fur-seal. It is not numerous, comparatively speaking,
and does not ' haul ' more than a few rods back from the sea.
It cannot be visited and inspected by man, being so .shy and
wary that or the slightest approach a stam})ede into the water
is the certain result. The males come out and locate on the
narrow belts of rookery-ground, preferred and selected by
them; the cows nmke tlieir ai)pearance three or four weeks
after them, (1st to (Jth June,) and are not subjected to that
intense jealous supervision so characteristic of the fur-seal

HAUITS,

259

,- - s«<%r jaw-j^c' '

i- ■ :!

Vm. 'M.—i:umtUq)>.m »Ulhri. Adult uuilc, fer.tiiU's, mul youug.

260 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI STELLEU's SEA LION.

liaiTiii. The bulls lijilit

ly anioiifi' tliomsolves, ami tiim

■ I

ott'lVoni the lueediiiji-jiiouiid all the youiijicr and weak iiialos,

"The cow sea-lion is not (^uite half the size ol" the male, and
will measure from 8 to 1) feet in length, with a weij^ht of I'oiu'
and five hundred pounds. She has the same general ciist of
countenance and build of the bull, but as she does not siistiiiu
any lasting period of over a week or ten days, she never comes
out so grossly fat as the male or ' see-catch.'

" The sea-lion rookery will be found to consist of about teu
to fifteen cows to the bull. The cow seems at all times to have
th(^ utmost freedom in moving from place to place, and to .start
with its young, i)icked up sometimes by the nape, into the
water, and ])lay together for spells in the surf-wash, a move-
ment on the part of the mother never made by the fur-seal,
and showing, in this respect, much more attention to its off-
spring.

" They are divided up into classes, which sustain, in a gen-
eral manner, but very imperfectly, nearly the same relation one
to the other as do those of the fur-seal, of which I have already
spoken at length and in detail ; but they cannot be approaclied,
inspected, and managed like the other, by reason of their wild
and timid nature. They visit the islands in numbers compara-
tively small, (I can only estim.ate,) not over twenty or twenty-
five thousand on Saint Paul's and contiguous islets, and not
more than seven or eight thousand at Saint George. On Saint
Paul's Island they occupy a small portion of the breeding-
ground at Northeast Point, in common with the CaUorhiiim,
always close to the water, and taking to it at the slightest dis-
turbance or alarm.

" The sea-lion rookery on Saint George's Island is the best
place upon the Seal Islands for close observation of these ani-
mals, and the following note was made upon the occasion of
one of my visits, (June 15, 1873 :)

" * At the base of clift's, over 400 feet in height, on the east
shore of the island, on a beach 50 or 60 feet in width at low
water, and not over 30 or 40 at flood-tide, lies the only sea-lion
rookery on Saint George's Island — some three cr four thousand
cows and bulls. The entire circuit of this rookery-l»elt was
passed over by us, the big, timorous bulls rushihg off into the
water as quickly as the cows, all leaving their young, ^^any
of the females, perhaps half of them, had only just given birth
to their young. These pups will weigh at least twenty to

^ii

HABITS.

261

t\v<'iit,\ fivo poniids on an avorage wlicn born, arc of a dark,
cli(unliU('-l»i<)\vii, Avitli tlir vyv as large as tlio adult, only being
a siilViiscd, wateiy, gray-blue, where the S(;lerotie eoat is well
iiiid sharply delined in its maturity. Tlioy are about 2 feet
ill length, sohk' longer and some smaller. As all the imi)S seen
today were veiy young, som«^ at this instant only born, they
ucic (lull ami apathetic, not seeming to notice ns unudi. There
arc. I sliould say, about one-sixth of the sea-lions in number on
tills island, when compared with Saint Paul's. As these iini-
luiils lie here under the (jliffs, they cannot be approached and
(liivoii : but should they haul a few hundred rods up to the
sdiith. then they can be easily captnred. *They luive hauled
ill this manner always until disturbed in 18G8, and will undoubt-
edly do so again if not molested.

'"These sea-lions, when they took to the water, swam out to
a distance of lifty yards or so, and huddled all up together in
two or three packs or squads of about five hundred each, hold-
ing their heads and necks up high out of water, all roaring
in concert and incessantly, making such a deafening noise that
we could scarcely hear ourselves in conversation at a distance
I'loin them of over a hundred yards. This roaring of sea-lions,
thus disturbed, can only be compared to the hoarse sound of a
tempest as it howls through the rigging of a ship, or the play-
ing of a living gale upon the bare branches, limbs, and trunks
of a forest grove.' They commenced to return as soon as we
left the ground.

"The voice of the sea-lion is a deep, grand roar, and does not
have the flexibility of the Callorhinns, being confined to a low,
mntteriug growl or this bass roar. The pups are very playful,
but are almost always silent. When they do utter sound, it is
a sharp, short, querulous growling.

" The natives have a very high api)reciation of the sea-lion,
or see-vitchic, as they call it, and base this regard upon the supe-
rior quality of the flesh, fat, and hide, (for making covers for
tbeir skin boats, MdarJcies and Udarrahs,) sinews, intestines, &c.

"As I have before said, the sea-lion seldom hauls back far
from the water, generally very close to the surf-margin, aind in
this position it becomes quite a difficult task for the natives to
approach and get in between it and the sea unobserved, for,
unless this silent approach is made, the beast will at once take
the alarm and bolt into the water.

" By reference to my map of Saint Paul's [not here repro-

262 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

duced] a small poiiit, near the head of the northeast neck of
the island, will be seen, upon which quite a lar^e number of
sea-lions are always to be found, as it is never disturbed exwpt
on the occasion of tliis annual driving. The natives step down
on to the beach, in the little bight Just above it, and begin to
crawl on all fours tiat on the sand down to tlie end of the iit'ck
and in between the dozing sea-lion herd and the water, always
selecting a semi-bright moonlight night. If the wind is i'avor
able, cand none of the men meet with an accident, the natives
will almost always succeed in reaching the point unobserved.
when, at a given signal, they all jump up on their feet at once,
yell, brandish their arms, and give a sudden start, or alarm, to
the herd above them, for, just as the sea-lions move, upon the
first impidse of surprise, so they keep on. For instance, if the
animals on starting up are sleeping with their heads j^ointed in
the direction of the water, they keep straight on toward it ; but
if they jump up looking over the land, they follow that course
just as desperately, and nothing turns them, at first, either one
way or the other. Those that go for the water are, of course,
lost, but the natives follow the land-leaders and keep nvflnn
them on, and soon have them in their control, driviug them
back into a small pen, which they extemporize by means of
little stakes, with flags, set around a circuit of a few hundred
square feet, and where they keep them until three or four liuii
dred, at least, are captured, before they commence their drive
of ten miles overland down south to the village.

"The natives, latterly, in getting this annual herd of sea-
lions, have postponed it until late in the fall, and when the ani
mals are scant in number and the old bulls poor. This they
were obliged to do, on account of the pressure of their sealing-
business in the spring, and the warmth of the season in August
and September, which makes the driving very tedious, lu this
way I have not been permitted to behold the best-conditioned
drives, i. e., those in which a majority of the herd is made up
of fine, enormously fat, and heavy bulls, some fonr or five liun
dred in number.

" The natives are compelled to go to the northeast point of
the island for these animals, inasmuch as it is the only place
with natural advantages where they can be approached for the
purpose of capturing alive. Here they congregate in greatest
number, although they can be found, two or three thousand of
them, on the southwest point, and as many more on 'See
vitchie Cammin ' and Otter Island.

HABITS.

263

" Cai)turing tlie sea-lion drive is really the only serious busi-
ness these people on the islands have, and when they set out
for llu' task tlie picked men only leave the village. At North-
east Point they have a barrabkie, in which they sleep and eat
while {gathering the drove, the time of getting which depends
upon tlie weather, wind, &c. As the squads are captured, night
utter night, they are driven up close by the barrabkie, where
tlic natives mount constant guard over them, until several hun-
dred animals shall have been secured, and all is ready for the
drive down overland to the village.

"The drove is started and conducted in the same general
manner as that which 1 have detailed in speaking of the fur-
seal, only the sea-lion soon becomes very sullen and unwilling
to move, requiring spells of frequent rest. It cannot x>ick itself
up ii'om the ground and shamble off on a loping gallop for a
few hundred yards, like the Callorhimts, and is not near so free
and agile in its movements on land, or in the water for that mat-
ter, for I have never seen the Eumetopias leap from the water
like a dolphin, or indulge in the thousand and one submarine
acrobatic displays made constantly by the fur-seal.

'•This ground, over which the sea-lions are driven, is mostly
a rolling level, thickly grassed and mossed over, with here and
there a fresh-water pond into which the animals plunge with
gxeat apparent satisfaction, seeming to cool themselves, and
out of which the natives have no trouble in driving them. The
distance between the sea-lion pen at Northeast Point and the
Tillage is about ten miles, as the sea-lions are driven, and occu-
pies over five or six days under the most favorable circum-
stances, such as wet, cold weather ; and when a little warmer,
or as in July or August, a few seasons ago, they were some
three weeks coming down with a drove, and even then left a
hundred or so along on the road.

"After the drove has been brought into the village on the
killing-grounds, the natives shoot down the bulls and then sur-
roinid and huddle up the cows, spearing them just behind the
fore-dippers. The killing of the sea-lions is quite an exciting
spectacle, a strange and unparalleled exhibition of its kind.
• . . . The bodies are at once stripped of their hides and
much of the flesh, sinews, intestines, (with which the native
water-proof coats, &c., are made,) in conjunction with the throat-
linings, {oesophagus,) and the skin of the flippers, which is ex-
ceedingly tough and elastic, and used for soles to their boots or
Harhosars.''

''iiK

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

l^|28 |2.5
J Kli 12.2

« iM 12.0

III 1.8

IL25 ii.4

4>^

"^'^^^-

-. -rj."-

264 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

"As the sea-lion is without fur, the skin has little or no om-
mercial value ; the hair is short, and longest over the nape of
the neck, straight, and somewhat coarse, varying in color greatly
as the seasons come and go. For instance, when the Eumetopias
makes his first appearance in the spring, and dries out upon
the land, he has a light-brownish, rufous tint, darker shades
back and under the fore flipiiers and on the abdomen ; by the
expiration of a month or six weeks, 15th June, he will be a bright
golden-rufous or ocher, and this is just before shedding, which
sets in by the middle of August, or a little earlier. After the
new coat has fairly grown, and just before he leaves the island
for the season, in November, it will be alight sepia, or vaudyke-
brown, with deeper shades, almost dark upon the belly ; the cows,
after shedding, do not color up so dark as the bulls, but when
they come back to the land next year they are identically the
same in color, so that the eye in glancing over a sea-Uon
rookery in June and July cannot discern any noted dissimilar-
ity of coloring between the bulls and the cows ; and also the
young males and yearlings appear in the same golden-brown
and ocher, with here and there an animal spotted somewhat
like a leopard, the yellow, rufous ground predominating, with
patches of dark-brown irregularly interspersed. I have never
seen any of the old bulls or cows thus mottled, and think very
likely it is due to some irregularity in the younger animals
during the season of shedding, for I have not noticed it early
in the season, and failed to observe it at the close. Many of
the old bulls have a grizzled or slightly brindled look during
the shedding-period, or, that is, from the 10th August up to the
10th or 20th of November ; the pups, when born, are of a rich,
dark chestnut-brown; this coat they shed in October, and
take one much lighter, but stUl darker than their parents', but
not a great deal.

"Although, as I have already indicated, the sea-lion, in its
habit and disposition, approximates the fur-seal, yet in no
respect does it maintain and enforce the system and regularity
found on the breeding- grounds of the Callorhinus. The time
of arrival at, stay on, and departure from the island is about
uie same ; but if the winter is an open, mild one, the sea-hon
will be seen frequently all through it, and the natives occasion-
ally shoot them around the island long after the fur-seals have
entirely disappeared for the year. It also does not confine its
landing to these Prybilov Islands alone, as the fur-seal uuques-

HABITS.

265

tionably does, with reference to our continent ; for it lias been
aud is often shot ni)on the Aleutian Islands and many rocky
islets of the northwest coast.

" The sea-lion in no respect whatever manifests the intelligence
and sagacity exhibited by the fur-seal, and must be rated far
below, although next, in natural order. I have no hesitation
in putting this Eumctopias of the Prybilov Islands, apart fiom
the sea-lion common at San Francisco and Santa Barbara, as a
distinct animal ; and I call attention to the excellent descrip-
tion of the Calilornia sea-lion, made public in the Ai)ril num-
ber for 1872 of the Overland Monthly, by Capt. C. M. Scammon,
in which the distinguishing characters, externally, of this animal
are well defined, and by Avhich the difference between the
Eumetopias of Beiing Sea and that of the coast of California
can at once be seen ; and also I notice one more point in which
the dissimilarity is marked — the northern sea-lion never barks
or howls like the animal at the Farralones [sic] or Santa Bar-
bara. Young and old, both sexes, from one year and upward,
have only a deep hass growl, and prolonged, steady roar ; while
at San Francisco sea-lions break out incessantly with a 'honk-
ing' bark or howl, and never roar.

" I am not to be understood as saying that all the sea-lions met
^vith on the Californian coast are different from E. stelleri of
Bering Sea. 1 am well satisfied that stragglers from the north
are down on the Farralones, but they are not migrating back
and forth every season ; and I am furthermore certain that not
a single animal of the species most common at San Francisco
^'38 present among those breeding on the Prybilov Islands in
1872-'73.

"According to the natives of Saint George, some fifty or sixty
years ago the Eumctopias held xlmost exclusive possession of
the island, being there in great luimbers, some two or three
hundred thousand; and that, as the fur-seals were barely per-
mitted to land by these animals, and in no great number, the
Russians directed them (the natives) to hunt and woriy the
sea-lions oft' from the island, and the result was that as the sea-
lions left, the fur-seals came, so that to-day they occupy nearly
the same ground covered by the Eumctopias alone sixty years
ago. This statement is, or seems to be, corroborated by Ghoris,
ui his description of the lies S.-George's et S.-Paul's [sic], visited
by him fifty years ago; * but the account given by Bishop Ven-

"* Voyage Pittorusque autoiir du Monde."

"il

T? i 1

266 EUMET0PIA8 8TELLEEI — STELLER'S SEA LION.

1
i

i
i
f

laminov,* differs entirely from the above, for by it

almost as many fur-seals were taken on Saint George, during
the first years of occupation, as on Saint Paul, and never have
been less than one-sixth of the number on the larger island.
.... I am strongly inclined to believe that the island of Saint
George never was resorted to in any great numbers by the fur-
seal, and that the sea-lion was the dominant animal there until
disturbed and driven from ii;s breeding-grounds by the people,
who sought to encourage the coming of its more valuable rela-
tive by so doing, and making room in this way for it.

"The sea-lion has but little value save to the natives, and is
more prized on account of its flesh and skin, by the people liv-
ing upon the islands and similar positions, than it would be
elsewhere. The matter of its preservation and peipetuation
should be left entirely to them, and it will be well looked after.
It is singular that the fat of the sea-lion should be so different
in characters of ta ;te and smell from that of the fur-seal, being
free t''om any taint of disagreeable flavor or odor, while the
blubber of the latter, although so closely related, is most repug-
nant. The flesh of the sea-lion cub is tender, juicy, light-col-
ored, and sUghtly like veal; in my opinion, quite good. As the
animal grows older, the meat is dry, tough, and without flavor."!

Captain Scammon gives a few particulars respecting the
"drive," not especially refeiTed tr by Mr. Elliott. "This
'drive,'" he says, "to the good-natured Aleuts, is what the
buffalo hunt has been to the red-skins on the plains of the
Platte, or matama-time with the old Californians, for the party
starts out as on a sporting foray, and at night they stealthily
get between the herd of Sea Lions and the water ; then, with
professional strategy, they manage to 'cut out' six or eight of
the largest at a time, and drive them a short distance inland,
where they are guarded until a band of two or three hundred
aie assembled. Formerly the implement used in driving was a
pole with a small flag at the end ; but, since our adopted coun-
try-folk have become Americanized, that Yankee production, a
cotton umbrella, has been substituted, and it is said that any
refractory siutchin the 'drive' is instantly subdued by the sud-
den expansion and contraction of an umbrella in the hands of
a pursuing native.

" To collect the desired number for the yearly, supply involves

"•Zapeeskie ob Ostrovah Oonahlashkenskaho Otdayla, St, Petersburg,
1840."
t Report upon Condition of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 152-159.

HABITS.

267

Beveral days ; therefore a throng of villagers, it is said, sets out
prepared with everything needful for the campai - j. As tlie
work of driving goes on only at night, the day is passed in
sleeping and cooking their food by smoldering lires of drift-
wood and seal-fat, sheltered by their umbrellas, or a sort of
tent contrived by spreading blankets and garments over whales'
ribs in lieu of tent-poles — never forgetting in their repast the
fragrant c/w, which is quaffed in numberless cups from the
steaming sam-o-var. At length, the whole troop of animals
being assembled, a flash of umbrellas here and there, with the
call of the herdsmen, brings all into a moving phalanx. But
the tir > for driving must be either at night, aftei the dew is
fallen, or i vn a dark, misty, or rainy day ; as the thick mat of
grass that covers the land must be wet, in order that the ani-
mals may easily slip along in their vaulting gait over the green
road to their place of execution. Under the most favorable
circumstances, the march does not exceed six miles in the
twenty-four hours; and it being a distance of four leagues or
more to the village, three days and nights, or more, are spent
before they arrive at the slaughtering-place. There they are
allowed to remain quiet for a day or two, to cool their blood,
which becomes much heated by the tedious journey; after
which they are killed by shooting. The dead animals are then
skinned, and their hides packed in tiers until fermented suf-
ficiently to start the hair, when they are stretched on frames to
dry, and eventually become the covering or planking for the
Aleutian haidarlcm and baidarras. The fat is taken off and
used for fuel, or the oil is rendered to burn in their lamps. The
flesh is cut in thin pieces from the carcass, laid in the open air
to dry, and becomes a choice article of food. The sinews are
extracted, and afterward twisted into thread. The lining of the
animal's throat is put through a course of tanning, and then
made into boots, the soles of which are the under covering of
the Sea Lion's fln-like feet. The intestines are carefully taken
01)' cleaned, blown up, stretched to dry, then tanned, and
worked into water-proof clothing. The stomach is emptied of
its contents, turned inside out, then inflated and dried for oil-
bottles, or is used as a receptacle for the preserved meat ; and
what remains of the once formidable and curious animal is
only a mutilated .skeleton."

Captain Scammon adds the following respecting their cap-
ture on the Asiatic coast : "Crossing Behring and the Okhotsk

!: ' P-

268 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER's SEA LION.

Seas, to the coast of Siberia, including the iieninsula ot Kaiu-
schatka and the ishind of Saghalien, the mode of cai)ture by tlio
natives chanj^es from that of the eastern continental siiores.*
The inlets iind rivers ot these Asiatic regions swarm with sal-
mon from .June to September, and at this season the Seals fol-
low and prey n])on them as they ascend the streams. Tlie
natives tlien select such i)laces as will be h^ft nearly bare at
low tide, and then set their nets — which arc made of seal-
thonys — to strong stakes, so placed as to form a curve oj)en to
the continence of the stream. These nets are similar to gill-
uets, the meshes being of a size to admit a Seal's head, — which
gives free passage to the shoals of flsli — and tin* ])ursuing ani-
mal, as soon as entangled in the net, struggles forward in his
efl'orts to escape, but is held tirndy in the meshes, where it re-
mains till low water, when the natives, in their Hat -bottomed
skin-boats, approach and dispatch the victim with their rude
bone implements. As the season becomes warm, the animals
of both sexes congrcgjite in their favorite rookeries, and the
females climb to the most inaccessible places among the rocks
and crags to bring forth and nurture their ofispring. But here
they are Inuited by the natives accustomed to the use of fire-
arms, who shoot them for the skins of the young ones, which
are used for clothing.

"In this region also, during the spring and fall, after the
'net-sealing' is over, great numbers of Sea Lions are captured
upon the floating ice, with gun or s])ear ; and during the rigor-
ous months, the seal-hunters cut through the congealed mass
what they term 'breathing-holes'. Through these the Seals
emerge, to the frosted surface, and, if the sun peers through the
wintry clouds, the creatures, warmed into new life, may stroll
hundreds of yards away; the watchful hunter, secreted beliiud
a cake of ice or a bank of snow, rushes out from his covert, and
places a covering over the hide, eft'ectually preventing the an-
imal's escape, and then disiiatches it with knife and si)ear. Its
jkin is stri[)ped off, scraped clean', closely rolled, ami laid away

'Although Caitiiiu Scimmon purports to i)e speaking of "Sea Lions," I
have recently beiome conviuced (since the copy of this article was sent to
the printer) that very little, if anything, in this paragraph and the next
relates to any species of Eared Seal. In the first place, the localitv is one
not known to be frequented, except casually, by Otaries, while the acconnt
of the capture in rets and in the ice, and especially the reference to
"breathing holes," renders it almost certain that the animals refened to
are Phocids.

^"^i

\l^

HABITS.

269

until the hair starts-^tliis process is called 'scouring'; then the
Lair is scoured off and tlie l)arc hide is stretched to season — a
process usuallj' requiring about ten days — when it is taken
down and rubbed between the hands to make it pliable; this
coiii,>letes the whole course of dressing it. The i)repared skins
are then converted into harness for the sledge-dogs and rein-
deer, and water-proof bags ; if Avanted for the soles of mocca-
sins, or to cov.er their skin-boats, they are dried with the hair
on, and become nearly as stiff as plates of iron. The blubber
of the auhnals, if killed in the fall or winter, is preserved by
freezing, and is vzed for food, fuel, and lights, as desired ; while
the same part of those taken in the spring and summer is put
in the skins of young Seals, and placed in earthen \aults, where
it keeps fresh until required for consumption. The residue of
the onimal is tumbled into a reservoir, sunk below the surface
of the ground, where it is kept for the mnter's supply of food
for the dogs, which live upon the frozen flesh and entrails of
the Seals, whose skin furnishes the tackle by which they trans-
port the primitive sledge over the snow-clad wastes of Siberia
and Kamschatka."*

Since the foregoing was transmitted for publication I have
received from Captain Charles Bryant a very full account of
this species, based on his many years' observations as United
States Treasury Agent at the Fur Seal Islands, and kindly pre-
pared by my request for use in the present connection. Although
so much space has already been devoted to the history of this
species, it seems desirable to give Captain Bryant's report
nearly in full, although repeating in substance some of the
details which have already been presented, since it contains
some new points, and is at least based on long experience.
Some portions, relating especially to the products of the Sea
Lion and their uses, are omitted, since they are fully anticipated
hy Avluit has already been given.

"Froni fifteen to twenty thousand Sea Lions," says Captain
Bryant, "breed annually on the Prybilov or Fur Seal Islands.
They do not leave the islands in winter, as do the Fur Seals,
to return in spring, but remain during the whole year. 1 aey
bring forth their young a month earUer than the Fur Seals,
landing during the months of May and June. They advance
but little above high tide-mark, and those of all ages land
together. Th0 strongest males drive out the weaker and mono-

* Marino Mammalia, pp. 136-138.

ill i .1 i.

270 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLER'S SEA LION.

polize the females and continue with them till September. They
yo with them into the water whenever they are disturbed, and
also watch over the young. When in the water they swim
about the young and keep them tr^^^e'lier until they have au
opportunity to land again. The females also keep near, rushiug
hither and thither, appearing first on one side and then on the
other of the groups of young, const<antly uttering a deep hoarse
growl at the intruder whenever they come to the surface.
When left undisturbed they all soon land again, preferring to
spend the greater portion of their time at this season on the
shore, During the breeding season they visit the same parts
of the shore as the Fur Seals, but the Sea Lions, by their supe-
rior size and strength, crowd out the Seals, the latter passively
yielding their places without presuming to offer battle to their
formidable visitors. After having been disturbed the Sea Lions
continue for some time in a state of unrest, occasionally uttering
a low moaning sound, as though greatly distressed. Even after
the breeding season they keep close to the shore near the breed-
ing station until the severe weather of January. After this
time they are seen only in small groups till the shores are free
from snow and ice in the spring.

" The capture of these animals is laborious and hazardous,
and must be managed by the most skilful and experienced of
the natives. They are so sensitive to danger and so keenly on
the alert that even the screaming of a startled bird will cause
the whole herd to take to the water.

" The only place frequented by the Sea Lions that, by the
nature of the ground, is practicable for their capture, is ten or
.twelve miles from the village where all the natives reside.
They keep so near the shore that the favorable time to get
between them and the water is when the tide is lowest; and
they are so quick of scent that the wind must blow from them
toward the sea, so they may not smell the hunters as they at-
tempt to approach them. The chiefs select a party of fifteen or
twenty of the best men, who leave the village prepared for au
absence of a week or ten days, for the place selected for the
hunt. Near this they hsive a lodging-house, where they wait
for favoring conditions of wind and tide. Under cover of the
darkness of night, the chief takes the lead and the men follow,
keeping a little distance apart, creeping noiselessly along the
shore at the edge of the receding tide until they get between
the Sea Lions and the water. At a given signal the men start

HABITS.

271

up suddenly, fire pistols, and make all the noise possible. The
auimals thus suddenly alarmed immediately start in whatever
direction they chance to be headed; those facing the water rush
precipitately into it. These the hunters avoid, letting them
pass them, and start at once after those heading inland, shout-
iug at them to keep them moving until some distance from the
shore. The Sea Lions, when once fairly in motion, are easily
controlled and made to move in the desired direction till they
reach some convenient hollow, where they are guarded by one
or two men stationed to watch their movements and prevent
their escape until enough have been obtained to make a herd
for driving, numbering usually two or three hundred individ-
uals. They sometimes capture in this way forty or fifty in a
single night, but oftener ten or twenty, and many times none
at all. As at this season Sea Lions of all ages and sizes con-
gregate together, it often happens that females are caught while
their cubs escape, or the reverse, but as the capture is con-
tinued for several successive nights at the same place, and the
new captives are driven to the herd already caught, the mothers
and their young are again brought together. They recognize
c Tch other by their cries long before they meet, and it makes
lively work for the herders to prevent the herd from rushing to
meet the new comers. Wlien the recruits join the herd the
mothers and cubs rush together with evident pleasure, the
mothers fondling their young, and the latter, hungered by sepa-
ration, struggle to nurse them. After a sufficient number have
been ilius obtained they are driven to the village for slaughter,
in order that aU parts of the animal may be utilized.

"The distance to the village is, as already stated, about ten or
twelve miles, and the route lies near the shore. Along the way
ai-e several small ponds through which they pass and which
serve to refresh them on their slow toilsome journey. The
joiu:ney is necessarily slow and tedious, for the Sea Lions are
less well fitted for traveling on land than the Fur Seals, which
are able to raise their bodies from the ground and gallop off
hke a land animal. The Sea Lions travel by bending the pos-
terior part of the body to the right or left, extending their long
flexible necks in an opposite direction to balance themselves,
and then slowly raising their bodies by their fore limbs and
plunging forward, by which movement they thus gain an ad-
vance of only half a length at a time. When they arrive in
sight of the ponds they make a hurried scramble for them, and,

272 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI — STELLEU'S SEA LION.

rushiiif? in pi-ll-inell, roll aiul tumble in the water as thouj;h it
afforded iiiiineuse relief to their heated and wearied bodies.
When it is convenient to do so they are allowed to rest over
night in the water, by whieh they accjuire fresh vigor for the
completion of the journey. This severe and unnatural exertion
overheats and exhausts these poor beasts and necessitates long
halts to enable them to rest and cool. It usually requires five
days to make the journey, averaging two miles per day. Three
men conduct the herd, and camp at night with their charge.
On starting they kill a young cub for their subsistence, using
the flesh for food and vhe blubber for fuel in cooking it aud
making their tea.

"After two days' travel the animals become very tired, and as
soon as they are i)ermitted to halt they drop at full length with
their limbs exteiuled. But their rest is not peaceful, for some
restless one soon starts up and flounders over the others as if
seeking a better place. This disturbs the whole herd, which
constantly keeps up a low moaning apparently expressive of
sore distress. A most apt description of such a scene was once
given by a military officer who was seated with me on the edge
of a sand-dune watchiag a herd resting in this condition. After
a long silence he observed, 'This is the first thing I have ever
seen or heard that realizes my youthful conception of the tor-
ment of the condemned in purgatory.'"

"When the herd is once fairly halted and at rest it requires
from half an hour to an hour to get it moving again in march-
ing order. The process is quite novel and worth describing.
The Sea Lions have now become so accustomed to their captors
that they will sooner fight than run from them, and they are
too much deafened by their own noise to hear or fear any other
sound. As they lie on the ground in a compact mass, one of
the men takes an umbrella (before the introduction of umbrellas
a flag was used) and goes twenty to thirty yards to the rear of
the herd and approaching stealthily until he is quite near sud-
denly expands the umbrella and runs with it along tl a edge of
the herd ; then closing it he retires to repeat the maneuver.
This has the effect to rouse the rear rank, which thus suddenly
alarmed plunges forward and arouses those in front, which
immediately begin struggling and biting. The return of the
man with the umbrella communicates another shock and adds
another wave to the sluggish mass. This is repeated at intervals
of four or five minutes till the successive shocks have aroused

HABITS.

273

the whole herd, when, with much roaring and bellowing, the
wliole mass l)egins to move, gradually extending itself in a
lonj; irregular line in open order, each aninnil lumbering along
as l)('st it can. By shouting and waving ilags at the rear and
on the tianks of the herd, they are kept moving until it is neces-
sary to halt them again for rest. Seen when thus moving in a
\ouii irregular line, the slow heaving mot'on of their bodies and
the swaying of their long flexible necks give a grotesque
appearance to the scene and suggest anything but a herd of
Lions. The island, being composed of volcanic rock, is full of
subterranean fissures covered thinly with soil and vegetation,
and the earth so resounds with the noise of the tread of the
Sea Lions that the sound may be heard to the distance of two
miles. The approach of a herd to the village is always an occa-
sion of interest and excitement to all of the inhabitants, who
go out en maiise to meet them and escort them to tae slaughter-
lug ground, where they are allowed to rest and cool before they
are killed.

"The Sea Lions are too formidable to be killed with clubs
like the Fur Seals. When all is ready for the slaughter the
herd is started up a sloping hillside ; the hunters follow, armed
with rifles, and shoot the full-grown males from behind, the
back of the skull being the only part a ball can penetrate.
After all of these have been killed, the head of the column U
checked and turned back so that the animals become massed
together, and piled on each other five or six deep. In this way
those below are held by those above while the hunters, armed
with short lances, watch their opportunity to rush up to the
struggUng mass and thrust their lances into some vital part of
the doomed beasts. This is attended with some danger to the
hunters, who sometimes receive serious wounds from being hit
with the lances that the Sea Lions, in their death agonies, seize
in their mouths and wrench from the hands of the hunters.

"Nearly every part of these animals is valuable to the natives,
but they have no commercial value outside of Alaska. Their
skius arc indispensable to the Sea Otter hunters of the Aleutian
Islands, for the covering of their canoes in which they hunt
these animals. The natives also use them forcoveriug their large
boats used in loading and unloading vessels. . . . Its flesh
is preferred for iooCi to that of the Fur Seal, that of the full-grown
luiiiual being finer in texture, lighter in color, and of a sweeter
Tub. No. 12 18

274 EUMETOPIAS 8TELLERI — STELLKR's SEA LION.

flavor, und it dries more readily in preserving it for winter ii.so;
the tlesU of the young at the age of four mouths is esteemed
a great hixury by the natives and is not easily distiuguishod
from veal by educated palates. . . . Only the skeleton Is
left to waste.

" The stomachs of the full-grown Sea Lions are found to always
contain from six to ten pounds of stones, varying in size from
that of a hen's egg to a Large apple. These stones are the same as
those found on the beaches, worn round and smooth by the surf.
The natives say they take these stones into the stomach for
ballast when they leave the breeding-groundc, and cast them
out again when they land in the spring. I have, however, had
no means of verifying this, as the only season when they are
taken is during the winter.

" As soon as the animals have all been killed the men proceed
to remove the skins and blubber, and the other useful parts,
which the chiefs divide and distribute among the several fami
lies. . . . Only a few of the skins are required for use on
the island, the remainder being shipped to Ounalashka and other
points where i;hey are sold to the Sea Otter hunters. The value
of the skins at the island is sixty cents each. About eight hiui
dred are annually taken at St. Paul's Island, without appar-
ently any decrease in the stock.

" There are many other places in the Territory where these
animals bring forth their young, but as they resort mostly to
outlying rocks and ledges they cannot be captured in any con-
siderable numbers.

"The Sea Lion of Alaska, so far as my opportunities of
observation have enabled me to judge, is a much larger species
than that of California, the largest males I have ever seeu at
San Francisco and vicinity being not much larger than theM
grown female at the Fur Seal Islands, while I have seen at Sau
Francisco females with young that were not much larger thau
a yearling of the species found at St. Paul's."

The food of the Sea Lion is well known to consist, like that
of the other species of Eared Seals, of fish, moUusks, and crus
taceans, and occasionally birds. As shown by animals xept in
confinement, they require an enormous quantity. C'aptaiu
Scammon states that the daily allowance of a pair kept iu
Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco, amounted to forty or
fifty pounds of fresh fish.

I;;i

GENUS ZALOPHUS.

276

Genus ZALOPHUS, Oill

Ar(tocephalu8 (iii part), Gray, Cut. Seals and Whales, 1866,55.

Zalophus, Gill, Proc. Ehsox Institnto, July, 1866, v, 7, 11. Typo Otaria

gillespii, McBaiii.
Seophova, Grvy, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d scries, 18G6, xviil, 231

Type Arctocephaliia lohatus, Gray.

Molars l^ , large, closely approximated, tlie last under tlio
hinder edge of the zygomatic process of the maxillary. Muz-
zle narrow. Superior profile, from the postorbital process aiite-
riorlj-, gently declined. Bony palate moderately contracted
posteriorly, and but slightly depressed. Hinder edge of the
palatals deeply concave. Pterygoid hooks slender. Posterior
uares broader than high ; anterior higher than broad. Post-
orbital cylinder narrow and elongfite. The postorbital con-
striction of the skull is deep and abrupt, giving a quadrate or
subquadrate form to the brain-box, which Aaries to triangular
tlirongh the varying degree of prominence of its latero-anterior
unfiles. T'e postorbital processes are triangular, developed
lateroposi^iiorly into a rather slender point. The sagittal
crest, in very old m{il?s, forms a remarkably high, thin, bony
plate, inparalleled in its great development in any other genus
of the family. The general form of the skull is rather narrow,
iiiud: inor(^ so than in Eumetopias, and nearly as much so as in
Artncephalufi, the breadth to length being ns GO to 100.

Z'lhphus, so far as the skull is concerned, is the most distinct
jjeuoiic Ibrui of the family, it being tuoroughly luilike all the
otlicrs. In general form, as in size, it more nearlj' resembles
Arvtoccplialiifi tlum any other genus, but differs from it in the
dental formula, as well as in its enormously produced crests.
It (liii'ers from Otaria in ha\ing one pair less of upper molars,
in the slight depression of the bony palate, the less extension
posteriorly of the palatines, t' much narrower muzzle, the
much less abrupt declination of the facial profile, its much
higher sagittal and occipital crest, and in its narrower and
more elongated form.

It differs from Eumetopias, as already pointed out, in having
all the upper molars closely approximated, in the greatly con-
cave outline of the posterior border of the palatines, and other-
wise much as it differs from Otaria.

Zalophiis differs from CallorJdnus in its smaller number of
upper molars, its high crests, narrower and more elongated
muzzle, and in the more declined profile c. the face. In the

27G ZALOPHUS CALIFOKNIANUS — CALIFORNIAN SEA LION.

nature of its pelnjjfo, and in other external features, it is vadi
oally distinct from the Avhole group of Fur Seals, as it is also in
its high sagittal crest. In size it is nearest Arctoceplialus. Tlic
bixly is rather slender, and the head is narrow, long, and
pointed, and with this slenderness of form is coordinated a
corresponding litheness of movement.

The genus is restricted, so far as known, to the shores of the
North Pacific and the Australian Seas, and is apparently rt pro
sented by two species, the one confined mainly, if not wholly,
to the western coast of the United States, and the other to tciii
perate (avid tropical!) portions of the eastern coast of Asia,
from Japan southward, and the northern shores of Australia,
The genus is thus southern or subtropical in its distribution,
occurring on both sides of the equator, but not in the colder
waters of either hemisphere.

ZALOPHUS OALirOENlANUS {Lesson) Allen.
Californian Sea Lion.

Otar'm calif orniana, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 420 (based
ou "Lo jeunc Lion mariu de la Califomie," Clioris, pi. xi). — SciiDCZ.
Syuop, Mam., i, 1844, 473 (from Lesson).

Phoca califor7iiaiia, Fiscm;R, Syu. Mam., 1829, 231 { = Otaria caiiforniana, Les-
son).

Otaria gillespii, M'Bain, Proc. Edinb. Roy. Soc, i, 1858, 422.

Arctocephalua gillkapii,* Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1859, 110, 360, pi. Ixx
(from cast of the skull described by M'Bain) ; Cat. Seals and Whales.
1866, 55.

Zalophva gilleitpU, Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 13. — Gray, Ann. and Mag.
Nat. Hist., 3d ser., xviii, 1866, 231; Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales,
1871,28; Hand-List Seals, etc., 1874, 41.— Scorr, Mam. Eec, and
Extinct, 1873, 20. — Thompson, Forest and Stream (newspaper), xii,
1879, 66 (habits and breeding in confinement).

Otaria {Zalophus) gillespii, Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1866, 275, 671,

f Otaria jubata, Veatch, J. R. Browne's Resources of the Pacific Slope,
[app.], 1869, p. 150 (plainly, if notwhoUy; Cerros Island, L. Cal,).

Lion Marin de la Califomie, CiiORis, Voy. Pittoresque.

Sea Lion [o/ California'], Scammon, Overland Monthly, viii, 1872, 266 (in
part).— GuRNEY, Zoologist, 1871, 2762 (Southern Califoruia).-
Stearns, Amer. Nat., x, 1876, 177 (in part).

Lobo marino, Spanish ; Sea Lion and California Sea Lion, English.

Habitat. — Coast of California.

^ External Characters. — Color dark chestnut -browu.
darker (blackish-brown) on the limbs, ventral surface, and the

* Spelled ^'gilliesjni" by Gray and most other writers, but "gillespii"^)'
M'Bain, who named it for his friend Dr. Gillespie.

EXTERNAL CHARACTERS.

277

fXticinc posterior part of the body, but ^•llr^•illf;■ {;rea(l.v in <litler-
oiit iii(livi(hials and at different seasons. Wliiskers whitisli or
yellow isli-Avliite, ii lew of tbeni usually (bisky at base. Lenyth
of adult male 7 to 8 feet; of adult female about 5.75 feet.
Pohijic short, harsh, ami stiff.

A series of a dozen specimens varies yieatly i i color — fromi
yellow thr()U<;h various shades of brownish-yellow to dark red-
dish-brown and even blackish-brown. At the season of moult
tbey change from reddish-brown to yellowish or golden-brown.
Au adult female (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5787) taken about Septem-
ber 1, 1877, is golden brownish -yellow, passing into dark browu
ou the limbs and ventral surface. Top of the nose, between
aiul around the eyes, anterior edge of hand, and outer edge of
foot, pale yellowish- white. Said by the collector (Mr. Paul
Schumacher) to have just shed its coat. A nearly adult male
(M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5785), taken at the same date, is dull dark
yellowish-brown, passing into blackish-brown on the limbs and.
ventral surface ; around base of hind limbs and tail and behind.
the axilla) nearly black. A third (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5788) is
dingy yellowish-brown, lighter on top of head, hind neck, and
over the shoulders, and darker posteriorly, beneath, and on the
limbs, where the color becomes very dark chestnut-brown, and
blackish around the eyes and nostrils. A fourth, a very old male
(M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5786), is dark yellowish-brown above, varied
with dusky, and with small dots and narrow streaks of white,
the white streaks and spots indicating the position of wounds
received in lighting. A large whitish spot on the back of the
neck.* Lower surface pale yellowish posteriorly, passing into
darker anteriorly. A sixth (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5677), an adult
female, has the body everywhere dark yellowish-brown, passing
mto d.Tker ou the limlw and ventral surface. Still another
(M. C. Z. Coll., No, 5785), a nearly full-grown male, differs from
the foregoing in being light yellowish on the chin and about
the mouth, very dark or blackish on the throat and sides of
neck ; breast yellow ish-white ; sides of body and ventral sur-
tace very pale yellowish-white, as is also the central jiortiou of
upper surface of both fore and hind liud)s ; top of head and
greater part of dorsal surface very dark brown or blackish,
slightly varied with white ; shoulders and breast washed with
gray ; edges of the flippers very dark brown.

'Ill tliis spt'ciuicn the atlas is tiniily iiiuliyloHcd with 1 lie hIvIiII, the result,
iloulitlt'ss, of injury in early life, to which, perliaps, thin whitish npot is due.

liV

278 ZALOPHUS CALIFOKNIANUS CALIFORNIAN SEA LION.

Three speciuiens observed alive in Central I'ark, New York
City, in April, 1878, (littered very njucli in eolor. One (a male)
was (juite' pure gray alonj^' the hack, rather darker on the sides.
and yellowish-gray on sides of belly; throat and bi'ea.st pale
yellowish-brown ; ventriil surface and limbs dark brown ; sides
of nose pale yellowish-white. Another (male) was dark brown
varied M'ith black. The third (female) was deep brownisli-yel
1()W on the throiit and breast, blacki.sh over the ventral surfaet'
and limbs ; general color above, deep brownish-black.

Ca])tain Scammon says:* "The color of the adult male is
much diversified ; individuals of the same rookerj' being (juite
black, with scattering hairs tipped with dull white, while others
are of a reddish-brown, dull gray, or of light gray aboAC, darker
below. The adult female is not half the bulk of the male, and
its (!olor is light brown." He refers particularly to one .si)eci
men as being "black above, a little lighter below, ^\ith .scatter
iug hairs of light brown or dull white."

Young. — Captain Scammon says: "The young i)ups, or
whelps, are of a slate or black color, and the yearlings of a
chestnut-brown." In the Museum of Comparative Zoology are
several young specimens taken at the Santa Barbara ffslauds
by Mr. Paul Schumacher (jM. C. Z. Coll., Nos. 5078 and ."»67fi)
that are everywhere nearly imiforni dark reddish-brown. The
skulls show that they were quite young, the milk canines and
last milk superior molars on each side being still in place ; they
were probably not more than two or three montlis old. The
Museum also has a foetal specimen, received from the same lo
cality and collector. In this (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5839) the body
is nearly uniform dark gray, with the top and sides of the head
and the nape darker. Nose and face, to and around the eyes.
black. Limbs brownish-blaek. The whiskers are mostly gray
ish-white, dusky at the base ; some of the shorter ones entirely
blackish.

Pelage. — In tiie adult animal the pelage is short, stiff, and
harsh, especially the new hair about the time of the moult.

* Under the head of " Eiimetopiaa stelleri" (Marine Mam. , p. 128), l)ut, JikIi;-
ing from the context, I think his remarks are hased on the Sea Lions ot'tlio
Santa Barbara Islands, and really refer to the prestmt species. The speci-
mens scut l»y him to the National Museum under this name from those islauJs
are really Zalophm cnlifornianus. He spent much time at these islands, aiul
his only detailed n'ference to the animals as seen by him in life relates i"
these islands and nnciuestionahly to this species.

SIZE.

279

In (ho foetal specimen the i»eliiye is longer, nnd \er,v soft to the
touch, feeling like fur, but is Hiini)ly soft straight hair, not at
all lilvc the underfnr of the Fur Seals, or eveii the first coat of
ViiUorldmoi nrmmiH, under the long soft haii- of which is an
abundance of soft silky underfnr. In the fcetal Zaloj)lii(s a
very slight admixture of line curly underfnr can be detected on
close inspection ; but in no sense is thelirst coat in this sjiecies
comparable, in respect to nnderfni-, Avith tlu' lirst coat in the
Fur Seals. In the older specimens of Zaloph us, above described,
which have already acquired their second coat, the pelage is
still longer and softer than in the adults.

Size. — I am unable to give the dimensions of very old males.
A male (M. C. Z. Coll., No. o78G), in which the crests of the
skull are well developed, and the teeth slightly worn, but which
is evidently only middle-aged, gives the following measure-
ments : Total length from nose to end of tail* 21G0 mm. ; to end
of outstretched hind-flippers, 2542 mm. (collector's measurement
from fresh specimen, " 8 ft. 4 in.") ; hind foot (from body),
'M) mm.; fore foot (from axilla), .'{(JO nun. ; tail, 110 mm; ear,
.i5 mm. ; longest whisker, 225 mm. The collector gives the girth
behind the axilhe as J337 mm. ("4 ft. 5 in.''). Another . speci-
men (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5789, young male), with the crests of the
skull wholly undeveloped, gives a length froiu nose to end of tail
of 2140 nun.; to end of outstretched hind lind)s, 2480 nnu. (col-
lector's measurement from fresh specimen, "8 ft. 2 in."); hind-
flipper, 340 mm. ; fore-liipper (from axilla), 370 mm. ; tail, 80 nmi. ;
ear, 33 nuu.; longest whisker, 190 mm. The collect»>r gives the
girth behind the axilhe as 1220 mm. (" 4 ft.").

A fully-adult female (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5787) gives a length
(from tip of nose to end of tail) of 1800 nun.; to end <>f out-
stretched hind-rtipi)ers, 2054 mm. (collector's measurement from
fresli specimen, "0 ft. in."); girth behind axilla*, 1247 mm. (col-
lector's measurement, "3 ft. 9 in."); hind-flipper, 270 mm.; fore-
flipper, 310 mm.; tail, 70 mm.; ear, 30 mm.; longest whisker,
110 uuu.

Another adult female (M. C. Z. Coll., No. 5788) gives the fol-
lowing : Nose to end of tail, 1570 mm. ; nose to end of outstretched

* This measurement, is l)y estimate baaed on the collector's measurement
of the total length to «m>(1 of outstretched hind-Hipper, taken from the fresh
spctinien, the calculation being based on a study of the skeleton. The
total length of head and body, as taken from the mounted specimen, is
obviously much too short.

:1k

-im

280 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFORNIAN SEA LION'.

liiii<Mli]>l»('rs, iOOGnuu. (collector's measurement ironi fresh s])('(i-
meii, 'MJ J't. 7 iu.")> girth behind axilltii, IOCS ikim. (coHectoi's
measurement, "3 ft. G iu."); tail 80 mm.; car, 34 mm.; lonj^cst
whiskei", 100 mm. The skeleton of an adult female (M. C. Z.
Coll., Xo. 0) has a total length to end of tail of 1700 mm. ; to end
of phalau; n of hind flipper, 1908 mm.

The collector's measurements of the young (two or tlirec
months' old) specimens are : Male, nose to end of outstretcliod
hind-flippers, "4 ft." (1220 mm.); glrtb, "2 ft." (GIO mm.).
Female, nose to end of outstretched bind- flippers, "3 ft. 8 in."
(1120 mm.) ; girth, ^' 1 ft. 11 in." (583 mm.). The fcetal specinioii
(M. C. Z. Coll., Ko. 5839, stuffed), already described, measures
from nose to end of tail 850 mm.; from noso to end of out-
stretched hind-flippers, 970 mm.; hind-flippers (from heel),
115 mm.; fore-flipper (from ax'Ua), 200 mm.; tail, 45 mm,;
ear, 25 mm.; longest whisker, 55 mm.

Captain Scammon gives thefoUowing measurements of "Sea
Lions," taken at Santa Barbar;i Island in April and May,
1871-73. They inchule an "adult male" (column 1); a male
(column 2), "about ten months old," taken April 4, 1872; a
fennile (column .i), "supposed to be a yearling"; and "a new-
born feui' .e Sea Lion pup " (column 4), taken May 3, 1873.

Length from t ip of nose to end of hind-flippcra —

Length from tip of nose to base of tail

Length of hind-flippers

Length of fore-flippers

Girth behind nxillic

Girth at base of hind-flippers

From tip of nose to eye

From tip of nose to car

Length of ear

Length of tail

Length of longest whiskers

From base of tail to posterior teats

From base of tail to anterior teals ] j

Distance between posterior tejits I o

Distauce between anterior teats i o

Thickness of blubber o

ft. in.
6 4

2
6
2
10
5
8
Oi

ft. in.
4 10
3 lOi

1 3

2 8

24
5i

ft. in.

4 10

3 lOi

* Adult female.

t Male, ten mouths old.

t B^emale, .iliout one year old.

J Female, newly bom.

ft. in.
2 4

1 11

54 j
7 j
3
Oil

14!

oil

SIZE.

281

Mcamrcmenix of Ihc Skeleton of (in Adult Female.''

mm.

\Vliolt' li'iiytli of skeleton (inclndiuf; skull) 1706

U'listlK'f sliiill 236

I.cii<;f li of cervical vertebr.T 320

Lciiiitli of dorsal vertebra- 640

L(iij;ili of lumbar vertebne 230

U'ligtli of caudal vertebra? (+ sacral) 280 '

Length of lirst rib, total 140

Leugt h of iirst rib. osseous X'ortiou 7.5

Length of lirst rib, cartilaginous portion 6.">

Li'iiKth of second rib, total 17:5

Length of second rib, osseous portion 100

Length of second rib, cartilaginous portion 7;{

Length of third rib, total 240

Length of third rib. osseous portion 158

Length of third rib, cartilaginous portion 82

Length of fourth rib, total 280

Length of fourth rib, osseous ))ortion 185

Length of fourth rib, cartilaginous portion 95

Liiigthof lifthrib, total 335

Length of fifth rib, osseous portion 220

Length of fifth rib, cartilaginous portion 115

Length of sixth rib, total 370

Length of sixth rib, osseous portion 250

Length of sixth rib, cartilaginous portion 120

Length of seventh rib, total 395

Lengt h of scventli rib, osseous portion 270

Length of seventh rib, cartilaginous portion 125

Length of eighth rib, total 445

Length of eighth rib, osseous portion ,.... 295

Length of eighth rib, cartilaginous portion 150

Length of ninth rib, total 445

Length of ninth rib, osseous portion 290

Length of ninth rib, cartilaginc^'s portion 155

Length of tenth rib, total 430

Length of tenth rib, osseous portion 280

Length of tenth rib, cartilaginous portion liJO

Length of eleventh rib, total 413

Length of eleven til rib, osseous portion 280

Length of eleventh rib, cartilaginous portion 133

Length of twelfth rib, total 395

Length of twelfth rib, osseous portion 260

Length of twelfth rib, cartilaginous portion 135

Length of thirteenth rib, total.. 362

Length of thirteentli rib, osseous portion , 247

Length of thirteenth rib, cartilaginous i ortion 115

Lengtli of founeentb rib, total 310

Length of fourteenth rib, osseous portion. 215

*No. 6159, Collection of Museum «)f Comparative Zoology.

H :;«

282 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFOKNIAN SEA LION,

mm.

Length of fourteenth rib, cartilaginous portion %

Length of fifteenth rib, total -wii

Length of fifteenth rib, osseons portion 1«0

Length of fifteenth rib, cartilaginous portion 4u

Length of sternum, ossified portion :,:,{)

Length of sternum, 1 st segment llii

Length of sternum, 2(1 segment ;'ii

Length of sternum, 'M segment .")3

Length of sternum, 4th segment ii)

Length of sternum, oth segment 4^

Length of sternum, (5th segment 4T

Length of sternum, 7th segment 4il

Length of sternum^ 8tli segment ;!,«

Length of sternum, 9th segment 5")

Length of scapula 18(t

Greatest breadth of scapula 250

Greatest height of its spine It:

Length of humerus 15.J

Antero-posterior diameter of proximal end of humerus G3

Transverse diameter of proximal end of humerus lu

Transverse diameter of distal end of humerus ."

Length of radius l.j.')

Length of ulna. im

Longest (liiiuieter of upper end of ulna , tit

Length of carpus P

Length of 1st metacarpus and its digit ".'b

Length of 2d metacarpus and its digit 1"

Length of I5d metacarpus and its digit 1'"

Length of 4th metacarpus and its digit 1-"

Length of oth nu'tacarpus and its digit ' '."'

Width of niauus at base of metacarpals '"

Total length of fore limb (excluding scapula) •'>'!"

Length of femur '•"

Longest diameter of proximal end of femur 4ij

Longest diameter of distal end of femur ^'

Least antero-posterior diameter of shaft of femur !•'

Length of tibia 1^'

Length of tarsus J"

Length of Lst metatarsus and its digit '"-

Length of 2d met atarsus and its digit 1- '

liCngth of :{d metatarsus and its digit '""

Length of 4th metatarsus and its digit 1"^'

Length of 5th metatarsus and its digit l"'

Width of pes at base of metatarsals •"

Total length of hind limb •''■'

Length of innominate bone 1'''

Greatest width of pelvis anteriorly '""

Length of ilium '"

Length of ischio-pubic bones '^

SKULL. 283

][ii(nn>rmc)it8 of the Metacarpal and Phalanriral Hones of an Adult Female*

L('nj,'tli of mauna to end of .

Lfiiglli iii' mctiicarpal of

Liii^lh 111' 1st plinlanx of . . .
LiiiStli of 2(1 plmlanx of —
Length of 3d phalanx of . . . .

1st digit.

2d digit.

ad digit.

4th digit.

5th digit.

258

226

187

147

112

Measurements of the Metatarsal and Phalangeal Hones of an Adult Female.*

Length of pes (posterior end of os

call' is) to end of

Leiiglli of inetncari)al of

Length of Ist ph.Manx of

Length of 2d phalanx of

Length of ;id phalanx of

Length of nail of

Ist digit.

280
79
75
40

2d digit.

2ti0
Gl
60
40
16
10

3d digit.

60
57
48
16
18

4th digit.

250
CO
54
48
10
15

5th digit

250
65
58
37

Skull. — The skull in Zalophus californianits, as cojnpared
with the .skull in allied genera, is remarkable for the narrow-
ues.s and great elougation of the facial portion, which is even
iiuich more elongated and slenderer than in Arctoccphalus. In
its general configuration (excepting, of course, the great devel-
oimicnt of the sagittal and occipital crests in the very old males)
it more resembles the Arctocephaliue type than any other.
The maximum breadth (i. e., at the zygomata) in the females
barely equals or falls a little short of half the length, while hi
the old males it rather exceeds this proportion. In very old males
the crests of the skuU are enormously developed, and, con-
trary to what usually obtains in the other genera of this family,
are considerably developed in very old females. The superior
outline (in old males) slopes rapidly from the high sagittal
crest to the end of the nasals. The postorbital processes are
long and rather narrow, and are directed backward in old age;
the nasals are long and narrow, decreasing in width posteriorly.
The superior edge of the intermaxillai is very narrow, and is
prolonged backward nearly to the middle of the nasals. The
postorbital cylinder is long and narrow, and often abruptly
contracted posteriorly. The bony palate is nearly flat, but little
depressed, and is rather deeply emarginate posteriorly. The

'Specimen No. G159, Coll. Mns. Comp. Zoology.

284 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — C\LIFORNIAN SEA LION.

paliito-iiiiixillaiy .sutuio is about oppos'tc the liiiulor odge of
the last molar. Tlie ptcryj^oid hamuli are small. Tlu- postciior
uarial ojx'uiuj;' is wider tlian deep; the autcrior lias those Iwo
dimeusious about equal.

Ill ZaiophiiH the superior aspect of the skull, before the devol
opiiu'ut of the erest, is strikingly like that of Arctoc('itli((liiN,;\s
indeed is also the inferior aspect, aside from the dental I'or-
mula. In Zaloplnis the auditory Indian are rather less swollen
than in Arcton^ihahis, but in all other resi)eets there is a strik-
ing resemblance. The anteorbital portion of the skull, how-
ever, is more attenuated, and relatively much longer. With
this exception there is little difterence in the general confor
mation of the skull in middle-aged females of thes<^ two genera,
while both differ widely from Otaria, Eiimctopias, and Callorhi-
mis. The great development of the crests of the skull late in
life in Zalophtis gives it at that time a highly peculiar confor-
matiou.

SKULL,

285

•A

<
■J

<
•Si

a «

O V

to . to

"S a "5 c3

. "o . i . "o . i

fi c- a ? fi c a ^

■)80JD HI)I(Il03(> JO ■UlSl'lH

•BOj.Cpno,) 0} Aii!('aoA\o[ JO njSaii

C CO t-1 -^ CC M CI O »3 'f
CI -H CI CI i-H 'H r-i i-H tH ft

•Hojaos ai![oui .idM<i[ jo ii:>3n.rj

'SJi.it's .iu[oia jjdcin jo qjSnoi
•soi^pnoD ii))|dpao jo q'jpBajg;

IBJOdlUJ) ■)» 1111518 JO TIlpBajq !}8tl31

O 00 M« 00 t^ t-
lo ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

^ Irt iH CI « t-

e% ro c^ C4 CI CI

•soujuii;) ^u tiniiB JO iijpuojfi

-xutu-ojitoaj ^11 sonoq xii8nn jo inpuoag;

'^[i0U3')nn 8aaoq {"^^'^ JO qtpv^'iQ

'eodoq \WBVL JO q^Snai

•asnjxBin JO paa io\i
■0)80(1 !)B oaejine oni^uied jo qjpu.UH

'jap
-joq jt)xoaA|n Suop DnjxBra jo q'jSnsi

■B8a30id JtipniBq jo paa o;
oin^iiB iSiBHl^^ni-o^BiBd mojj aotiB^Bid

•BPOooad pionaiS^Bod o; bjubhixbui
•jo;ut JO o3pa jotjinuc lucij aDUB^siQ;

-JBIOm ')8BI O) BapBIIIXBUI

■ao)ni JO oSpa jot.io;nB raojj oauB^ejd

•pioS.vjojd JO es.i.i
-Old aBiniuoq jo pno 04 soiaBnixBui
■10)01 JO oSpo jouojUB mo.ij ooob^biq;

■B38Ba30jd pio)SBiu )B qipBajQ

iHrH ISSqoooSS

: S3

T^^

i ^

g i

; S8

• 1—1

t '

11 ^ : 2 S 3

Moicr-O'^iooi^

•i^oiB OT)QaioSiz ^B q^puajq ;83;b9JO

CO t' W C>l i-<

•qi^Suoi

•X3g

•D*D^^"D"oOfOCH.OO♦■

,a I

c o o o o

.0 c3 "^ 'IS 'd TS 'd

'jaqmim onSoiB)B3

rH ■* in
<o O If^
CI CJ CJ

» to t» O r-l <M

^ o o ift lO in

J3 O in rH 1-H iH

•c

d I

ft >.

loll
.g s esj

a .58 g

iai*
« s s

^ o

o ee «

28G ZALOPIIUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFORNIAN SEA LION,

Dentition.— Tlu> teeth in ZahpJim are uU stronj^ly (level-
oi)e(l and very ttriiily implanted. All are single-rooted except
the last inolai', wliieh is imperfectly double-rooted. The molars
all have a distinely beaded citijjulum on the inner side. The
lower molars and the fifth and sometimes the fourth ui)j)or
molars have a small but distinct anterior cusp. The canines
and the incisors present the usual form seen among the Otaries.

The teeth of a roiddleaged m.ale skull i)re8eut the following
measurements :

McasurcmentH of the Teeth.
A.— Teeth of tuk Upper Jaw.

Molars.

CaninrB.

Incisors.

5th.

4th. i 3d.

7 9

8. 5 j 10

2d.

8
9.5

Ist.

Outer.

Middle.

1
Imicr.

Antero-posterior diameter.
Xransvcrse diameter

9
7

17
13
20

5
3
5

1
5

2.5
4

B.— Teeth of the Lower Jaw.

t ■

1 '

■ i ■ 1 ■-'■

■

Molars.

Canines.

Incisors.

5th.

4th. ' 3d. ' 2d. Ist.'

Outer.

Inner,

Antero-postenor diameter . . .

Transverse diameter

Height of crown

9
6.5

12 11 10 ' 8

8 9 7 1 7

9 9 7.5 G

18
11
25

5
C
G

The molars arc usually closely approximated, but sometimes
there is a small space between the two hinderraost of the series,
and occasionally they are all slightly and evenly spaced. The
hinder edge of the last upper molar is generally anterior to or
about <}ven with the posterior border of the zygomatic process
of the maxillary. When more than Ave upper molars are pres-
ent, the sixth or supernumerary is postt^rior to the fifth, and is
usually smaller than the fifth (sometimes almost rudimentary)
and lack' le accessory cusps seen in the fifth.

The milK dentition (fully represented in three skulls before
me and partly so in five othei^s) does not differ from that of the
other species of the family, and has been already fully described
(see antea, p. 223).

VARIATION WITH AGE.

287

Skxual Diffkre>'cks. — From the testimony of Captain
Swiiimion, ami from the matetial I have been able to examine,
the Iciiiah' ditfers from th«i male in eohn- in being rather lighter,
or(»f a more yellow isli-brown. The most notable ilitferenco is
ill size, the female being very nmch the smaller, but not quite
so j;reat a sexual disparity in size obtains in this species an
in Kunwiopias stelh-ri and CoUorhinnn ursinus.* Unfortunately
die material at my (command will not enable me to give full
statistics on this point. iMost of tin; nude si)ecimens in a large
series sent to the jVIuseum of Couii)arative Zoology, by Mr.
Schumacher, from Santa Barbara Islands, are young or middle-
iXiiod, only one having the teeth perceptibly worn or the crests
of the skull very highly developed. ^V comparison of very old
skulls of both sexes shows tluit nearly the usual amount of sex-
ual variation in size common to the Otaries obtains in the pres-
ent species. The table of measurements (on page 28i5) of ten
skulls — five nude and live fenmle — all fully adult and most of
them very old, gives all tlui information I am able to ofter re-
specting sexual wiriation in size.

As usual in this group, the dental armatiue (especially the
canines and caniniiVu'm incisors) is much weaker in the female
than in the nude, by means of which the skulls of females can
lie readily ilistinguished from those oi males of about the same
size. The whole skull is slighter and weaker, and all the pro-
eossos and ridges for the attachment of muscles much less devel-
oped. There are, however, in very old female skulls, <listiuct,
but <!oiiiparatively low, and thin sagittal and occipital crests,
which attain the height of A to mm., while in the males they
soHietinies ris«>, to 35 or 40 mm. The limbs are also nnich weaker
and slenderer, as of course are all the bones of the skeleton.

Variation with Age. — As already noticed, the color of the
young at birth is dark gray or slaty, and the pelage has at this
inu) a delicate softness, due to the silky texture of the hair.
Tlie pelage is wholly devoid of a second coat of true under-fur,
like that of the Fur Seals, but from its softness might readily
lie mistaken on casual observation for true fur. This is very
soon replaced by a coarser and harsher, but still quite soft
pelage, in comparison with that of adults, of nearly uniiorm
chestnut or dark reddish-brown color. This is succeeded by the
harsh, stiff pelage of the middle-aged and adult animals.

•V .flU

' See flH<cd, p. 226.

!"W I r

288 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFOPNIAN SEA LION.

The slvuU ('liim^xe.s yicatly in its itiopoitions with n;>r. Tlic
rupiU'ity of tlu' brain-ciiso tlocs not j,'i"Oiitl\ incrciwciiftci" Itiitli,
it enliiifiiiij;' mainly by the tliiclvcninj;' of its walls. Tim ante-
rior half of the sknll dovt'lops rapidly and Utt'rs very nuicli in
form. At birth the inter- and anteorbital jtortions of tln^ skull
are very short, they to^etuer fonninjjf rather less than half the
lenjjfth of the sknll, whihun fnlI-}»rown sknlls theyeomprisc alxnit
tw r>-thirds of its length. In a young skull (Nat. ^lus., Xo. irtddo,
4 taken from an animal killed a few days after birth), which lias
J a total length of 140 mm., the brain-case alone lias a length of
78 mm., the interorbital region* a length of .'U mm., and the ante
'orbital a lengtli of 37 mm., giving a total length from the an-
, terior wall of the brain-case to the front border of the interinax-
illiu of 08 mm. In this skull (as in several others before iiw of
about the same age) the occipital condyles are wholly anterior
to the plane of the occiput. In a very old fenuUe skull (M. C. Z.
Col., No. 0150), with a total length of 233 mm., the o(!cipital col^
dyh's project 15 mm. behind the occipital plane. Of the remain
lug -18 mm. of the length, the brain-case occupies 8.'} nnii., tLc
interorbital region 05 mm., and the anteorbital 71 mm., and the
two regions together 130 mm. In the first the ratio of the
length of the brain-case to that of tln^ rest of the skull is as 78
to 08; in the last as 83 to 130, In a middle-aged male skull,
the total length is 282 mm., of which the condylar extension is
22 mm. Of the remaining 200 mm., the brain-case occMipies 0.)
mm., the interorbital region 78 mm., and the anteorbital 87 mm,,
making the proportionate length of the brain-case to the rest of
the skull as 95 to 105. The ratios between the dift'erent regions
in these three skulls are as follows :

Batio of brain-case to whole skuU

Katio of interorbital rcRion to whole ekiill • . -

Ilatio of anteorbital region to whole skull

Condylar extension to whole skull

Yoting.

53./V-100 I
21. -J— 100 I
2"). 3— 100 I

Female.

."s:.. 0—100

28 —100

30. 5—100

« —100

Male.

33. 7 -UK)
30. 8,')-100
27.CO-100

7. 7 -IIX)

The width of the brain-case in these skulls is respectively
90 mm., 97 mm., and 107 mm.

In adult skulls the breadth of the interorbital region is relu
tively, and generally absolutely, much less in adult skulls tbau
at birth, and the point of greatest constriction is placed much

* That is, the narrow portion of tlie sknll honntled laterally hy 'he tempo-
ral fossae and orbits.

jilHr

ili^i

GEOGUAI'IIICAL DISTRIBUTION.

289

iiiort' postcriorl.v, bciiij;' in the atliilt sit the posterior i'lul of tho
tciniMiiiil fossa', iiitd in lin' yomij'' at the orbits. T\n\ bicadtli
of tilt- siuill Just ill front of tln' luaiiiliox in very yoiinj'' skulls
(tiiosf taken a few " lys after birth) is 10 to 12 nun., in tiioso
three or Ibnr nu)Utli.« iy\ .'W inin.; in adult females, usually L'li to
;;(» iMiii. ; in adiili males, about .'50 to .'So mm. The amount of eon-
strict ion varies somewhat in atliilt skulls of the same sex, tho
(•(Histrietion increasiiif^ with the advaiuie of aj;e. There is a
correspondiuj,' contraction posteriorly of the palatal region. In
very youii}; skulls, the. palate is widest at the pterygoid ha-
iimli ; in those a few months old it is nearly straight, but later
in lite becomes narrowed posteriorly, the contraction being
},m'atest in aged sjiecamens, in wliicV. the width at the pterygoid
liimiuli is a third less than it is at the last molar.

The crests of the skull do not begin to develop until the ani-
mal roaches adult size, and attain their highest development in
V(rv old specimens. In a series of thirty skulls, only two have
tlio crests remarkably developed, these being the two old male
skulls described by nie in 1870.* In only one of the skulls of
tli(* series, aside from tho two above mentioned, are the teetli
much Avorn. The two very old skulls show, by tlieir large size
and lugose eliaracter, that the deposition of bony matter is
(ontiiiued to a very late period in life.

("05IPA11ISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES. — Zalophus mUfomianns
is too distinct in cranial characters and dentition to require com-
parison with any of the Hair Seals of other genera, while its
polaf-c and color aftbrd obvious points of difference from the
Fur Seals. As rcispects the conformation of the skull, it finds
its nearest allies in Arctocephalus, from which, however, it is
readily distinguished by its more elongated muzzle ami dental
t'onnulii. It appears to closely resemble its congener, Z. lobattis,
both ill size and color. Hm ing no specimens of that species
!it coiiniiand, I am unable to state the points of difference be-
twoou the two. The descriptions and figures of Z. lohatxis indi-
cate their close alliance.

Gkogkapiiical Distriiuttion. — Tho exact boundaries of
the habitat of Zaloplins californianus cannot at present be given.
Tlie only specimens I have seen are from the coast of California
1111(1 its islands, from San Diego and San Nicolas Island north-
ward to the Bay of S'ln Francisco. Captain Scammon (see
*i5ull. Mus. Coniii. Zool., vol. ii, p. 69; seo measurements at p. 70.
^lisc. Pub. No. 12 19

290 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFORNIA^ SEA LION.

infra, pp. 301, 302) twice alludes Incideutally to its preseuce
'along the Mexican and Califoruiau coasts," and Dr. Yeatcli
states that "Sea Lions" (which he calls '■' Otaria juhata, but
which are, almost beyond doubt, the present species) laid
populous breeding stations twenty years ago, and doubtless
have still, on Cerros or Cedros Island, in about the latitude of
28i°, off the Lower California coast. Whether they occur south-
ward of this point at the present time I am unable to state, but
should infer that such was the case from Scammon's allusion
to their capture along the "Mexican" coast. In any case, it
appears probable that in Dampier's time they ianf>ed as for
south as thg Chametly aiul Tres Marias Islands, respectively
in latitudes about 23° and 21°, at which points he saw "$eals''
in the year 1G8G. In describing the Chametly Islands (the most
northerly of the two groujjs mentioned by him under this name),
situated off the "VVest coast of Mexico in latitude 23° 11', he
says: "The Bays about the Islands are sometimes visited with
Seals; and this was the first place where I had seen any of
these Animals, on the Xorth side of the Equator, in these Seas,
For the Fish on this sandy Coast lye most in the Laguues oi
Salt-Lakes, and Mouths of Rivers; For this being no rocky
Coast, where Fish resort most, there seems to be but little Food
for the Seals, unless they will venture upon Cat-Fish."*

He also met with Seals at the Tres Marias Islands (in liiti
tude "21° 5'"), and consequently two degrees south of the Cha-
metly Islands, in describing one of which islands, named by
him St. George's Island, he says: "The Sea is also pretty well
stored with Fish, and Turtle or Tortoise, and Seal. This is the
second place on this Coast where I did see any Seal: and this
place helps to confirm what I have observed, that they arc sel-
dom seen but where there is plenty of Fish."1

It is of course not certain that the Seals here alluded to arc
Zalophus calif or niamis, since the Sea Elephant of the Califor
nia coast also occurs at Cedros Island, and probably still further
south, the two species having apparently about the same rauge.
If they had been the latter, Dampier would probably have made
some allusion to their large size.

The species of Zalophus occurring in Japan has been by some
writers considered to be the same as the Californian one; but,
though doubtless closely allied, its affinities, as will be noticed

* A New Voyage round the World, 5th ed., vol. i, 1703, pp. 263, 264.
tibid., p. 276.

GENERAl, HISTORY.

291

later (see iufra, p. 29,3), appear to bo not as j-ot satisfactorily
{letcrniiiied. As XaJophits calij'ornianus has not yet been detec-
ted oil the Aiuericau coast north of California, its occurrence
on the Asiati(5 coast seems hardly to be expected.

(lE^E^^AL IIistouv. — This s]>ecics has hitherto bten believed

to be free fro:.>i any serious coujidications of synonymy, and to

liave be«'n tirst brought to the notice of the scientiiic world by

M'lJiiiu in 1858. The only synonyin hitherto (pioted has been

Otanu .steUeri, "iSchlej^el" (/. t',, Temminck), which Dr. Peters*

.stated, alter an examination of the original specimens i>reserved

ill the Leyden museum, to be identical with tlie O. (jillcspH of

M'Baiii. A re-exaininatit)n of the subject, in the light of much

new information and material, shows <^hat the lirst notice of the

sjiecies was published by Choris in 1822, under the name of

"Lion niarin de la Californie,'" who gave a rather poor figure

of it in plate XE of his chapter entitled "Port San-Francisco et

SOS Habitants." As already stated luider the head of Eume-

topias .steUeri, his only reference to it in the text of this chapter

is as follows: "Les rochers, dans le voisinage de la bale San-

Fraucisco sont ordinairement converts d^ lions marins, pi. XI."

Ill bis account of the Aleutian Islands, however, he again refers to

it. and clearly indicates its characteristic external features. lie

says: ''Ces animaux [Lions marins] sont aussi tres-comnmns au

port de San-Francisco, sur la cote de Californie, oil on les voit

ou noiii,»re prodigieux .^ur les rochers de la bale. Cette espece

in'a paru se distinguer de ceux (pii fre<pientent les lies Aleou-

tit'iiiu's; elle a le co][)s plus fiuet et plus allonge, ethitete plus

tine : (unint a le couleur, elle x>»sse Ibrtemeut au run, tandis

quo ecu .. des lies Aleoutiennes sont d'une couleur plus grise,

out le corps plus rond, les niouvements plus ditliciles, la tete

plus grosse et plus epaisse; la couleur du poll des moustaches

plus iioiratre que celui des iles Aleoutiennes."t

The importance of this reference turns upon itsbeingan « "olicit
iudication of the character of his "Lion marin de la Californie,"
the subject of "Tl. XI"; this being, as is well known, the basis
of Lesson's Otaria californiana, which has hitherto been re-
ferred to Eumctopias stclleri, but which is really the same as
the so-called Zalophns gillespii. Lesson says: "Cette espfece,
tVapres la figure de Choris, a le pelage ras, unilbrm^ment fauve-

brunatre,les moustaches peu fournies; le museau assez pointu;

*Monat8b. Akad. Berlin, 1866, p. 669.

t Voy. pittoresque, lies AliSoutiennes, p. 15.

I f^

292 ZALOpiirs ("amkormamts — californian sea licx

les iiKMiiUrcs imtc'iit'iiis sont iv;;iili«'is. nlus f;ran<ls que les pos-
terii'urs. Ciii(| nKlimciis d'onjilcs oceuiK'iit I'cxtrouiitc dcs
l)liiiliiii;;('s, ct soiit (h'honlo par line larp' IkuhIc do la mom-
braiic. Les picds postpiicms sont iniiicos, ayant trois onglcs iui
iuili< i ot dciix riidiinons d'oiijiU's internes et cxtcriios. Cin([
festons lanceolos et (Hroits depasscnt de cinq ;\ sex ponces les
onj;les. La qiiene est trds-conrte. l)es cotes de la Californie."*
His sole reference is ''Jenne Lion niaiin de la Californie, Clioris,
Voy. pittoresq., pi. 11," and his descri])tion seems to be based
wholly npon this tignre. Immediately i)recedinj^ this is liis
description of the " Otarie do Steller, Otaria tSicllcrii, X. ; Lion
Marin, Leo marinus, Steller, <le Bcstiis Marinis,''^ etc., which
closes with "Pentetre I'Otarie de Steller (!st-il identiqne avec
I'Otarie snivant T' While it may be nrged that the IJumctopias
steUeri also occurs in San Francisco Bay, Choris does not seem
to have recognized it there, while he did observe a si)ecies that
seemed to him [o be different from the Sea Lions and Sea Bears
of the Aleutian Islands, and in describing these differences he
has indicated most clearly the distinctive points of difference, as
seen in the living animals, between these species. Furthermore,
it turns out that the Zolophits giUcsjiU, auct., is still the connnon
species of that locality and of the California coast generally.
On this point Mr. Elliott, who has had amjde opportunity of
observing both species in life, t says: "I have no hesitation
in putting this Uumetopias of the Prybilov Islands apart from
the Sea Lion common at San Francisco and Santa Barbara, as a
distinct animal,'' but adds, " I am not to be understood as saying
that all the Sea Lions met with on the Californlan coast are dif-
ferent from IJ. stellcri of Bering Sea. I am well satisfied that
stragglers from the north are down on the Farallones, but they
are not migrating back an«l forth every season; and I am fur-
thermore certain that not a single animal of the species most
common at San Francisco was present among those breeding on
the Prybilov Islands in 1872-'73."t

If I am right in (;onsidering the Zalophtis gillespii, auct., as
identical with Otaria caUforniana of Lesson, of which I think
there is no reasonable doubt, the synonymy of this species bas
narrowly escaped further complications, Dr. Gill, in his first
mention of Uumetopias, saying: "Type, Otaria California^

*Dict. class. (VHlst. Nat., xiii, 1828, 420.

tl liavo ill liand colored drawhjgs of both species, made by biiu from lift'i
which ho has kindly placed at my disposal.
tCond. of Affairs in Alaska, p. 158.

GENERAL HISTORY.

293

lxssou= Atrtocfjthahts monfericnHis (U'liy." But lie citos as
tviH> (){' Zaiophus, ill tlu'. same connection, ^^ Otarla Gillespii
>[;i(lKiiii," and subsequently, in tlie same paper, so character-
i/cs Ills li'enera EiimctopUix iu\([ Zohphm as to leave no doubt
tliiil Ennu'topUtH relates <o the Otdria .sfelhfi. of .Aliiller, and
Zdlnphiistotha OtarUi (jUlcHpll ol'MMJain, lie further says that
Ills Jjiinrtnpias adifonuanuH '»is identical with the Otaria
minifcriciisis of Gray, and jmssibly also with Otaria Stelleri
Miiller."*

The Otaria strllcri of the Fauna Japonica is unquestionably
;i Zalophiis and not a Eiimetopins, but is probablj' not identical
with the Zntnphm of the California coast, although, as already
stated, so considered by Peters, t N(>- only do the skulls
lijiured by ; • niinck show that the species is not Eumctopias
stcllrri, but . coin])arative remarks respecting its relationship
t(i <>. jiiltnta indicate unmistakably tlu^ same thing. Although
I at one time acee[)ted Teters's deterinination of Tenuninck's
Otnria stelleri, a subsequent examination, in the light of nuu-h
new material and information, has led nu' t(» doubt its correct-
iioss. Tlie range of Zalaphiis caliJ'oriiiainiN {=fiillespii) has not
liccn reported as extending northwanl on the .Vuu'rican coast
licvniid California, and no si)eeimensof this sjiecies (except one
citiMl by Cray, the identitication of which seems open to cpies-
ti(in) liave been thus far recognized frjm Japan or any i)ortion
of the Asiatic coast. Temminck, with good series of the Japan
species and of the ZaJophnx ?o/>«/«s before him (he seems not to
liiive had the true E. stelleri), was unable to recognize any ap-
piwiable differences between them. In comparing his Otaria
utelleri with the Otaria australis of Quoy and Gainiard, he says:
"Uii crane absolument send)lable A celui figur6 par les voyageurs
(lout nous venous de i)arler [Quoy et (iainuird] a et<5 ddcrit sous
le uoui d'Arctocephalus iobatus, par Gray, Spic. ZooL, 1, p. 1,
pi. 4, fig. 2 et 2 a; ce crane provenant de la collection de fen
Biookes fait maintenant partie du Musee des Pays-Bas ; 11 ne
«' distingue en effct par aucini caracterc essentiel de celui do

' I'roc. Essix Inst., v, 1860, pp. 7, 11, and IH (footnote).

tlVtiTs says: " UobrigeiiS zweillc ioh jetzt utu'li j^ar uieht luehr dur.an,
ilass o, friZ/icsjiH Machain und (>. ./"iw im Schlogt-l [Ms. — o. stcllrri, Fauna
JaiKiiiicaJzudiTsellxMi Alt goliihon, da die Schiidol bcidcv nichtallcin indcr
Form, soiidi'in aucL in dcr Griisso iuitciuandcr ill)ori'iii8tinnn«Mi. Denn dor
iilti' Scliiidol von (>. GiUk82>ii ist G."' 295 lang, wuhrend altc Schiidol dos
Lciiliiicr Musuunis von 0,japonka 0."> 270 bis 0."' :{10 lang sivV—Monatab.
Jhd. ItciUn, loGO, p. 601).

ijj

294 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFORNIAN SEA LION.

I'Otai'iu iiiistrali.s vt <!('. ceux de rOtarie do Stellcr, tiros do nos
individus dii Japon. Le Miisoe des Pays-Bas onfiii vieut de
recevoii", coiiuno nous Tavons constats plus liaut, uu tres-jouno
individu d'uuo Otaiio, prise sur les lies lloutman pros dc la
(!uto occidentalo do la KouvoUo Ilollaudo, ot qui nc i)arait dilU'ier
ni do rOtario australc do Quoy ot (Haiiuard, ui du Lion luaiiii do
StoUor. 11 parait rosultor de cos donuoos que I'Otario do HtoUor
n'ha1)ito pas seuleinent le nord de I'oeoan i)acifiquc, mais qu'elle
se tronvo aussi dans les parties australes de cette nier."* It
appeals to ine probable that if avo eliange tbe phrase '' I'Otaiio
d(^ Stoller" in the last sentences above (luoted to read Zalo-
2)hns lobdtHfi, \Kii have the case correctly stated.t Indeed, Gray,
in his earlier i)apers (down to 18G0), positively referred the
Otaria stellcri of Teuuninck to his ArctoccphaJus lohafus. Laterf
he says it "includes both the Australian Eared Seals, viz,
Arctocephalus cinereiis and Neophoca lobata,'^ but finally § doubt-

*Fau!i. .Ta]). . Mam. Marins, p. 8.

t.Just what T<'iiiiiiiii(-'k',s young skulls relV-rred to Otaria xtelhri nvf tii'vma
uot so dear, tliey liaviiig six superior molars on eaeli side. As elsciwhorc
stated, I have found snpernnmerary molars in about one skull in ten in luliilt
speeinieus of ZalophiiH ralifoniiiiiius, and occasionally in other species ot
Eared Seals, hut Teniminck describes all liis four young skulls as liaviiii;
each six superior molars on each side, or alveoli indicating Ihcir reciiit
jtresence, but the probabilities ari' entirely against the sixth being shiioi-
uunierary. In r<'ferring tohis"0/«n'a .s/c//cnV'he says: "la sixieme inolairi'
do hi mAchoire supdrienre est snjette atomber al'i^poqtie de rapparitioii ties
dents permaiicnts," and gives this as one of the characters wliidi dis'iii-
guish it from (), jithata. What he had before him is hard to recognize, lor
the skulls he described had long passed the age when all traces of the tiiii-
porary dentition are lost. It is only supposablt^ that the young skulls be-
longed to some six-molared species; for no s[iecics of Otary is known to
lose at any stage the hinder pair of upper permanent molars, and thus

undergo a change in the dental formula from M. """*' to M. ''~''. .\t om'
" *^ .'. — ,1 5 — 5

time (Bull. Mas. Comp. Zoiil., vol.ii, p. (i'J) I thought it probable that tin-
young skull liero iigured (as well as the other young skulls Temminck de-
scribes) might have been that of Callorhiiiua nrsinux, but the form of lln"
nasals and the frontal extension of the intermaxillaries in the one iigureil
show that such could not have been the cise. Dr. Gray at one time re-
ferred it without doubt to Archm'phalus vincvvus, which is prrdiably its cor-
rect allocation, although later he doubtfully assigned it to his Vhofardo^
cloiifiatuH (Hand-List, 1874, p. 31), but a littlo further on in the same work
(p. 4'2) he says, ''lignres '> and [of Temniinck's x>late xxii] are evidently
GjIpHdphora,'' but thinks they may belong to an undescribed species.

{Snppl. Cat. Seals ami Whales, 1871, p. 24.

sU land-List of Seals, 187(5, p. 42.

GKNERAL HISTORY.

205

I'liUy a('('(']»t(Hl Pfttors's reference of it to the Zaiophus (/iUespii.
Peters liiinself (irst (in 18(»7) referred the species (except the
\\<xmv of tlic yonn.ii' skulls) to Ztdophitft lobafus, wliicli were as-
si,:iiie(l to Ar<f(HTj)li(this cinrrciis, Imt later, as above stated, lie
idciitil'u'd it with Zaloplnis nillcspii.*

Tlie references to this species are still very few. Aside from
Clioris's account, and Lesson's (based on Choris's) and Fischer's
(based ou Lesson's) and Teinniinck's, the first of importanccis
MMlaiu's description of a skull from California in 1858, which
siu'ciiiien was redescribed and fi<:jured from a cast by Gray, in
1859. Dr. G ray, as late as 1871, t appears to have seen only this
specimen, but in 1874| cites (without full description) a skull
from .lapan.§ Aside ^ from this its Japan record still rests
wholly on Dr. Peters's determination of "Schlegel's" (/. c,
TciMiniiick'sil) s]H'ciiin'ns in the Leyden Mnseiun. Dr. Gill, in
18(i(l, liad examined a skull from California in the museum of
the Siiiithsonian Institution, which led him to separate the
species {>enerically from the other Eared Seals. This skull,
and another (beh)iij;injn' to the mus(Mim of the Chicago Acad-
emy of Sciences), also from California, I was able to describe in
(li'taii in 1S7().^| These Californian skulls sire the only ones thus
far described,** but Scammon,inhis 'IMarine Mammalia," under
the name " Eiinietnpias HtcUcri,^'' has given detailed measure-

*>[oii!itsl>. (lor Aknil. dcr Wiasensch. zu Boiiiii, ISW), (18()7), pp. 27-<». 276,
1)68.

tSupid. (.'lit. Seals and \Vhalf\s. y. ys.

t Hand-List of Seals, p. 41.

v\"l.")89/). Skull, l'2i iiu'lios 1<»U}>, with canimvsvoiy large ; no other toetli ;
110 lower jaw ; frontal crest very high. .Japan, 7;}. W. 12. 1."

II Dr. Peters cites Sohlogel as the author of that p.art of tho "Fauna Ja-
poniiir' relating to tho Mammals, although puhlished as "par C. J. Tem-
ininck."' Mii.led by Peters, I made the same enor in my paper on the
Eared Seals, puhlished in 1870.

1 They were not tigured in the regular edition of my paper ou tho Eared
Seals (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. ii, No. 1), hut two photographic plates,
ropreseutir.g both specimens, were added to a few of the author's copies (ahoat
twcnty-iive), which were scut to some of the more prominent workers in this
fitltl. These interpolated plates have been referred to by Dr. Gray (Hand-
List of Seals, p. 42) as though they formed a part of tho original work.

"* During the last year, I may here add, as an indication of tho amount of
material relating to this species now accessible, that I have examined not
less than a dozen skins, representing adults of both sexes, and young of
various ages from a foetal specimen upward, and more than twenty skulls,
likoA\ se embracing young, even with tho milk dentition, and both sexes of
various ages, and two complete skeletons.

I .^ I

(liTl

2^H] ZALOPIIUS CALIFOKXIANUS CALIKORNFAN SKA Ut)X.

incuts <»r what I tak*' to he ('xainph's of tliis simtjcs IVoiii tlio
Faralloiic and Santa Uarbara Islands.*

IlAtUTS. — Several more or less fall aeeonnts ol" (lie iiabilsof
liie Calilbrnian Sea I^ions liavi- been .iniNcn by (iin'erent wiitcis,
who have, however, failed to distin;^nisii tlie two species occiu-
rin,ij' alon;^ the ( 'alifoniian coast, and conseiinentl.v their descrip-
tions are not wholly satisl'actory. The larj^e Xortiiern species
certainly (»ccnrs, an<l n-ars its yoiniji', as far south as the V,\v,\\-
lones, but pi-obably exists there only in small numlicrs, wliilc I
Imvo seen n«> evidence of its prescnc*' at Santa liarbara Island.
Kven Captain Scannnon, in his account of the Sea Lions of
California, has not distintly r«>co}inize<l the two spe<ues occin-

* Cai>laiii t^oaminoii publislu'd his liist ai-coinit ol' I lie Si-a l^ioiis in tlic
"Ovi'vlaiul .Mcintlily " iiiajia/iiio (vol. viii, i)it. *J()ii-"i7-', Man'li, lt*7'J), in an m-
ticlc ciitiflt'il ''Aliont Sea I^ions." whicli is siilisfantially tlic same as Unit in
the ••Marine ^fanimalia," with Ihc oinissio'i of li;;iu'fs and aliont two lui^cs
of taliiilatt'tl nicasurcnit'iits and other details, liascd on siiecinicns siilisr-
qucntly obtained at llie I'aralione and .Santa ISarliara Islands. In a loot-
note in the ••Marine Mammalia" (|>. l-"»), he refers to his loimer article , 'is
follows: '•Since the )in1dii'ation (d' the article 'Almnt Sea J. ions," in tln'
'Overland Monthly' of .*»e)deinlier. 1-71 [/c'/c ^larch. 1-T^Jl], we have had
opportunity (d" makiny; additional ohserva t ions npon these ainmals at tlio
Faralioue Islands, where we saw the largest females we Inive ever met with
oi\ the Califoriua coast, lleiici-, what we have formerly taken to hv the
Eumvtoputu StelUri may prove to lie the /.(ilophiin (Ullixpii .*; hnt if snchhe the
fact, Ixdli s[)ecies iidiahit the coast of California, at" least as far south as
the Farallones. Moreover, both species, if we may be allowed the expres-
sion, herd tojietlier in the .same rookeries. On niakin<;' ii series of olKserva-
tions npon the ontwavd forms of Sea Lions, it will he foiuul tlnit a confusing
variety exists in the lif^nres of these very interesting animals, especially in
the shape of the head — sonft^ having u slinrt muzzle with a full forehead
lEitmctopias gteUeril;; others with forehead and nose somewhat elongated
[_Zalophun (aHfornianus=gillciipi, auct.] ; and still others of a moditied shape,
between the two extremes [£. stellcri, female?].'' In this eonuection it may
he noted that four of the five specimens of wliicli Captain Scaranion gives
measurements in the "Marino jVIammalia," were taken a//crthe imhlicatiou
of the article in the "Overland Monthly," namely, No. 1, "lull-grown male,"
Farallones. July 17, 187*2; No. 3, male "about ten mouths old," Santa Bar-
bara Island, April 4, 187'2; No. 1 his, female, supposed to he a yearling, ami
No. 2 bis, female, new-lxu'ii pup, same locality, May 3, 1873. The other, No.',*
(referred to in the " Overland Monthly" paper), adult female, Santa Barhaia
Island, April I'i, 1871. The first (No. 1, full-grown male) I refer with little
hesitation to L\ stellcri, and the second (No. 2, adult female), to Z. culij'or-
niamis, especially as I lind skulls in the National Museum, receive J from
Captain Scammon, agreeing respectively with these in locality, sex. and
age.

i: II

HABITS.

207

iiii;; tlu'ic, uiul hits (U'S('iii)ti()ii doubtless ioIVts in ])art to botli
s]M'(its. hut nnquostiouahly n'latos nuiinly to t' .'. prcscul one*
Ill's ••Sketch of !i .sciiiliuH' srasou u[>oii Santa llarbara Island,"
ill isr>i,'. ])i(>siMnabVv relates exclusively to ZnlopliiiN nilifoi-
nidiiiis, ]ni{ in addition to this I <]uote a few paiaj^rajdis IVoni
his jicueral account of "the. Sea Lion," since it is the testimony
of a trust\v(U'tiiy ey«'-\vitiu\ss. "On approachinji' an ishind, <»r
point, occupied by a luunerous herd," he observes, '-one tirst
lioais their ion<>-, ]>laintive howHn<is, as if in distress; but when
near theia, tlie sounds beconu^ more varied and deafoninj?. The
old males I'oar so loudly as to drown the noise of the licaviest
suit anionj;' the rocks and caverns, and the younger of both
sexes, together with the 'chipnuitches,' croak lioarsely, or send
I'ortli sounds like the bleating of shee]) or the barking of dogs;
ill fact, their tumult nous utterances are beyond description.
A lookery of matured animals presents a feroci us and deliant
appearance: but usually at the aiijn'oaeh of man they become
alariiicd. and, if not opposed in theii- escape, roll, tumble, and
soiuctiaies make fearful leaps from high i»recii)itous rocks to
hasten their tiight. Like all the others of the Seid tribe, they
are iiiegaricms, and gather in the largest numbers during the
•pujiping season,' which varies in different latitudes. On the
(.'aiiluiiiia coast it is from May to August, inclusive, and upon
ilie shores of Alaska it is said to be from June to October, dur-
ing vliich period the females bring forth their young, nurse
them, associate with the valiant males, and both unite in the
cai'o of the little ones, keeping ii wary guard, and teaching
them, by their own parental actions, how to move over the
biokoii, slimy, rock-bound shore, or upon the sandy, jiebbly
beaches, and to dive and gambol amid the surf and rolling
ground-swells. At first the pups manifest great aversion to the
water, but soon, instinctively, become active and playful in the
element; so by the time the season^is over, the juvenile crea-
tines disappear with the greater portion of the old ones, only
a tew of the vast herd remaining at the favorite resorts through-
nut the year. During the pupping season, both males and fe-
males, so far as we could ascertain, take but little if any food,
l»ai ticularly the males, though the females have been observed

Tliiii (Jiijilai]! ScinTiiiioii eoiifduudiMl tlic two species of Nmtiiern Sf«i
Liiiiis iscviilciij not only from his imlilislicd \vniin;js, lint (Vomi Iiis Inivinjj;
TniiistDitii'il 1(1 ilic \;ilioii:il Musemn spi-cinieiis of /?; /');»/!/(.•* fi-oni Siiiilu IJar-
''iii'ii Miuiil, laliellcd by liini " /■himetopinx Htcllcri."

I ' I

! :t'l

Ill

298 ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS — CALIFORNIAN SEA LION.

I|i

to leave tlieir eli<ii'<ies iiiul f-o oil", apparently in seareli of sub.
sistenee, Imt lliey <lo not venture far from tlieir youn;^ (uii's.
That the Sea Li.)n eaii j;o without food for a lonj; time is im.
quei-'^ionahle. One of tliesni)erint<'n(h'nts <»f Wootlwanl's (iitr-
(lens informed me tliat in mniierons instances they liad received
Sea Lions into the a(inarium which did not ear a morsel of ikhu
ishment durinji' a whole month, and appeared to snfler but little
inconvenience from tln'ir lon}^' fast.

"As the tinn' ai)])roaches for their annual assemhlajic. tliose
returning;" or eonunj;" from abroad are seen near tlie sIku'cs. ;i])-
pearing wild and shy. Soon aft«'r, however, the females jfiitlier
upon the beaches, cliffs, or rocks, when the battles anion;; the
old males beyin for the suiu'eme control of the harems; tiiese
struggles often lasting for days, the tight iK'ing kejtt up until
one or both become exhausted, but is renewed again when siit-
ticieutly recuperated i'ov another attack: and, really, the atti
tiules assumed and the passes made at each other, equal the
ampliticiition of a professional fencer. The combat lasts until
both beconu' disabled or one is driven from tlie ground, or i)ii
haps both become so reduced that a third party, fresh from his
winter migration, drives them from the coveted charge. The
vanquished ainmals then slink off to some retired spot as if (lis
graced. Nevertheless, at times, two or more will have <'liar;;(
of the same rookery; but in such instan<'es frecpient dcliiuii
growlings and petty battles occur. So far as we have observed
upon the Sea Lions of the Calitbrnia coast, there is but little at
tachment manifested between the sexes ; indeed, much of tin
Turkish nature is apparent, but th(! tV'males show some atl'cr
tiou for their offspring, yet, if alarmed when ui)on the lan(l,tbt,v
will instantly desert them and take to the water. The youiij;
cubs, on the other hand, are the most fractious and savage little
creatures imaginable, especially if awakejicd from their uoaiiy
<50utinuous sleeping; and ^equeiitly, when a mother reclines t«
nurse her single whelp, a swarm of others will ]ierhaps couteml
for the same favor.

" To give a more detailed and extended account of tbo Sim
Lions we will relate u brief sketch of a sealing season on
Santa Barbara Island. It was near the end of INIay, i^'*--
when we arrived, and soon after the rookeries of 'dapmattiios.
which were scattered around the island, began to angniint.
and large numbers of Inige males made their appearauie.
belehi'^ forth sharp, ugly howls, and leaping out of or <li»t

i .n«

HABITS.

299

iiiii tliroii};!! tlic water with sur[>iisin|4' velocity, frequently
(liviii;; dill side the rollers, the next Tiioment cmerginjj from
tilt' crest ol' the foiiiniii;; breakers, and waddlin*;' up the
hcacli with head ereet, or, with seeiiiiiiy elfort, cliiabinj^- some
ki'lp rriii.i;<'d rock, to doze in the scorchin<;' sunbeams, while
(itlicrs would lie sleeping or playing among the beds of sea-
weed, with tlit'ir heads and outstretched limbs above the sur-
liice. l>ut a few days elapsed before a general contention with
the iidiilt males began for the mastery of the difi'erent rooker-
ies, and tlie victims of the bh)ody encounter were ♦^o be seen on
all sides of the island, witJi torn lips or mutilated limbs and
j,'ashed sides, while now and then an unfortunate creature
would l>e met with minus an eye or with the orb forced from its
socket, and, together with other wounds, presenting si ghastly
appeanmce. As the time for 'hauling-up' drew near, the island
hecaine one mass of animation ; every beach, rock, and cliff,
wlieie a seal could find foothold, became its resting-place, while
a countless herd of old males capped the summit, and the
united elamorings of the vast assemblage could he heard, on a
calm day, for miles at sea. The south side of the island is high
ami precipitous, with a projecting ledge hardly perceptible
from the beach below, upon which one immense Sea Lion man-
aged to climb, and there remained for several weeks — until the
.season was ovei*. How he ascended, or in what nmnner he re-
tired to the water, Avas a mystery to our numerous ship's crew,
as he came and went in the night; for 'Old Gray,' as named
by till' sailors, was closely watched in his elevated position dur-
ing the time the men were engaged at their work on shore.*

••None but the adult males Avere captured, AA'hich was usually
(lone by sliooting them in the ear or near it; for a ball in any
other i)art of the body had no more effect than it would in a
Grizzly Bear. Occs^pionally, however, they are taken with the
flub and lance, ordy shooting a few of the masters of the herd.

" * Ifcltitive to the Sea Lions leaping from giddy heights, an incident oe-
ciutimI at Santa Barbara Island, the last of the season of l&ij2, which we
will here mention. A rookery of abont twenty individuals was colle<;ted
nil iho brink of a precipitons clift", at a height at least of sixty feet above
the Kicks which shelved from the beach below ; and our party were sure
ill their own minds, that, by surprising the animals, wo could diivo them
over tlu' clift'. This was easily accomplished ; but, to our chagrin, when wo
arrived iit the point below, where we expected to find the huge beasts heli)-
lessly iinitilatcd, or killed outright, the last animal of the whole rookery
was seen plunging into the sea." ,

aOO ZALOPHUS CALIKORNIANUS — CALIFJKNIAN SKA LION.

.1;:

This is easily accoinplisiicd witii an cxpniciiccd crew, if (licro
is siilliciciit ^^roiind liaok IVoiii the beach for tiie animals (ore-
treat. Durinu,' our stay, an instanei' oeeurred, which not only
displayed the saj;aeity of 1 he animals, hut also their yieldinj;
disposition, when hard i)ressed in certain situations, as it' nat-
nrally desij;ned to he slain in nund)ei's e(|ual to the demands of
their human pursuers. On the south of Santa Uarhaia Islmid
was a i)lateau, elevated less than u hu'ulred feet above the sea,
«tretchin;;' to the brink (d" a <'lill' that overhunj;' the slum", and
a narrow ^orp! leadinjn' up from the beach, throuj;h which the
animals crowded to their favorite restinj^-jdace. As the sun
4lil)ped behiiul the hills, lifty to a hundred males would conjLiU'-
gate upon the spot, ami there remain until the boats were low-
ered in the morning, when inunediately the whole herd would
(puetly slip oil" into the sea and gand)ol about (bu'ing the day,
returiung as they saw the boats again h'ave the island for the
ship. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made to take
them ; but at last ti fresh breeze connneiKH'd blowing directly
from the shore, and inevented their scenting the hunters, who
landed some distance from the rookery, then cautiously ad-
vaui'ed, and suddenly yelling, and nourishing muskets, clubs,
and lances, rushed up within a few yards of them, while tlic
pleading creatures, with lolling tongues antl glaring eyes, were
quite overcome with dismay, aiul remained nearly motionless.
At last, two overgrown males broke through the line fornicd
by the men, but they paid the i)eualty with their lives befoir
reaching the water. A few moments passed, when all hands
moved slowly toward the rookery, which as slowly retreated.
This maneuvro is termed ' turning them,' ami, when once aecoin
plished, the di.sheartened creatures appear to abandon all hope
of escape, and resign themselves to their fate. The herd at
this time numbered seventy-five, which vffire soon dispatched,
by shooting the largest ones, and clubbing and lancing tlie
others, save one young Sea Lion, which was spared to see
Avhether he would make any resistance by being driven ov^^r
the hills beyond. The poor creature only moved along throngh
the prickly pears that covered the ground, when compelled by
his cruel pursuers ; and, at last, with an imploring look and
writhing in pain, it held out its fin-like arms, which Avere pierced
with thorns, in such a manner as to touch the symx)athy of tbc
barbarous sealers, who instantly pnt the sufferer out of its mis-
ery by a stroke of a heavy club. As soon as the animal is

irAHITS.

301

killed, tlu' l<)ii},'t'st spiiL's of its whiskers ur*; i)iilkMl out, tlu'ii it
is skinned, sinU its coatinj;' of fat cut in sections from its body
and lr!ins)»orte(l to the vessel, wliere, after Iteinji' 'minced,' the
oil is cxlriicted hy boilinj;. TIh' testes are taken out, and, with
Ihc selccitsl spires of whiskers, lind a market in China — the
former bciuj;' used luedieiually, and the latter for personal (una-
iiicnts.

'•At the <'lose of the season — which hists about three nuinths,
(111 the Californiu coast — a hirge majority of the ^jreat herds,
both males and fcuudes, return to the sea, and roam in all
directions in quest of food, us but few of them could find sus-
tenance about the waters contijjuous to the islands, or points
on tlic mainland, which are their annual resortiiig-places. They
live upon fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and sea-fowls; jilways
with the atldition of a few pebbles or smooth stones, some of
which are a pound in weight.* Their principal feathery food,
jiowever, is the penguin in the southern hemisphere, and the
ii\\\h in the northern ; while the manner in which they <lecoy
and catch the gaviota of the Mexican and California coasts dis-
plays no little degree of cunning. When in pursuit the animal
dives deeply under water and swims some distance from where
it disappeared ; then, rising cautiously, it exposes the tip of its
nose above the surface, at the same time giving it a rotary mo-
tion, like that of a water-bug at play. The unwary bi;d on the

" "Tlio cnoinions (luantity of food wliich would bo required to niaintaiu
the liord of luaiiy thousands, which, in former years, annually assembled
at the siiiiill ii^land of Santa Barbara, would seem incredible, if they daily
obtained the aliowance given to a male and female Sea Lion on exhibi-
tion at Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco, California, where the keeper
iufornicd me that ho fed them regularly, every day, forty pounds of fresh
fisb "

[That the destruction of fish by the Sea Lious on the coast of California
is very great is indicated by the following item, which recently went the
rounds of the newspapers: "In a recent meeting at San Francisco of the
Senate Committee on Fisheries, the State Fish Commissioners, and a com-
mittee representing the fishermen of the coast, the question as to the destruc-
tive iterfoniiances of the sea-lions in the harbor was actively discussed.
One of tlie fishermen's representatives said that it was estimated that there
were "25,000 sea-lions within a radius of a few miles, consuming from ten to
fiuf y poiiiuis each of fish per day ; the sea-lions were protected while the
tishennen were harassed by the game laws. Another witness declared that
salmon captured in the Sacrameuto river often bore the marks of injury
from sea-lious, having barely escaped with life; but it was supposed that
the sahiioii loss frequently fell victims to vue amphibian than did other
fiHhes that cannot swim as fast."— CoMn/cy, January 26, 1878.]

302 ZALOI'JIUS CALIFUliNIANL'.S — t'ALiroWNlAN SEA LION.

'$.

wing, seoiiijj tlio nh]vt'\ near hy, alif^hts to catch it, while the
Soa Lion at the saiia^ moment setth's beneath the waves, and
at one bound, witli extended Jaws, seizes it.? screaming piey,
and instantly di'vonis it.[*]

"A few years ago great inimbers «)l' Hea Lions were taken
along the coast of ri>i)er and Lower Califwnia, and thousniuls
of barrel."^'. «»f oil obtaine»l. The luimber of Seals slain exclu-
sively for their oil would appear fabulous, when we realize the
fact that it requires on an average, throu^'hout th(^ season, the
blubber of three or four Sea Li(uis to i>roduce a barrel of oil.
Tlieir thick, coarse-grained skins were not considered worth
preparing foi- market, in a country where manual labor was so
highly valued. At tlu' present tiuu', however, they are valued
for glue-sto<k, ami the seal-hunters now realize nunc compara-
tive protit from the hides tiiau from the oil. But while thf
civilized sealers, plying their vocation along tluf .seaboard of
California an<l Mexico, destroy the Lobo marhio, for the product
of its oil, skin, testes, and whiskers, the simple Aleutians of
the xVlaitka region derive from these aniuuils many of their in-
di.spensablo articles of domestic u.se ''t

To Captain Scammou's graphic accov.nt 1 add a few Ihiesfroni
the jM'u »)f a uon-scientilic writer respecting the Sea Lions of
the l-'arallones: ''Tiie Sea Lious, which congregate by thou-
sands upon the clitfs, and bark and howl and .shriek and roar
in the caves and upon the steep sunny sloi)es, are but little dis-
turbed, and oni'. can easily approach them within twenty or
thirty yards. It is an extraordinarily interesting sight to see
these nmrine nion.sters, many of them bigger than an ox, at
lilay in the .surf, and to watch the superb .skill with which they
know how to control their own motions when a huge wave
seizes them, and .seems likely to dash them to pieces against
the rocks. They love to lie in the sun upon the bare and warm
rocks ; and here they slec]), crowded together, and lying uiiou
each other in inextricable confusion. The bigger the animal
the greater his ambition appears to be to climb to the highest
summit ; and when i huge, slimy beast has mth infinite squirm-
ing attained a solitary peak, he does not tire of raising his

[* This account appeared originally in Captain Scammon's aceomit ot'tlio
" Islands oft" tlio West coast of Lower California," in J. Eoss Browne's "Be-
sources of the Pacific Slope, ' second part, p. 130 (1869), and has been quoted
by Mr. Gurucy in the " Zoologist " for 1871, p. 2762. ]

t Marine Mammalia, pp. 130-135.

{!^'^'

IIAIMTH.

303

.sIiiM'|) |H)iii(<'*l, iiiii^;;(>t-lik<> Iiciid, aiui (HiiiipIiU'ciitly looking
iiltoiil liim. Tlu'.V lire n r(ni;;li s«'t of brutes, — liink Imllics, I
>limil(l sii.v ; lor I liiivc wiitcln'tl lliciii rcpciitcilly, as a hi;;- Cci
low slioul(U'i«'<l Ills way amoiiin' liis rdlows, iraicd liis liii;;c IVont
loiiiliiiiidatc soiiu' It'ssci'seal wliicli had scciin'd a Cavorilt' spot,
1111(1 liist with howls, and if this did not sulU(;(>, with tciith and
iii:iiii luivc, cxpt'lli'd the weakiT IVoiii his hid;;iiu'iit. The sinalh'r
Svii liioMs, at h'ast those whi<'h liave h'I't their mothers, api)ear
tit liiive no ri;ihts whii ' any one is honnd to respect. Th»'y get
out of tlie way witli abject promptness, whicli proves that thoy
live in terror of the stron^^er mend)ers of the community; but
tlicy d(> not ^-ive up their idaees without liarsli comphiint and
pitcoas ;;roans."*

Dr. John A. Veatch, in his account of the (!erros or Cedros
Island, situated otVtlu^ coast of Lower California (between the
paiidlels of -ISO an<l L*tf°), doubtless refers to this species under
the niiiue of Otarinjiihafii. 1 le says : " He [the Sea LionJ is more
piolilic [than the Sea Klephant], and there are fewi-r induce-
iiiciits for his destruc^tion. lie is, however, by no means beyond
(luii^icr from the oil-man. At certain seasons, when the Lion
clianccs to have a little fat on his bones, lu; is shiughtered
most mercilessly. Fortunately for him his skin is nearly worth-
liss, ())• there wouhl be double in<lucen)ent for his <le.strnction.
Toward the north end of tho island there is a great breeding-
lila( .' for these animals. It is a small bay, two or three miles
in It iiutli, and perhaps three-lburths of a mile in breadth, sur-
iouikUmI on the land by a perpendictUar cliff, and on the ocean-
si(U' by a belt of kelp. It is thus protected both iron; winds
and waves. It is bordered with a sandj' beach, some 200 i)aces
ill bicadth. The access by land is exceedingly difllicult, auvl can
only be gained by careful clambering down where breaks and
fissincs olfer hand and foot-hold. This sequestered and quiet
jtlaco is tlu^ comfortable and appropriate resort of the lionesses
to bring forth and rear their young. It is, indeed, a great seal-
musery. ]\[y first visit to this interesting locality was in the
latter part of the month of July [1859]. Seals, in countless
nnnihc-^s, literally covered the beach. They were of every con-
ceivable size, from the young ones, seemingly a few days old,
111) to the full-grown animal. So unconscious of danger were
the little ones, that they scarce made an eflfort to get out of the

'Cliark's Nordboff, "Tho Farallou islands," iu Harper's Magazine, vol.
xlviii, p. 620, April, 1874. .

304 ZALOPIIUS CALIFORNIANUS CALIFOKNIAN SEA LIOX.

way. I ]»i('1<('(l nj niiiiiy of tlicni in my liunds; after a brief
sH'u;^gl(', tilt' litrk' captive Avould yield, aiul socincd to foai- iin
furtlicr liann. iruiidiods slept so soundly that I rolled tlicm
over belong they could be induced to open their jireat l)al)y
eyes. AVhile thousands slept and basked on the shore, nn
e<iual nundjer floated lazily in the water, or di])pe<l and divcil
about in sport.

"The mother-seals wen; nun'e timid than their youn<^'. hut

' se<'nied less alarmed tlian surprised at my approach. The look

I of startled inquiry was so human and femiidne — nay, ladylike.

that I felt like an intruder o/ the jn-ivaey of the nursery.

' "1 could not discover any individual claim set up by the

- mother for any particular little lion, but, like a great socialistic

comnuinity, maternal love seemed to l)e joint-stock property,

and each infant communist had a mother in every adult feinnle.

"The/«f/<r/-,5 of the great fiimily appeared, in i)oint of lauii-
bors, to be largely in the minority; counting, as I judged, not
the hundredth part of the adult auinuils. A few beardeth
growling old fellows tumbled about in the water, yelling and
howling in a most threatening manner at me, antl ai)proat'liin<!:
within a few feet of where I stood. A pebble tossetl at one of
them, however, would be answered by a plunge beneath the
surface antl reappearance at a safer distance.

" I witnessed an unexpected act of tenderness on the part of
one of thehugest ami most boisterous oltl threateners for a little
cue that seemetl to claim bim for papa. He was blowing and
screaming at me fearfully, when a young one at my feet hus-
tled into the water, glidetl off to the old one, and, childlike,
jdacetl its mouth up to his. The okl savage ceasetl his noise,
returning the caress, and seemed, for several seconds, to forget
his wrath at the unwelcome intruder. This show of affection
saved his life. I was, at the moment, rifle in hand, waiting a
chance to dislocate his neck. I wantetl the skull of an otariii
for my collection, and his huge size suggested him as an appro-
priate victim. I at once lost all murderous desire, antl left him
to the further enjoyment of paternal felicity.

" The noise antl uproar of the locality can scarcely be im
agiued. A huntlretl thousand seals grunting, coughing, and
shrieking at the same instant, made a idioeine pandemoniuui
I shall never forget. I will observe here that the male was
four times as large as the female."*

• * J. Eoss Browne's Kesources of tlio Pacific Slope. Sltetcliof tUe SeUk-
ment ami Exploration of Lower Californiaj 1869, p. 150.

HABITS.

305

]\Ir. Elliott, in referring to the differences between the Cali-
fornian and Alaskan Sea Lions, calls attention to the dissimi-
larity of their voices. The Northern Sea Lion, he says, " never
l)iuks or howls like the animal at the Farallones or Santa
Barbara. Young and old, both sexes, from one year and up-
ward, have only a deep bass groicl, and prolonged , steady roar;
while at San Francisco Sea Lions break out incessantly with
a •honking' bark or howl, and never roar.^''*

The Califoruian Sea Lion is now a somewhat well-known
animal with the public, various individuals having been at
(lirt'v '('lit times on exhibition at the Central Park Menagerie in
New Tork City, and at the Zoological Gardens at Philadel-
l)liia and Cincinnati, as well as Woodward's Gardens in San
Francisco. They have also formed part of the exhibition of
(litt'oront travelling shows, especially that of P. T. Barnum.
Tlicy liave also been carried to Europe, where examples have
lived for several years at the Zoological Gardens of London,
Paris, and elsewhere. Their peculiar "honking" bark, re-
ft'ired to by Mr. Elliott, is hence not unfamiliar to many who
have never met with the animal in a state of nature. Their
various attitudes and mode of life on the Farallones have also
hcon made familiar to many by the extensive sale of stereo-
scopic views of the animals and their surroundings. The Sea
Lions that have been exhibited in this country all, or nearly
all, 1)eloiig to the present species, although often wrongly
lal»elle(l '•' J^Hinetopias steUeri? The true B. stelleri ha», how-
ever, at least in one instance, ?'3en exhibited in Eastern

cities.

Tlie Californian Sea Lion seems generally not to suffer greatly
in health by confinement, if properly cared for, although deaths
from tuberculosis have repeatedly occurred. They are always
objects of great attraction to visitors, and various accounts of
their habits in confinement have been published. Mr. Heniy
Lee, in referring to two that had been for a short time at the
Brijiliton (England) Aquarium, says: "They have grown so
miu'li, and are so plump and sleek, that a visitor seeing them now
[February, 1870] for the first time since the day of their arrival,
^ould hardly recognize in them the pair of lean, ill-conditioned
animals, with ribs as visible as those of an old cab-horse, which
waddled out of their travelling crates to follow Lecomte and a
herring on the 13th of October last. What their rations had

* Condition of Affairs in Alaska, p. 158.
IMisc. Pub. No. 12 20

306 ZALOPIITTS CALIFORNIANUS CALIFORNIAN SEA LION.

been since they left tlieir home I am unable to say, but I am
inclined to suspect it was often like a midshipman's half-pay,
' nothing a-day,' and as they had no means of ' tindinjj them-
selves,' they probably had many a ' banyan <lay ' wliilst on their
way to Euroi)e. Fortunately their capability of fasting is very
great. Mr. Woodward, the proprietor of ' \\'oodward's har-
dens,' San Francisco, with whcm 1 have recently had the pleas-
ure of becoming ac«puiinted, tells mc that in numerous instances
he has receive*! sea-lions which have not eaten a morsel dur-
ing a whole month, and appeared to suffer little inconvenience
in c(»n8e(iuence. Fearing, however, that it would tell injuriously
upon the health of one which persiste<l longer than usual in
toUil abstinence, he had the beast lassoed and held fast whilst
food was forced into its stomach down an india-rubber hose-
pipe. As the males are believed to take no sustenance for three
or four months together during the breeding-season, this was
probably unnecessary. We had no trouble of this kind with
ours. They ate with appetite immediately, and although when
they arrived they looked like the omnibus horses in Punch,
which, as their driver informed an outside passenger, had been
fed on butter-tubs, and showed the hoops, ^nom avons change tout
celaJ Nearly half-a-hundredweight of fish a day for the last six-
teen weeks has been gradually converted into sea-lion flesh and
blubber, and the result is apparent in the greatly increased size
and weight of these valuable animals. Herrings and sprats
are the food which thej^ like best, and wliich we prefer to give
them, both because they are very nutritious, and because, as
they are netted flsh, there is no fear of their containing hooks.
When herrings cannot be obtained, whiting are generally sub-
stituted ; but these have to be opened, one by one, and care-
fully searched for fish-hooks which may have been left in tlieiu;
for it may be remembered that the first Otaria possessed by the
Zoological Society died in great pain, hi 1867, from having swal-
low^ed a hook which had escaped discovery among its food.
As these animals do not masticate, they are, of course, unable
to detect and nyect from the mouth any foreign substances con

cealed within the body of a fish When one of the

sea-lions takes a flsh from his keeper, the head is no sooner inside
its mouth than the tail disappears after it, before one can say
the proverbial ' Jaek Robinson'. There is not a moment's i)au.se
for deglutition ; one after another the flsh, whole and unbitteu,
disappear from sight as instantaneously as so many letters

IIAHITS.

307

slii»i)('»l into a ])illai-box. It is therefore easj' to administer
physic wiuMiever iiiedicnil treatment may be thouj^bt desirable;
iiiid tiic necessity for it has occasionally occurred. Soon after
her arrival the female exhibited symptoms of distemper, a dis-
ease to which these animals, like dojis, are liable "*

In cai>ti\ ity these animals appear to become stronjjfly attached
to each otlier, so much so that in case one of a pair dies, the
other is very apt to die soon after, of {j^rief. They have also
been known to i)voi)a}iate in continement, an instance of which is
related by ]Mr. F.J. Thomi)Son in his interestiuj^ paper recently
jmblishcd in "Forest and Stream," on "Tlu* Habits and Breed-
iiij; of the Sea Lions in (Japtivity,''t based on observations
made at the Zooloji^ical Garden in Cincinnati, Ohio. As his
pa]»er contains, besides a general account of the habits of these
iiiterestin}>- animals, several novel points, I give it place iu
full :

"In the early part of June, 1877, I went, sent by the Zoolog-
ical Society of Cincinnati, to Chicago to receive some black
sealions {ZaJophm yiUespiei) which had arrived there from the
southern coast of California. On my arrival I found that the
female had calved on the jjrevious night, therefore thought it
Inist to lie over for a day in order that the yoiing might acquire
a little extra strength to bear the fatigue of the railway journey
to Cincinnati. They all arrived iu the garden in fine condition,
but had to be kept in their shipping crates for the first few days,
until an old beaver pond could be arranged as temporary quar-
ters for them, while the large basin intended for their perma-
nent home could be built. During this time, on account of
ii liea\y freshet in the Ohio River, the water iu the pond became
(luite muddy, whi(!h attected them so nmch that they were un-
alilc to retain their food, invariably vomiting up their fish some
one or two hours after feeding. By giving small doses of Ro-
ehelle salts for a few days, all recovered, but the calf «lied from
a violent attack of cholera infantum, caused no doubt by its
mother's milk being affected by the nviddy water.

"A sliort time before th(^ calf was taken sick my attention
was attra(^ted to the pe(;uliar appearance of the mother on
t'meri.ii|o from the water after taking her customary bath.
She was <'on'pletely covered with a whitish oleaginous sub-
stance, about the consistency of semi-fluid lard, which seemed

} ' « I

" Land and Water, Feb. 5, 1876, p. 104.

t Forest and Stream (uowspaper), vol. xii, p. 66, Fob. 23, 1879.

308 ZALOPIIUS CALIFORNIANUS CALIFORNIAN SEA LION.

to ooze out all over her. As soon as she got into the crate
with the young one, she eonnnenced rolling-, so that in a sliort
time the young one and the inside of the crate were eoniph'tcly
covered with it. The (.'alf seemed to enjoy it hugely, and rolled
about until his coat glistened as if he had just left the hands ot
a first-class tonsorial artist. It instantly struck me that hi.s
mother had been i)re])aring him for the water, and I inninMli-
ately tested the matter by taking him out ard i)lacing him on
the edge of the pond, when in a few monu-nts he began to i)a(l-
die about in the water, something he had never before attemi)te(l
altl tough he had been almost daily placed in the same posi-
tion.

"As soon as the large basin was completed, and they were
transferred to it, I had a fine opportunity of observing the
tyrannical attentions of the male toward the female <luring nit
ling season. He constantly swam back and forth along the
partition, which separated him from another male, fre(iiiciitly
emU'avoring to get through, splintering and tearing the niils
with his powerful canine teeth. If the female attempted to
approach the division she was immediately forcibly <lriven back,
when he would redouble his eflbrts to get through, barking iiiid
roaring as if beside himself with rage. This would be kcj)! up
until late at night, when the female was allowed to go into the
house situated in the centre of the basin, when he would follow
and place himself immediately in the doorway so as to ]>r('veiit
her egress. Tie never 8e<'nie<l to sleep soundly, rm he invaria-
bly kei)t up {ii series of grunts and muffled roars, as if he were
fighting his battles over again in his slee]). 1 would frequently
annoy him by stealing up softly and then su«ldenly scrapinj;
the gravel with my foot, when ho would instantly stai"t up,
plunge into the basin, swim rapidly back and forth, barkinjr
with all his might, until he was satisfied there was no interloper
about, when he would sullenly return to his post .and gradu-
ally drop off again into his troubled sleep. Frequently at
night the two males would climb to the roof of the house,
and in their efforts to get at each other through the i)artitioii.
would raise such a din that persons living at quite a distance
from the garden would frequently ask me the cause of the
uproar.

"At the end of some two months there was a change, when
the female commeiiced jilaying and coquetting with the inale,
frequently pinching him so sharply as to make him snarl with

lUl

HABITS,

309

■ ■ a i i

jtiiiii, iiiul if lie seemed to be much out of humor she would
s(»(>tlu> him by swimmiiijj; up and jiivinj? him a goo«l old-fiwh-
ioiM'd conjuf'al kiss. Finally they quieted down to the hum-
(liniii of regular wedded life, and early in October I noticed
tliiit the female was suffering from a violent catarrh, which
(jiiidually disappeared, followed by a dry cough, particularly at
nifilit. It was in INIarch when I first thought she showed signs
of i>regnancy, and in May, from her appearance when out of
the water, I became convinced of it. On Juiu^ 25 the young
OHO was born, nuiking the period of gestation as nearly as I
could judge about ten months, and it was some days before the
nutther would allow me to handle it, and when I did succeed in
so doing it was always at the risk of getting a nip, as he was
certainly the most ill-tempered, snarling little brute with which
11 dry nurse could be vexed. I soon found out that there was
hut one way of handling him with impunity, and that was by
suddenly catching him just back of the tlippers and <iuickly
lifting him clear of the floor, when he would snap and struggle
for a few moments and then quietly give up. I frnpiently took
hiiu out of the liouse for the purpose of showing him to friends,
and for the first three or four weeks he never made the slight-
est attemi)t to get into the water, Jilthough I invariably j)laced
him on the lip outside of the door and loosed my hold in order
that he could be fully seen. During this period the mother
was let out for a bath twicje daily, and after she had played
ahout as long as she wished she wouhl swim uj) to the closed
door, rear up on the sill and beUow until she was allowed to
jict in to her calf. Invariably in the morning, so soon as I
would start across the bridge; in order to turn her out, the male
would swim up to the door and await her appearance, always
exacting his morning kiss before he would allow her to plunge
into the water. After playing with her for a few minutes he
would coinnience sentry duty, back and forth along the parti-
tion, (M'casionally making fierce rushes if the other approached
too near to it.

"In the nieauwhile, as the young one never showed the
slightest inclination to go into the water, in spite of frequent
"Iiportunities to do so, I began to watch for a second appear-
iiiicc of the oleaginous matter. During the fifth week after
hirtli, on going into the house one morning, I found marks of
U'east' in every direction, and the youngster shone as if he had
just emerged from an oil tank. Taking a bucket, I filled it with

1' "..!

:/,?.:

•n:i

! .;*

310 ZALOIMIUS CAr.irOKNIANM'S CALIFOKXIAN hK\ LIOX.

water, ]>liU'o«l it in his way, and lie iiiinie<llately sUwk liis liejul
to the bottom of it. »^'arinf!; an accident, as the water in the
basin only reached within abont a Coot ()f the toi>ofthe lij) suv-
ronndin;;' the house, I had the carpenter c«)nstnu't a sniall.
shallow, woodi'n tank inside tlu^ lar«;er one, with a slopinji' plat-
forni leadinji' into it. So soon as the door was opened connect-
ing with it he followed his mother, and in a short time was
liaving high Jinks swimming an<l diving to his full bent. Wiion
he tired he woahl <piietly rest in the water with liis head l.viii},'
across his mother's neck, or he would scrandde up on tlu' plat-
form, stretch himself, have a short na]), and then connneiicc
his play again. So soon as I thought he had gained sunicicnt
strength the small taidv was removed, and he was allowed the
run of the larger one, when his woiulerful swimming jtowers
cam*' into full i)lay. I have freciuently seen him dash olf with
such velocity that the water would ])art and tly from each side
of his neck.with a fairly hissing sound. Again he wouhl dive,
and then suddenly make a succession of salmon like leaps witli
such rajtidity that I could easily imagine with what little dif-
ficidty he would be able to capture the swiftest of tish. One of
the favorite ways of annising himself was by taking a chip—
several of which were always kept in the basin — out on the lip,
lying on his back, and playing with it with front flippers and
month, almost precisely as an infant Avould act with a (!onniioii
rattle. At first he was rather shy of the old male, but gradu-
ally took the greatest delight in swimming about with, and
trying to indnce him to join in a game of romps; but the old
fellQW was proof against all his wiles, and always good-na-
turedly endeavored to get rid of him.

"I noticed that the female's cough <lisappeared imitiediately
after the birth of the young one; but about the nuddle of
August both her appetite and actions became variable, soim'
days feeding and seeniing lively as usual, on others she would
either take but little or entirely refuse her food. Slie grachi-
ally grew worse until Septend)er 8, when, on going to the
basin in the morning, I missed her, and found the male busily
engaged in diving just at one i)articular si)ot. lie liiially
succeeded in bringing the body to the surface, and wh«'u the
keepers attemjjted to remove it he repeate<lly charged, and it
was only by great care and watchfulness that they avoided
being bitten. On dissection it was found that tuhercuhmi^
that scourge of all zoological collections, was the cause of her
death.

ITAIJITS.

311

''Till' youn}? one did not seem to notice tlic loss ot'liis niotlier
until about twenty-four liours alter her death, when ho com-
uiciued to sidk, and obstinately rel'nsed to eat, in spite ol' every
ctVort and stratej^ein to induce him t*» do so. lie jrradually
wasted away, and linally died of .starvation on October 10,
liaviiij; viciously attempted to bite me a few hours before his
death.

" The old male f>Tieved so over the loss of his mate that for
8onit' time T was afraid we would lose him also, and at the end
ofabour six weeks he became so thin that 1 thouj'ht it best to
remove him to a small tank in-doors. Since, he has been improv-
iaS' slowly \\\) to within ten days, since when he shows a marked
iiiiinovement."

The Otaries, wherever occurring, ai^pear to closely aj^ree in
their habits, especially durin}^ the breeding season. As au
interesting supi)lement to the history of the two Northern spe-
cies of Sea Lions already given J transcribe the following
concise account of the great Southern Sea Lion {Otaria ju-
bnta), based on recent observations made at the I'^dkland
Islands, without, however, endorsing the author's "ballasting"
theory :

"The Sea Lion attains its full growth at nine years, and
annually <'omes back to the place it was born to breed and shed
its hair. The former o])eration occurs between the 25th of Decem-
l)er and the 15th of January, the latter in April aiiviMay. The
Lions connnence to arrive at their 'rookery' in November to
wait for the females^ who do not haul up until within two or
three days of pui)ping. They are fatter at this time than at any
other, and have to take in a quantity of ballast to keep them
down, without which they could not dive to catch tish. 1 have
opened them at this time, and found, in a pouch they have in-
side, ui)wards of twenty-five pounds of stones, some as large as a
goose-egg. As they get thin they have the power of throwing
these stones up, retaining only a sufiicient quantity to keep
them from coming up too freely to the surface.

"They are very savage in the breeding-season, and are con-
tinually lighting, biting large pieces out of esieh other's hide,
and sometimes killing the females. At this time they become
an easy prey to man, as they will stand and be killed without
trying to get away.

"The Lioness has her first pup at ttiree years of age, never
more than one at a time, and comes up to have intercourse with

iiilll

I't 1

li I *i

ti !,

312

GENUS CALLDUIIINUS.

the Lion at two, and as soimi as tho pup is born Tlioy

suckle their yoniij^ five niontlis before they are taken to tlic
sea, by which time the pu]* lias shed its first liair. Ilef'on- tlic
mother takes her pup to lish she has to ballast it, and I have
seen a Lioness tryinj;' for hours to make her pup swallow small
stones at the water's edye.

"The female keeps her pu]) with her until two or three weeks
before the next breedinji-season, when she drives it from licr.
About this time the yearlin{j[8 will be found some few miles
from the old rookery. . . .

" The Lions stay as lon^' as two months on shore, dr.riiiff the
breeding-season, without going into the water. During that
time their fat gives them suttieient nourishment. After the
season is over some of them are so thin and weak that they
are but Just able to crawl into the water. I have killed them iu
this state, and not one particle of stone have I found in them."*

Genus CALLOKHINUS, Gray.

CallorhinuM, Guay, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Loud., 1859, 359. Type ''Arctocephahs

iirainiix, Gniy," —I'hoca umiia, Linii*^.
Arctocephalm, Gill, Proc. Essex Institute, v, 18(56, 7, 11. Typo " Vhoca

umina, Liimu'UH." Not Arciocephalm, F. CuviiT, IHiM.

Molars ~, small. Facial portion of skull short, broad, con-
vex, and but slightly depressed ; nasals short, rapidly narrow-
ing posteriorly. Palatal surface short, narrowed behind, with
the hinder border rather deeply concave. Toe-flaps very loiij;,—
nearly as long as the rest of the foot.

CaUorhinuSy in coloration, character of the pelage, size, ;;eu-
eral form, and dental formula, is rather closely allied to Arcto-
cephalus, from which, however, it is readily distinguished by the
form of the facial portion of the skull, which in Arctocephalus is
narrower, longer, and much less convex, with much longer na-
sals. From the other genera of the Otaries it is distinguish-
able not only by coloration and the character of the pelago, but
by its weaker dentition, and the strongly marked cranial <lifler-
ences, which are too numerous and obvious to require detailed
enumeration. It is the only North American genus which has
the upper molars (5 — 0.

Very young skulls and skulls of females of the different spe-
cies of Otaries differ from each other very little in general form,
and in some cases are not readily distinguishable, especially in

* Lf'tter from Captain Henry Pain, of the 8. S. " Scanderia'' to Mr. F. Cole-
man of the Falkland Islands Company, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., IH72, pp.
681.(582.

CALLORIIINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL. 313

fiiiuics. Tn iill, tho intiu'orbital rejj^iou in relatively broad and
slioir, ami becomes relatively more and more narrowed and
k'li^tlu iie«l in the adnlt. In yonnjf speeimenH, and always in
till' t'ciiijiles, except in Arcfocrplialufi, the mastoid processes re-
luiiiii almost wholly nndeveloped. Amon^jf the North American
species, EumetopinH is easily re(;o.<;-ni/ed at any aj;e by its dental
loriuula and larjje size. Tho yonng and females of GaUorhhius
and ZitlophuN are easily separated, aside from diil'erences of den-
tition, by the shape of tho mnzzle, bnt especially by the aseend-
iufi limb of the intermaxillary. In Zalophtifi it gradnally nar-
rows posteriorly and ends in a slender point near the middle of
the nasals. In Cnllorhinns it widens posteriorly and ends ab-
ruptly (piite near the anterior border of tho nasals.

Tlie (listribntion of the genus is almost exactly the same as
that of Eumetopim, — namely, the shores of the Noi th Pacitic, —
and, like that genus, is represented by only a single species,
the well-known Alaskan " Fur Seal."

CALLORHINUS URSINUS, (Unne) Gray.

Northern Fur Seal; Sea-Bear.

rmt8 mariniiit, Stkller, Nov. Comm. Acad. Petrop.,ii, 1751, 3;51, pi. xv.

I'hova iim)ni, Linn6, Syst.Nat., i, 1758, 37 (from Stellcr).— Sciireber, Siin<^th.,
iii, 1758, 289.— SiiAW, Gon. Zool., i, 1800, 2^5, pi. Ixii.— Godmax,
Amor. Nat. Hist., i, 1826, 346 (in part). — Fischer, Synop. Mam.,
IH29, 231.— Pallas, Zoog. Rosso-Asiat., i, 1831, 102.

Oiamurnina, P^ron, Voy. Terr. Anstr., ii, 1816, 39, 41.— Desmarest, Nouv.
Diet. Hist. Nat., xxv, 1817, 595 ; Mam., i, 1820, 249.— Harlan, Faun.
AniPT., 1H25, 112.— Gray, Griffith's Cuvicr's An. Kingd., v, 1829,
lt<2.— Hamilton, Marino Ampbii>., 1839, 253, pi. xxi. — Nilsson,
Arch. f. Naturg., 1841, 331 (in part only).— MOller, Arch. f. Naturg.,
1841, 333.— Wagner, Schreber'sSiingt., vii, 1846, 65 (in part only) ;
Arch. f. Naturg., 1849, 39. — Von Sciirenck, Amur-Lanrte, i, 1859,
189.

Phoca {Otaria) ursina, RicnARDSON, Zoiil. Beechoy's Voy., 1839, 6.

Oiaria {VuUorhinus) ursinua, Peters, Mouatsb. Akad. Berlin, 1866, 373, 672.

Arctoccphahia ur8inu8, Lesson, Man. de Mam., 1827, 203. — Gray, Cat. Seals,
1850, 41 (not of F. Cuvier, or only in part) ; Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.,
1859, 103, 107, pi. Ixxiii (skull). — Gill, Proc. Essex Institute, v,
18(i6, 13.— Scott, Mam. Recent and Extinct, 1873, 8.— Clark, Proc.
Zoiil. Soc. Loud., 1878, 271, pi. xx (colored figures of male, female,
and young).

Callorhiniw iirdnus, Gkay, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1859, ;}59, pi. Iviii (skull) ;
Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 44, fig. 16 (skull) ; Ann. and Mug. Nat.
Hist., 3d ser., xviii, 1866, 234 ; Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 15 ;
Hand-List Seals, etc., 1874, 32, pi. xix (skull). — Allen, Bull. Mus.
Couip. Zoiil., ii, 73, pU. ii, iii (skull, etc.).— Scammon, Marino
Mamni., 1874, 141, pi. xxi, figg. 1, 2, and ligg. 1-6 in text (animal). —
Elliott, Cond. Aftairs in Alaska, 1874, 123. •»

i r: l

314 CALLORIIINUH IIRSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

Phma niijrii , Pai.i.as, Z(>o>f. R<mHn-AHiat.,i, 1h:U, 107 (yoniij;).

Otaria knulivnnUiikowl, liKssoN, Diet. CIuhh. il'lliHt. Nut., xiii, 18!i8, ■l',JO(a

Umus murinuH, Sti-lltT.
1 Olttria fabncii, Lkssox, Diet. CIiihm. d'HiMt. Nat., xiii, 1828, 419 {=Phm

iirxiiiii, FaUriciiis, F. Gnuiil. (5 — "(Jn't-iiland").
AretoccpluiluH monlrrie.im, Ohay, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Load., 1857, :U50 (in part

only).
ArctoccphuluH mli/orniaiiun, GliAY, Cat. Seals and Wlialos, Mki, 51 (in part

only = J. moiitiriniKiM).
McerbUr, Steli.kii, UfHchri-ib. von Hondorban-n McorthitTen, 175H, lf>7.
Le Chut marhi, Kkaschennimkow, Hist. Kanitsch., i, I7t)4, :{l(i,
Oiirn marin, Huffox. Hist. Nat., Siippl., vi, 178'2, 'A'M), pi. xlvii (in part).
Ursine Sml, 1'ennant, Synop. Quad., 1771, :{44 (liasod mainly on 8ti<ller);

Hittt. Quad., ii, 17y:{, 281 (in i»art).
Fur Seal, Scammon, Ovt-rland Monthly, iii, 18(51), :}93 (babita).

DESCRIPTION.*

Color.— (il/ir/Ze.) — Tlu* jjeiieral color above, except over the
shoulders, i.s nearly black, varying in different individuals of
equal age I'rouj nearly pure bljick to rufo-grayish blsMjk. Over
the shoulders the color is quite gray. The sides of the nose and
the lips are brownish, as is a considerable splice behind the angle
of the mouth, and a small spot behind the ear. The neck in front
is more or less gray. Tae breast and the axilliB are brownish-
orange. The limbs are reddish-brown, especially near their
junction with the body, as is also the abdomen. The hairs in-
dividually vary considerably in color, some being entirely blaek
nearly to their base, .and others entirely light yellowish -brown;
others are dark in the middle and lighter at ea<;h end. The uakeil
skin of the hind liuibs, the nose, and the anal region is black.

{Female.) — The general (!olorof the female is much hghter than
that of the male. Above it is nearly uniformly gray, va^.^^ngto
darker or lighter in different individuals and with age. The
color about the mouth is brownish, varying to nifous, of which
color are the axillse, the breast, and the abdomen. The .sides
are brownish-gray. At the base all the hairs are iisually brown-
ish, like the under-fur, with a broad 8ubt«rmiual bar of black,
and tipped for a greater or less distance with gray. The vari-
ation in different individuals in the general color results from
the varying extent of the gray at the ends of the hairs.

* The ttichuical matter here following includes that previously given in my
former paper on the Otariidce, with here and there slight verbal changes, and
t^ o addition at a few points of considerable new matter, especially in the
tables of measurements, which are based almost wholly on an examination
of new material. The remarks on individual variation might be arapUnea
by reference to many other specimens, but this has not been thought neo-
'essary.

Ifl

PKI.AOE.

315

( Yiiiinfi.) — Tln' ;,f<'ii('ral color of tlu* iii)|M'r Nurfiiceof the boily in
tin' yoiiii;;-, previous to tlii' first moult, is uiiilbrmly {{lossy l>la(!k.
Tilt' It >;ion iii'ouml tlu' mouth is ycllowisli l)rown. The neck in
Irtiiit is yiayish-l»hu'k. Tluj axilla" arc pale yellowish-brown; a
8(»iin'\viiiit darker sliadt' of the same color extends posteriorly
aiitl inward toward the median line of the belly, uniting; on the
aiitfi'itir portion of the abdomen. The {jfreat-er part of the lower
sinriu't", liowevcr, is dusky brownish-jjray, the rest being bhu'k,
lint less intensely so than the back. SpecinuMis of equal Jige
vary much in coh)r, some specimens corresponding nearly with
tilt' aliove descriptuMi, while others are much darker. On the
head and sides of the neck a portion of the hairs are foinnl on
ilitsc inspection to be obscurely tipped with gray. After the
lirst moult the pelage beccmies gra«lually lighter, through the
cxtcnsio' jf the gray at the tips of the hairs, especially in the
lliiialcs, the twt) s«>xes being at first alike. Contrary to what
lias been asserttul, the young are provided from birth with a
li)n;i coat of silky under-fur, of a lighter color and sparser than
tlic lunler-fur of the adults.

PklaCtE. — The pelage in this species consists of an outer cov-
ering of long, tiattened, moderately cojirae hair, l>eueath which
is a dense coat of long tine silky fur, which reaches on most
parts of the body nearly to the ends of the hairs. The hairs are
tlii('k«ir toward the end than at the base, but their clavate form
is most distinctly seen in the first pelage of the young. In
Ii'ngtli tlie hair varies greatly on the ditterent parts of the bcwly.
It is longest on the top of the head, especial' in the males,
which have a well-marked crest. The hair is nuich longer on
thti anterior half of the body tlmn on the posterior half, it being
longest on the hinder part of the neck, where in the males it is
very coarse. On the crown the hair has a length of 41i mm.; on
the hinder i)art of the neck it resiches a length of oO to 00 mm.
From this point posteriorly it gra^lually shortens, and in^ir the
tail has a length of only 20 mm. It is still shorter on the limbs,
the ui)per side of the digits of the hind limbs being but slightly
covered, while the anterior limbs are quite naked as far as the
carjiiis. The males have much longer hair than the females,
iu which it is much longer than in Eumetopias stelkrL*

' From tlic accountH j^iven by most writt-rs it wouhl seoin that (Hariajubata
is provided with a conspicuoiiB mane, but in the few accurate descriptions
in which tlie length of the longest hairs is stated, the so-called "flowing
mane"— which refers only to the greater length of the hair on the neck and
shoulders as compared with the other regions of the body — does not appear

31 n CALLORHIXrS rRSINL'S — XORTHKRN I'lTU SEAL.

The whiskers arc cyliiHlricul, I(Hl;,^ slender, and tapcrinn, and
vary with a^'c in h-nj^th and i-olor. In the .voun;;' (hey are l)lack;
hiter they ai'e h^ht colored at (he base, and <lnsky at the ends.
In nuitnni sjieeiniens they are either entirely white, or white at
thi^ base and brownish-white toward ,he tips.

Size. — ^Mr. IClliott lias ^ivena table showinu' tluMveij'ht, size.
and rate of ;;rowth of the i''nr Seal, from tho a^c of one week to
six years, based on actual wei<;htand rneasnrennMit, with ane.sti
miit« of the size an«l weijjht of s|iecini»'ns from ei^ht to twenty
years of aye. l-'rom thif; lable it appears that the pups wliciia
week old have a len<,fth of from twelve to fourteen inches and u
Aveiyht of six to seven and a half poun<ls. At six months did
the lenj;th is two feet and the weij^ht about thirty pounds. At
one year the averaj;t h-njifth of six examples was found to lie
thirty-ei};ht inches, uul the weiyht thirty-nine pounds, the tnalos
and females at this time bein;;' alike in size. T''l' average weij^lit
of thirty males at the a.u'e of two years is {i'iven as lifty-eiylit
pounds, and the lenj^th as forty-live inches. Thirty-two inalos
at the aj^e of three years were found to yive an averajje weight
of eij^hty-seveu pounds, and an averajje length of fifty -two
inidies. Ten males at the aye of four averaged one hundred
and thirty-li vo pounds in weight, and fifty-eight inches in h'nj-tli.
A mean of five examples five years old is: weight, two hundred
pounds ' "'••jfth, sixty-five indies. Three males at six years
gave rage weight of two hundred and eighty pounds,

a th of six feet. The estimated average weight of males

_ight years and upward, when fat, is given as four linn
Ui^d to five liundred pounds, and tlie average length as six feet
three inches to six feet eight inches. Mr. Elli'tt further adds
tluit the average weight of the females is from eighty to eighty

to bii iuiy iiiorc truly a inant' than in KumctopUtH xtclliri, CoUorhinuH urmiit.
ZfilophuH califormanuH, Antmrphalitu "falklundicnn", or in any of the Arctoc-
plmU. All \\\v 8t'a Bears and Si-a Lions, aceordin}^ to authorH, have the hair
much longeron the anterior than on the posterior half of the body; iiudin
the Hair Seals it is not longer than in the Fur Seals. The reHeinMiinctt'
the nuiiie of the Lion, with which in several species this long hair li:is l"'iu
compared, is doubtless partly imaginary and jiartly due to the loose skin on
the neck and shoulders b(ung throw;',' into thick tVdds wln^n these iniimiilj
erect the head. I have not, however, seen the* distinct crest formed I'.v tin
long hairs on the crown of the males of C. nrshiiin nu'utioned as fK'iiininir in
the other species, unless it is alluded to in the specilie name coroiiatn, fjivin
by Blainville to a South American .specimen of Fur Seal, and in tlie nauie
eulophua of Scott. It is certainly not possessed by the E. stelleri.

Hizi:.

317

111;; '!';. V^''"'

fflliV'i

;i'lir'!H.i

'I'''''

f • " "ill

I |i

if %P

318 CALLORHINUS URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

five pounds, but that they range in weight from seventy-five to
one hundred and twenty pounds, and that the five and six year
ohl males, on their first appearance in May and June, when fat
and fresh, may Aveigh a third mor*^ than in July, or cA the time
those mentioned in the table were weighed, which would thus
indicate an average maxinuim weight of about 375 pounds for
the six-year-old males. Acconling, however, to my own meas-
urements of old males, from mounted and unmounted specimens,
the length is between seven and eight feet; and of a full-grown
female, about four feet. Captain Bryant states* that the males
attain mature size at about the six 'i year, when their total
length is from seven to eight feet, their girth six to seven feet,
and their weight, when in full flesh, from Ave to seven hundred
pounds. The females, he says, are full grown at four years old,
when they measure four feet in length, two and a half in girth,
and weigh eighty to one hundred pounds. The yearlings, lie
says, weigh from thiiiy to forty pounds. The relative size of
the adults of both sexes and the young is well shown in the
accompanying cut (see p. 317), drawn by Mr. Elliott.

The subjoined table of external measurements may be taken
as indicating the general size of the adult males and females,
and the young at thirty -five days old. In some respects the
dimensions are only approximately correct, being taken from
mounted specimens ; in the main, however, they are sufficiently
accurate. A few measurements taken from the soft skin are
also given ; I accidentally omitted to make a complete series of
measurements of the skins before they were mounted. In addi
tion to the six specimens of Captain Bryant's collection, I am
indebted to Mr. W. H. Dall for measurements of a male and a
female, taken by him t from the animals immediately after thev
were killed. The female (said by Mr. Dall to be six years old)
is evidently adult, but the male, being but little larger, seeras
not to have been fully grown. In the last column of the table
a few measurements are given of a male specimen of the Arcfo-
cephalus ^'•falklandicus,'" +aken by Dr. G. A. Maack from a fresh
specimen coUeC d by inm at Cabo Corrientes, Buenos Ayres.
This specimen appears also to have not been fully grown.

* Bull, Mu8. Conip. Zoul., vol. ii, p. 95.

t At Saint George's Islaiul, Alaska, August, 1808.

SIZ£,

319

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320 CALLOKIIINUS URSINUS — NORTHEKN FUR SEAL.

Ears. — The ears are long, narrow, and pointed, being abso-
lutely longer than those of the E. Hlelleri, though the latter
animal is two or three times the larger.

l^'OBE Limbs. — The handvS are very long and narrow, with a
broad cartilaginous flap extending beyond the digits, which
has a nearly even border. Both surfaces are naked the whole
length ; not covered above with short hair, as in EumetopinH and
Otaria. The nails are rudimentary, their position being indi-
cated by small circular horny disks, as in all the other Eared
Seals.

Hind Limbs. — The feet are very long, nearly half their length
being formed by the cartilaginous flai>s that project beyond the
ends of the toes. They widen much less from tlie tarsus to the
ends of the toes than these i)art8 do in iJ. steUeri, and the 1 ligth
of the toe-flaps is relatively many times greater than in the
latter species. The toes of the posterior extremities are of
nearly equal length. The outer are slightly shorter than the
three middle ones. The nails of the outer toes are rudiment-
ary and scarcely visible ; those of the middle toes are strong
and well developed.

Skull. — In adult specimens the breadth of the skull is a little
more than half its length, the point of greatest breadth Ix'in},' at
the posterior end of the zygomatic arch. The muzzle or facial por-
tion is broad and high, or greatly prmluced, much more so even
than In EumetopidH,* Tlie postorbital procasses vary from mh-
quadrate to sub-triangular, sometimes produced posteriorly into
a latero-posteriorly diverging point, as in ZaJophvH. Tlu^ post-
orbital cylinder is broad and moderately elongate<l. The post-
orbital constriction is well marked, giving a prominently quad
rate form to the brain-case, the latero-anterior angles of which
vary somewhat in their sharpness in different specimens. The
sagittal and occipital crests are well developed in the old males,
nearly as much as in Eumetopias, as are also the mastoid pro-
cesses. Tue palatine bones terminate midway between the last
molar teeth and the pterygoid hanudi ; their posterior outline
is either slightly concave, or deeply and abruptly so. The ))a]a
tal surface is flat, but slightly depressed posteriorly, and but
moderately so anteriorly. The zygomatic foramens are broad,
nearly triangular, and truncate posteriorly. The posterior and
anterior nares are of nearly equal size in the males, with their

* Soo figs. S9-41, ft^malt!, rather youiig, about f natural size. Si)eciuien
No. 0537, National Museum.

SKULL.

321

! Ill

Vui, 39. — Callorhtnus urmiim. Femal*?.

!^ H

Fui. 40. — Ctilloikiniis ursinun. lYMiiale.
^^lisc. Pub. Xo. 12 21

i I

322 cALLoiniixus ursin''« — northkhx vvu seal.

transvcrsi; and verti(;al «liani«'tcrs (Mnial; in the fcmalos the
posterior nares are depressed, their traiifsver.se diameter iMJug
greater tlian the; vertieal. Tlie nasal bones sire nineh hroiuhT
in front than lu'liind.

The k)\ver jaw is strongly deveh)ped, bnt rehitively h'ss mass-
ive tlum in Eumetopins. The coronoi<l ])rocesses are higli and
pointed, bnt nnieh more devek)ped in the males than in the
females. The raniial tuberosities are greatly produced, espe-
cially the hinder one.

FlG. 41. — Callorhinus Hmiiins. Fciiiiilc,

Fig. 42, — Callorhinus vrHinuH. Fonialo.

SKULL.

323

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324 CALLORHINUS URSINU8 NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

Teeth. — The dentition is relatively much weaker than in
either Eumetopias or Zalophus, or even in Aretocephalu-s. As
usual in the Otaries the outer pair of upper incisors is imioh
larger than the others and caniniform ; the two central pairs
are flattened antero-posteriorly, and in youth and middle a<;e
their crowus are deeply divided by a transverse groove. The
lower incisors are smaller than the upper and are hollowed ou
their inner face but are not grooved. The canines are larj;e
and shar])ly pointed, the lower somewhat curved. The molars
are small and closely approximated, with sharply conical crowns
and all siugle-rooted. They have no accessory cusp, or only
very minute ones in early life. The roots are usually grooved
both externally and internally, sometimes slightly so, but some-
times so deeply that the fang seems to consist of two connate
roots. The distinctness of these grooves varies not only in dif-
ferent individuals, but in the corresponding teeth of the two
sides of the mouth in the same skull,* so that it is not improb-
able that teeth may be found in which the grooves of the fangs
may be entirely obsolete, or so deep as to nearly or quite divide
the fang into two distinct roots. The roots of the molars are
very short, and but partly fill their alveoli ; hence when the
periosteum is removed they fit so loosely that they require to be
cemented in to prevent their constantly falling out whenever
the skull is handled. The canines and the incisors have much
longer roots, which more nearly fill their sockets.

Skeleton. — Vertebral formula: Cervical vertebrae, 7 ; dorsal,
15 ; lumbar, 5 ; sacral, 3 ; caudal, 8 to 10.

The skeleton in its general features resembles that of Eime'
topias Htelleri, already described. The bones of C. ursinns are,
however, all slenderer, or smaller in proportion to their lengta,
than in that species, the general form of the body being more
elongated. The scapulai are shorter and broader than in E.
stelleri, the i)roportion of breadth to length being in the one as
11 to 10 and in the other as 13 to 10. The pelvis is more con-
tracted! opposite the acetabula in C. ursinus than in E. delleri,
and the last segment of the sternum is also longer and nar-
rower. The diiferen(;es in the skull of the two forms have
already been pointed out in the generic comparisons. In pro-
portions, the principal difference, aside from that already men-
tioned as existing in the form of the scapula, consists in the

* See Bull. Mub. Comp. Zool., vol. ii, pi. ii, figs. 6 b and 7 e.

SKELETON.

325

loiiyor neck and longer hind feet in C ursinm; the ratio of
the length of the cervical vertehiw to the whole length of the
skeleton being as 15 to 100 in J-J. xtelleri, and as 2i5 to 100 in G.
ur.slniis; and the ratio of the length of the foot to the tibia
being in the former as l.'J to 10, and in the other as 10 to 10.
Tlie following nieasnrenients of two adnlt males and two adult
females indicate the length of the principal bones, and of the
different vertebral regions.

MeasurementH of the Skeleton.

Adult d
No. 2922.

■Vriiolt> longth of skeleton (including skuU) . .

Lcnjith of skull

1-criirtli of cervical vcrtebrsa

Lciict h of (loraal v('rtc#86

Lontstli of lumbar vertebral

I.cngtli of siicral vertebra>

Lcujitli of caudal vertebra)

Lenglli of first rib

Li'ii(;tli of first rib, osseous portion

I.ciifjtli of first ril), cartilaginous portion

Lin^tli of tbivrt ril>

Linjitli of third rib, osseous portion

[ Lengtli of third rib, cartilaginous portion

Li'n;;th <if sixth rib

I.('ni;tli of sixth ril), osseous portion

Lt'iif;tli of sixtli rib, cartilaginous portion ...

[ Lcnyth (.i ttutli rib

1 Length of tenth rib, osseous portion

Lt'n;;th of tentli rib, cartilaginous portion ...
'. Lcntith of twelfth ril), osseous portion only

Lengtli of fifteenth rib, osseous portion only. .

, Leuj^tli of sternum

, Lenjith of sternum, 1st segment

Lingtli (if sternum, 2d segment

Loiif-th of sternum, 3d segment

Lengtli of sternum, 4tb segment

Lcufftli of sternum, 5th segment

I.i'tietli of sternum, 6th segment

I'Cnj;! li (if steraum, 7th segment

Lcnjith of sternum, 8th segment

LfUKlh of scapula

BiCiidtli of scapula

Great PHt heiglit of its spine

I'fiiirth of humerus

I-cni,'! h (if radiusi

Length of ulna

Lenjjtli of carpus

2,040

275

430

770

270

160

140

212

112

100

395

265

130

465

350

115

590

360

230

345

210

640

135

115

250

295

220

205

243

Adult (f
Ko. 2923.

1,840
245
360
680
245
145
145
178
105

73
370
210

90
400
295
105

340

320

205

690

127

110

217

285

220

195

223

Adult ?
No. 292.').

Adult S

No. 2924.

1, 370 ,
200 j
300 :
520 I
185 '■
105 :
160 !
120 ,
55 '
65 '
205 j

140 ;

65 '

323 I

230 !

405

265

140

210

150

385

1,215

185

172

470

173

120

lib

175

116

266

190

336

215

120

200

130

370

409

140

120

170

160

130

180

128

160

167

^26 CALLOKIIINUS UKSIXUS — NOHTIIKUX FUR SEAL.

Meusunmciiln of the Sktleton — CoiitiitiUMl.

Adult rf
No. 2I»22.

Adult ry
No. 2023.

230

235

103

130

115

135

225

210

200

260

•233

Adult 9
\y. 2023.

Adidt J
No. 2U24.

100

250

245

215

170

127

150

230

270

265

263

264

200

234

115

100

134

60
180
178
155
123
100

82
167
145

40
200

Leiifrtli of 1st di«it* and its inctni'iiipKl lioiit;. . .
L('nf;tli 111' 2d di^it and its luctiiciivjuil l)oni< ....

Lcufjtli of :id diyil ;md its lui'tiKiiipal bono

Length of 4tli dijiit and its iu(^tacari)iil bone,

Li'iijilh of 5(li dij;it ami its luctacarpal bono

Lciifjtli of femur

177

85
157
151)

Li'ii^th of t il)ia

Leufith of tarsus

00 '

Brt'adtb of tarsus

LtMintli of 1st di,i,'itt and its metatarsal bono. ..

Len^tb of 2d diyit and its metatarsal bone

Lougtli of 3d diyit and its metatarsal bono

Lcujitli of 4th digit and its nu'tatarsal bono

Length of 3tli digit and its metatarsal bono. ...
Length of innonunato bono

280

210

110

145
70
30
60
73
43
20

140

Greatest (external) width of pelvis anteriorly..

75
25

Length of ilium

Lengtli of isehia puliie bones

Lengtli «)f thvroid foramen

7;t

•JO

* Fore limb.

t Hind limb.

Sexual Differences. — The sexes differ iu color, as already
stated, in the females being much lighter than the males, or
grayer. In respect to the skeleton they differ extraordinarily
in the form of the pelvis, as already described, all the parts of
which in the female are greatly reduced in size, and instead of
the pubic bones meeting each other posteriorly, as they do iu the
males, tiiey are widely separated. The innominate bones are
also much further apart in the females, and the bones forming
the front edge of the pelvis are less developed, so that the pelvis
in the female is entirely open in front. In consequence of the
remarkable narrowness of the pelvis in the male, the form of
this portion of the skeleton is necessarily varied in the female,
to permit of the passage of the foetus in parturition. As already
remarked, no such sexual differences are seen in the Phocida.

In respect to other parts of the skeleton, the absence of the
great development of the sagittal and occipital crests seen in
the males has already been noticed. The bones of all parts of
the skull are much smaller and weaker, especially the lower

r "I

VARIATION WITH \fiE.

327

jiiw 1111(1 the teetli. The attachnuMits for the muscles are corre-
s|Mni<liii;ii.V loss (l('vel<ii)e(l throujihout the skeleton. The most
strilviiiji sexual ditlenMiee, however, is that of size; the wei<;ht
(tf tlic fiill-.iL>'ro\vii females, aecordiny' to Captain Bryant, being
If.ss tlioii ( (NK-siXTii that of the fiill-j,'ro\vu males. This estimate
Mr. Mlliott has siiutc found to be correct by actual weight of
liiiji'e series of specimens.

DirPERKNCES liESULTiNO KTIOM AGE.— The dift'erenccs in
color between the young and the adult consist, as already stated,
in tlic young of both sexes during the lirst three or four months
of their li\es being glossy black, and gradually afterwards
a('i|iiiriiig the coh)r characteristic respectively of the adult
iiiaU's and females. In res^iect to the ditierences in the skeleton
tliiit (listinguish the young, I can speak only of the skull, in
wliicli the relative de^■elol)ment of its different regions differs
\vi(h'ly fiom what is acau in the adult of either sex. The two
young skulls before me, said to be from si)ecimens thu'tyflve
(lays old, are both females, but at this age the sexes probably
do not differ in osteological features, especially in those of the
skull. In these young specimens the anterior or facial portion
of tlie skull is but little developed in com])arison with the size
of tlie Itrain-case. The nnizzle is not only excessively short,
but the orbital space is snudl, and the postorbital cylinder
is covrelatively I'educed almost to zero, the postorbital processes
bt'iiig close to the brain-case. The zygomatic arch is hence
very short ; the zygomatic foramen is as broad as long, instead
of being nearly twice as long as broad, as in the adult. On the
other hand, the brain-case is exceedingly large, the greatest
breadth of the skull being at the middle of the brain-case in-
stead of at the posterior end of the zygomatic arch. As will
be seen by the table of measurements of the skull already
given, the brain-case in nearly as large as in the adults, and the
bones being thinner, it must have a capacity as great as that
of the skulls of the adult males and females, there being, in
respect to this point, but slight difference in the sexes. As the
young advance in age, the anterior i)ortion of the skull, or that
part in advance of the brain-case, greatly elongates, especially
tlic ])ostorbital cylinder, and increases also in breadth, the
f^kaU in a great rn^asure losing the triangular form and the
narrow pointed, muzzle characteristic of the young. The post-
orbital processes also greatly change their form as they further
develop.

i:|«T:

*1 M

328 CALLORHINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

The limbs Jire also rdatively much larger thitii in the adult, as
meutioutMl by Quoy and Gaimard in respeet to the Arctocephalus
cincrcHH of Australia,* which enables them to move on land with
greater facility than the adult, as the above-mentioned authors
ha\ft stated to be th«' ease in the Australian species.

It is not tnu', hoAvever, that tlie young of C ursinus are devoid
of under-fur, as some writers have alHrmed.t

Individual Variation. — The two males were both not only
full-grown, but (piite advanced in age, though in all i)robability
the crests of even the older skull (No. 2\)'22) would have been still
further develoi)ed. The other male (No. 21)23) was somewhat
younger, but alreat!v had the sagittal crest considerably pro-
duced; the teeth, however, were but moderately woi'u, the mid-
dle upper incisors still re+ainiug the groove dividing the surface
of the crowns. In the younger male skull the posterior outline
of the palatines is but slightly concave, whereas in the other it
is deeply and abruptly emarginat<i in the middle, — :as deeply so
as in the young (one month old) skulls; — showing that diti'ei-
€nce8 in this respect do not necessarily depend upon differences
in age. They also differ in the form of the ])ostorbital pro-
cesses, in the younger they having nearly the sanu' form as iu
Uumetopim, whereas in the older nearly that seen in Zaiophus.
The postorbital cylinder is also much shorter in the younger,
though these two skulls do not i)re8ent nearly the great differ-
ence in this respect exhibited by two very old male skulls of
Zaloph us already described. Another difference is seen iu tbe
parieto-inaxillary suture. In the younger specimen it is nearly
straight and directed forward, the nasals extending consider
ably beyond i t. In the other it curves at first moderately back-
■ward, and then abruptly iu the same direction; the inaxillaries
extending in this case slightly beyond the nasals, instead of end-
ing considerably iu front of the end of the latter. The nasals

* Voyaj^e de I'Astrolabe, Zoologic, tomo i, p. 89.

t It may be .added that the young specimens above described had not
fully shed their millv teeth. The incisors ajjpe.ir to have been renewed, Imt
both the tirst and second sets of canines were still jiresent (see Bull. Miis.
Comp. Zool., vol. ii, pi. iii, fig. .5), the permanent ones being in front of tbe
others. The three molars of the lirst set have been replaced by the perma-
nent ones, the first and second of which are already quite large. The hinder
molars are in one of the 8i)ecimens but just in sight, and doubtless bad not
cut through the gum. In the other they are a little more advanced. The
middle one is quite prominent ; the first is much smaller, while the last or
sixth molar is far less advanced than cither of the others.

COMPARISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES.

329

tlii'iiiselve.s arc much narrower in th« younger .specimen, espe-
cially anteriorly, and hence have a very dirtercnt form in tlie two
t'xamplcs.

Ill i('S|M'('t to tile teetii, it may be added that the oUk'r skull
lias siirn upper molars on one side and nix on the other, the
iioiiiial nundu'r being six on each side, I have before me two
otlitr skulls in which the molars are | — t, »!ul two others in
which they are f — §! The form of the molar ti'eth, esi)ecially
,)f the fangs, ditters nuirkedly in the two skulls ; those of the
younger having the longitudinal grooves of the fangs of nearly
all the teeth almost wholly obsolete, while in the other speci-
men the roots of nearly all the molars are more or less strongly
grooved.

Of the two female skulls one is very aged,* as shown by the
closed sutures and the greatly worn and defective teeth. The
younger, however, is also quite advanced in years. Dift'erences
of a similar character to those seen in the males also occur
lietween these, but they are less nuirked.

There are also considerable variations in color. Not only
is one of the young females much darker below and about the
face than the other, but similar variations are seen in the old
t'eiiiales and in the nudes. ^

Comparison with Allied Species. — In cranial characters
CaUorhinHs ursitim, as already noticed, is widely different from
auy of the species of Arctocephalus, to wiiich, however, it is
most closely allied. While in the latter the facial portion of the
skull is narrow and «lepressed, in C. ummift it is broad, high,
and short. The ascending i)ortiou of the intermaxilhe is also
iiuicli broader and shorter, and the whole dental armature
is imu'h veaker. In the character of the pelage the Northern
and Southern Fur Seals present no marked <liflerent!es, but in
lespect to color the latter are much grayer than the former.
Another obvious difterence consists in the great elongation of

* Ri'S]itM'tiug tho aj>o of these specimens of Fur Seals, Captsiin Bryant lias
I'l'spoiidt'd to my iiuiuiries as follows: "The grown females (the mothers of
till' jtiiiis) were average specimens. The only means I had t>f determining
tht'ii age was by tho evidences atforded by disscictiou. These were that
tlio older t'emalo had given birth to seven young and the other five, which
^vould nial. ■ their ages respectively ten and eight years. The two grown
iiialis wen Jilso selected as average specimens in size and color. Judging
U'om their general appearance and color, I estimated them to be ten years
old. The V o pups were thirty-tivo days old, and in that time had doubled
their size fr m birth. They were both females."

..M

■MMm

i'i

If' 1^

(rs

330 ('AI.LOlMII.sUS rWSINUS -NOUTIIKHN FUR SEAL.

tln', toe-Haps of the jtosterior limbs, which in (!. urninm are
{jivatl.v developed, their extension beyoml the dij^its being
neiiily eijual to th(^ h'n^tii of the ro8t of the foot — in adult
• females \\{) mm. beyond th«! toes. In Arvloccitlndns aiinfrolis
( = /((Ihlaniliciis^ anet.), on the other band, they extend, as in
most of the other Otaries, only a sh()rt <listaue«' beyond tlic
toes, the iiulentations between thom bcinj^ but little posteiiur
Ui the ends of the toes.

The «'xtremo8 of sexual variation seem to be presented by
(yollorhhtiis iirsinitx and Arctocephalus aHMtraUs ; the fonuor
presenting: the j^reatest and the latter the least amount of sex-
ual variation in siz(^ of any of the tive Anu'riean species of
Otaries, to which my comparisons are limited by hutk of mate-
rial. The adult males of these two species differ little in size,
while the female of ArctucvphaluH (lustraliH is very nuu^h larger
tlian the female of C. ur.siniis. The average len{,'th of tlu-
skull in the adult males of both species is about 245 nun.; of
the females of A. austmlis about 233 mm., against 185 mm.
iu C. nrHiniis.

For purposes of comparison I submit the following measure-
ments of skulls of ^. anstniliii for corresponding measurements
of C. ursimts (see anka, p. 323) :

■I

COMPARISON WITH ALLIED 8PECIE8.

331

s i i

o tc Si)

ki <• n

•s :« -3 3 2

K a 3 ?! O

•jMoai) JO |iiJl|.)U

•N t« t> lA «4 «4

'«.)a;rin.i ,|<i iiipo<).i{[

'HH.I.IOlll |I|IMI.I|^

,}0 .)T1[Pl (U"',l llUM.l
'ttll|llllllM[ |l!li:t.v'.l.))(l

()| s.i;.iri|!\iini.i.i|ill
,|ii .tap.) iiioaj mujji

^ »o lo 55 rt rt

o <s o to » >o

I* O 9 QD ^ iO

S? S S S 3 S

'.UOJIMI
Hipi.tt 's.inoti IBBBX

HHiiu 'moucki lOTOjj
•qitiu.n 'djaoq {we^

'e)iqjo na3A)0(i

■vowoo
■Old p;o)Ht'ui %v qipiAV

•iHBraoH

■q>309i i«;oi

•X9S

9 ^ O CO CO 9>
« CO CO CO M f»

w CO in CO « t
M CO '9 00 o> a>

o 1.0 o o e> N

^ -^ ift *i» Pi N

»H rH 11 rH l-i IH

e^g^S

"p "to "to "o o o

tc tt ^ a

O O

:« =4 .2 P
3 a. "^ Ml

2 -5

Sa S (^ O

•jgqmna 9ii3oi«in3

(O »0 00 iH O CO
M Ca O M CO Ci5
fH pH p^ tH i-( tH

ill!

332 CALLORIIINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

Geographical Distribution and Migration.— The Fur
Seal is well known to luivo been formerly abundant on the
western coast of North America, as far south as California, but
the exact southern limit of their range I have been unable to
determine. Captain Scammon speaks of having seen them " ou
one of the San Benito Islands, on the coast of Lower Califor-
nia," and again says, " On the coast of California many beaches
were found fronting gullies, where [Fur] Seals in large numbers
formerly gathered ; and, as they there had plenty of ground
to retreat upon, the sealers sometimes drove tliem far enough
back to make sure of the whole herd, or that portion of them
the skins of which were desirable."* He also states that the
"Fur Seal and Sea El«;phant once made the shores [of Guadalupe
Island] a favorite resorting-place," and refers to their former
occurrence on Cedros Island, in latitude 28°.t Although at
one time abundant ou the California coast, they are by no means
numerous there now, having been nearly exterminated by un
restricted destruction by the sealers. The writer above cited
refers also to their capture by the Indians at the mouth of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Seals appear here and ou the
neighboring coast, he adds, ^' some years as early as the lirstof
March, and more or less remain till July or August ; but tuey
are most plentiful in April and ]May. During these two months
tlie Indians devote nearly all their time to sealing wheu the
weather will permit." He reports their increase there in later
years, and that while only a few dozens were annually takeu
there from 1843 to 180-1, fully five thousand were taken in 1809,;
Captain Bryant has given a similar report, referring especially
to their abundance along the coasts of Oregon, Washington
Territory^ and British Columbia in 1869, as comi>ared with for
mer years. He says those taken "were mostly very yonug
Seals, none appearing to be over a year old. Formerly in
March and Ai)ril the nati vea of Puget Sound took large mini-
bers of pregnant females,§ but no places where they have
resorted to breed seem to be known oti' this coast." He thiiiks
it probable, however, that they may occupy rocky ledges off

* Marine Mamin., pp. loS, 154.

+ J. Ross Browne's Resources ol the Pacific Slope, second part, p. l^-

t Marine Mamm., p. 154.

$ There arc six skulls in the National Museum from Pi;get Sound and the
neighboring coast (collected at several different points by Messrs. Scammon
an Swan), all of which anJ'emaUs.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

33a

shore which are rarely visited by boats.* In his MS. report just
receive<l he states that a half-breed hunter told him that he
t'oiuul in summer " on Queen Charlotte's Island, groups of these
imiiuals consisting of two or more beach-masters with a dozen
or moro teinales and pups, but no half-grown males."

As is well known, the Prybilov or so-caL id " Fur Seal Isl-
ands," off the coast of Alaska, form the great breeding- ground
(if the Fur Seals, to which hundreds of thousands annually
resort to bring forth their young. The Prybilov Group con-
sists of four small islands, known respectively as Saint Paul's,
Saint George's, Otter, and Walrus Islands. The two last named
are of small size, and are not used as breeding-ground* by the
Seals, although Otter Island is visited by a large number of " non-
breeding Seals." Saint Paul's Island is the largest, containing
an area of about 33 square miles, and having a coast-line of
about forty-two miles, nearly one-half of which is sand-beach.
Of this, sixteen and a half milefe, according to Mr. Elliott, are
occupied in the breeding-season by the Fur Seals. Saint
George's Island is somewhat smaller, with only twenty-nine
miles of shore-line. It presents a bold coast, a grand wall of
basalt extending continuously for ten miles, with no passage-
way from the sea. It has, in all, less, :;han a mile of sand-beaeh,
and ouly two and a quarter miles of eligible landing grounds
for the Seals.

A few old male Fur Seals are said to make their appearance
at the rookeries on these islands between the 1st and 15tli of
May, they acting, as it were, the part of pioneers, since their
number is not much increased before the tirst of June. At
about tiiis date, and with the setting in of the liumid, foggy
weather of summer, the male Seals begin to land by " hundreds
and thousands," to await the arrival of the females, which do
not apjiear before about July fust. The young are born soon
after, and toward the Last of this month the rookeries begin to
lose tli^ir compactness and definite boundaries, but they are
not fully bi'oken up till about the middle of September. The
Seals begin to leave the islands about tiie end of October, the
greater proportion departing in Nov6mbt bile some remain
till the end of the following mouth, and even later.

The luunber of Fur Seals present on Saint Paul's Island in
July, 1S72, was estimated by Mr. Elliott to exceed three miUiony
and ou Saint George's Island in July, 1873, at about one hun-
• Bull. Mu8. Coiup. Zoiil., ii, p. 88.

-/.

•! fS

334 CALLORIIINUS URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

(Ired and sixty-three tbousaiid.* Although the.se ishinds t'orin
' by far their most popidous resorts, they are said to occur in
considerabk' imiiibers on some of the ishmds to the northward.
but I am unable to find detinite statements as to tlieir innnlxTs
,j^ or favorite stations. Mr. Elhott, after examiniiij;' Saint ^Matlicw's
and Saint Lawrence Islands, became convinced that they Mere
, not only not resorted to as breeding stations by the Fur Seals,
but that these islands, by their constitution and climatic coiidi
tions, were unsuitable for this purpose, and adds, " it may be
safely said that no land of ours in the north is adapted to the
wants of that animal, except that of Saint Paul and Saint
George."t Mr. W. H. Dall states that " They have never been
found in Bering Strait, or within three hundred miles of it.''| In
early times these animals are well known to have been abundant
on Behring's and Copper Islands. According to ICi'aschenini
, kow, they were so numerous upon Behring's Island about the
middle of the last century as t^ cover the whole southern shore
of the island. Their range on the Asiatic coast is given hy Stel-
ler and others as extending southward along the Kamtschatkan
coast to the Kurile Islands. Krascheninikow states that thev

* As of interest in the ))resent connection, I quote the followinf? IVinii Dam
I>ier respecting the abundance of the Southern Fur Seal at the Isluul nf
Juan Fernandez, two hundred years ago, or ahotit a century heloif tlw
beginning of the Seal slaughter there, which in less thi'u a generation iicaily
exterminated the si)ecies at that locality. Danipier and liis party siicm
fifteen days on this ialainl in the year U]8',i. He sa., s: '^ Sealn swnriii as
thick about this Island ["of .John Fernando," as he terms it, J as if tlity had
no other place m lUt World to livi' in ; for there is not a Bay nor Rock tliat
one can get ashotir on, but is full of them. . . . These at John Fenm-
do's have line thick short Furr ; the like I have not taken notice of any where
but in these Se.as. Here are always thousands, I miglu say possibly iiiillious
of them, either sitting on the Bays, or going and coming in the Sea round tbo
Island, which is covered with them (as they lie at the top of the Water phiy-
ing and sunning themselves) for a mile or two from the shore. When tlii'v
come out of the Sea thoy bleat like Sheep for their young; and though tlie.v
pa«8 through hundn'ds of others yoting ones before they come to their own,
yet they will not suffer any of them to suck. The* young ones are Hkf
Pni)pie,^, and lie much ashore, but when beaten by any of n.s, they, as well
as the old ones, will make towards the Sea, and swim very swift and
nimble ; tho' on shore they lie very sluggishly, and will not go out of om
way unless we beat them, but snaji at us. A blow on tlie Nose soon kills
them. Large Ships might here load themselves with Seals Skins and Traue-
oyl; for they are extraordinary fat."— J Sew Voyage Hound the iVorld, "MA
edition, corrected," 1703, vol. i, pi>. 88,90.

t Cond. of Aff. in Alaska, pj). '217, 22i.

{ Alaska and its Resources, p. 41>;{.

GENEK'AL HISTORY.

335

ai)iK'iirL'd there, however, only in si)rinj^ and in Sei>teniber, none
being seen therefrom the bej;inning of .June till the end of
August, at wliieh time he .says they reiurti from the south with
tlieir young. Von Schrenek speaks of their oecurrenee in tlie
Ocliotsk Sea and the Tartarian (Inlf as far south as the 40th
degree of hititude, or to the soutlicrn ])ointof Sughalien Island.
The natives reported to him the ojjcurrenee of great numbers
of the animals on tlie eastern <;oast of that island. Captain
Scaiinnon also refers to their abundance twenty years since ou
the eastern side of Saghalieu.*

Excei)t during the season of reproduction, these animals ap-
pear to lead a wandering life, but the extent and direction of
their migrations are not yet well known. Steller spoke of their
migrations as being as regular as those of the various kinds of
sen-fowl, and they are recorded as arriving with great regularity
at the Prybilov Islands, but where they pass the season of
winter is still a nuitter of conjecture.

(iRNERAL History. — The Northern Fur Seal was first nuide
known to science by Steller in 17.51, under the name Ursus
mirinKs. During his visit to KamtschaJ^ka and its neighboring
isliuids, in 1742, he met with these animals ir. great numbers

*C;i]it;iiii Scainiiioii rcl.atoM in jiii oU'-liand way, iiicn'ly us tin ii'.rori'stiiig
iutuliiit (it sealing lilt', the lollowin;? : "In thi! midst of the crimtian War,
an I'litci'iirising iirni in New London, Connecticnt, fitted out iiflip])er bark,
wliich \va8 otticcrt'd and manned cxjtrcHsly for a sealing voyage in the
Okhotsk Sea. 'J'lie cai»tain was a veteran in the business, and many thought
him too old to eomniaud, but tlie result of the voyage proved him equal to
the tu«k. The vessel proeeedtul to Robin Island — a mere volcanic rock, situ-
ated on the eastern side of the; large island of Saghalien. Many outlying
rocks and reefs are about it, making it dangerous t»» approach, and affording
l)iit slijrht shelter for an anchorage. Here the vessel (of about tlireo hun-
ilml tons) lay, with ground-tackle of the weight for a craft of twice her
size. Much of the time fresh winds jirevailed, accompanied by the usual
ugly giniind-swell ; auil, iu eonsiMpu'nce of her b«ung long, low, and sharp,
tliPddk was at such times fre<iueutly Hooded; nevertheless, she ' rode-out
the whole season, though wet as a half-tide rock,' and a valuable cargo of
skins was iirocnred, which brought an unusually high price in the European
market, on account cf the regular Uussiau supply being cut off iu conse-
quence of the war. This is only given as one of the ntany that may be re-
lated of scaling lift;." — Marine Mamnuilia, pp. I'^O-Vi'i, In this connection
Iiaiihiinlly help adding that it is to be regretted that Ciiptain Seanmion
lias not I'avored us with more of these " ineid«nits," from the important bear-
ing' they liav(> upon the former distribution and abundance of this and other

iieciesof Seal, and that he has not given mor<^ explicit references to the

loealitics at which the "ur Seals were formerly hunted on the southern por-

"on of the North American coast and elsewhere.

"Mill*

irivi ''i

i i\

fihip

I.*

:! 5' '.

336 CALLOKHINrs URSINUS NORTHERN PUR SEAL.

at Belli ing's Island, where he spent HOine time among them, and
carefully Htudied their habits and anatomy, a detailed account of
which appeared in his celebrated inemoir entitled " ])e Bcstiis
Mariuis," in the Transactions of the St. Petersburg Aj-adciuy
for the year Hi*.).* This important essay was the source of
nearly all of the accounts of this animal that appeared prior td
the bej^inning of the present decade. The tw^enty-eight <|narto
pages of Steller's nu'moir devoted to this s])ecies, gave not only
a detailed account of its anatomy, with an extensive table ot
measurements, but also of its remarkable habits, and tigurcs of
the animals themselves. A little later Krascheninikow, in Lis
History of Kanitschatka,t uiuler the nan»e " Sea Cat," ga\e also
a long account of its habits, apparently based mainly on Stel
ler's notes.f but it embraces a few particulars not given in "De
Bestiis Marinis." Steller's description of the habits of this
animal has been largely quoted by Button, Pennant, Schrel)ei,
Hamilton, and other general writers.

Button, Pennant, Schreber, Gmelin, and nearly all writers .11
the Pinnipeds, down to about 1820, confounded the Nortbeiu
Fur Seal with the Fur Seals of the Southern hemisphere, blend
ing their history as that of a single species. P^ron, in 181(5, first
recognized it as distinct from its southern allies, and it was so
treated somewhat later by Demarest, Lesson, Fischer, Gray, and
other systematic writers, § but its distinctive characters were not

*^Nov. Conim. Acad. Petrop., ii, pp. 331-359, pi. xv, 17.')1. Thiw, as is will
known, is a posthiimoiis pa])er, published six years sitter Steller's dfatli.
Steller dying of fever November 12, 1745, wbilii on his way from Siberia to
St. Petersburg. The description of the Sea Bear was written at Hcliniiu;'
Island in May, 1742.

tH'^t. Kamtchatka (English edition), trnnshited from the Russian by
James Grieve, pp. 12:M30, 1764.

t Krascheninikow, it is stated, "received all of Mr. Steller's pai)ers,"lo
aid him in the preparation of his " History of Kanitschatka."

^Nilssoii and Miiller in 1841, and Wagner in 184() and IHIS), on the otber
hand, still considered all the Sea Bears as belonging to a single spetii's.
Wagner, in 184'.) (Arch, fiir Natnrg., 1849, pp. 37-49), described the ostw-
logical characters of the Northern species from three skeletons in tlif
Munich Museum received from Hehring's Sea. One of these was ait)>arcutl,v
that of a full-grown female ; a second was believed to be that of a liall'-jti'owu
male, while the third belonged to a very young animal, in which the jht-
manent teeth were still not wholly developed. Wagner compares tiic speeif^
with Stelha's Sea Li<m, and with the figures of the skulls of the Soiitli*''"
Sea Bears given by F. Cuvier, Blainville, and Quoy and Gaimard, and uott"
various differences in the form of the teef h and skull, but believes that tin *»
differences must be regarded as mtsrely variations dependent upon age.

'j '

(;i:ni:i{al iiistoky.

337

cltiiily set Ibith till IS')'.), when Dr. J. E. Gniy (k'soribed and
ti;;iir((l its skull, iiiul showed that the Xortlieru species was not
even eoiifi'eiierie with the Sea Bears of the South. Very few
spcciiiK'iis of either the Xortlieru or Southern Sea Hears appear
tit liav<' reju'hed l<]uroj)ean museums prior to about tluit date,
s(» tiiat naturalists had not previously been able to make a direct
coinparison of this species with any of its Southern affiues.
Dr. (fiay, in referring to this point in 1850, wrote as follows:
" 1 had not been able to see a specimen of this species in any
of the iiuiseums which I examined on the Continent or in Eng-
laiul, or to tind a skull of the genus [Arctocephalns] from the
Xortli Pacific 0(!ean, yet I felt so assured, from Steller's <le-
scription and the geographical position, that it must be distinct
from tluj Eared Fur Seals from the Antarctic Ocean and Aus-
tralia, with which it had usually been confounded, that in my
'Catalogue of Seals in the Collection of the British Museum'
[1850] I regarded it as a distinct 8i)ecie8, under the name of
ArctocephalHS nrsimiSj giving an abridgment of Steller's descrip-
tion as its specific character." " The British Museum," he adds,
"has just recoi.^d, under the name Otaria leonina, from Am-
sterdam, a specimen [skull and skin] of the Sea Bear from
Bebring's Straits, which was obtained fi'om St. Petersburg";*
which is the specimen already spoken of as figured by Dr.
(iray. From the great ditt'erences existing between this skull
and those of the southern Sea Bears, Dr. Gray, a few weelfs
later, separated the northern species from the genus Arctoce-
phaluH, under the name CaUorhinusA

It seems, however, that there were two skulls of Steller's
Sea Bear in the Berlin Museum as early as 1841,| and three
skeletons of the same species in the Museum of Munich in 1849,§
yet Dr. Gray appears to have been the first to compare this
animal with its southern relatives, and to positively decide its
affinities.

Misled, however, by erroneous information respecting speci-
mens of Eared Seals received at the British Museum from Cali-
fornia, a skin of the CaUorhinm wmuMS was doubtfully described
l>y this author, in the paper in whicli the name Callorhinus was
liro])()se(l, as that of his Arctocephalus monteriemw, which is a

tirkii^f

'f 'IS

t \ !

^< \

i i :

n i

,! %i

*? -j,

* Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1859, p. 102.

+ iiti<i.,i8r)t),:ir)9.

iS(u' Aroliiv fiir Naturgeseli., 1841, p. 3134.
vUI.i(l.,184y, :i9.

^lisc. Fub. No. 12 22

338 CALLOKHINUH URSINUS NOUTIIEHN FUR SEAL.

»'>■>

c>>^^r-

Hair Seal. This nkiii was accoinpaiiied by a young- skull, pur
poitiuft-, by the label it bore, to belong; to it, but Dr. Gray
observes that otherwise he should have thoujjht it too small to
have beloii}>:e(l to the same animal. Seven years later,* lie do
scribed the skull as that of ii new species {ArctocephaliLs mli
J'onn'ainiN), still associating with it, however, the skin of tlif
CtiUorhiuus ursinus. The skull ho subse(piently considcicd as
that of a young A . monierunsis ( = Eumctop'uu nicUvH) ; and refer-
ring his ^l. imliforuianm to that s])ecies, he was conseqiionth
led into tlu' double error of regarding the Unmctopias sleUeri as
a Fur Seal (as already explained under that species and olso
where in the ])resent paju'r), an<l of excluding the CaUorhinus
vrsini(,s from the list of Fur Seals. To this 1 caUed attention
in ISTO, and in 1S71 Dr. (Jray correctly referred his A. monteri-
cnsis and A. mUfornianus iu part (the "skin only") to ('«//»•
rhinus nrsi'nis.f

AVhat may be termed the second or luodern epoch in the
general history of this species began in 1800, when Captain ('.
M. Scammon i)ublished a highly ijuportant contribution to it>
biology, f he «lescribiug at considerable length, from personal
observation, its habits, distribution, and ])roducts, as well a>
the various methods employed for its capture. The followini;
year Mr. W. IT. Dall devoted a few pages § to its history, in
which he made many important suggestions relative to tin.
sealing business. During the same year I was able to add nut
only something to its technical history, || but also to make puli
lie an important communication on its habits kindly placed at
my disposal by Captain Charles Bryant,^} Government agent in
charge of the Fur Seal Islands of Alaska. In 1874, Ca]ttaiii
Scammon republished his above-mentioned paper,** addiiis
thereto a transcript of Captain Bryant's observations already
noted. Almost simultaneously with this appeared Mr. H. AV,
Elliott's exhaustive Ileport on the, Seal Islands of Alaska,ttin

"Cat. Seals and Whales, 18()(i, j). ol.

t Suppl. Cat, Seals aii«l Whales, p. 15 ; Hand-List of Seals, 32.
t Overland Monthly, vol. iii, Nov. 1869, pp. 393-399.
ij Alaska and its Resources, 1870, pp. 492-498.
II Bull. Mus. Comp. ZoiJl., ii, pp. 73-89.
IT Ibid., pp. 89-108.

** Marine Mammalia, 1874, pp. 141-103.
- tt Report on the Pry bilov Group, or Seal Islands of Alaska, 4to, uupag'Hl.
1873 [1874].

FIOIIKKS.

339

wliicli the present species juoperly comes in lor si huge sliarc
of tlic iuitlioi's attention. Tlie work is richly illustrated with
|)luitoj;rapliic plates, taken from Mr. Elliott's skcti(!lies, about
twi'iity-live of which are chnoted to the; Fui' Seal. The text of
this viir*' and ])rivately distributed work has been sincte re-
printed,* with sonic changes and ad<litions, ami has been
widely circulated. It contains very little relating to the Fur
Sciil tliat is strictly technical, but the general history of its life
at the I'rybilov Islands is very fully told, while the commercial
(II (coiioinic i>hasc of the subject is treated at length. A few
iiiiiHtr notices ol" lhiss])ecies have since ajjpeared (mostly j)opu-
liir articles in illustrate<l maga/in(>s, chiefly from the pen of Mr.
Klli(ttt), but nothing relating to its general history requiring
spi'c- 1 notice in the ])resent connection.

i''i(iri{ES. — The lirst figures of the Northern Sea Bear were
uivcii by Stcllcr, in liis i)aper already cited. They represent an
luhilt male, in a <|uite natural attitude, and a female reclining
nil licr back. In respect t< details, these early ligures were
naturally more or less rude and inaccurate. They were copied,
liowover, by iJutfon, Schreber, Pennant, and othei- early writers,
:iii(l are tlu^ only rejursentations of this species known to me
that wen; made ])i'ior to about the year 1831), except C/horis's
phitiMtf a group of these animals entitled "Ours marins dans
\"\\v (le St. Paul",t published in 1822. This represents three
ohl males, surrounded by their har«ms, and indicates very faitli-
tully tlie moch^ of grouping aiul the variety of attitudes as-
sniiied l»y these animals when assembled on the rookeries.
Ilaiiiiltoii, in 1839, gave a figure of the "Sea Bear of Steller
(OUir'td »>-,s/«rt)''| which he tells us is "from the engraving of
thi' distinguished Naturalist of the Euriek*,§ the original of
which I ha\e not seen. This represents a nmle and female, the
latter reclining on its side, with a pup resting on its right
Hipper.

The lirst llgure of the skull is that published by Gray in
i8,*,->,ll— a vioAv in profde of the skull of an adult male. A
wood-cut of the same was given in 1806,^ and a fine lithographic

"Condition of Afl'airs in Alaska, 1875, pp. 107-151.

t Yoy. pittor. uiitour dii Monde, lies Aldoutienues, pi. xv.

t Murine Ainphibiie, pi. xxi.

\Ubid.,p,2G6.

II Proc. Zoiil. See. Lond., 1859, pi. Ixviii.

1i Cat. Seals aud Whales, p. »5, fig. 16.

f;i

. Ji

340 CALLORIIIXUS ntSlXUS XOUTJIEHN FUR SEAL.

plate ill 1.S74,* ropn'seiitiiig tlit* .skull in piofile, liom above
iiiid from iH'low.t

In 1S7() I fiiive liju'iircs of t\vi» adult niak' skulls (two views
of eacli), of an adult female skull (three views), of a very youii^f
skull (tliree views), and of the scapula, dentition, ete. These,
so far as known to me, are the only tiijures of the skull orotiier
details of structure thus far published.

In 1874 Captain Seamnion j;ave fij>ures of the animal, f a /inc
ograph of an old male,§ from a sketch by Mr. Elliott, a woodcut
of the head of a female seen from beh)W (drawn by Elliott), || two
outline tigures representinjf the female as seen from below and
in proflle, and two others in oiitUne illustrating "attitudes of
the Fur Seals." 1| Mr. Elliott, in his lirst Report on the Seal
Islands,** in a series of over two dozen large photograpliic
plates (from India ink sketches from nature) has given an ex
haustive presentation of the phases of Fur Seal life so faithfully
studied by him at St. Paul's Isl.and. Among these may he
mentioned especially those entitled "The East Landing and
Black Buttes — The beach covered with young Fur Seals";
"The North Shore of St. Paul's Island" (giving an extensive
view of the rookeries) ; " Lukannon Bear'i " (Fur Seals playin;;
in the surf, and rookeries in the distance); "Old male Fur Seal,
or ' Seecatch ' " (as he appears at the end of the season after
three months of fasting) ; "Fur Seal Harem " (showing the rela
five size of nmles, females, and young, various atatudes, posi-
tions, etc.); 'Fur Seal males, waiting for their 'harems'" (the
females beginning to arrive); Fur Seal "llookery" (breeding-
grounds at Polavina Point) ; " Fur Seal Harem" (Reef Rookeiy,
foreground showing relative size of males and females); "Fur
Seal Pups at Sleep and Play"; "Hauling Grounds" (several
views at different points); "Capturing Fur Seals"; "Driving
Fur Seals"; "Killing Fur Seals — Sealing gang at work," etc.

The only other pictorial coutributions to the history of the

* Iluml-List of Seals, i)l. xix.
' 1 1 infer tins to bo tlio same specimen in each case, not only from there-
semblance tlio figures bear to ciich other, but from Ur. Gray, so lav as 1
can discover, referring to only tlic single skull from Beliring's Strait, re-
ceived in 1859.

t Marine Mammalia, \>\. xxi, two figures.

$ Ibid., p. 14:5.

||Ibid.,p. 145.

iribid., p. 14«J.

** Report on the Prybilov Group, or Fur Seal Itiiands, of Alaska, lUipageJ.
and jdates not numbered.

HAIUTS.

a4i

Fiir Seal of uotewoitiiy iuiitortancc is .Mr. Claik's coloicd ])lato,*
(III wliicli ai'c iei»i('S('iite(l a nearly fiill-^irowii male, a t'einule
and a |>u]>, i)r('i)ar('(l lioiii ^ikiiis .sent t(> the Jhitisli ]Mu.seum by
tlif Alaska Comiiu'rcial (J()ni]iaiiy. In these the attitudes are
cxct'llciit and the eolorin;-' lair.

llAiU'i'S. — The habits of the I-'iir Seal of the north .seem to
jiiive heen well known to Steller and hi.s companions a century
and a (piarter ajio, and their seemin;4ly marvellous accounts of
tlieni jirove to liave been only to sislifiht degree erroneous. As
a matter of historic interest, and for comi)arison with our pres-
ent kiiowii'dge of the subj<H't, as -well as in some respects sup-
]»l('iii('ntary to it, 1 herewith subjoin a few extracts from tbe ac-
count left us by Krascheninikow, based partly, apparently, on
liis own observations, but lar}>ely on tho.se of his fellow-trav-
('Ik'i', Stfciler. ''The Sea ('at ", says Krascheninikow, t '' is about
half the size of the Sea Lion; in form resembling the Seal, but
tldckor about the breast, and thinner towards the tail. They
have the snout longer than the Sea Lions, and hu'ger teeth ; with
eyes like cow's eyes, short ears, naked and black paws, and black
liair iiiix(;d with gray, which is short and brittle. Their young
are of a bluish black color.

" The Sea Cats are caught in the spring and in the month of
September, about the river Shcepanora ; at which time they go
from tlie Kxrllsloy Lsland to the American coast; but the most
are catched about the cape of Kro)iotzkoi/, as between this and
the cape Shi(2)lnfil:oy the sea is generally calm and affords them
pioperer places to retire to. Almost all the females that are
caught in the spring are pregnant; and such as are near their
time of bringing forth their young are innnediately opened and
the young taken out and skinned. Xone of them are to be seen
from the beginning of June to the end of August, when they
return from the .south with their young. The natives Avere
formerly at a loss to concei\'e where such great herds of preg-
uaut I'at animals retired in spring, and why they returned so
woalc and lean was owing to their fatigue.

.... ''The male and fenmle differ so much in the forin and
f<treiigth of their bodies, that one who does not carefully exam-
ine them would take them for different species of animals; be-
iiides the females are wild and fearful. The male has from

* I'ldc. Zdiil. ,Soc. London, 1878, 271, pi. xx.

T 1 iHc liore Griove's English translation from llio Kussiiin, published iu

■^m

»■

ih, t

\ iHj

342 CALLORHINUH URSINUS — NORTITKRN KI7R SEAL.

eight to titt(!cn, imd even sometimes rtfty females, whom he
gkiards with such jealousy that lie does not allow any other to
come near his mistresses : and thoufih many thousands of tliciu
lie upon the sairuj shore, yet every family keeps apart; th;it is,
the male with his wives, youny ones, and those of a year old,
whiijh have not yet attached themselves to any male; so that
isometimes the family consists o^' 120. They likewise swim at
sea in such droves. Such as are old, ov have no mistresses, live
apart; and the first that «)ur peoi)lefoun<l niion Berhujs Island
Avere such old ones, and all males, extremely fat and stinkiii;;.
These sometimes lie asleei) a whole month without nourishment,
and are the Uercest of all, attacking all that pass them, and tlieii
pride or obstinacy is such that they will rather die than qnit
their ])la«!e. When they see a niii oming near them some ot'
them rush upon him and others lie ready to sustain the hattk'.
They bite the stones that are thrown at them, and i iish the
most violently upon him who throws them ; so that though you
strike out their teeth with stones, or put out their eyes, yet,
even blind, thej' will not (piit their place : nay, they dare not
leave it, for every step that any one moves oft' he maki's a new
enemy, so that though he could save himself from the attacks
of men, his own brethren would destroy him ; and if it liai)
pens that any one seems to retire the least, then others draw
near no [to] prevent his running away ; and if any one seems
to suspect the courage of another, or his design to run away, he
falls upon him. This suspicion of one another is sometimes car-
ried so far, that for a whole verst one sees nothing but these
bloody duels; and at such time one may pass between tliciii
without any manner of danger. If two fall upon one, then some
others come to support the weakest ; for thej' do not allow of
unequal combat. During these battles the others that are swuu-
niing in the sea raise their heads, and look at the success of
the combatants ; at length beconung likewise fiercer, they come
out and increase the number.

.... "When two of them oidy fight the battle lasts fio
quently foran hour: sometimes they rest awhile, lying byoue
another; then both rise at once and renew the engafiemeiit.
They fight with their heads erect, and turn them aside from
one another's stroke. So long as their strength is equal they
tight with their fore paws ; but when one of them becomes weak
the other seizes him with his teeth, and throws him upon the
ground. When the lookers on see this they come to the assist-

HABITS.

343

iiiict' of t\n' vanqiii.slu'd. 1l\w wounds they niako with their
T(M'tli Mv JiH deep as those made with a sabre; and in the month
(it' '/"/// you will hardly see one of tliem that has not some
wound upon him. After tlu^ end of the battle they throw them-
selves into the water to wash their bodies. The occasions of
tlieir qiiari'els ai ' these: — The Urst and most bloody is about
riicir lemales, when one en<lea\()rs to carry otf tiu; mistress of
aiiotlier, or the youn;;' ones that are fi'Uiales; the fenudes that
;ire jncscnt follow the eon<piei'or. Tin; second is a1)out their
pliiecs. M'hcn one comes too near that of another, which they
(loii't allow, either for want of room, or because they are .jeal-
ous of their connnji' too near their mistresses. The third is
owiii;^- to their endeavouring to do justice, and end the quarrels
of others.

.... '"Another reason of the Sea Cats going in the spring
to the eastwards to the Desert Islands nnist be, that resting
;iii(l sleeping without nourishment for three months, they free
theiuselves from the fat which was troublesome to them, in the
same manner as the bears who live the whole winter without
nourishment ; for in the months oiJunCj July, and August, the old
(lUcs do nothing but sleep upon the shore, lying in one place
like a stone, now and then looking at one another, and yawn-
ing and stretching, without meat or drink; but the young ones
licgiii to walk in the beginning of July. When this animal lies
upon the shore and diverts himself, Ills lowing is like that of a
cow; when he tights he growls like a bear; when he has con-
quered his enemy, he chirps like a cricket ; but being vanquished
or wounded, he groans or mews like a cat ; coming out of the
water, he commonly shakes, strokes his breast with his hinder
paws, and smooths the hair upon it. The male lays his snout
to that of tlie females, as if he was kissing her. When they
sleo}) in the sun they liold up their paws, wagging them as the
(logs do their tails. They lie sometimes upon their backs, at
other times like a dog upon their bellies ; sometimes contract-
ing, at other times extending themselves. Their sleep is never
so sound but that they awake at the approach of any person,
how softly soever he goes, and are presently upon their guard;
besides their smell and hearing are surprisingly acute.

" They swim so fast that they can easily make ten versts in an
liour; and when they happen to be wounded at sea they seize
the boats of the fishers with theu' teeth, and drag them along
^vitli such swiftness that they appear to fly and not to swim

344 CALLOIMIINUS UKSINIIS NORTIIKIJN IIK* HKXu

n]u>u tlu' wiitcr. \\y \\m iiieiuis tlu! Ixmt is iVt'ijiUMitly over-
tni'iMMl iiinl the |»(!()|>1«' (h'owiu'd, unlt'.s.s liowho stcri's it bovciy

.skillliil, iiiid ()l*s«'rv»'s tlu' <'()urs(M)t't]u^ animal Tlicy

lastcn tln'ii' loiv paws in tlio rocks, und thus draw up tlicir body.
wldeli tlu>y can move but slowly in sucli places, but upon a
l»lain, one is in diinf^cr of beiny ov«iitakou by them, rjwu
Bifinifx Island there are such nund)ersot' them that they cover
.v^'-''^ . , the whole shore: so that truvellers are t'renuentiv oblij^ed tor
|v- r sal'etv to leave the sands jind level countrv and yo over tlu- hills

and rocky places. It is remarkable that in this island the Sen
Cats are found only upon the south coast which looks towards
Kamtsi'hntka. The reason for this may be, that this is the lirst
land they meet with goinji; east from tlu^ Krouotzhyy i)ass."*

Steller an<l Krascheninikow both evidently considered the
"Sea Cats" danj^erous to man, both on land and in the sea.
They also attributed to them a degree of magnanimity autl
intelligence in relation to their Cv>ntests with each other uncoii-
firmed by modern observers. In several respects the ac<'ounts
of these authors — in the main virtually identical — border uiwu
the mythical, but, generally speaking, are remarkably free from
exaggeration, considering the times at which they Avere writteu.

xVs already stated, they formed the source of all our knowl-
edge of these strange beasts prior to the beginning of the pres-
ent decade. Choris makes only very brief mention of them
and says very little about their habits, t Veniaminov, iu hi>
"Zapieska" published at Saint Petersburg, iuKussian, in 1840,
ami known to me only as quoted and translated by Mr. II. W,
Elliott,! has given valuable statistical information respcctiu;;
the sealing business as prosecuted by the Kussiaus at the Prv
bilo V Islands, but seems to have given no detailed account of their
habits. Our tirst important recent information respecting the
economy of these animals is that given by Captain Charles

* Krascheninikow'a Hist. Kamtschatka, Grieve's English translation, pi'.
12:5, 131.

t His .account iu full is as follows: " L'ours marius, on russt^ nivoutch, con-
vre par niillidrs les rivages des lies Kotoviya [Islands of 8aiut Paul ami
Saint Gcorgo], oil sont jetdes abondanimeut dcs plantcs marines (/«(•»«)•
On entend do tres-loin Ic cri do ces aniniaiix, lorsqu'ou est en nicr. h'-
fcnielles sont beauconp plus potites quo Ics milles ; elles ont Ic corps pln>
tluet et decouleur januiltre. Les mAles ont jusqu'st six pied do baut lois-
qu'ils Invent la tetc ; les jeunes sont ordinairenieut d'lm Ijrun noir ; il paraii
quo les fcni.clles no font jamais plus d'uu petit." — From the descriptiou ol
"Hcs S.Georgesct S.Paul," iu " Voy. luttorcsq. autour du Monde.''

* Condition of Aftairs in Alaska, pp. 241-24'i.

HAIUTS.

345

Ijryaiit, in 1870.* Mr. IClliott's iUM-oimt, puldisluMl tlii'0(! or
Ibiir vcais later, is tar mort' (Ictailrd, and ri\s|K'('tin<;- in(»st])oiuts
jiiiiy lie considered as fairly exhaustive of the sul>Je<!t, more than
tliirty |»a};es of his report hein;;' devoted exclusively to the
haliitsot the sp(!cies. Captain i'.ryant has now kindly |>laced
;ii iii\ disposal a coninninication embodying' the results of his
('i<:lit years" observations on these animals, i)rei)ared by my
r('(|iicst «'xi)ressly tor the present work. While replete with
new iiilbrmation, it (h)es not, to any };reat extent, dui)licate
t.;e account of the habits of the species ])ublished by Mr. Elliott,
l)einn <levoted mainly to a detailed history of the changes in
the rehitive preponderance of the diflerent chisses of Seals
resiiltiii;; from the ditl'erent systems of selectinf,^ the aninmls to
be killed for their furs, and to other features (»f the general
subject not liitherto fully ])reHented. Its importance us a con-
tribution to the econonuc phases of the subject can scarcely be
overrated, while at the same time it forms a most valuable
contribution to the biology of the si>ecies. I>elieving it desira-
ble to piesent in the present connectu)n a full and connected
history of the species, I offer no apology for the <;opious extracts I
t'loni Mr. Elliott's graphic account of the habits of the Fur Seal r
which here follow :

•'The fur seal {Callorhinus uriihiufi), which repairs to these
islaiuis to l)reed in nund)ers that seem almost fabulous, is by
far the highest organized of all the Pinnipedia, and, indeed, tin-
that matter, when land and water are fully taken into account,
there is no other aninml superior to it from a purely physical
point of view ; and few creatures that can be said to exhibit a
higher order of instinct, ai)proaching even intelligence, belong-
ing to the animal kingdom

"Observe it as it comes leisurely swimming on toward the
land ; how high above the water it carries its head, and how
deliberately it surveys the beach, after having stepped upon it ;
it may be truly said to step with its fore fli])pers, for they reg-
iilaily alternate as it moves up, carrying the head well above
them, at least three feet from the grouiul, with a perfectly erect
neck.

• ■ . . '"We observe as the seal moves along that, though it

hamlles its tore limbs in a most creditable manner, it brings up

its rear in (luite a different style ; for after every second step

ahead witli the fore feet it arches its spine, and with it drags

'* Bull. Mus. Coinp. Zool. il, pp. BO-lOt-.

346 CALL0RHINU3 URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

and lift.s togetlier the hinder limbs to a fit position nnder its
body for another movement forward, by which the spine is
ajjain straij;htened (Mit so as to take a fresh hiteli up on the
posteriors. This is the U'isnrely and natural movement <mi land
when not disturbed, tlie body being carried clear of the grouiHl.

"The radi(!al dilference in the form and action of the hinder
feet cannot fail to strik(^ the eye at once. They are one-seventli
longer and very nuich lighter and mort* slender; they, too, aiv
laerged in the body like those; anterior; notiiing can be seen nt'
the legs above the tarsal joint

"Xow, as we look at this far seal's progression, that wliich
seems most odd is tJie gingerly manner (if 1 may be allowed to
use the ex]U'ession) in wliich it carries these hind tlii)]t('i's.
They are held out at right angles from the body directly oppo-
site the i)elvis, the toe-ends and Haps slightly waving and curl
ing or drooping over, supported daintily, as it were, above the
earth, only suffering its Aveight behind to fall upon the licels.
vliicli are opposed to each other scarcely live inches aj)art.

" We shall, as we see hi:n again later in the season, have to
notice a different mode of progression, both when lording' it
over his harem or when he grows shy and restless at the end
of the breeding-season, and now i)roceed to notice him in the
order of his arrival and that of his family, his behavior (luiiii?
the long period of ftisting and unceasing activity and vigihuitr
and other cares Avhich devolve ui)on him, as the most eniiueiit
of all polygamists iu tlie brutp vrorld ; and to fully comprclicnd
this exceedingly interesting animal, it will be necessary to refer
tfl my drawings and ])aintings made from it and its haunt.s. |*j

•' The adult males are first to arrive in the spring on the
ground deserted by all classes the preceding year.

"Between the 1st and 5th of May, usually, a few bulls will
be found scattered oAcr the rookeries pretty close to the w atei.
They are at this time quite shy and i^ensitive, not yet beiii;
satisticl with the land, an<l a great many spend day after diiy
before coming ashore id' ; .swimming out among the breakers;!
little distance from the land, to which they seem somewhat
reluctant at first to repair. The iivst arrivals are not alwa,v<
the oldest bulls, but may be said to be the finest an«l most am
bitious of their class. They are full grown and able to hold
their stations on the rocks, which they imniediately ti'ke up at'tci'
coming ashore.

[*• Set! Mr. Elliott's " Report on tlie I'rybilov Grcap, or Fur Seal Islands, of
Alaska," esne.ia'ily the plate.s alrea'ly nie'at'.aed at p. 340.]

HABITS.

347

" I am not able to say authoritatively that these animals come
back an<l take up the same i>osition on the breeding-grounds
occupied by them during the preceding season. From my
knowledge of their action and habit, and from what I have
k'iU'iuMl of the ual^ives, I should say that very few, if any of
them, make such a selection and keep these places year after
year. One old bull was pointed out to me on the Eeef Gar-
hutch Ivookery as being known to the natives as a regular visitor
at, ch)so by, or on the same rock every season during the past
thi'oe years, but he tailed to re-appear on the fomth; but if
those, animals came each to a certain i^lace and occupied it reg-
iihiily, season after season, I think the natives here Avould know
it definitely; as it is, they do not. I think very likely, how-
ever, that the older bulls come back to the same rookery-ground
wlieie they spent the previous season, but take up their posi-
tions on it just as the circumstances attending their arrival will
permit, sucli as lighting other seals which have arrived before
tlici.., tS:c.

"With the object of testing this matter, the Russians, during
the early ^":trt of their possession, cut off the ears from a given
uuinbei" (»f young male seals driven up for that purpose from
one of the rookeries, and the result was that cropped seals were
found on nearly all the different rookeries or 'hauling-grouuds '
on the islands after. The same experiment was made by agems
two years ago, who had the left ears taken off from a hundred
young males which were found on Lukannon Eookery, Saint
Paul's Island ; of these the natives last year found two on !N"o-
vastosh-nah Eookery, ten miles north of Lukannon, and two
or tlnee from English Bay and Tolstoi Eookery, six miles west
l>y water; one or two were tak' n on Saint George's Island,
thirty-six miles to the southeast, and not one from Lukannon
was found among those that wore driven from there; and, prol>-
uhly, had all the young m.Jes on the two islands been driven
up and examined, the rest would have been found distributed
quite ecpially all around, although the natives say that they
tiiiuk the cutting off of iiio animal's ear gives the water such
access to its head as to cause its death ; this, however, I think
requires confirmation. These exp^riiu^nts would tend to prove
that when the seals approach tu islands in the spring they
ha\'e nothing but a geneial instinctive appreciation of the tituess
of the land as a whole, and no especial fondness for any partic
nlar q}ot.

'1(1

■'Si

348 CALLORIIINUS FRSINUS — NORTITEKN FUR SEAL,

'' Tlie landing of tbe soals upon tlio respective rookeries is
inliuen(,'e(l greatly by tiie direction of the Avind at the time of
ap]>roach to the islands. The prevailing winds, coming liom
the northeast, north, and northwest, carry far out to sea tlie
odor or scent (jf the pioneer bulls, which have located them-
selves on different breeding-grounds three or four weeks usu-
ally in advance of the masses; and hence it will be seen that
the rookeries on the south and soi;theastern shores of Saint
Paul's Island receive nearly all the seal-life, although there art'
miles of eligible ground on the north shore.

•'To settle this question, however, is an exceedingly difficult
matter ; for the identification of individuals, from one season
to another, among the hundreds of thousands, and even millious.
that come under the eye on a single one of these great rook-
eries, is really impossible.

"From the time of the first arrivals in May up to the 1st of
June, or as late as the middle of this month, if the weather be
clear, is <an interval in which everything seems quiet ; very few
seals are added to the pioneers. By the 1st of June, however,
or thereabouts, the foggy, humid weather of summer sets in,
and with it the bull-seals come up by hundreds and thousands,
and locate themselves in advantageous positions for the recep-
tion of the females, which are generally three weeks or a mouth
later, as a rule.

"The labor of locating and maintaining a position in the
rookery is really a serious business for those bulls which come
in last, and for those that occupy the water-line, frequently
resulting in death from severe Avounds in combat sustained.

'• It appears to be a well-understood principle among the able-
bodied bulls that each one shall remain undisturbed on liis
ground, which is usually about ten feet square, i)rovided ho is
strong enough to hold it against all comers ; for the crowdiisf;
in of fre^h bulls often causes the removal of many of those wlio.
though equally able-bodied at first, have exhausted tliemselves
by fighting esirlier, and are driven by the fresher animals back
farther and higher uj) on the rookery.

•• Some of these l)ulls show wonderful sti ,'ngth and coiira.ue.
I have marked one veteran, who was among the first to take
UJ) his position, and that one on tin; water-line, when; ut least
fifty or sixty des])erate battles were fought victoriously by him
with nearly as many ditt'erent seals, who coveted his position.
and when the fighting seas()n was over, (after the cows ]iav(

HAHITS.

340

mostly all hauled up,) I saw liiin, covered with scars and gashes
rsnv and bloody, an eye gouged out, but lording it bravelj^ over
his liareiu of tifteeu or twenty cows, all huddled together on the
same s))ot he had first chosen.

'• The fighting is mostly or entirely done with the mouth, the
opponents seizing each other with the teeth and clenching the
jinvs; iiathing but sheer strength can shake them loose, and
that effort almost always leaves an ugly wound, the sharp
canines tearing out deep gutters in the skin and blubber or
shre<lding the fiippers into ribbou-strii)s.

"Tliey usually approach each other with averted heads and a
great many false passes before either one or the other takes the
initiative by griping; the heads are darted out and back as
quick as flash, their hoarse roaring and shrill, piping whistle
never ceases, while their fat bodies writhe and swell with exer-
\'on "ud rage, fur flying in air and blood streaming down — all
combined make a picture fierce and savage enough, and from
its great novelty, exceedingly strange at first sight.

" In these battles the parties are always distinct, the offensive
and the defensive; if the latter proves the weaker he with-
draws from the position occupied, and is never followed by his
conqueror, who complacently throws up one of his hind flippers,
fans himself, as it were, to cool himself from the heat of the
conflict, utters a peculiar chuckle of satisfaction and contempt,
with a sharp eye open for the next covetous bull or ' see-catch.'*

"The period occupied by the males in taking and holding
tbcir positions on the rookery offers a favorable opportunity in
wLidi to study them in the thousand and one different atti-
tudes and postures assumed between the two extremes of des-
perate confli(!t and deep sleep — sleep so sound that one can, by
keeping to the leeward, approach close enough, stepping softly,
to pull the whiskers of any one taking a nap on a clear place ;
but after the first touch to these whiskers the trifler must jump
back with great celerity, if he has any regard for the sharp
teeth and tremendous shaking which will surely overtake him
if he does not,

"Tlie neck, chest, and shoulders of a fur-seal bull comprise
inoi'i! than two-thirds of his whole weigbt, and in this long
thick neck and fore limbs is embodied the larger portion of his
>*trength ; when on land, with the fore feet he does all climbing

*"'Si'c-i'atch,' native name for tho bulls ou the rookerios,c8pccially those
whith aie n'lle to maintain their position."

1^' t

IIH

1 ii

350 CALLOHHINUS UKSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

over rocks, over the grassy hummocks back of the rookery, tlie
hiiul flippers being gathered up after every second step for-
ward, as described in the manner of walking; these fore feet
are the propelling power when in water, almost exclusively, the
hinder ones being used as rudders chiefly.

'' The covering to the body is composed of two coats, one be
ing of short, crisp, glistening over-hair, and the other a close,
soft, clastic pelage, or fur, whi(!h gives distinctive value to the
pelt.

"At this season of lirst 'hauling up' in the spring, the pre-
vailing color of the bulls, after they dry off" and have been ex
posed to the weather, is a dark, dull brown, with a spriiiklinjj
of lighter brown-black, and a number oi" hoary or frosted gray
coats ; on the shoulders the over-hair is either a gray or rulbus
ocher, called the 'wig;' these colors are most intense upon
the back of the head, neck, and spine, being lighter underiioatb,
The skin of the muzzle and flippers, a dark bluish black, fadin"
to a reddish and purplish tint in some. The ears and tail are
also similar in tint to fhii body, being in the case of the foriuei
a trifle lighter ; the ears on a bull fur-seal are from an incli to
an inch and a half in length ; the jyavil ions tightly rolled up on
themselves so that they are similar in shape and size to tlie lit-
tle linger on the human hand, cut off' at the second (phalaiiiical)
joint, a shade more cone-shaped, for they arc greater in diauie-
ter at the base than at the tip.

" I think it probable that the animal has and exerts the power
of compressing or dilating this scroll-like pavilion to its ear,
accordingly as it dives deep or rises in the water; and also, 1
am quite sure that the nair-seal has this control over the meatim
externus, from what I have seen of it; but I have not been able
to verily it in cither case by observation ; but such opj)ortniiity
as I have had, gives me untloubted proof of the greatest kceu
ness in hearing ; for it is iujpossiblc to approach one, even wheu
sound asleep ; if you make any noise, tmiuently no nifitter how
slight, t;;B alarm will be given instantly by the insignifioant-
looking auditors, and tlic aninud, rising uj) with a single luotiou
erect, gives you a stare of astonisliiuent, and at this season of
defiance, together with incessant surly roaring, grttwliug, and
' spitting.'

" This spitthig, as I call it, is by no means a fair or fi'.ll cxpres
sion of the most characteristic sound and action, peculiar, so
far as I have observed, to tlie fur-seals, the bulls in particuhU'

HABITS.

351

It is the usual prelude to their combats, aiul follows somewhat
in this way: when the two disputants are nearly within reach-
iii>;- or strikin*r distance, they make a number of feints or false
jjiisscs at one another, with the mouth wide open and liftinj;
the lii)s or snarling, so as to exhibit the glistening teeth, and
with each pass they expel the air. so violently through the
liiiyiix as to make a rapid choo-choo-choo sound, like the steam-
liutl's in the smoke-stack of a locomotive when it starts a heavy
train, and especially when the driving-wheels slip on tlic rail.

■•All the bulls now have the jmwer and fre(pient inclination
to titter four entirely distinct calls or notes — a hoarse, resonant
Kiai, loud and long; a low gurgling growl; a chuckling, sibi-
lant. pi]>ing whistle, of which it is imi)ossible to convey an ade-
(|tiatc idcii, for it must b(^ hetird to be understood; and this
spitting, jnst described. The cows* have but one note — a hol-
low. ])r()l<)nged, hia-a-ting call, addressed only to their pups ; on
all other occasions they are usually silent. It is something like
tlic cry of a calf or sheej). They also make a spitting sound,
and snort, when suddenly disturbed. The pups '/;/«-<irr also,
with little or no variation, the sound V)eing sonu'what weaker
and hoiirser than that of their mothers for the first two or three
weeks after birth ; they, too, spit and cough when aroused sud-
(loidy from a nap or driven into a corner. A number of pups
• lying at a short distance ofl" bring to mind very strongly the
idea of a tlock of sheep ^baa-aa-infi.''

'• Indeed, so similar is the sound that a munber of sheep
liiotight up from San Francisco to Saint George's Island during
tlie suninu'r of 1873 were (ionstantly attracted to the rookeries,
nuiniiig in among the seals, and had to be driven away to a
j;ood feeding-ground by a small boy detailed for the purpose.

""Witliout cxplaii.ation I maybe considered as making nso of misapplic<l
tiTiiis ill ilcsciininj; tlicwc animal.H, for tlic iii('oni*isteiiey of eonpliiig ' pups'
^vitli ' ('OWN ' and 'bulls,' and 'rookeries' with the breoding-grounds of
till' same, cannot fail to be noliced ; but this nomejidatiire lias bcon given
iiiiil Used by the English and American whalemen and scaling-parties for
many years, and the chaiacteristic features of the seals suit tlie odd naining
' ^^actly, so mmli so that I liave felt satisfied to retain the style throughout
as rciidrring my description more intelligilde, es])e('ial]y so tn iliose wlm are
'"Kilned in the busiiu'ss or may be hereafter. Tlie llussians ai-e more con-
^istci.i, l)nt not so *])at.' The bnl' is called ' see-catch,' a term im])lying
••tivimtli, vigor, i&c. ; the cow, 'matkah.' or motlier; the pups, 'kotickie,'
"V little sciils; the non-breeiling males, un<lersix iind seven years. ■ liolln> -

liickic," or bachelors. Tlie nami^ applied collectively to the fur-seal by
lliem is 'mor.skie-kot,' or sea-cat."

n i

352 CAM.OKHIXUJS ritSIXrS XORTlIKlfX VVVv SEAL.

''Tlu' sound arising' from these {•reat breediiiy-fironiulsot'tlK
fur-seal, wIumc thousands ui>on thousaiuls of an}>iy, vi;iilaiit
hulls are roariny, ehuekliiij;', ])i]>iriy\ and multitudes of seal-
mothers are calling" in hollow, bla-atiu};' tones to their ycHiii;;,
which in turn resjmnd iiu-essantly, is simply inih'scribablc. It
is, at a sli'jht distance, softened into a deej) booming', as of a
cataract, and can be lieard a long distance off at sea, uiulei
favorable circumstances as far as live or six miles, and fre-
quently warns vessels that may be a])i»roaching the islands in
thick, foggy weather, of tlie positive, though unseen, proximity
of land. Night and day, throughout the season, the dhi of the
rookeries is steady and constant.

" The seals seem to suffer great inconvenience from a coni-
ptiratively low degree of heat ; for, with a temperature of 46=
and 48° on land, during the summer, they show signs of dis
tress from heat whenever they make any exertion, pant, raise
their hind flippers, and use them incessantly as fans. AVith tbe
thermometer at ooO-GOo, they seem to suffer even Avhen at rest.
and at such times the eye is struck by the kaleidoscopic appear
ance of a rookery, on ^vhich a million seals are spread out in
everj' imaginable position their bodies can assume, all indus-
triously fanning themselves, using sometimes the fore flippers
as ventilators, as it were, by holding them aloft motionk'ss, at
the same moment fanning briskly with the hind flipper, or tiip
pers, according as they sit or lie. This wavy motion of flapping
and fanning gives a peculiar shade of hazy indistinctness tu
the whole scene, which is difficult to express in language ; but
one of the most ])rominent characteristics of the fur-seal is this
fanning manner in which they use their flippers, when seen ou
the breeding-grounds in season. They also, when idling, as it
were, oft" shore at sea, lie on their sides, with only a partial ex
posure of the body, the head submerged, and hoist up a lore or
liind flipper clear of the Avater, while scratching themselves or
enjoying a nap; but in this position there is no limning. 1 say
' scratching,' because the seal, in common with all animals, is
preyed upon by vermin, a si)ecieK of louse and a tick, peculiiu
to itself.

''AH the bulls, from the vei;, first, that have been al)li' to
hold their positions, have not left them for an instant, iiiylit •'!
day, nor do they do so until the end of the rut ting-season, wlii^li
subsides entirely between the 1st and lOth of August, begin
ning shortly sifter the <;om ing of the cows in June. Of necessity.

HAIUTS.

353

tlKiclon', this causes tlieni to fast, to abstain eutirdy from food
of any kind, or water, for three months at least, and a few of
iliciii stay four months before goinjjj into the water for the first
time after haulinj; up in May.

"This alone is remarkable euouj^h, but it is simply v.uudtrful
wlicn we conie to associate* the condition .with the unceasing;'
activity, restlessness, and duty devolved upon the bulls as
hoads and fathers of large families. They do not stagnate, like
bears in caves ; it is evidently accomplished or due to the ab-
sorption of their own fat, with which they are so liberally sup-
jiliod when they take their positions on the breeding-ground,
and which gradually diminishes while they remain on it. But
still some most remarkable provision must be made for the en-
tire t()ri)idity of the stomach and bowels, consequent upon their
being empty and unsupplied during this long period, which,
however, in spite of the violation of a supposed physiological ^ —
law, does not seem to aflfect them, for they come back just as \^ Qjuuv^

sleek, tat, and ambitious as ever in the following season.

"I have examined the stomachs of a number which were
driven up and killed immediately after their arrival in spring,
and natives here have seen hundreds, even thousands, of them
tlnring the killing-season in June and July, but in no case has
anything' been fonnd other than the bile and ordinary secretions
of healthy organs of this class, with the exception only of find-
ing in erery one a snarl or cluster of worms {Nematoda), Irom
the size of a walnut to that of one's fist, the fast apparently
bavhig no etfect on them, for when three or four hundred old
bulls were slaughtered late in the fall, to supply the natives
with 'bidarkee' or canoe skins, I found these worms in a lively
• ouditiou in every jjaunch cut open, .and their presence, I
think, gives some reason for the habit which tliese old bulls
liave (if swallowing small bowlders, the stones in some of the
^toinaehs weighing half a pound or so, aiul in one paunch I
found about five pounds in the aggregate of larger pebbles,
^hich in grinding against one another must destroy, in a great
iiieasiirc, tliese intestinal i)ests. The sea-lion is also troubled
ill the saiin' way by a similar species of worm, and 1 have pre-
~^'i V('(l a stomach of one of these animals in which are more
ilian ten pounds of bowlders, some of them alone quite large.

li'' greater size of this animal enables it to swallow stones
^vliicii wcao], t^vj, .^,1,1 tiiive pounds. I can ascribe no other
|'''"i^e lor this habit anuuig these animals than that given, as
Misc. Pill). No. 11.' 1';5

354 CALLORIIINUS UBSINUS — NOUTIIERN FUR SEAL.

tLey are of the highest typo of the carnivora, eating fish as a
regular means of subsistence; [*] varying the monotony of this
diet with occasional juicy fronds of sea- weed, or kelp, and per-
haps a crab, or such, once in a while, provided it is small iiml
tender, or soft-shelled.

" Between the 12th and 14th of June the lirst of the cow-seals
come up from the sea, and the bulls signalize it by a universal.
spasmodic, desperate fighting among themselves.

'' The strong contrast between the males and females in size
and shape is heightened by the air of exceeding peace aud
iimiability which the latter class exhibit.

'' The cows are from -4 to 4i feet in length from head to tail.
,and uuich more shapely in their ])roportions than the bulls, th-
neck and shoulder being iiot near so fat and heavy in propor
tion to the posteriors.

"When they come up, wet and dripping, they are of a dull,
dirty-gray color, darker on the back and upper parts, but iu ;i
few hours the transformation made by drying is wonderful;
you would hardly believe they could be the same animals, foi
they uow fairly glisten with a rich steel and maltese-gray lustti
on the back of the head, neck, and spine, which blends into an
almost pure white cm the chest and abdomen. But this beauti
ful coloring in turn is altered by exi^osure to the weather, lor
in two or three days it will gradually change to a dull, rufoiu>
ocher below, and a cinereous-brown and gray-mixed above ; this
color they retain throughout the breeding-season up to the timi'
of shedding the coat in August.

" The head and eye of the female are really attractive ; tlio
■expression is exceedingly gentle and intelligent ; the large, luij'
trous eyes, in the small, Avell-formed head, apparently glcM
with benignity and satisfaction when she is perched up on some
•convenient rock and has an opportunity to quietly fan herself.

" The cows appear to be driven on to the rookeries by au ac
curate instinctive appreciation of the time in which their period
of gestation ends; for in all cases marked by myself, the pups
are bom soon after landing, some in a few hours after, but most
usually a day or two elapses before delivery.

[*Tho habit of swallowiug stones i.s one apparently foiiunon to nil oil"'
Pinnipeds. Tlie cominon belief among seab^rs and others is that llioy t.iKf
in these stones aw ballast. Compare on tliis point a ([notation alrcidy ^'ivtl'
respecting the Southern 8ea Lion ( OtariajiiVata), diitca, p. 31L Mr. KlHott'
oxplauatiou apiwar.s to ))e more reasonable tJian most that have been pro-
posed.]

HABITS.

355

"They are noticed and received by the bulls on the water-
line station with niu<;h attention ; they are alternately coaxed
and urged up on to the rocks, an«l are inmietliately under the
most Jealous supervision ; but owing to the covetous and ambi-
tious nature of the bulls which occupy the stations reaching
way buck from the water-line, the little cows have a rough-and-
tunihle time of it when they begin to arrive in small numbers
iit fust ; for no sooner is the pretty animal fairly established on
tilt' station of bull number one, who has installed her there, he
pciliajts sees another one of her style down in the water from
which she has just come, ami in obedience to his polygamous
feeling, he devotes himself anew to coaxing the later arrival
in the same winning manner so successful in her case, when
bull number two, seeing bull number one oft" his guard, reaches
out with his long strong neck and picks the unhappy but pas-
sive creature up by the scruft" of hers, .just as a cat does a kit-
ten, and deposits her on his seraglio-ground ; then bidls immber
tliiee, four, and so on, in the vicinity, seeing this high-handed
oiieiation, all assail one another, and especially bull number
two. and have a tremendous light, perhaps for half a minut<? or
so. and during this connnotion the cow generally is moved or
moves farther back from the water, two or three stations more,
where, when all gets quiet, she usually remains in ])eace. Her
last lord and master, not having the exi)0sure to such diverting
temptation as had her first, he gives her such care that she not
only is unable to leave did she wish, but no other bull can seize
upon Iter. This is only one instance of the many difterent trials
and tribulations which both parties on the rookery subject
tliemselves to before the harems are filled. Far back, fifteen or
twenty stations deep from the water-line sometimes, but gen-
wally not more on an average than ten or fifteen, the cows
crowd in at the close of the season for arriving, July 10 to 14,
and then they are able to go about pretty much as they pleast?,
''»r the bulls have become greatly enfeebled by this constant
I'Sliting and excitement during the past two months, and are
'liiite content with even only one or two partners.

'• The cows seem to haul in coinpact bodies from the water up
fo tlic rear of the rookeries, never scattering about over the
Ji'ound; ami they will not lie (piiet in any position oUiSide of
tlie great mass of their kind. This is due to their intensely
giogarious nature, and for the sake of protection. They also
select land witli special reference to the drainage, having ii

350 CALLORIIINUS IR.SINUS NOUTIIKK'X I'Ull 8I-:AL.

This Is wi'U shown

oil

Kiciil dislike to watcr-piuldlcd fiiourul
Saint Piitil.

•• I hiivi^ Ibiiiid it (lilUciilt to as«'ertiiin the averaj{e nniuhci of
cows to one hull on the rookei-y, but 1 think it will be nciuiy
correct to assij^u to each male IVoiii twelve to lifteen leinales,
oc(Mi]>.vinj;' the stations nearest the Mater, and those back in the
rear from tive to nine. 1 have counted forty-tive cows all under
the charj;«' of one bull, which had them penned up on a tiat
table-rock, near Keetavie l*oint; the bull was enabled to do
this (|uite easily, as there was but one way to ^o to or come from
this ser.aglio, and on this i)ath the old Turk took his stand and
guarded it well.

"At the rear of all thes^ rookeries there is always a large
number of able-bodied bidls, who wait patiently, but in vain,
for families, most of them having had to fight as desperately
for the privilege of being there as any of their more fortunately
located neighbors, avIio are nearer the water than themselves;
but the cows do not like to be in any outside position, where
they are not in close company, lying most quiet and content in
the largest harems, and these la vge families i)ack the suiface of
the ground so thickly that there is hardly moving or turninj,'
room until the females cease to come up from the sea ; but the
inaction on the part of the bulls in the rear during the ruttinj,'
season only serves to q aalify them to move into the places va-
cated by those males who are obliged to leave from exhaustion,
and to take the positions of Jealous and fearless protectors for
the young pups in the fall.

"The courage wuth which the fur-seal holds his position, as
the head and guardian of a family, is of the very highest order,
compared with that of other animals. I have repeatedly tried
to drive them when they haxe fairly established themselves,
and have almost always failed, using every stone at my com
mand, making all the noise I could, and, finally, to put their
courage to the full test, I walked up to within 20 feet of a bull
at the rcfir and extreme end of Tolstoi Kookery, Avho had four
cows in charge, and commenced with my double-barreled
breech-loading ,shot-gun to pepper him all over with nnistiird
seed or dust shot. His bearing, in spite of the uoise, smell of
powder, and pain, did not change in the least from the usual
attitude of determined defense wiiich nearly all the bulls as-
sume when attacked with showers of stones and noise; lit'
would dart out right and left and catch the cows, which tini

lIAniTS.

357

idly atti'inptt'd to run after oiieli report, and tliuff and drag
tliciii hack to tlioir jdacos ; tlioii, strctcliing uj* to his lull height,
look MIC directly and defiantly in the lace, roaring and si>itthig
most vclieniently. The cows, however, soon got away from
liiiii: hut he still stood his ground, making little (charges on me
of 10 or I-"* fwt in a saceession of gallops or lunges, spitting
finiously, and then retreating to the ohl position, back of which
lie would not go, fully resolved to hold his own or die in the
attempt.

"This courage is all the more noteworthy from the fact that,
in re;,fard to man, it is invariably of a defensive character. The
seal, if it makes you turn when you attack it, never follows
you much farther than the boundary of its station, and no ag-
•fiavation will comi)el it to become otteusive, as far as I have
been able to observe.

"The cows, during the whole season, do great credit to their
amiable expression by their manner an<l behavior on the rook
ery: ncner fight or (juaiTel one with another, and never or sel
(lom utter a cry of pain or rage when they are roughly handled
Ity the bulls, who frequently get a cow between them and tear
the skin from her back, cutting deep gashes into it, as they
siiatcli her from mouth to mouth. These wounds, however,
heal rapidly, and exhibit no traces the next year.

"The cows, like the bulls, vary much in weight. Two were
taken from the rookery nearest Saint Paul's Villa,'^e, after they
had been delivered of their young, and the respective weights
were .")(» and 101 pounds, the former being about three or four
years old, and the latter over six. They both were fat and in
exeelleiit condition.

"It is quite out of the question to give a fair idea of the i)osi-
tious in which the seals rest when on land. They may be said
to assiuiie every possible attitude which a flexible body can be
put into. One favorite position, espe(.'ially with the cows, is to
pereli ui)on a i)oint or top of some rock and throw their heads
back upon their shoulders, with the nose held aloft, then, clos-
iiiji their eyes, take short nai)s without changing, now and then
gently tanning -with one or the other of the long, slender liind
thpjic : another, and the most common, is to curl themselves
up. just us a dog does on a hearth-rug, bringing the tail and
the nose closfi together. They also stretch out, laying the head
straif^lit with the body, and sleep for an hour or two without
moving, holding one of the hinder flippers up all the time, now
iiiid tlioM gently waving it, the eyes being tightly closed.

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358 CALLORHINUS URSINUS— NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

" The sleep of the fur-SQ^l, from the old bull to the young pup^
is always accompanied by a nervous, muscular twitching aud
slight shifting of the flippers ; quivering and uneasy rolliu<i of
the body, accompanied by a quick folding anew of the fore Hip-
l)ers, which are signs, iis it were, of their having nightiuiues,
or sporting, perhaps, in a visionary wa ; far off in some dream-
land sea ; or disturbed, perhaps more i)robably, by their intes-
tinal parasites. I have studied huijdreds of all classes, steal-
ing softly up so closely that I could lay my hand on theiu, ami
have always found the sleep to be of this nervous description.
The respiration is short and rapid, but with no breathing (un-
less your ear is brought very close) or snoring sound ; the heav-
ing of the flanks only indicates the action. I have frequently
thought that I had succeeded in finding a snoring seal, espe-
cially among the pups, but a close examination always gave
some abnormal reason for it, generally a slight distenq)er, l)y
vrhich the nostrils were stopped up to a greater or less degree,

"As I have said before, the (;ows, soon after landing, are de-
livered of their young.

"Immediately after the birth of the puj), (twins are rare, if
ever [occurring],) it finds its voice, a weak, husky hlaat, and
begins to paddle about, with eyes wide open, in a confused sort
of way for a few minutes until the mother is ready to give it
attention, and, still later, suckle itj and for this piu'pose slie
is provided with four small, brown nipples, placed about eight
inches apart, lengthwise with the body, on the abdomen, be
tween the fore aud hinder flippers, with some four inches of
space between them transversely. The nipples are not usually
visible ; only seen through the hair and fur. The milk is abuii
daut, rich, and creamy. The pups nurse very heartily, gorgiu;,'
themselves.

"The pup at birth, and for the next three months, is of a jet-
black color, hair, eyes, and flippers, save a tiny white patch
just back of each fore foot, and weighs from 3 to 4 pounds, aud
12 to 14 inches long ; it does not seem to nurse more than once
every two or three days, but in this I am most likely mistakeu,
for they may have received attention from thj?- mother in the
night or other times in the day when I was unable to watch
them.

"The apathy with which the young are treated by the old on
the breeding-grounds is somewhat strange. I have never seeu
a cow caress or fondle her ofltspring, and should it stray but a

HABITS.

359

short distance from the hareiu, it can be picked up and killed
before the motlier's eyes, without causing her to show the
sli<,4itest concern. The same indifference is exhibited by the
bul! to all that takes place outside of the boundary of his se-
iiifilio. While the pups are, however, within the limits of his
liiu'cm-j^rouud, he is a. jealous and fearless protector; but if the
lirrlc animals pass beyond this boundary, then they n)ay be
(.iirriod off Avithout the slightest attention in their behalf from
rlioir guardian.

" It is surprising to me how few of the pups get crushed to
death while the ponderous bulls are floundering over them
when engaged in lighting. I have seen two bulls dash at each
other with all the energy of furious rage, meeting right in the
midst of a small 'pod' of forty or tifty pups, trampling over
them Avitli their crushing Aveights, and bowling them out right
and left in every direction, without injuring a single one. 1 do
not think more than 1 per cent, of the pups born each season
are lost in this manner on the rookeries.

''To test the vitality of these little animals, I kept one in the
house to ascertain how long it could live without nursing, hav-
ing taken it immediately after birth and before it could get
any taste of its mother's milk ; it lived nine days, and iu the
whole time half of every day was spent in floundering about
over the floor, accompanying the movement with a persistent
hoarse blaating. This experiment certainly shows wonderful
vitality, and is worthy of an animal that can live four months^
without food or water and preserve enough of its latent; strength
and vigor at the end of that time to go far off to sea, and return
as fat and hearty as ever during the next season.

'' In the pup, the head is the only disproportionate feature
when it is compared with the proportion of the adult form, the
neck being also relatively shorter and thicker. E shall have to
speak again of it, as it grows and changes, when I finish with
the breeding-season now under consideration.

"'The cows appear to go to and come from the water quite fre-
queutly, and usually return to the spot, or its iieighborhood,
where they leav^e their j)ups, crying out for them, and recogniz-
iug the individual replies, though ten thousand around, all to-
gether, should blaat at once. They (piickly single out their
own and attend them. It would be a very unfortunate matter
if the mothers could not identify their young by sound, since
their i>up.s get together like a great swarm of bees, spread out

360 CALLORIIINUS URSINUS NORTHERN FIR SEAL.

upon tlic ground in 'pods' or groups, while they are youiif;,
and not very hirge, but by the middle and end of Seiteinber,
until they leave in Xoveniber, they cluster t')gether, sleeping
and frolicking by tens of thousan<ls. A niotlicr conies uj) from
the water, where she has l)een to wash, and perhaps to fend,
for the last day or two, to about where she thinks her imp
should be, but misses it, and flnds instead a swarm of pui)y iu
which it has been incorporated, owing to its great fondness for
society. The mother, without at ftrst entering into the crowd
of thousands, calls out, just as a sheep does for her lambs, lis-
tens, and out of all the din she — if not at first, at the end of a
few trials — recognizes the voice of her offspring, and then ad-
vances, striking out right and left, and over the crowd, toward
tho position from which it replies ; but if the pup at this time
happens to be asleep she hears nothing from it, even though it
were close by, and in this case the cow, after calling for a time
without being answered, curls herself up and takes a nap, or
lazily basks, and is most likely more successful when she calls
again.

" The pups themselves do not know their mothers, but they
are so constituted that they incessantly cry out at short inter
vals during the whole time they are awake, and in this way
a mother can pick, out of the monotonous blaatin^ of thou
sands of 'nips, her own, and she will not permit any other
to suckle.

"Between the end of July and the 5th or 8th of August the
rookeries are completely changed in appearance ; the systematii
and regular disposition of the families, or harems, over the
whole extent of ground has disappeared ; all order heretofore
existing seems to be broken up. The rutting- season over, those
bulls which held positions now leave, most of them very thin
in flesh and weak, and I think a large proportion of them dn
not come out again on the land during the season ; and such as
do conie, appear, not fat, but in good flesh, and in a new coat
of rich dark and gray-brown hair and fur, with gray and
grayish-ocher 'wigs' or over-hair on the shoulders, forming' n
strong contrast to the dull, rusty-brown and umber dross in
which they appeared during the summer, and which they ]i;ni
begun to shed about the 15th of August, in common witli tlie
cows and bachelor seals. After these bulls leave, at the ('lo"*f
of their season's work, those of them that do return to the land
do not come back until the end of September, and do not lianl

' ^^ ;:.'.t_^r--i — -'

HAHITS.

361

iij) oil the rookcry-ftrouiuls as a rule, ring to herd together,

as (1(1 the young male-s, on the sa -vehes and other roeky
points close to the water. The ^- l^ups, and those l»ulls
which have been in retirement, n. .ke possession, in a very
disorderly manner, of the rookeries; also, come a large number
ofyonng, three, four, and live year old males, who have not
been permitted to land among the cows, during the rutting-
season, by the older, stronger bulls, who have savagely fought
them otf whenever they made (as they constantly do) an attempt
to land.

" Three-fourths, at least, of the cows are now off in the water,
only coming ashore to nurse and look after their pups a short
time. They lie idly out in the rollers, ever and anon turning
over and over, scratching their backs and sides with their fore
and liind flippers. Nothing is more suggestive of immense
comfort and enjojment than is this action of these animals.
Tiii'v appear to get very lousy on the breeding-ground, an'i che
tVequent winds and showers drive and spatter sand into their
fur and eyes, making the latter quite sore in many oases. They
also ])ack the soil under foot so hard and solid that it holds
water in the surface depressions, just like so many rock basins,
on the rookery; out and into these puddles they flounder an<l
patter incessantly, until evaporation slowly abates the nuisance.
•• The pups sometimes get so tlioroughly plastered in these
muddy, slimy puddles, that theii- Iiair falls ott' in patches, giving
tbein the appearance of being troubled with scrofula or some
other plague, at flrst sight, but they are not, from my observa-
tion, perraaner.iy in'med.

" Early in Angus . Hth) the pups that are nearest the water (m
the rookeries essay swimming, but make slow and clumsy prog-
ress, tlounderiug about, wlien over head in depth, in the most
awkward manner, thrashing the water with their fore flippers,
not using tlie hinder ones- In a few seconds, or a minute at
the most, the youngest is so weary that he crawls out upon
the roeks or beach, and immediately takes a recuperative nap,
repeating the lesson as tpiick as he awakes and is rested. Tliey
so(»n p't familiar with the water, and delight in it, swinnning
in endless evolutions, twisting, turning, diving, and when ex-
hausted, they draw up on tiie beach again, shake themselves as
young dogs do, either going to sleep on the spot, or having a
lazy iVolic among themsch es.
"In this matter of learning to swim, I have not seen any

' ' i''

i: i

.;^'l

I r

362 CALLORHINUS UKSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

'drivinjjf' of the youiig pups into the water by the old in order
to teach them this process, as has been atfiruied by writers on
the subject of seal life.

" The pups are constantly shifting, at the close of the ruttiiijij-
season, back and forth over the rookery in large squads, some-
times numbering thousands. In the course of these chaiiyos
of position tliey all come sooner or 'ater in contact with tlic sea ;
the pup blunders into the water for the iirst time in a most
awkward mainior, and gets (mt again as (juick as it can, but so
far from showing any fear or dislike of this, its most natural
element, as soon as it rests from its exertion, is immediately
ready for a new trial, and keeps at it, if the sea is not too
stormy or rougli at the time, imtil it becomes quite familiar
with the water, and during all this period of self-tuition it
seems to tlioroughly enjoy the exercise.

"By the loth of September all the pups have become familiar
with the water, have nr^arly all deserted the background of
the rookeries and are down by the water's edge, and skirt the
rocks and beaches for long distances on ground previously un-
occupied by seals of any class.

»'Tliey are now about ftve or six times their original weight,
and are beginning to shed their black hair and take on their
second coat, which does not vary at this age between the sexes.
They do this very slowly, and cannot be called out of moltius
or shedding until the middle of October, as a rule.

" The pup's second coat, or sea-going j.acket, is a unifoiiii,
dense, light pelage, or under-fur, grayish in some, light-browu
in others, the fine, close, soft, and elastic hairs which compose
it being about one-half of an inch in length, and over-hair, two
thirds of an inch long, quite coarse, giving the color by which
you recognize the condition. This over -hair, on the back, nee)'.
and head, is a dark chinchilla-gray, blending into a white, just
tinged with a grayish tone on the abdomen and chest. The
ui)per lip, where the whiskers or mustache takes root, is of a
lighter-gray tone than that which surrounds. This mustacln'
consists of fifteen or twenty longer or shorter whitish-gri\v
bristles (one-half to three inches) on each side and back of the
nostrils, which are, as I have before said, similar to that of u
dog.

"The most attractive feature about the fur-seal pup, awl
upward as it grows, is the eye, which is exceedingly large, dark.
and liquid, with which, for beauty and amiability, to.<jether with

HABITS.

363

intellijionce of expression, those of no otlier animal can be com-
pared. The lids tare well supplied with eyelashes.

'• I do not think that their range of vision on land, or out of the
water, is very great. 1 have had them (the adults) ca.ch sight
of my person, so as to distinguish it as a foreign character, three
and tour hundred paces oft", with the wind l)lowi)ig strongly
from them toward myself, but generally they will allow you to
approacli very close indeed, bcrore recognizing your strange-
ness, and the pups will scarcely notice the form of a liuman
being until it is fairl;y on them, whereupon they make a lively
noise, a me<lley of coughing, spitting, snorting, blnating, and
):i't away from its immediate vicinity, but instantly resume,
liowin cr, their previous occupation of either sleeping or play-
ing, as though nothing had liappened.

" But the power of scent is (together with their hearing, be-
fore mentioned) exceedingly keen, for I have found that I would
most invariably awake them from soundest sleep if I got to the
windward, even when standing n considerable distance off'.

" To recapitulate and sum up the system of reproduction on
the rookeries as the seals seem to have arranged it, I would
say, that —

" First. The earliest bulls appear to land in a negligent, indo-
lent way, shortly after the rocks at the water's edge are free
from ice, frozen snow, &c. This is generally about the 1st to
the otli of May. They land first and last in perfect confidence
and without fear, very fat, ami of an average weight of five
liundred pounds; som.- staying at the water's edge, some going
away back, in fact all over the rookery.

" Second. That by the 10th or 12th of June, all the stations
on the rookeries have been mapiied out, fought for, and held in
waiting for the cows by the strongest and most enduring bulls,
wlio are, as a rule, never under six years of age, aiul sometimes
three, and even ocCcasionally four times as old.

''Third. That the cows make their first appearance, as a class,
by the 12th or 15tli of June, in rather small numbers, but by
the 2.')d and 25th of this mont they begi?\ to flock up so as to
til! the harems very perc(iptibly, cand by the 8th or 10th of July
they have most all come, stragglers excepted ; average weight
eighty pounds.

" Fourth. That the rutting-season is at its height from the 10th
to the inth of July, and that it subsides entirely at the end of
this month and early in August, and that it is confined entirely
to the land.

IfliliP^s

ilir

i i i *

364 CALLORIIINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

" Fifth. That the cows bear tlieir first young when three yoar.s
of ajjc.

"Sixth. That tlie cows are limited to a single pii)) each, as a
rnle, in hearing, and this is born soon after landing; no excep-
tion has thus far been witnessed.

" Seventh. That the bulls who ha\*e held vhe harems leave for
the wat<?r in a straggling manner at tlu^ close of the rutting-
season, greatly emaciated, not returning, if at all, until six or
seven weeks have elapsed, jind that the regular systematic
distribution of families over the rookeries is at an end for the
season, a general medley of young bulls now free to come up
from the water, old males who have not been on seraglio duty,
cows, and an immense majority of pups, since only about 25
per cent, of their mothers are out of the water at a time.

" The rookeries lose their compactness and definite bounda-
ries by the 2otli to 28th July, when the pups begin to haul hack
and to the right and left in small squads at first, but as the
season goes on, by the 18tli August, they swarm over three and
four times the area occupied by them when born on the rook-
eries. The system of family arrangement and definite compact
ness of the breeding-classes begins at this date to break up.

" Eighth. That by the 8th or 10th of August the i)ups bom
nearest the water begin to learn to swim, and by the 15th or
20tli of September they are all familiar mor-^ or less with it.

"Ninth. That by the middle of September the rookeries are
entirely broken up, only confused, straggling bands of cows,
J oung bachelors, pups, and small squads of old bulls, crossing
and recrossing the ground in an aimless, listless manner ; the
season is over, but iny of these seals do not leave these
grounds until driven otf by snow and ice, as late as the end of
December and 12th of January.

'•'■['•'' Ilaulinggrounds.^' — ] This recapitulation is the sum and
substance of my observations on the rookeries, and I will now
turn to the consideration of the hauling-grounds, ujjon which
the yearlings and almost all the males under six years come
out from the sea in squads from a hundred to a thonsan<l, and.
later in the season, by hundreds of thousands, to sleep and
frolic, going from a (piarter to lialf a mile back iroin the sea, as
at English Bay.

"This class of seals are termed 'hoUuschukie' (or 'baclidor
seals') by the natives. It is with the seals of this division that
these peo])le are most familiar, since they are, together with a

■V^r.

HABITS.

365

few tliousaud pups and some old bulla, the only oues driven up
to the killing-grounds for their skins, for reasons which are ex-
cellent, and which shall be given further on.

"Since the 'holluschukie' are not permitted by their own
kind to land on the rookeries and rest there, they have the
choice Oi two methods of landing and locating.

" One of these opportunities, and least used, is to pass up
from and down to the water, through a rookery on a pathway
left l>y connuon consent between the harems. Ou these lines
of i)ti><«age they are unmolested by the old and jealous bulls,
who guard the seraglios ou either side as they go and come ;
generally there is a continual file of them on the way, travel-
ing' up or down.

"As the two and three year old holluschukie come up in small
squads with the first bulls in the spring, or a few days later,
these common highways between the rear of the rookery-ground
and the sea get well defined and traveled over before the arrival
of the cows ; for just as the bulls crowd up for their stations, so
do the bachelors, young and old, increase. These roadways
may be termed the lines of least resistance in a big rookery ;
they are not constant ; they are splendidly shown on the large
rookeries of Saint Paul's, one of them (Tolstoi) exhibiting this
feature finely, for the hauling-ground lies up back of the rook-
ery, on a flat and rolling summit, 100 to 120 feet .above the sea-
level. The young males and yearlings of both sexes come
through the rookery on these narrow pathways, and, before
reaching the resting-ground above, are obliged to climb up an
almost abrupt bluff, by following and struggling in the little
water-runs and washes which are worn in its face. An this
is a large hauling-ground, on which fifteen or twenty thousand
commonly lie every day during the season, the sight always, at
all times, to be seen, in the way of seal climbing and crawling,
was exceedingly novel and interesting. They climb over and
np to places here where a clumsy man might at first sight
say he woidd be unable to ascend.

"The other method by which the 'holluschukie' enjoy them-
selves on land is the one most followed and favored. They, in
this case, repair to the beaches unoccupied between the rook-
cries, uud there extend themselves out all the way back from
the water a<5 far, in some cases, as a (piarter of .a mile, and even
farther. 1 have had under my eye, in one straightforward
sweep, from Zapad-nie to Tolstoi, (three miles,) a million and a

366 CALLORHINUS UR8INU8 — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

half of seals, at least, (about the middle of July.) Of these I
estimated fully one-half were pups, yearlings, and * hoUuschu-
kiw.' The great majority of the two latter classes were hauled
out and pack'^d thickly over the two miles of sand-beach and
flat which lay between the rookeries ; many large herds were
back as far from the water as a quarter of a mile.

•'A sumll flock of the younger ones, from one to three years
ohl, will frequently stray away back from the hauling-ground
lines, 'out and up onto the fresh moss and grass, and tliere
sport and play, one with another, just as puiipy-d'ogs do; and
when weary of this gamboling, a general disposition to sleep is
suddenly manifested, and they stretch themselves out and curl
ui) in all the positions and all the postures that their flexible
spines and ball-and-socket joints will permit. One will lie upon
his back, holding up his hind flippers, lazily waving them in
the air, while he scratches or rather rubs his ribs with the fore
hands alternately, the eyes being tightly closed ; and the breath,
indicated by the heaving of his flanks, drawn quickly but regu-
larly, as though in heavy sleep ; another will be flat upon his
stomach, his hind flippers drawn under and concealed, while he
tightly folds his fore feet back against his sides, just as a fish will
sometimes hold its pectoral fins ; and so on, without end of va-
riety, according to the ground .and disposition of the animals.

"While the young seals undoubtedly have the power of going
without food, they certainly do not sustain any long fasting
periods on land, for their coming and going is frequent and
irregular ; for instance, three or four thick, foggy days Avill
sometimes call them out by hundreds of thousands, a million
or two, on the different hauling-grounds, where, in some cases.
they lie so closely together that scarcely a foot of ground, over
acres in extent, is bare ; then a clearer and warmer day will
ensue, and the ground, before so thickly packed with animal-
life, will be almost deserted, comparatively, to be filled again
immediately on the recurrence of favorable weather. They are
in just as good condition of flesh at the end of the season as at
the first of it.

"These bachelor seals are, I am sure, Avithout exception, the
most restless animals in the whole brute creation ; they frolic
and lope about over the grounds for hours, without a moment's
cessation, and their sleep after this is short, and is accompanied
with nervous twitchings and uneasy movements; they seem to
be fairly brimful and overrunning with warm life. I have never

HABITS.

367

observed anything like ill-humor grow out of their playing to-
{jetlicr; invtiriably well pleased one with another in all their
frolicsoiue struggles.

"The pups and j'earlings haA'e an especial fondness lor sport-
inj: on the rocks which are just at the watei-'s level, so as to be
alteniiitely covered and uncovered bj- the sea-rollers. On the
bare summit of these water- worn spots they struggle and clam-
ber, a dozen or two at a time, occasionally, for a single lock ;
the strongest or luckiest one pushing the others all ott", which,
liowever, simply redouble their efforts and try to dislodge him,
who thus has, for a few moments only, the advantage ; for with
the next roller and the other ])ressure, he generally is ousted,
and the game is repeated. Sometimes, as well as I could see,
iho same squad of 'holluschukie' pl.ayed around a rock thus
situated, off" ' Nail Sped' rookery, during the whole of one day;
but, of course, they cannot be told apart.

"The Miolluschukie,' too, are the champion swimmers; at
least they do about all tlie fancy tumbling au<l turning that is
(lone by the fur-seals when in the water around the islands.
The grave old bulls and their matronly companions seldom
indulge in any extravagant display, such as Jumping out of the
water like so many <lolphins, describing, as these youngsters
flo, beautiful elliptic cui'ves, rising three and even four feet
from the sea, Avith the back slightly arched, the fore flippers
folded back against the sides, and the hinder ones extended and
pressed together straight out behind, plumping in head first,
reappearing in the same manner after an interval of a few sec-
onds.

"All classes will invariably make these dolphin-jumps [*] when
they ar(^ suddenly surprised or are driven into the water, turn-
ing" their hea<l8, while sailing in the air, between the 'rises'
and ' plumps,' to take a look at the cause of their disturbance.
They all swim with great rapidity, and may be fairly said to
dart with the velocity of a bird on the wing along under the
water ; and in all their swimming I have not been able yet to
satisfy myself how they used their long, flexible, hind feet, other
than as steering mediums. The propelling motion, if they have
any, is so rapid, that my eye is not quick enough to catch it ;

the fore feet, however, can be very distinctly seen to work.

['Mr. J. H. Blak«, who accompanied Professor Agasslz on the Hassler Ex-
Pfiditiou to Soutli America in 1871, as artrst of the expedition, observed the
isouthern Sea Lions (Otaria jubata) performing similar evohitions.]

368 CALLOIMIINUS UKSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

featheiiiij? forward and sweeping back flatly, opposed to the
water, with great rapidity and energy, and are evidently the
sole propulsive power.

"All tbeir movements in the water, when in traveling or sport,
aro quick and joyous, and nothing is more suggestive of intense
sa^ isfaction and great comfort than is the spectacle of a few
thousand old bulls and cows, oft" and from a rookery in August,
idly rolling over, side by side, rubbing and scratching with the
fore and hind flippers, which are here and there stuck up out
of the water like lateen-sails, or *cat-o'-nine tails,' in either case,
as it may be.

"When the 'hoUuschukie' are uj) on land they can be readily

^'''^ separated into two classes by the color of their coats and size,

viz, the yearlings, and the two, three, four, and five year old
bulls.

" The first class is dressed just as they were after they shed
their pup-coats and took on the second the previous year, iu
September and October, and now, as they come out iu the
spring and summer, the males and females cannot be distin-
guished apart, either by color or size; both yearling sexes
having the same gray backs and white bellies, and are the same
in behavior, action, weight, and shape.

"About the 15th and 20th of August they begin to grow
' stagey,' or shed, in common with all the other classes, the pups
excepted. The over-hair requires about six weeks from the
commencement of the dropping or falling out of the old to its
full renewal.

" The pelage, or fur, which is concealed externally by the
hair, is also shed and renewed slowly in the same manner; but,
being so much finer than the hair, it is not so apparent. It was
to me a great surprise to ' learn,' from a man who has been
heading a seal-killing party on these islands during the past
three years, and the Government agent in charge of these in-
terests, that the seal never shed its fur ; that the over-hair only
was cast off and replaced. To prove that it does, however, is a
very simple matter, and does not require the aid of a micro-
scope. For example, take up a prime spring or fall skin, after
every single over-hair on it has been plucked out, and you will
have difficulty, either to so blow upon the thick, fine fur, or
to part it with the fingers, as to show the hide from which it
has grown; then take a 'stagey' skin, by the end of August
and early in September, when all the over-hair is present, about

HAIJITS.

36!)

oHclfiird to one-half groicn, and the first putt" you expend upon
it ciisily siiows the liido below, sometimes quite a broad welt.
This iinder-f'ur, or pelajjfo, is so fine and delicate, and so uuicli
concealed and shaded by the coarse over-hair, that a careless
eye may be pardoned for any such blunder, but oidy a very cas-
u. 1 observer could make it.

"The yearling cows retain the colors of the old coat in che
new, and from this time on shed, year after year, just so, for the
young and the old cows look alike, as far as color goes, when
they haul up on the rookeries in the summer.

"The yearling males, however, make a radical change, com-
ing out from their 'staginess' in a uniform dark-gray and gray-
black mixed and lighter, and dark ocher, on the under and up-
per parts, resi)ectively. This coat, next year, when they come
up on the hauling-grounds, is very dark, and is so for the third,
fourth, and fifth years, when, after this, they begin to grow
more gray and brown, year by year, with rufoas-ocher and
whitish-gray tipped overnair on the shoulders. Some of the
very old bulls become changed to uniform dull grayish-ocher
all over.

"The female does not get her full growth and weight until the
end of her fourth year, so far as I have observed, but does the
most of her growing in the first two.

"The male does not get his full growth and weight until the
close of his seventh year, but realizes most of it by the end of
the fifth, osteologically, and from this it may be, perhaps, truly
inferred that the bulls live to an average age of eighteen or
twenty years, if undisturbed in a normal condition, and that
the cows attain ten or twelve under the same circumstances.
Their respective eight, when fully mature and fat in the spring,
will, I think, stnice an average of four to five hundred pounds
for the male and from seventy to eighty for the female.

" From th' i fact that all the young seals do not change much in
weight, frora the time of their first coming out in the spring
till that of their leaving in the fall and early winter, I feel safe
iu saying, since they, too, are constantly changi.ig from land to
^viiter and from water to land, that they fee*^ at irregular but
not long intervals during the time they are here under obser-
vation. 1 do not think the young males fast longer than a week
wten (lays at a time as a class. . . ; ■ ;■ ; .•

"They leave evidences of their being on these great repro-
<hictivo fields, chiefly on the rookeries, such as hundreds of
Misc. Pub. No. 12 24

'■' rm

i^ ti

imm

r V, ^:

370 CALLORHINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

the dead carcasstiS of those of them that have been infirm, sick,
killed, or which have crawled off to die Jtom death-wounds re
ceived in some struggle for a harem ; and over these decaying,
jiutrid bodies, the living, old and young, clamber and patter.
and by this constant stirring up of putrescent matter give rise
to an excoedingly disagreeable and far-reaching ' funk,' which
has been, by all the writers who have spoken on the subject, re-
ferred to as the smell Avhich these animals have in nitting. If
these creatures have any such odor peculiar to them when iu
this condition, I will frankly confess that I am unable to dis-
tinguish it from the fumes which are constantly being stirred
up and rising out from these decaying carcasses of old seals and
the many pups which have been killed accidentally by the old
bulls while fighting with and charging back and forth against
one another.

" They, however, have a peculiar smell when they are driven
and get heated ; their steaming breath exhalations possess a
disagreeable, faint, sickly tone, but it can by no means be con
founded with what is universally understood to be the rutting
odor among animals. The finger rubbed on a little fm-seal
blubber will smell very much like that which is appreciated iu
their breath coming from them when driven, only stronger,
Both the young and old fur-seals have this same breath-smell
at all seasons.

"By the end of October and the 10th of November the great
mass of the ^hoUuschukie' have taken their departure; the few
that remain from now until as late as the snow and ice will
permit them to do, in and after December, are all down by the
water's edge, and hauled up almost entirely on the rocky
beaches only, deserting the sand. The first snow falling makes
them uneasy, as also does rain-fall. I have seen a large haul
ing-ground entirely deserted after a rainy day and night by its
hundreds of thousands of occupants. The falling drops spatter
and beat the sand into their eyes, fur, &c., I presume, and iu
this way make it uncomfortable for them.

" The weather in which the fur-seal delights is cool, moist.
foggy, and thick enough to keep the sun always obscured so as
to cast no shadows. Such weather, continued for a few weeks
in June and July, brings them up from the sea by millions;
but, as I have before said, a little sunlight and the temperatuiv
as high as 50° to 55°, will send them back from the hauling
grounds almost as quickly as they came. These simny, waiw

MODE OF CAPTURE.

371

days are, however, on Saint Paul's Island, very rare indeed,
and .0 the seals can have but little ground of complaint, if we
may presume that they have any at all."*

THE C^iASE -The manner of capturing the Fur Seals has
groatl vaned at difierent times and at different localities.
Kraschennukow states that on liehring's Island, a century an
jarier ago, the common way of killing them was to hrs

w : i Th^^^^^^^ "'*' '''''''^ "'^ ^^^" ^•^^t «"^ theh- brains
m 11 , Inks. This he says was a work of so much labor that
-hroe men were hardly able to kill one with 300 strokes "In
cmsequence of their seldom landing on the Kamtschatka 'coast
! r;? "^'"^^^ ''^'' «^^* «^« »-«ves were accustomed to
P r.s ne them in boats, "and throw darts or harpoons ac them."
Ue says they had to be particularly cautious not to let the
wounded Sea "fasten upon the side of the boat and overturn

wi h T-T r'; i" "'" ^'"^ "' ^'^^ fi«^«™- «t-^l ready
^utll axes to cut off his paws."t

Cjiiptain Scammon thus describes the pursuit of the Fur Seal

1 ^r ^%'^'^««"^:- I«'-<^= "When going in pursut

nom in the morning, and usually return the following evening

The flshmg.gear consists of two spears, which are fitted to a

P|-.ed pole fifteen feet in length j to ihe spears a llris^t

ached which IS fastened to the spear-pole close to, or is held

he hand of, the spearman, when he darts the weapon. A

eal- lub IS a so provided, as well as two seal-skin buoys-the

^t 1 be ^aken a, the canoe to be used in rough weather;

Hn i hT, ultT' ^'"?8- P«^r«^^' «^" »ot be managed with the
me ,u hand, a buoy is ^bent on', and the animal is allowed to
At Its o«.n com-se for a time. Its efforts to escape, by divinr

nevf '' t:^ ^'"^^■"«" '^'"^^ "^'^^' "- «-^-« of 'the Z^

Si '^.U V'V'^b ""^^ ^' i« «^l>t"red by bemg clubbed.

he olo • ^ '''' ' *^'" *^' P"'" i« instantly withdrawn, and
sdZtH 1 ""I'^l'''^""*^ *^ ^'^^ floundering creatm-e, which

1 f^^^^^^^ :f ^f-e described. Indians from the Vancouver
^liorelieciuently Start uUhe night, so as to be on the bestseai-

* Condition of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 123-150.

t Hist. Kamtsch. (Englisli ed.), p. 130. , '

.(«

.'172 cAi.T.oiiiiixrs imsiNra — noktiikrn fuk seal.

>V;'

iiij,' fjfiound in the inorninjf. This localitj' is .said to bo soutli-
Avcst of Cape Classet, five to fifteen miles distant."*

In liuntinj^ Seals for their eommercial prodncts the common
method of killing them appears to have generally been by club-
bing them, as is at present practiced on the Seal Islands of
Alaska, one or two lieavy blows npon the head being sulficieut
to dispatch them. The method of attack is very much like that
practiced in destroying herds of Walruses, already described.
A large party cautiously laud, when possible, to the leeward of
a rookery, and then, at a given signal, rush upon the Seals, with
loud shouting, and with their clubs soon destroy large number.s.
It has generally been practiced without system or restraint,
resulting in the speedy destruction of large rookeries. As is
well known, the Southern Sea Bears or Fur Seals {Arctocephalm
^^falklandicus," A. forsteri, A. ^^ cinereiiSj'^ etc.) were long since
practically exterminated at many localities where they were
formerly very abundant, as has been the case Avith the Northern
Fur Seal on our own Califomian coast. At one time thje same
destructive and ruinous policy was pursued by the Kussiaus at
the Prybilov Islands, but th^ folly of such a practice was soon
peiceived, and through government interference theii* extermi-
nation there has been happily prevented. Their destruction is
at present regulated by the United States Government, the

j whole matter being judiciously and systematically managed.

' The manner of taking and killing the Seals, and the method
adopted to prevent their decrease, has been described in detail
by Mr. Elliott, and is here appended.

"Taking t'ie Seals. — By reference to the habits of the fur
seal, it is plain that two-thirds of all the males that are born (and

; thoy are equal in number to the females born) are never per
mitted by the remaining third, strongest by natural selection,

" to land upon the same ground with the females, which always

■• herd together en masse. Therefore, this great band of bachelor
seals, or ' hoUuschuckie,' is compelled, wiien it visits land, to
live apart entirely, miles away frequently, from the brooding
grounds, and in this admirably perfect manner of nat.ne arc
those seals which can be properly killed without injury to the

'rookeries selected and held aside, so that the natives can visit
and take them as they would so many hogs, without disturbing
in the .slightest degree the peace and quiet of the breeding-

1 grounds where the stock is perpetuated.

* Marine Mammalia, pp. 1.54, L^S.

MODE OF (ArrrHi:.

373

-The niiimier in which the nativi's Ciiptuic iuid drive the
lioiliisclmckie up from the htiuliiig-;4roiiiuls to the sh»U{>hteriug-
liclds near the vilUige.s and elsewhere, cannot he improved upon,
;iii(l is most sutisl'actory.

"in the early part of the season large bodies of the young-
baclielor seals do not haul uj) on land very far from the water,
a liw '<><ls at the most, and the men are obliged to approach
slyly and run quickly between the dozing sej^s and the surf,
hclbie they take alarniMnd bolt into the sea, and in this way a
(lo/A'U Aleuts, running down the long sand-beach of Euglish
Bay, some driving-morning early in June, will turn back from
the water thousands of seals, Just as the mold-board of a plow
lays over and back a furrow of earth. As the sleeping seals
are lirst startled they arise, and seeing men between them and
the water, inunediately turn, loi)e and 8crand)le rapidly back
over the land; the natives then leisurely walk on the tiauks and
in the rear of the drove thus secured, and direct and drive them
over to the kiUing-grounds.

"A drove of seals on hard or firm grassy ground, in cool and
moist weather, may with safety be driven at the rate of half a
mile an hour; they can be urged along with the expenditure of
a great many lives in the drove, at the speed of a mile or a mile
and a quarter even per hour, but this is highly injudicious and
i!< seldom ever done. A bull seal, fat and unwieldj', cannot
travel with the younger ones, but it can lope or gallop as it
were over the gTound as fast as an ordinary man can run for a
hun<lred yards, but then it falls to the earth supine, utterly
exhausted, hot and gasping for breath.

"The seals, when driven thus to the killing-grounds, require
but little urging; they are permitted to frequently halt and
cool off, as heating them injures their fur; they never show
fight any more than a flock of sheep would do, unless a few old
seals are mixed in, which usually get so weary that they prefer
toeonie to a stand-still and light rather than to move; this action
oil their part is of great advantage to all parties concerned, and
the old fellows are always permitted to dro]> behind and remain,
tor tlie lur on tliem is of little or no value, the pelage very much
shorter, coarser, and more scant than in the younger, esi)ecially
wi on th(> ]>arts posteriorly. This change in the condition of
the t'lir seems to set in at the time of their shedding, in the
tifth year as a rule. . .

"As the drove progresses the seals all move in about the same

''r I'

iJ^^

fill If/!'

<l^Bl!

■mi

374 CALLORHINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL,

way, a kind of a walkinjif-step and a slidinj;, sliambling gallop,
and the profjjression of the whole body i.s a succession of stai ts,^
made every few minutes, spasmodic and irregular. Kvery now
and then a seal will get weak in the lumbar region, and drag
liis posterior after it for a short distance, but finally drops breath-
less and exhausted, not to revive for hours, days perha])s. mid
often never. Quite a large luimber of the weaker ones, on tho
driest <lriving-days, are tlius laid out iind left on the road; if
one is not too much heated at the time, the native driver usually
taps the beast over the head ami removes its skin. This will
hap])en, no matter how carefully they are driven, and the death-
loss is (piite large, as much as .'i or 4 per cent, on the loiij;or
drives, such as three and four miles, from Zapadnio or Polavina
to the village on Saint Paul's, and T feel satistied that a consid-
erable innnber of those rejected from the drove and i)ermitt('d
to return to the water die subsequently from internal iujniios
sustained on the drive from overexertion. I therefore think it
improper to extend drives of seals over any distance exceediiij;
a mile or a mile and a half. It is better for all jiarties con-
eerned to erect salt-houses and establish killing-grounds adjii-
cent to all of the great hauling-grounds on Saint Paul's island
should the business ever be developed above the present limit.
As matters .-ow are, the ninety thousand seals belonging to
the quota of Saint Paul last summer were taken and skinned in
less than forty days within one mile from either the village, or
salt-house on Northeast Point.

'-m

■Kl-

^ mf

1 ,

' ■

iilik

" Killing the Seals. — The seals when brought up to the kill
ing- grounds are herded there until cool and rested ; then squads or
'pods' of tifty to two hundred are driven out from the body ot
the drove, surrounded and huddled up one against and over the
other, by the natives, who caiTy each a long, heavy club of hard
wood, with which they strike the seals down by blows upon the
head; a single stroke of a heavy oalc bludgeon, well and fairly
delivered, will crush in at once the si 'ht, thin bones of a seal's
skull, laying the creature out lifeless; . .ese strokes are nsuallj
repeated several times with each animal, but are very quickly
done.

" The kill? g-gang, consisting usually of fifteen or twenty men
at a time, are under the supervision of a chief of their own se-
lection, and have, before going into action, a common under-
standing as to what grades to kill, sparing the others which are

MODE OF CAPTURE.

375

uulit, under age, &c., permitting them to eseiipe and return to
the water as soon as the marked ones are knocked down ; the
natives then drag the shiin out from the heap in which they
Imve t'aUen, and spread the bodies out over the ground Just free
Iniiii touching one another so that they will not be hastened iu
•lit'iitiiig' or blasting, hnishing the work of death by thrusting
into the chest of each stunned and senseless seal a long, sharp
knife, which touches the vitals and bleeds it thoroughly; and
iiiicdol day, another 'pod' is started out and disposed of in
the same way, and soon until a thousand or two are laid out, or
the (hove is linished: then they turn to and skin; but if it is a
waini day, every 'pod' is s^rinned as soon as it is knocked down.
"This work of killing as well as skinning is performed verj'^
rapidly; for exami>le, forty-live men or natives on Saint Paul's
lUuing .Mine and .fuly, 1872, in less than four working- weeks
(hove, killed, skinned, and salted the pelts of 72,000 seals.

"Q'ho labor of skinning is exceedingly severe, and is trying
to ail exi)ert, requiring long practice before the muscles of the
hack and thighs are so developed as to i)ermit a man to bend
down to and finish well a fair day's work.

"The body of the seal, preparatory to skinning, is rolled over
or put upon its back, and the native makes a single swift cut
through the skin down along the neck, chest, and belly, from
tlie lower jaw to the root of the tail, using for this puqiose a
huge, sharp knife. The fore and hind flippers are then succes-
sively lifted, and a sweeping circular incision is made through
the skin on them Just at the point where the body-fur eudsj
then, seizing a flap of the hide on either one side or the other of
the abdomen, the man proceeds to rapidly cut the skin clean
and free from the body and blubber, which he rolls over and
out from the skin by hauling up on it as he advances with his
work, standing all the time stooping over the carcass so that
his hands are but slightly above it or the ground. This opera-
tion of skinning a fair-sized seal takes the best men only a min-
ute and a half, but the average time on the ground is about
tour minutes.

"Nothing is left of the skin upon the carcass savea small patch
of each up])er lip, on which the coarse mustache grows, the skin
on the tip of the lower jaw, the insignificant tail, together with
the bare hide of the flippers.

"The blubber of the flir-seal is of a faint yellowish white, and
lies entirely between the skin and the flesh, none being depos-

S; ;l

Hnipl-ini

o7(> ("AM.OUIIIM'.S UKHINUS— X<)liTIIi;UN VVll SEAL.

iUid in between the iiniHeles. Aroand the siiuill and hivj><' intes-
tines ii inodeiiile <|niintity of hard, linn tat is found. The hluh
ber possesses an extremely olfensive, siekeninj;' (»(U)r, dillieult to
wasli from the luinds. It makes, however, a very fair oil for
Inbrieatii-g', burning, &e.

•'The llesh of the fur-seal, when carefully cleaned from fat or
blubber, can be cooked, and by most i)eople eat«Mi, who, did
they not know what it was, mi}»ht <;onsider it some i)oor, tough,
dry beef, rather «hirk in color and overdone. That of the i>ui),
however, while on the land and milk-fed, is tender and juicy but
insipid.

" The skins are taken from the field to the salt-house, where
they are laid out oi)en, one upon another, 'hair to fat,' like so
many sheets of paper, with salt profusely spread upon the fltsshy
sides, in 'kenches' or bins. After lying a week or two salted
in this style they are ready for bundling and shipping, two skins
to the bundle, the fur outside, tightly rolled ut) and strongly
corded, having an average weight of twelve, fifteen, and twenty-
two pounds when made up of two, three, and four year old skin.i
respectively.

"The company leasing the islands are permitttHl by law to
take one hundred thousand, and no more, annually ; this they
do in June and July ; after that season the skins rapidly grow
worthless by shedding, and do not pay for transportation and
tax. The natives are paid forty cents a skin for the catch, and
keep a close account of the progress of the work every day,
as it is all done by them, and they know within fifty skins, one
way or the other, when the whole nmnber have been secured
each season. This is the onlj^ occupation of some three hmi-
dred and fifty people here, and they naturally look well after it.
The interest and close attention paid by these Aleuts on liotli
islands to this business was both gratifying and instructive to
me while stationed there."

In regard to the preparation and value of the skin Mr. Elliott
states as follows:

"The common or popular notion regarding seal-skins is that
they are worn by those animals Just as they appear when ott'orod
for sale. This is a >'ery great mistake; few skins are loss
attractive than the seal-skin as it is taken from the creatun'.
The fur is not visil)le, concealed entirely by a coat of stitf over
hair, dull gray, brown, and grizzled. The best of these nnv
skins are worth only $5 to $10, but after dressing they bring

PKKrAUATIOX OF THE SKINS.

377

lioiii •*<-.") to *40; siiul it takos tlire*' •»)1" tliom to make a lady's
sucU iind l>oa."*

As :iii iiitc'n'stin;^' siipph'iiiciit to tliis i»(>rtioii of the subject,
1 tiaiiscribe a letter I'roiii (Jeorj;e (J. Treadwell <\ Co., leadiiiy
liiiiiers, and loii^' laiiiiliar with the iiiaTiner of ]>re]>ariny the
skins, addretssed to [Mr. Elliott (dated Albany, October 22,
is7t). ill which the i»rocess of dressin}.!; the .skins for market is
vei,\ dearly set forth. The h'tter (extracted from Mr. Elliott's
i;('|i(trt) is as follows:

••The Alaska ('(munercial Company sold in London, Deceni-
Itei. 1S7.'), about sixty thousand skins taken from the islands
leased by onr Government of the caUili of 1873. The remain-
(U't. vii" the catch, about forty thousand, were sold in March.
This company have made the collection of seal from tuese
islaiuls much more valuable than they were before their leace,
liy tlie care used by them in curing the skins, and taking them
(i'i \ Avhen in sea;jon. We have worked this class of seal for
si'vcral years — when they were owned by the Russian American
Fur ('on)nany, and during the first year they were owned by
our (iovermuent.

••Wlion the skins are received b^- us in the salt, we wash oft"
the salt, placing them upon a beam somewhat like a tanner's
beam, removing the fat from the tiesh-side with a beaming-
knife, care being re(piired that no cuts or uneven places are
made in the pelt. The skins are n(;xt washed in water and
plaeed upon the beam with the fur up, and the grease and
Avater removed by the knife. The skins are then dried by mod-
orate heat, being tacked out on frames to keep them smooth.
After lu'ing fully <lried they are soaked in water and thoroughly
cleansed with soap and water. In some cases they can be un-
liain-d without this drying process, and cleanse<l before drying.
After tlu' cleansing process they pass to the picker, who dries
the fur by stove-heat, the pelt being kept moist. When the
fur is dry In; places the skin on a beam, and while it is warm
he removes the main <,'oat of hair with a dull shoo-knife, grasping
tlif hair with his thumb and knife, the thund) being protected
hy a rubber cob. The hair must be ])ulled out, not broken.
Alter a jtortion is removed the skin nuist again be warmed at
ihe stove, tlie ])elt being kept moist. When the outer hairs
have been mostly removed, he use-; a l)eaming-knife to work
wit the liner hairs, (which arc shorter,) and the remaining
* Condition of Aflairs in Aluskti, pp. 80-85.

i'fHIitil!!

378 CALLORIIINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

coarser hairs. It will be seen that f,'reat care must be used, as
the skin is in thfit si/*^ state that t(M» much pressure of the knife
would take the fur also; iiulee<l, baresjiots are uuide; carele.s-sly
cured skins are soinetinnis worthless on this account. The
skins are next dried, alterward dampened on the pelt side,
and shaved to a Hue, iwm surface. They are then stictclicd,
worked, and dried; afterward softened in a I'uUin^-mill, op by
treading them with the bare feet in a h(>yshea<l, (.ne head IxMiig
removed and the cask placed nearly n])ri^ht, into which tlie
Avorkman gets with a few skins and some line hard-wood sav.
dust, to absorb the grease while hr, dances ui)on them to biciik
them into leather. If the skins have been shaved tliiii, as
re(piired when finished; any defective spots or holes must now
be mendc(i, the skin smoothed and pasted with pai)er on the
pelt side, or two pasted together to i)rotect the oelt in dyeing.
The usual jirocess in the United States is to leave ti.e pelt suf-
ticiently thick to protect them without pasting.

"In dyeing, the liquitl «lye is put on Avith a brush, carefully
covering the i)oints of the standing fur. After lying folded,
with the i)oints touching each other, for some little time, the
skins are hung np and dried. The dry dye is then removed,
another coat applied, dried, and removed, and so on until the
required shade is obtained. One or two of these coats of dye
are put on much heavier and pressed down to the roots of the
fur, making what is called the ground. From eight to twelve
coats are required to produce a good color. The skins are then
washed clean, the fur dried, the pelt moist. They are shaved
down to the required thickness, dried, working them some
while drying, then softened in a hogshead, and sometimes run
in a revolving cylinder with fine sawdust to clean them. The
English ])rocess does not have the washing after dyeing.

" I should, perhaps, ssiy that, with all the care used, many skins
are greatly inj ured in the working. Quite a quanti ty of English
dyed seal were sold last season for $17, damaged in the dje.

" The above is a general process, but we are obliged to vary
for different skins ; thosa from various parts of the world require
ilifferent treatment, and there is quite a difference in the skins
from the Seal Islands of our country — I sometimes think about
as much as in the human race." •

History and Prospects of the Fur Seal Business at

* Condition of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 85, 66.

',ll

■Mam

HISTORY AND PROSPECTS OF FUR SEAL BUSINESS. 379

I II

THE I'RYKiLGV ISLANDS. — From tbo speedy extermination of
the Fur Seals of tbe Southern hemisphere at many points wliere
tlicye.\iste<l a century ago in apparently inexhaustible numbers,*
till' preservation of the Nortlu'rn Fur Seals at the two small
isliiiuls that n')W, so far as known, form their principal breeding-
stations, becomes a matter of nuicb zoological intc^rcst as well as
of practical importi' .ce. The islands o*" Saint (!eorge and Saint
Paul were discovered, respectively, in j7H1{ and 1787, and im-
iiicdiiitcly after, it is state<l, as many as six companies established
tlitinsclvcs at these islands, all vicing with each other in the de-
sti'iu'tion of the Seals in consequence of the great commercial
value of the skins. No record appears to have been kept of the
iiuiiibcr annuHily killed between 1787 an<l 1805, at which time
the mimbcr of Seals frequenting the islands had greatly de-
creased. Then follows for two yctars a cessation of the slaugh-
ter, which was resumed in 1808. Up to 1822 the destruction
of Seal life was indiscriminate and wholly without restriction
from government or other sources. In this year it was ordered
lliat young Seals should be spared each year for the purpose of
keeping up the stock. This order was so honestly enforced that
in four years the number of Seals on Saint Paul's Island in-
creased tenfold. The number annually taken these years was
only 8,000 to 10,000, instead of 40,000 to 50,000, the number for-
merly killed yearly. Subsequently the killing was allowed to
greatly increase, which prevented any augmentation in the
number of Seals. In 1834 the number allowed to be killed ou
Saint I'aul's Island was reduced from 12,000 to 0,000. After
this date the conditions of increase were more carefully studied
and more carefully regarded, so that there was a gradual numer-
ical increase from 1835 to 1857, when the rookeries are said to
have become very nearly as large as now, the natives believing,
however, that there has been, since the last-named date, a very ,
gradual but steady increase. The great diminution seems to ^
have set in about 1817, and to have continued till 1834, when,
as Mr. Elliott expresses it, "hardly a tithe of the former num-
bers appeared on the ground.'' From 1835 to 1857 there was
a steady increase, when the maximum then reached appears to
have been maintained.

In regard to the number now present on these islands, Mr.
Elliott estimated, from a careful survey of the breeding-grounds^

"See a/i/ed, p. 334, footnote, e. g., respecting their former abundance and
farly almost total extirpation at the Island of Juan Fernandez.

1^^

iJHO CALI.OUIIIMS UIJSIM'S NOUTIIKUN FUR SEAL.

i'i

Is, 1

thill in 187.'i tln'ic w(;re on the Pryhilov Fshinds '■'■orrr fmr
million scrot hundred tlioitNand^^ Fur Heals, and that one million
are born tliere annually, (livided about equally between males
an<l females. So many <)f these are destroyed by their mUuriil
enemies during the ibllowin;,' six months that oidy about one liall"
return the sueceedinj;- sprinj>'. During' the next winter about
one-tenth of th(^ remainder are also destroyed at sea, after
whieh V(!ry few appear to die from natural causes. Only one-
fifteenth of the annual increase of nudes can, in consequence of
the peculiar habits of the aninuds, share in the office of repro-
duction. Assuming the above statement to be a fair estimate
of the number of Seals annually born on the islands, ^Mr. Elliott
states it as his belief that, after making due allowance for the
number that perish at sea during early life, and for the perpet-
uatioii of the stock, 180,000 young male Seals nuiy be annually
taken lor their skins.

" With regard to the i)icnase of the seal-life," says Mr. Elliott,
1 " I do not think it within the i)Ower of human management to
promote this end to the slightest appreciable degree beyond its
present extent and condition in a state of nature; for it caimot
fail to be evident ^ from mj- detailed description of the habits
and life of the fur-seal on these islaruls during a great part of
the year, that «*ould man have the same supervision and con-
trol over this animal during the tchole season which he has at
bis conunand while they visit the land, he might cause them to
midtiply and increase, as he \ ould so many cattle, to an imlefl-
nite number, oidy limited by time aiul means ; but the case in
question, uufortuiuitely, takes the fur-seal six months out of
every year far beyond the reach, or even cognizance, of any one,
where it is exposed to known powerful and destructive natural
enemies, and many others probably unknown, which prey njwu
it, and, in accordance with a well-recognized law of nature, keep
it at about a certain number which has been for ages, and will
be for the future, as affairs nowMire, i^s maximitm iimit of in-
creaxc. This law holds good everywhere throughout the aninwl
kingdom, regulating and preserving the equilibrium of life in a
state of nature. Did it not hold good, these Seal fshuKls and
all Jiering Sea would have been literally covered, and Inivc
swarmed with tliem long before the Russians discovered them;
but there were no more seals when first seen here by iiunian
eyes in 1786-'87 than there are now, in 1874, as far as all evi-
dence goes." , ,

KNEMIKS.

381

"What can be done t«» inonioto tln'ir incroaso? We cannot
niitst' a j-rciitcr nniiihcr ot' t'cnialc> tube born every year ; wo
(1(1 not toudi or disturb these females as they avow up and Hve,
and we save more than enoujfh nudes to serve them. Nothinfji;
more can be done, for it is impossible to protect them from
(k'iuUy enenues in their winderinjjfs for food."

"In view, therefore, of all these facts,'' .;ontinnes Mr. KUiott,
•• I liav<» no hesitation in saying (piite confidently that, under
the present ruhss and regulations governing the sealing inter-
ests on these islands, the increase or diminution of the life will
luuoimt to nothing; that the seals will continue for all time in
iilMuit the same number and condition."*

Enemies op the Fur Seals.— Man, of course, stands first ini
importance as an enemy of the Fur Seals, but under the restric-
tions respecting the killing these animals now enforced at the
Prybilov Islands, does not appear to have a very marked
influence in effecting their decrease. That they suffer greatly
from other animals is evident from tlie fact that only about
one-half of the Seals annually born at the Seal Islands ev^r
return there again. What these enemies are is not as yet well
known, since it is only within a few years that the mattor has
been so closely studied as to render it apparent that there is
this very large decrease of young Seals during their absence
from the islands. It has been known, however, for many years
that Killer Whales (different species of Orca) prey habitually
upon the young, from these having been found in their stomachs.
Michael CaiToU, Esq., in his " Seal and Herring Fisheries of.
Newfoundland " and in the reports on the Canadian Fisheries,
alludes to the great destruction of j'oung Seals on the Atlantic
coast by this animal and by sharks and sword-fishes, and also
by tlieir being crushed in the ice. The Orca and the sharks
arc alluded to by Mr. Elliott as preying extensively upon the
young Seals, and it may be that many others are destroyed by
enemies not at prcvSent well known.

Since the foregoing was prepared for publication, I have re-
ceived from Captain Bryant the subjoined account, based on
long personal experience at Saint Paul's Island. Although in
some points anticipated by Mr. Elliott's published Report, and
covering to a great extent the same phases of the subject, it
contains so much additional matter that at the expense of some

* Condition of Affairs in Alaska, pp. 88, 89.

I.
f

mtffMni

382 CALLOKHINU8 URSINUa — NOKTHEKN FUU SEAL.

reiteration I have <K,«int'(l it best to Mitroduco it entire. Tlu'
report is suldressed an a personal eoinnmnication to me in re
sponso to my earnest solicitation for the final results of his
many years of observation n|)on the Alaskan Fur Seal. By way
of explanation of tlu^ <'haracter of his rei>ort,he observes:

"The object I wish to attain in writinj; these notes is to put
on re(!or(l the result of my observations on the Fur Seals ol
Saint Paul's Island <lurin;;' tsij^ht years' residence as '"rea.stiry
agent in (iluirgo of the interest of tin' Unite<l States Treasurv
Department. In order to do this some account of their habits
and the condition of affairs on my tlrst arrival there ncoius
necessary as a starting i)oint, in order that the changes tliat
have since occurred may be more cleajly understood. As you
have had the result of my tirst season's obser\ ations there, [*! I
need not be so diffuse in my descriptions as vould be otherwise
necessary, and you will understand that who ve any of my for
mer statements are omitted or changed it is due to correction
made necessary by my longer experience. 1 shall endeavor to
make this report as brief as is consistent with the successful
attainment of the objects before stated."

" HiSTOllY OF THE FuK-SEAL FISHERY AT THE PRYBILOV

Islands, Alaska, from 1869 to 1877. — Preliminary and
General Observations.— The island of Saint Paul is of
purely volcanic origin, consisting of a collection of elevated
cones and elongated ridges, connected by low valleys composed
of beds of marine sand that has gradually been thrown on the
shores by the action of the waves. This sand is of so light a
character that when dry it readily drifts over the hills, thereby
covering the lava surface. It also washes into the coves formed
by the projecting points of land, where it constitutes broad.
low be.-iies. The shores of the points and ridges which extend
out into the sea are mostly composed of irregular masses of
broken rock, washed by the surf and rains, so tliat no sand
accumulates on them except in an occasional crack or gully.
These rocky slopes are selected by the breeding Seals as the
places for bringing forth their young, they having a repuj;
nance to occupying the sandj' spaces.

" The male Fur Seal attains its full growth and strength at the
age of six or seven years, when it weighs, at the time of land-

L* See Bull. Mus. Comp. ZooL, vol. ii, 1870, pp. 89-108.]

CONDITION IN 1869.

383

in;>, from tu 'eo huiulrod aiul ttfty pounds to four huudred ; in
exceptional cases a weight of four hundred and fifty pounds is
ittaiiuul. TIio males acquis 'lo power of procreation in the
iDiiith year, and at five years b.. vro largely in the duty of repro-
(iMction.

"Tlie females bring forth young in their fourth year ,'and then
wi'i;;li from (M'ty-flve to sixty-live pounds. They <!ontinue to
iiK roase in si/o until tho'sixth year, often attain a weight of
iiiiu ty pounds, and, in exceptional cases, even one hundred and
eifiliU the general average beiiig eighty [)ou;.ds. It will be
tliiis seen that the greater strength and weight of the nudes
oniible them to control the females, which they do absolutely
when on the breeding-places. The young Seals at birth weigh
six pounds, and the young males, when they leave the island
at the age of four aiul a half months, weij^h thirty-eight pounds,
hut a large portion ol this eight consists of excessive fat, so
that when they return to t''«' i and tlu; following year, although
they Iiavc grown longer, thoy have lost their superabundant
fat. and weigh only forty-two pounds. At the age of two years
thoii- average weight is sixty-one pounds ; at three one hundred
and seven. After this they increase in weight much more
vai)i(lly, attaining their full size at six. Subseipiently, their in-
crease in weight Ji-s due to excessive fatness, rather than to con-
tiuued growth.

" In spring a careful watch is kept for the arrival of the first
Seals, which come with great uniformity, the record showing
only four days' variation in the last seven years in the time of
their being first seen in the water near the island. The time of
lauding, however, varies with the condition of the shores, some
'jfasons the beaches being obstructed by snow and ice. As a
rule, a few effect a landing within five or six days after their
first ap]iearance. The males invariably come first and entirely
l>y themselves. The first arrivals are of old Seals, which coast
aloug the shore for two or three days, and are at first exceed-
iiijily sensitive to disturbing influences, but soon after landing
hecoujc torpid and indifferent to objects approaching to within
eight ov ten rods. They continue in this state until they be-
»!oine so numerous as to begin to crowd on each others' premises.
After the first fortnight they arrive quite rapidly. The groups
are then composed of Seals of all ages, from two years upward,
^nth a few yearlings, but those of full size predominate. Most
<il' the yearlings arrive with the females in July.

Ifliii'

/ >

384 CAl.LORIIINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

"As before stated, the Seals select and occupy for their brcod-
iug-stations the rocky sIoik's of tlu; i)roJectiiig heatl-laiuls. [*]
Oil their arrival at the island the full-jirowii Seals separate fioiu
the younger, the former hauling up on the shore singly or in
groui)s of two or three, separate<l by (piitc wide intervals, 'flie
young gather in a single body where tJie shore is smooth uiul
spend their time hi play, pushing ai d tumbling over eacli othci,
or gathering in groups of from three to ten around some rock
near the shore, passing hours in apparently trying to crowd
each other off the rock, of which each seems to be striviiiji to
gain possession, to the exclu.sion of the others. Later, as the
number of Seals on the beaches increases, the young ones are
crowded back to the uphind, and find access to the water by
passing along the sandy belts which extend down to the sea.
As the shore line becomes completely occupied those which are
old and strong enough fight their way to a place on the breed-
ing-grounds, while the younger and weaker seek the .saudy
openings and crawl up to join their own class. Here thoy
spend the time alternately in playing and sleeping, usually
going into the water for an hour or two every day. It is only
the 'beachmasters,' or breeding bulls, on the rookery that
remain continuously in their places, for if they were to leave
them they would be immediately occupied by some other beach-
master, and they could regain possession only by a victory over
the trespasser. The struggle among the old bulls goes on until
the breeding-grounds are fully occupied, averaging one old male
to each square rod of space, while the younger, meantime, find
their way to the upland. During the latter portion of the laud-
ing time there is a large excess of old males that cannot find
room on the breeding places; these pass up with the younger
Seals and congregate along the upper edge of the rookery, and
watch for a chance to charge down and fill any vacancies that
may occur. These, to distinguish them from the beachniasteis.
are called the ' reserves,' while those younger than tive years
are denominated by the natives ' holluschucke,' a term deuot
ing bachelors or unmarried Seals. It is from these latter that
the Seals are selected to kill for their skins.

"By the middle of June all the malei, except the great body
of the yearlings, have arrived; the rookery is filled with the

[* This stateiutnit, tin well ns tins follow iu<; acconnt of tlio habits of the
Fur Sesil, rclatoa to tiio state of tlu; rookeries as observed in 18()9, as is
stated later (2iOstfa, p. r?H8) in the present re^iort.] . .

<:OXDITION IN 1869.

385

'1'

l)oiKliiuiister.s ; iiio 'reserves' all occupy the most atlvau-
ta{,a'(>us position for seizing upon any vacancies, and the bach-
dors spread over the adjoining uplands. At this time the first
feniiilcs make their appearance. They are not observed in the
wator in any luunbers until they ai)pear on the shore. Inune-
(liately on landing they are taken jwssession of by the nearest .
males, who compel them to lie down in the spaces they have re-
served for their families. For a few days the females arrive
slowly, but by the 25th of the month thousands land daily. As I
Hoou as the males in the line nearest to the shore get each seven I
or eight females in their possession, those higher up watch their 11
opportunity and steal them from them. This they nr^nilip^i'^h 1
seizing the female s by the neck as a cat takes iier kitten. 1
ThoselTnniigher up p ui ' iJU^ lllb Scimu muthod uutd lllU ^iitliiu
' ^<ling space is filled. In the average there are about flf- |
tten females to one beachmaster. Soon after the females have
landed each gives birth to a single young one. During pxrturi-
tion the female lies extended on the rocks, and keeps up a fanning
motion with her hind flippers. They appear to suffer little in la-
bour. The young Seal remains in the phicenta until liberated
by the mother, who rends the envelope with her teeth, which
she sometimes does before parturition is completed. Once freed
from the sac, the little fellow is very active and soon learns to
nurse. The mother suckles her young while lying on her side ;
the teats being situated on the belly. Two days after the birth f. .
of the young the fenmle is in heat and receives the mi.le. Dur-
ing copulation the female extends herself on the rocks in the
same manner as when giving birth to her young. The act of
coition continues for from seven to ten minutes, during which,
at intervals of two or three minutes, occur rapid vibrations of
the body of the male, accompanied by a fanning movement of
the hind flippers by the female, who is otherwise quiescent.
Ordinarily the operation is similar to that of the cat, but in
some instances, when a male and female are by themselves,
without danger of interruption, I have seen the male deliber- ^ ^
ately turn the female on her back and copulate in that manner.
This, however, happens more frequently in the water than on 0;l^\''V '
tlie land. It is often observable that while the females are
lauding- in great numbers they come in heat faster thai: the males
ou the rookeries can cover them. In such cases some of the
lemales break away and escape into the water to meet fresher
and more vigorous mates. It is in this way that the class of | ;
Misc. Pub. No. 12 25 1

|i! i

i 5

illi

>44tO«t)HH«l)T.;

V i^ •.-VI) thi H'it mf^nrsi !$i

386 CALL0RHINU8 URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

youug males of four and five years of age perform a most im-
portant service. While sufficiently developed to be fully able
to serve the females, they lack the physical strength to success-
fully contend for a place on the rookery. They haul up wiUi
the bachelors at night, but during the day are in the water
swimming along the shore of the rookery, always on the alert
for the females that seek the water as above stated. On meet-
ing them they immediately accompany them to a little distance
from the shore and then perform the act of coition. The fe
males, after remaining for a short time in the water, agaiu
return to the shore to their former places. The old males find
ing they have been served express their disgust in a most evi
dent manner. TTie JealStis watchfulness of the male^over the
female c eases wIlCELSl lBBWSBWf^af^^
to go a t will ab o ut the rooKe^rjfWBWlBlffBBCT B^ie^iiiier
^Ifife^m'g near jifir^oun gTy^pSBCTT Tr*'"'™*^

w Tmewi^ v ^ It JillL JSinwlffiiffinffl^ __,^ ,..., ,^.^

pup^ The male , mean while^^watches over the young, and makes
uddilluubl f(!> his'liaTem as lon^ as'tTTc laiju-lg a^^on continiics.
The females,' UTOFgivlQgbu'iii to their young, temporarily re
pair again to the wat ;r, and are thus never all on shore at once,
so that by the end of the season there will be twice as many
young S.als on shore as there are females. As the season ad-
vances, or by the 15th of July, the earliest-born young Seals
gather in large groups of from three hundred to five hundred
in number on the upper edge of the breeding-places, thus sep-
arating themselves in a measure from the beachmasters. They
spend their time in play until tired, when they fall asleep, often
sleeping so soundly that one can almost lift them from the
ground by the flipper without awaking them.

"By the 25th of July the females have all arrived and given
birth to their young. At this time the beachmasters, after hav-
ing been confined to the same rock for an average period of
ninety days, without eating or drinking, fighting and struggling:
•with each other for their places, have become so lean and ex-
hausted as to present a remarkable contrast to the fat and sleek
condition in which they arrived at the island. They are now mere
skeletons, almost too weak to drag themselves into the water;
they now crawl away, and are seen only in small numbers hanging
about the shores away from the breeding-places. As these leave.
the reserves and younger Seals come in to take their places.
covering any straggling female that may have arrived late or

i,ilj

CONDITION IN 1869.

387

missed impregnation earlier. The withdrawal of the beach-
inastors leaves the breeding-grounds in possession of the younger
males, with the pups gathered in masses on the upper side.

"As already stated, the females now mostly spend their time
iu the water, returning on shore only to suckle their young as
they require food. On landing, the mother calls out to her
youiifj with a i)laintive bleat like that of a sheep calling to her
hunb. As she approaches the mass several of the young ones
answer and start to meet her, responding to her call as a young
himb answers its parent. As she meets them she looks at them,
touches them with her nose as if smelling them, and passes
hurriedly on until she meets her own, which she at once recog-
nizes. After caressing him she lies down and allows him to
suck, and often falls into a soun<l sleep very quickly after.

"By the 20th of August the young, then forty or forty -five
days old, move down to the edge of the water, where they begin
to learn to swim. The greater part of the young seem to resort
to the water from a natural instinct, but some require to be urged
in by the older ones, and I have in a few instances observed the
parents take them by the neck and carry them into the water,
and when they have become tired return with them to the shore
again. When once in the water the young Seals soon appear j
to delight in it, spending most of their time there in play, turn
bliug over each other like shoals of fish. It seems strange that
uu aniiual like this, born to live in the water for the greater por-
tion of its life, should be at first helpless in what seems to be
its natural element ; yet these young Seals, if put into it before
they are five or six weeks old, will drown as quickly as a young
chicken. They are somewhat slow, too, iu learning to swim,
usin}>' at first only the fore flippers, carrying tlu hind ones
rigidly extended anc i: "tially above water. As soon as they
are well able to swii, sually about the last week of August)
they move from the breeding-places on the exposed points
and headlands to the coves and bays, where they are sheltered
horn the heavy surf, and where there are low sand-beaches.
Here tliey occupy a belt of shore near the water entirely sepa-
rated lioni their parents, where they play until weary, and then
luml up on to the beach to rest and sleep, often covering an area
"t several acres in extent iu one compact body. The mothers
lie apart (when not in the water) at a convenient distance,
lor the young to find them to luirse. Thus tliey remain until
October, when the oldest and strongest begin to leave for the

•1

.^^

388 CALLOHIIIXUS UKiSINUS — NOUTHEUN FUR SEAL.

■winter, and others soon follow. IJy the middle of December all,
both younj;' and old, are |4'one, and are seen no more until the next
season, when they retnrn to repeat the cycle above described.

" Ilavinj;' now carried the breeding Seals through their annual
round, we will return to the young males, or hoUuschucke tliiit
were left in June s])rea«l out in the rear of the breeding Seals.
This class is made up of a very small number of yearlings (the
greater part of these coming later, as before stated), and those
of all ages between two and six years old, with a few superannu-
ated males, which, being unable to hold their place on the rook-
eries, retire here with the younger Seals for quiet and rest. All
; of thi^ Seals between four and six years of age pass a large por-
i tion of tlieir time during the day in the water, returning to the
shore at night. While in the water they swarm along the shore
',of the breeding-places, watching for opportunities of mating
with any females that may chance to be in the water. To this
class I shall have to return later, when I come to refer to the
changes in the movements of the Seals growing out of the effect
of the present mode of taking them for their skins.

" It is from the hoUuschucke class that the animals are selected
and killed for their skins. As the process of driving has beeu
60 often described in detail, 1 shall refer to it only so far as is
necessary to explain its effects under the present uuinagemeut.
In the foregoing description I have followed the observations
made during the first year of my residence on the island (1809),
as the normal conditions then existed in a greater degree than
afterwards, when other influences came into operation.

"Eecent changes in the Habits and re.^ative Num-

, BEBS OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF SEALS. — lu order tO he

able to understand fully what the changes are that have occurred,
it will be necessary to go back to a date still earlier. Accord-
' ing to information derived from the natives, and hence some-
what meagre and \ague, it appears that in the year 184L' large
quantities of ice and snow accumulated on the island and re-
nuiined on the breeding-places when the Seals arrived. They
landed and brought forth their young on it, but a large portion
of them were lost by the breaking up of the ice, the young be
ing drowned, while thousands of females were crushed by tbe
sliding of the masses of snow from the higher grounds. The
number of Seals became thus so reduced that the natives for
two years were not allowed to kill them for food. From that

RECENT CHANGES TN IIAIIITS AND NUMBERS, ETC. 389

time up to the transicr of tlio islands to tlio United States great
care was given to their increase, at wliieh time were established
the mctluxls in practice when I arrived on the ishmd in 1809,
iiiid \\iii<'li still continue with little modification. The islands
wcic then in charjic of Kazean Shiscnekolf, a ereole born on
tlic island and educated in the school at Sitka, lie ap]Hnirs to
have been a man of great natural ability, lie left a family o?
sous. i)art of whom inherit their father's talent, the oldest oufc
[mu<i pontenori or arch-j)riest for the dio»'ese of the Territory.
This Jvazean governed the islands twenty-seven years, and bis
memory is revered by the people like that of a saint. He kept
a record in mannscript of his observations and left it on the
island at his death, but before my arrival there it had been
used to paste over the cracks in the ceiling of the hut of one
of the natives and so was lost. During the administration of
this able governor these nurseries of the Seals had been de-
veloped from almost nothing to the condition in which they
were at the transfer of the islands to the United States. For
many years they were able to kill only a small number, but the
Seals gradually increased so that they killed as many as 40,000
in one year. The result of this judicious system was seen in
the condition of affairs in the spring of 1S07, when, knowing
tlie islands were to be suri'endered to the Unit'^d States, the
Piissiiins took all the Seals they could, amounting to 75,000.
During the season of 1808, when there was no legal protection *■
for the Seals, 250,000 were taken.
'' This l)rings us to the year of 1809, the date of my first visit; ^

■^

and on that year's observation is based the foregoing descrip-^^ v.
tiou of the habits of the Seals. One of the first objects to be (\
attained was an approximate determination, at least, of the
number of Seals frequenting the islands; but to count them
\vas iini)ossiblc. After the rookeries were filled I discovered
that on the breeding-grounds there were no open spaces; that,
as a vide, they began to fill at the watei'-line and extended no
further back than they could occupy in a compact body. Mak-
inj; us careful a, calculation as possible of the space occupied,
and ascertaining the average number to the square rod, I found
that this gave the astonishing ninnber of 1,130,0(M) for the breed-
ing Seals alone. The other or non-breeding Seals — that is, the
males not on the breeding-grounds — were at that time occupying
tlie upland in the rear of the females in gron])s of from five or
six hundred to as manv thousands. These being more restless

'\'''

ii -i-

■i in

v<;"'

i; }

(V'

390 CALLORIIINUS URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

ill their hiibits, it was not so easy to calculate their numbers j
but after eoinpariug tliese };toui)s with the masses of breediiifj
Seals ill their vicinity, and estdiiiatiiif'' their i)roportional num-
bers, 1 found that they were nearly as numerous as the brcod
iufjf Seals, numberiii};' at least one million. Addinj*- to these the
youiiy of the year, nearly e<iual in number to the females, it
became evident that there were on the island at that time not
less than 3,230,000 Seals.

"Under the Eussian trgime the work was all done by the hand
labor of the natives, tins Seals being not only driven in, killed,
and skinned by them, but the skins w«'re carried <ui their backs
to the salt-houses. The work of saltinj;' and lueparinji for ship-
ment was necessarily slow, tedious, mid exhausting, and as
skins of young animals were smaller to take off and lighter to
carry, and the choice of animals being left to the natives, tliey
seldom killed any over three years of age, and only a small \mx
tioii of this age. As a natural consequence, the killing falling
on this younger and more numerous class, a larger number ot
males than were really necessary for breeding purposes escaped
to grow up, so that at this date more than 30 per cent, of the
male non-breeding Seals were of procreative age. Owing to

' tlie large number of young males constantly in the water about
the rookeries, in addition to the beachmasters, all the feniales

j I were impregnated before the lOtli of August,
i " The number of full-grown males at this date may be cousid
ered as three times greater than the number re(piired, or equal
to one full-grown male to every three or four females. In con-
sequence of this large excess of males, and their strong desire
to possess the females, they crowded the rookeries to the extent
of leaving only tighting room, and kept up a continuous stnig
gle for the mastery, regardless of both mother and young, and
often destroying each other. There being always a large re-
serve on the alert, the contemling forces were recruited as fast
as the combatants became crippled or exhausted, so that there
was no cessation in the strife, day nor night, while the noise ot
the mingled voices could be heard at the distance of five milos
from the rookeries.

" The Eussians contracted with dealers in I^urope for a given
number of skins at a fixed rate per skin, and then ordered them
taken at the islands. The killing being left to the parties there,
they, for their own convenience (as before stated), killed mostly
from the younger class. The killing commenced on the Ist ot

RECENT CHANGES IN HABITS AND NUMBERS, ETC. 391

June, O. S., or tbo 12th of our style, and continued throngh
the Piitirt season, or until the number ordered was obtained.
Duriiiu 'Inn ^ h\h\ July, the breeding season, the greater part
of tlic iiiii ■ , live-, and six-year-old Seals being in the water, the
killing naturally fell heaviest on the two- and three-year-olds.
Alter the aaival of the yearlings, they being a more numerous
rliiss, the killing fell largely on them for the remainder of the
season. This system i)revailed not only during 18G8 and 18G9,
wlicii tlni natives Avtne allowed to kill for food and to sell for
Mipplic's, but the same practice was followed during the season
of 1870. ^Vlthough the lease bears this date, it was not put in
practical o])('rati()n until 1871, when all this became changed.

'' Until this year (1871) the Fur Seal skins that had been sold
ill the market of London had varied greatly in i)rice, ranging
t'loin one dollar to sixteen dollars per skin, but only a very
small percentage brought the latter price, the average price
lieiiig i'.bout four and a half dollars each.

•'Having now stated the condition and numerical proportions
of the different classes of Seals on the islands at the time the
United States Cirovernment leased the right to take one hun-
dred thousand skins i)er annum to the ^Vlaska Commercial
Company, a brief statement of the effects of this provision will
throw further light on the habits of the Seals. Owing to the
erroneous information prevailing at the time the lease was
made, respecting the proportionate number of Seals at that time
visiting the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, 75,000 of
the annual quota were assigned to Saint Paul's and 25,000 to
Saint George's.

"The parties having the lease paying a tax of a certain sum
per skin, and as it cost as much to get a poor skin to market as
a good one, pains were taken to determine at what age the skin
wa.e of most value. It proved that Seals of the ages of three,
four, and live years were the most desirable, and the lessees hav-
ing the right to select their skins, took only Seals of those ages.

'' This matter, however, was not fully understood until the sea-
son of 1873, when it was found that tlie skins of highest value
wore those taken from animals three years old, those older yield-
ing skins of less value, while those older than five years were
not worth taking. From this date only the three-year-old Seals
have been taken. The selection of this class instead of the
yonnger animals was a great change, the effect of which soon
became manifest, as I shall presently show.

-J -

+ -f

-»■ +

392 CALLOIMIINUS URSINUS XORTIIKKN VVU SKAL.

"When tliii agent and employes of the eonii)any isuiie to tlio
ishmcls in 1871, they had no knowledge of the business, and had
to learn it of the natives, so that they naturally at lirst followed
the old routine, with only the difference that instead of confin-
ing the killing to the younger claSvses, as before, a larger pt r-
centage of ' half-bulls,' or four- and live-year-olds, wen^ killed.
The 75,000 Seals killed by the Kussians in 1807, the 2r.0,(H)()
killed by various parties in 1808, an<l the 85,000 taken by the
natives in 1809, being mostly young animals, the markets lia<l
become so overstocked with small skins as to render them lui
salable, and the manufacturers in London notified the agent
of the Alaska Commercial Company that only large skins were
desirable; hence the agent selected for killing all the larger
Seals available. Seventy thousand of the quota of seventy-
five thousand were taken during the months of June and July,
the remainder being left to be supplied by the skins of animals
required for food by the natives during the remainder of the
season. During this yeai (1871) no material changes were ob-
served in *he movements of the Seals as compared Avith fornu'i
years.

" This brings the history of the subject to the year 1 872. Tlu'
product of 1871 had been sold in Europe, and the <lemand for
larger skins had become more imperative than before, and it
being in the interest of the lessees to suit their customers, they
instructed their agent residing at the islands, whose duty it was
to select the animals for killing, to take only large Hlcins. Un-
der these instructions their agent, as far as possible, continod
the killing for skins to Seals of from four to six years old, and
often a seven-year-old got killed by straggling into the younger
groups to rest. The eftect of killing the class that formed so
important an element in the reproduction of the species showed
itself in the diminished number doing service in the water along
the shore. The reserves also showed quite a perceptible de
crease in number, in comparison with their number in 1*^09.
The female breeding Seals showed, through the increased sjuicc
occupied by them, an increase in numbers equivalent t(» ^5
per cent, over their number in 18G9, or an increase of ") per
cent, a year, while the selection of the four-, live-, and six-,M'ar-
olds, instead of the younger as formerly, had spared so large a
number under four years of age that Avhen the yearlings came
on shore the two classes united seemed to flood the island with
vheir living masses, thronging the beaches and spreading tip the

'\^^^\

IJKC'KNT CHANGES IN HA HITS AND NUMTJERS, ETC. 393

iiillsidt's, tln'ir inoviiij;' trocps lookiiij-" like aniiics. This yoar
:i part of the rc.sorv<'s hx-atod on v.w places, and by yathciinj;
;i lew H'liiaU's annuMl them appeai.-d to he iorniinfi' new rook-
I'lics. At tlu' breakinj"' up of the rookeiies, diiriiij'' the last
(lavs of July and (he early part of Aiij>iist, all the teniales with
tlii'ii younj^f «lid not j;i'o to the eoves as before, l)ut a consider-
able number remained, herding' with the youn;*- bulls, while th»'
pups learned to swim on the shore of the breedinji-jironnd.
Tlic weather proved exceptionally line in Novendier, December,
ami .January, and a part of the females remained with their
youiiy a month later than usual, and jjroups of two-, three-, and
tour year-ohls were seen in the water near the shore as lato as
F('l)ruary.

"During tin' latter i)art (jf the winter and sprin};' of the follow-
ing; year (IHT.'J), great masses of ice from the north passed the
island, coming from the northwest and drifting toward the south -
fast, keeping the island nearly enclosed until the 23d of May,
and remaining in scattered belts for seven or eight days later.
The earliest arrival ()f the Seals that lande<l was ^lay 15, and
all that arrived in May showed by their exhausted condition
tliat they had enconntered obstructions in coming. At the
I'sual time, however, June 15, the rookeries were occupied by
rlif boach masters, but there were a smaller number to a given
iiica than formeiiy, the great body of the reserves of 180? hav-
ing; become redu(!ed one-half. The females showed the same
average increase of about 5 per cent, over the previous year,
but none of the attempts to form new rookeries were con-
tinued. The increased number of females found room by fill-
inj; up the spaces between the old rookeries through which
the young Seals had been in tlu; habit of passing to the up-
lands to the rear of the reser.ves, and where such spaces were
not to be found the females crowded over tlie ridge into the
inner slopes, in some ])laces actually locating on (rlear sand-
beai.'lies. The closing of the passes by the breeding Seals had
the eft'ectt of forcing the young Seals to coast along the shore
'I't ly ])ast the rookery, where they found resting ]daces in
The beatdies by themselves, thus rendering their separation
tioui the breeding' Seals more complete than before, so that
"lieu wanted for driving they were found in large bodies in-
stead ol' small groups as foiinerly, when they remained in the
loar of tlH> rooki'ries, and when each group had to be «lriven
separately before they conld be massed for the general drive.

7* ->■

m r

! i

4-^

394 CALLORIIINL'S TJRSINU8 — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

This change lias ever huh'w remained permanent, and greatly
/ facilitates the gathering of the droves for slaughter. It was also
iipparent that the killing of so many half-bulls thc^ two ]>revi(nis
years had reduced to a ininimum the number tJiat liovertd in
the vicinity of the breeding-rookeries, keeping the beachmastcis
ill cotitiniial alanii. Thi^ etl'ect of this <;hange could also lir
perceived in the lessening of the nois«' resulting Irom the liyiit
iiig on the breeding-grounds.

" When the season for the breaking iip of the rookeries arrived,
only a small i)art of the feiiiah's moved to the coves with tlicii
young, the remainder lingering on the breeding-i)laces with
tlieir pups, and gathering around the half-bulls and remnant ol'
the reserves that had not left the sluire, as if their first covci'
iiig had failed of impregnation, and they had again becoiii<> in
iieat and weie seeking the males.

" The introduction of mules and carts for the purpose of haul
ing the seal-skins had greatly lessened the amornt of physical
labor for the natives, and the full (piota of 7f',000 seal-skins
were ready for shipment by the 1st of August. The killing then
ceased, except for fresh food for the natives, amounitng to about
two hundred and fifty Seals a week. For this i>urpose care was
taken to kill, as far as possible, only animals whose skins would
be accepted by the company as a part of the quota for the next
season, it being for the interest of all concerned to obtain the
necessary quota of 75,000 skins and feed the natives with as
little waste of Seal life as possible. In September and October
a few females were seen to land and bear their young — females
which had been covered out of season the previous year. Tiiis
was the first time this had been observed, and was spoken ot
by the natives, who are thoroughly familiar with every detail,
as exceptional.

" The dissatisfaction of the London manufacturers with the
quality of the skins sent to market stUl continuing, the com-
pany, during the winter of 1872 and 1873, sent their agent to
London to find out under what conditions the skins were ot
greatest value. This investigation established the fact ]»revi
ously noted that the best skins were obtained from three-.veai
olds. At four the value has already depreciated, Avhile skins
of large-sized two-year-olds and five-year-olds are of still poorer
quality th?n those of the four-year-olds. On this basis was es
tablished the rule by which the killing has since been regulated.

" During the fall of 1873 the weather was again very mihl, "!:''

ma:

•i

!' ■: ■»

RECENT CHANGES IN HABITS AND NUMBERS, ETC. 396

tlms contiiuu'd into the winter. The femaleH, consequently,
linj-i'icd in small niunbors, with their young, till intt) January,
while some of tlio .vounji; bulls, in }4tou[)s of ten or twenty, were
seen as late as February 10.

"The rapid tleerease of the reserves, with the attendant
t'hiniges in the movements of the Seals, caused considerable
iiuxiety. The wise ones amonj;" the natives shook their heads
ominously, and said they had prcdii-ted this from slaughterinj,'
so many half-bulls durinj^' the previous tiiree years. I felt this,
but could not onler dilVen'utly, the coini)any liavinj;- the rij^ht
to select their own animals ; but at the same time I thought that
tills might not be the whole cause. I watched, as «lid all on
tiio island, the coming of the Seals in 1874, with intense anx-
iety. In the sjuing of that year the shores became, at the usual
time, fairly clear of ice and other obstructions, .and on April 13,
the usual time for their arrival, the chief reiwuted that, tjeals
had been seen iu the water. Soon after two or three, beach-
masters landed, an«l these were followed, on succeeding days,
by scattered groups of three to Ave at a time, liy the 23d of
May enough young bulls had landed on the point to make a
drive for the purpose of obtaiinng fresh food for the people.

"The changes that had been observed iu the movements of the
Seals during the year 1873 were noticeable in a more marked
degree. The beachnmsters took their positions on t]\e breed-
ing-grountls farther apart than formerly, and there being less
cause for lighting there was less uoise and tumult. The reserves
appeared in about the same luimbers as in 1873, but there was
au increase iu the proportion of the younger over the older
animals, as if a larger luimber of the former were coming for-
ward to take the place of the old stock of the period before the
leasing of the island. There was, on the Avhole, an evident gain
over the i)revious year, wliich gave us hope that the crisis of
depletion had i)assed. When the females came it was found
that their numbers had not materially changed. When tho
time arrived for the breaking up of the rookeries they all
remained, only moving up farther from the water, where tho
reserves and half-bulls met them, forming families in the same
manner as on their first landing earlier in the season ; and they
remained here with their young until the time of leaving the
island for the winter, going from here instead of from the bays,
as formerly. This has now become their fixed habit, they
remaining on, and going from, the breeding-places direct.

Si. 11

1't

:UM! cali.oi{|[ini:s ukninus — nohtiikkx fur skal.

"At tlii.s point it is lU'ccssary to Uiln' up aiiotluT tlirciid of
tliis .subjoc't. I liiivc iiln-.Kly stnt(Ml tliiit, uiMlt'r citoiu'ouh iiil'or-
Illation as to tlu' relative jtntportioii ol* the nuinl)ers of Seals
breeding;' on Saint (leoij^e's and Saint Paul's ]slan<ls, the quota
liad been lixed at 7"),()(K) lor the hitter ami L'i"),()()0 for tlu foiiiii'r
ishunl. Samuel l''ah'oner, my assistant in cliar;;ti of Saint
(loorj^e's Ishiml, Imd repovt<Ml a rapid diu'iease in the iiumlH!i
of Seals of the <iuality desired for their skins. Assistant Agent
H. W. Elliott, who had resided with me on Saint Taul's diniii};
the season of 187-, I now assigned to assist Mr. Falcom-r on
Saint George during the sc^ason of 187.'{. Ho, by his reaidenci!
on Saint Paul's, was able to give the relative difl'erence in the
proportionate number of Seals on the two islands. After Iiis
exmninution it was ftmnd necessary to change the original di-
vision, and assign to Saint Paul's 00,000 and to Saint Georgo's
only 10,000. This, however, disturbed the relative compensa
tion allowed the natives for the support of their families, and
twelve of the sealt^rs were removed from Saint George's to
Saint Paul's to assist in taking the skins tni that island.

'• In 1875 the dealing began, as usual, June 1, and with tiiis
additional assistance and the improved facilities for doing the
work, 85,000 skins were taken by July 24, leaving the balance
to be supplied from Seals killed for food. The agent of the
compai y, whose duty it was to select the skins, having bcconic
convinced that it was detrimental to the future increase of tlic
Seals to kill the lialf-bidls, confined the killing to those less
than five years old. This left a larger number to mature as
breeding males. This year more two-year-olds were taken
than previously since 1870. This proved to bo an important
ehange, resulting in the sparing of a much larger pereentajje
to mature. The movements of the females were the same as in
1873; that is, tbey occupied the breeding-grounds with their
young until the time of leaving the island, and when departing'
left directly from the breeding-ground. But ii ajis observable
that there were many young Seals born in August, or later in
the season than formerly, showing that a portion of the females
had been covered out of season. The weather i)roved favorable,
continuing warm till into January, thus affording the Seals
born in August time to learn to swin. ind get strong enough to
insure their safety at sea. Many of the bachelor class also
remained around the island until February, when the ice com-
ing down drove them away

I.MXKNT CHANGES IN IIARITS AND NUMBERS, ETC. 397

"Tlu! season of 1870 was iiuukud by no special elianjje in the
iiKivcincnts of tlu! Seals from that of th(( pieeedinH" year. The
St'iils ciinie at their usual time, bejfinninj;' to arrive the 12th
of April, and tlie same conditions of location obtained as iu
|,S74 and 187r». The" beachmasters, by occupyiii};' the entire
Iciiytliof tlie ohl breedinyground, compelled the younger Seals
to i»iiss completely beyond to the bays and sand-beaches, while
tlu* increased number of feuuiles, through lack of space on the
(lid grounds, began to occupy the sand-beaches nearest the
rookeries.*

'* The average time of landing of the females was a little later,
or, rather, a portion landed after the 20th of July to have their
voiuig, showing that they were not covered in their first heat
the previous season.

" The beachmasters and reserves showed an increase in num-
ber over the previous year, due to young bulls just matured.
The old stock of the year prior to the lease had apparently
nearly died out, leaving a new and more vigorous stock to
supply their places.

" Iu the autumn the weather, which for three years had been
so mild, proved unusually rough ind severe. October 30th there
was a severe gale, accompanied with snow, which covered the
breeding-grounds to a depth of ten inches, and drove all the
Seals, both young and ohl, in'io the water, and only a compara-
tively small number returned again to the shore. Among
these were large numbers of females which had lost their young,
and for several days they went about the breeding-grounds
plaintively calling for their pups. In Novembev, when the time
had arrived for driving the young Seals to kill for the supply
of winter food for the natives, it was found that only half the
number (live thousand) requisite for that purpose flould be ob-
tained. Undoubtedly great numbers of the young Seals which
were driven to the water by the storm must have become sep-
arated from their parents and lost. As I was relieved before
the time for their return the next season, there was no one on
the island experienced enough to perceive to what extent the

" * I iiiiiy bere state that the repugnance the females have to occupying the
saudy beaches for a breeding-grouncl appears to arise from the evident dis-
Lomfort they experience from the sand getting into their hair and fur while
obliged to remain there, especially when rains occur. The young Seals
•ilso appear to sutFer in health if rains occur before they are old enough to
tiiko to the water, they becoming scurfy precisely as young i)ig8 do when
winpollcd to live in muddy places."

; U

I .

\\wmu

398 CALL0RHINU8 URSINUS — NORTHERN PUR SEAL.

iiyury prevailed, and as the product of 1877 will not arrive at
the proper age for killing until 1880, it must be left to the
future to determine the extent of the loss.

■p.'

.. 5

A,-

"^ Causes of the Changes in the HAbits of the Seals,
ETC. — It will now be well to try and trace some of tbe causes that
operated to produce changes in what had been the usual habits
of these animals. At the date of the transfer of these islands to
the United States the non-breeding Seals (and by this class I
mean the males of all ages not in active service on the breed-
ing-places) were, as nearly as can be ascertained, equal to
the whole number of both beachmasters and females. Thirty
per cent, of this non-breeding class were capable of pro-
creation. During the years 1867, 18G8, and 1869 there were
taken 410,000 Seals, mostly of tne product of 1866, 1867, and
1868. This large number killed in so short a time, left only a
small portion of the product of those years to mature, to furnish
the half-bulls in 1871, 1872, and 1873. During these years (the
first years under the lease), the demand, for reasons before
stated, was for large skins, and it had to be met by killing four-,
five-, and six-year-olds. This destruction of the remnant that
escaped from the excessive killing in the years of 1868 and 1869
had the effect to exterminate the product of those years and
create a chasm that had to be bridged over by the products
of years prior to 1865, which had to supply the males neces-
sary for breeding, until the products of later years could ma-
ture. Again, during the season of 1870 the natives, to pur-
chase supplies and for their own food, killed 85,000, mostly one-
and two-year-old Seals. This operu ;'xl in the same directiou,
reducing to a minimum the products of 1868 and 1869, and
rendering the breach still wider. There was consequently only
a limited number to fill this gap until those spared by the com
pany in 1871, 1872, and 1873, when only half-bulls were taken,
had matured. Before these had time to attain maturity the
large surplus of reserves of the year 1869 became so reduced
in numbers by natural causes as to induce the changes we have
noted in the movements of the female breeding Seals. The old
males, having become weakened and exhausted, failed to im-
pregnate the females in their first heSt and forced them to seek
the younger males in their second heat instead of going to the
beaches with their young as formerly. This caused many fe-
males to bear their young later in the season, and consequently,

U I

CAUSES OF CHANGES IN HABITS, ETC.

399

^ ,;f

iJuring this and tlio following years, resulted in considerably
delaying the time of their impregnation. Owing to the mild
Aveather late in autumn, the mothers of these late pups were
able to stay until their young were ohl enough and strong
eiiougli to insure their safety.

•' Tlie decrease in the number of breeding males may be con-
sidered as having reached its minimum in 187G. In 1877, the
last season I spent at the islands, there was an evident increase
iu the immber of this class. A review of the different classes
will now assist us iu drawing our conclusions. The reserves
and beachmasters belong to a single class, the only difference
being that those which get on shore first and hold a place for
a I'ainily are denominated beachmasters, while those of the same
<'las^s that arrive too late for this purpose are termed reserves.
Ill 18G9 the beachmasters were numerous enough to occupy the
breediug-ground in the proportion of one to the square rod,
leaving a surplus or reserve of double this number, or three
times as many as could find space on the breeding- ground.
There being so large an excess of males of breeding age, they
crowded each other to the extent of leaving only fighting-room,
averaging one beachmaster to seven females. The beachmas-
ters were continually fighting for the possession of the females,
often lining each other in their struggles, while many more be-
came so crippled as to have to retire from the breeding-grounds,
.so that during the season the injured and exhausted amounted
to fully 30 per cent. This condition continued until the ef-
fect of the excessive killing in 18G5 became apparent, resulting
ill the reduction of the reserves from natural causes. Those
aheady old died out, and the products of 186G and 18G7 being
reduced by overkilling in 18G8, fewer were left to mature to
make up for the natural loss. Consequently, in 1870, or be-
fore the Alaska Commercial Company began to take the ani-
mals for their skins, this class had perceptibly decreased. Dur-
ing the succeeding three years, nearly all of the half-bulls being
killed, there was no new stock to rei)lace the natural decrease
from old age and exhaustion, nor many half-bulls to assist iu the
duties of reproduction. This rendered the season of service for
the old Seals more protracted. In three years, or by 187.'i, the
old reserves had become so reduced in number that when the
lookeries Avere fully occupied there were only half as many
beachmasters there as formerlj^, or only one to two square rods
<jf area, while each beachmaster had on the average about fifteen

.gfisi

•i

mm>'

,aHmriB,i

"JHbW^

' ^^^^^^^^^He^

'ViH|Hh

"W0.

•

400 CALLOHIIIXUS URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

Icuialos. The reserves were now only about half as uumemus
as tlic beachiiiasters. As a result of these eonditious, the I'e
males were iini>erfectly covered, and instead of ;;oinj;in Auj;ust
to the beaches remained on the breeding-firounds until tiicir
second heat, herdinj^ with the younger or less matured males.
while the young Seals learned to swim from the sliores of the
rookeries. Another marked result Mas that on the rookeries the
beachmasters were so far separated and had each so many more
females that there was less occasion for fighting, and con.sc
4uently less uproar and destruction from wounds. At this uato
occurred the change in the system of killing, the younger malt's^
being taken instead of the half-bulls. Since this time the rel-
ative number of breeding males has been steadily increasiuff.
It is still, however, below the proper proportion, and under the
present system will require three years at least to 8ui>ply the
deficiency. The period of gestation being nearly one year, it
is necessary that the females should be all impregnated in their
first heat, lest, as was the case in 187G, early storms occur and
force the late-born young to enter the sea before they have ac-
quired sufficient strength and endurance to insure their safety.
Similar changes in their movements and relative numbers were
noticed in the hoUuschucke or bachelor class. This class in-
cludes all under six years old, with a very small number of
superannuated males, and also the h>>lf-bulls. The custom of
killing the younger Seals for their skins, by the Russians, had
allowed so large a number of half-bulls to mature every year
that in 1809 the proportion of half-bulls to the whole niiiiiber
was fully 20 per cent., but in 1871, 1872, and 1873, when tbis
class were taken for their skins, it decreased to less than a per
cent., and did not show any perceptible increase until 187(5.

" In 1861), the rookeries, where they extended along the show,
were not continuous, but broken into sections by the small gul-
lies formed by the streams from the melting snows in spring.
These open spaces appeared to be regarded by all classes as
neutral ground, and all the Seals not old enough to maintain a
position on the breeding-places passed through them to the up-
lands in the rear of the rookery, going and returning at will.
When on the upland these younger Seals occupie<l places near
the reserves. When they were wanted for their skins the men
passed rapidly between them and the reserves, cutting thein oil
from these opeu passages and turning them inland. Here the
small squads collected from the diflerent divisions were gath-

CAUSES OF CHANGES IN HABITS, ETC.

401

c'lotl into herds of from six liuiidrcd to cij^ht hundred each ;
that ninuber beinj;' jis many as can be driven t() advanlajje in
one tlock.

"Tiie decrease of the reserves from 1.S70 to 1872 gave ample
loom on the ohl breeding-places without forming new rookeries.
Later the increase of the females niade it necessary for them to
occupy th(! open places which had before aflbrded passages for
the y(nuig males from the water to the uplands, so that the
yoiiiig males on their arrival, after trying in vain to find land-
ing places as before, passed the rookeries and occupied the
beaches of the coves juid hays beyond. This began in 1872,
and in 1875 had become general, and may now be considered as
a lived habit. As it saves gathering them in small groups, it
liivatly facilitates the process of obtaiuuig the drives without
(Ictriuiejital efl'ect to the rookeries. ,

" NVhen 1 made my estimate of the number of the Seals in 1869,
tlie proportiona.te number these groups bore to the breeding-
rookery near which they were located suggested the inquiry
whethei- the young returned to the exact point where they were
born. I found on questioning the natives that they believed
they did thus return. To test this matter I had, in Novembei',
1870, lifty young males selected from one rookery, and marked
on the right ear, and fifty n^ore selected from another rookery,
two miles distant from the first, were marked on the left ear.
The result was that in 1873, when they were of the i)roper age
to bo taken for their skins, four of them were killed on Saint
Paul's Island, at points more or less distant from the place
wliere they were marked, and two were found on the island of
Sahit George.

"Passing now to the consideration of the females, we meet
with greater difficulties and arrive at less satisfactory results,
owing to the fact that our knowledge of them during the first
three years is less definite. During the first four months after
birth the sexes do not appreciably difier. When the Seals are
driven to the uplands in November for the j)urpose of selecting
younix males for the winter supply of food for the natives, the
'^exes, as nearly as can be judged, are equal in numbers ; but
iit this time the females average at least one-tenth smaller than
(lie males.

"At this stage they leave the island for the winter, and very
'<'\v appear to return to tlu; island untd they are three years ohl.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 20

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402 CALLORHINUS URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

at which age they seek the males for sexual intercourse. On
the other hand, the males return the following year with the
mature females. On their arrival they land on tl e island and
pass some distance inland, where they repose in large herds
during the breeding-season, and linger about the island until
after the females and tneir young are gone. They contiiuie to
return each year, arriving earlier as they approach to maturity,
until old enough to become beachmasters. But the youiij;
females, as already stated, are not seen in numbers until they
'.re three years old, when they arrive about the height of tlic
breeding-season. Considerable numbers land on the breediug
places, but a larger portion are covered by the males before
they have time to land. In the females there are no definite
external indications of age as there are in the males, and iii as
signing the age of three years I have accepted the judgment of
the natives, who are familiar with every phase of Seal life, and
are governed mainly in their opinion by the appearance of the
teeth. In the few I have had killed from time to time for ex
ami nation the differences have been pointed out to me, but I du
not consider myself competent to judge, and in the absence oi
more detinito evidence I accept the statements of the natives.
At this age they weigh about forty-five pounds, are of a steel
gray color on the back, with pearly white breast and belly, the
gray of the back gradually shading into the white on the sides.
and their coat has a very soft, velvety appearance. When tbey
return the following ye.ar to give birth to their first young they
average sixty pounds, and the color of the back is of a deeper
shade and extends lower down on the sides. They still cou
tinue to grow for two or three years, and attain an average
weight of eighty pounds. At six or seven years old the color
of the back has become brown and extends to the belly, wLicli
is then only a few shades lighter than the back. When the
young females first land their color is bright and soft, but iu
two or three days the white tint gradually becomes of a rusty
shade, so that when visiting the rookeries daily it is easy to dis
tinguish the Seals that have just landed. After they have beeu
on shore ten days they become all of the same shade, and are
individually undistinguishable. As the females are never killed,
but are left to die from old age or natural causes, there are no
means of ascertaining their length of life. In exceptional cases
they become barren and haul up with the young males.

VARIATION IN COLOR WITH AGE, ETC.

403

"Albinos and sexually abnormal Individuals.— Three
or four albinos arc found every year, which are of a pinkisli
wliite color, sometimes mottled with liver-colored spots, an<l the
I'vcs and the skin coverinj>' the flippers are also pinkish. On
one (tr two occasions I iiave seen the youny' i)up black, except
a iiiurow light stripe extending from the (iorners of tlu; mouth
along the sides to the ])osterior extremities. These conditions
are very unusual.

"Among the nuilcs we find sometimes an imperfect develop-
ment of the organs of generation. Individuals thus defective
arc not distingi ishable until the fourth year, when instead of
the ne(!k thickening and the hair on it growing curly and longer
as ill the perfect male, they retain the slim form of the neck,
cliariicteristic of the female, non-develoi)ment of the testes hav-
ing' the same effect upon their development that castration has
upon th«; domestic bull.

"Occasional instances of hermaphroditism also occur, in which
the same individual h.as a nearly perfect development of the
organs of both sexes. These herd with the males, but are
icadily distinguishable from them by their having the posterior
[nwi of the body fuller and thicker as in the full-grown female.

yl'^f

•• Pescription op the Young; Variation in Color with
ACrE,KTC. — The young Seals are all born with a coat of short,
stitt" black hair covering the whole body. When sixty days old
tills is replaced by a very soft and silky covering three-fourths of
an iucli in length. This is a fine steel-gray on the back and
wliuo on the throat, breast, and abdomen. This coat of overhair
is shed annually in August and September, becoming coarser
.111(1 darker with ago each year. At seven years the back has
attaiiied a dark brown, shading gradually to two or three shades
lighter on the belly. At the fifth year the hair on the neck and
shoulders grows coarser, curling at the ends, atul on many of
these the ciuly tips are white, giving a grizzled or silver-gray
iiltpearance. The fur commences to grow with the first coat of
'iverhair, as a soft light down, the overhair entirely covering
iiiul eoiicealing it. On the male this continnes to grow to three-
eighths of an inch in length, increasing evenly in thickness .and
lineuess all over the body until the third year, when it is in its
greatest perfection. After this, as the nude develops the char-
aeteristi(!s of his sex, as the thickening of the neck and shoul-
'Iw's, tlie fur also becomes longer and tliicker, while, as the

d-i

,ft

Y-

■A

I ■

404 CALLOKillNU.S UUSINUS — NOUTIIKKN FUIt SKAL.

aiiittial jii'ows older, tlic I'lir on tin' i)ost('iioi' )iortioii of the Imck
j;ots tliimicr. TIh' skin tlins «l«'t('riaratt's in valno; llic I'lir Ucinj;
nn(M|nall.v «U'V('lo[>('(l on dillcmit parts of the botly, prevents the
use of the whole skin in tlie same garment. The color of ilic
fur is uot indicated by the overhair, and as a rule shows ^^rciitci
variation in shade than the latter, varyinj;' fromasnuitty wliitc
to a rich maroon, the latttu' shade bein;,' the inost rare.

"Moulting. — A diversity of opinion exists on the island as to
whether or uot the fur is shed with the overhair. I have juiviii
close atteutiou to the subject and tiud that all the eviiUnco is
against the opinion that the fur is shed. The great quantity
of overhair aunually shed by this iuunense uumber of animals
covers the ground like dead leaves in a forest. It is blown by
the wiuds around the rocks, aud becomes trodden iuto the soil.
so that when the earth is dry if a piece be takeu aud brokiii
the whole mass is found to be permeated with it like the Itaii
in dried plaster. The difft ''euce between the libers of the ovw
hair aud the fur is plaiul.y apparent to the eye. I have, how
ever, gathered ])arcel8 of it at all times during the sheddiiij;
season and subjected it to microscopic examinatiou, but liavi'
always failed to detect the presence of far i>i sufficient quantity
to warrant the belief that any of it is shed naturally. Tlic
shedding of the overhair begins about the middle of August.
and the Seals are not fully clothed with the new coat until the
end of September, and it does not attain its full length before
the end of October. The first indications of shedding are
noticed around the eyes and fore flippers and in the wrinkles
or folds of the skins. The waw overhair appears in the fur as
short black points, and as it grows out the old coat is gradually
east. The Avhole process covers a period of ibrty days, duriu^'
which time the skins are in a condition denominated by fiu
dealers as ' stagey,' and are of inferior value. This, however,
is not due to any defect in the fur, but to the condition of tlit
overhair, which is so short as to render the process of ])hu;kiiij:
too slow aud lal)orious by tlni usual methods to be i-emuiioin
five. In the first .slii[»nu'nts of skins under the lease conipliiints
were made of the number of 'stagey' skins that were sent.
As this was a term that conveyed no exi»lanation of the (lt'i'e< t.
it was necessary to scud ro London for a package of stagey
skins. This was done during the third year, and on their ic
ception at the i.slaud the cau.se was at once underistood an«l ii"

SEXI'AL OKGANS AND COPULATION.

405

iiiorc stiigcy skins wcn^ shipped, Two years alter, inquiries
were w.ulo, by parties in liondon for stagey skins, («• rather why
tlicrc were no more to be had in the market. It was ascer-
iMJiicd that jiarties then* had lieen making it a special business to
iiiiiimfiictin'e stagey skins. The low price at which they were
s(»l(l ill tlie raw static enabled them to b«>stow the extra labor
mwssary to pluck tln'in and realize a large protit thereby, the
sidus af^ 'r plucking being of prime value. This gives further
proof that the animals were not shedding their fur. When-
ever Seals are wounded befon^ the shedding season the wound
lieals very quickly and the scar is covered with a coat of fur
iiiimediately after, but no overhair grows on the wound until
tlie shedding season arrives, when nature wholly repairs the in-
jury. 1 have had such animals killed in the shedding season and
found the new overhair showing in the fur of the wound just
us on the rest of the body. In the spring of 1873 a fine three-
yoar-old Landed with a wound on its body as large as two
imnds, apparently caused by the animal getting pinched in the
ieo. The wound, though fresh, soon healed and became cov-
ered with fur. This Seal was several times driven to the kill-
ing {,'round and allowed to go back, on account of the blemish
on its skin. In Angust, when taking Seals for food, this Seal
was killed and unmistakable evidences of the new overhair
toveriiig the wound were found.

'Sexual Groans and Copulation. — As before stated, the
male is born with the testes enclosed in the body. These descend
in the second year but do not become fully developed until the
fourth. In the fifth year the scrotum becomes distended and
the testes show like those of the dog. The vaginal orifice of
the feiaale being within the anus there is but one external open-
ing; lufuce the difficulty of distinguishing the sexes at birth. The
female !'!-.s four teats, two on each side of the middle line of the
belly, ecjuidistant from the fore and hind flippers. During
lactation they are half an inch in length, but do not protrude
beyond the overhair. The mode of copulation on land has
already been described. When there was a full supply of
breeding males copulation occurred mainly on the breeding-
grounds, the half-bulls participating to only a limited extent,
and was larely seen to occur in the water. Since 1874, owing
t" tlic decrease in the luimber of breeding males, a much
larger proportion of the females receive the males in the water,
•^0 tliaton any still day after the 20th of July, by taking a Amoo

htv

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ilt

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*.ll

400 C'ALLOKHINUS URSINIJS — NORTHERN FUIl SEAL.

jiikI jjoiiiff ii little off-shore, coiisiAerablo miinbers msiy 1)0 seen
paiiiii;;, aiid readily ai>]»roaelie(l so near as to be luUy obseivod.
Tliey are then fomid in siii;>le i)airs, swiiimiiiij; in eireles, some
times the cue sometimes the other leadinj,'. They come toyetlici
in a])in'oa''hinji' the snrfaee from below, the male shootinj;' onto
the back of the I'emale and lirmly elasi>inju' her between his lore
tlil>I)ers, The time ol" contact is shorter than on hmd, not
exceedinj;- live miiuites, bnt the operation is lepeated two or
three times, at intervals of liiteen uv twenty minntes. Tlicv
then separate, each {i'(nnji' in a different direction.

''Powpn? ov susr];NDiN(i LM:si'1KAT1on. — As these ereatnns
spend so yreat a portion of their life at sea, it is interesting:' to
hi'.ow how lony they an^ <;apabl(i of remaining,' beh)w the snrracc.
When full-{;rown nudes, sleepinj;- on the edge of the beadi, nro
frightened into the water so suddenly that they do not rcco;:-
nize the nature of the disturbaiice, they invariably phinj^c nnil
swim beneath the surface till obliged to rise to breathe. In sntli
cases they remain from tuo to two and a half minutes under
the surface and come up from one hundred and fifty to two hun-
dred yards distant. If a boat i)a8ses among them they will
follow it at a distance of ten or fifteen yards. On coming to tlif
surface they will stand erect with the whole of the body ante
rior to the fore limbs above the water, and in this position
remain perfectly still for several seconds, then with a summer-
sault and a splash, disappear for a minute or so to reappear
again in some other direction, apparently enjoying the fun ; iu
no case have I timed them when they remained over two and u
half minutes under water. I do not think their power of remain
ing below the surface equal to that of an experienced and well
trained pearl-oyster diver. This seems to indicate that tbey
must feed on fishes living near the surface ; at least not on bot-
tom-fish in deep Avaters.

"Natural. Enemies. — From the birth of the young Seals
until they leave the island at four and a half months old, tbe
loss of life from natural causes is very slight, not exceeding
one-half of 1 per cent. At the time of their departure tbey
are excessively fat and clumsy, and easily fall a prey to tbe
small Whale known as the Killer, their only positively-known
enemy. These grow to a length of fifteen to eighteen feet, and
go in schools of from five to a dozen or more, frequently attack
ing 'and killing fall-grown liight Whales by eating out tbeir

EFFECT OF CLIMATIC INFLUENCES.

407

xoii{,'nes; liencc the name Killer, applied to them bj' whalemen.
Wlu'u the season arrives for the young Seals to enter the water
tlicst' animals are scon near the island, creatin;^ great conster-
nation among the Seals both young and old. They rarely ven-
ture near shore, but in tlu-ee cases wliere rney have been caught
\(iMMj; Seals have been Ibuiul in their stomachs, leaving no
ili»iil)t of their object in approaching the island. I have also
Ik'cii informed by the luitives of llristol liay that these same
aiiiiiiiils arc formidable enemies to the young Walruses and
Hair Seals. The Killers doubtless follow the Seals to their
winter feeding-grounds and prey upon them. During the time
tlie young Seals are absent from the island fully GO jM-r cent,
of their niunber are destroyed l>y their enemies before they
arrive? at the age of oiu; year, and during the secon<l year about
1.") p(>r cent, ujore are lost. Later they appear to be better
able to protect themselves, but before they arrive at maturity
at least 10 per cent, more are destroyed; so that if left entirely
to themselves only 10 or 15 per cent, of the annual product
would mature or reach the age of seven years. To what age
the males attain, there is no means of defluitely ascertaining.
In the records of Shisenekoft", to which I have before alluded,
it is stated that he observed one male occupy the same rock for
fourteen successive years. Only in live instances liave I been
able to identify the same Sejil as occupying the same place.
Four of these returned four years in succession, and the other,
five years. They were probably eight years old when first ob-
served, so that they attained at least to twelve years, which I
think may be considered as their average length of life.\L\.s I
liave before stated, the large surplus of full-grown males «"xist-
ing in 18G9 nearly all disappeared in about six years ; and when
we consider the fact of their severe labors during the breeding
season, when they pass from ninety to one hundred and twenty
(lays without food, engaged in a constant struggle for their
positions, and performing the most exhaustive function of phys-
ical life, six or seven years would seem to be the limit of the
active period of their lives. NQ

"Effect of climatic Influences. — It remains now to
notice the effect of the climate on these animals. The climate is
very uniform at the islands during the period the Seals remain
here. The months of April, M«ay, June, .and July are the most
iiuportant portions of the year, as in August the Seals are all
in a condition to go in the water and avoid the intiuences most

408 CALhOUIIINUS UKSINUS NOUTHKRN FUR 8KAL.

injurious to thoiii, nainely, snnsliino and rain. T licro lurni.sii
an abstract from the meteorological tables of C I'. Fi.sli, signal
otlicer resident on the island in 1874, this being the ^varnle,s|
year and the one most unfavorable to the Sejila during n>y
eight years' residence at the islands.

Hrnn averaee for the

•s

uber.

monili.

340
80.4

380
77.4

440
80.6

480

87.4

50O

83. R

470

70.2

400

Kf'lative humidity

70.2

Proportion of cloudinesa

83.6

76.1

88.0

07.0

82.2

75.5

78.0

Amount of rainfall

0.84

0.58

2.01

3.81

2.02

3.01

4.82

Number of days on

Tvhich precipitation

occurred

'Hi

Proportion of foggy days

2.8

0.12

0.05

01.7

22.2

2.6

1.0

37'

80.8

■

73.2

■

9.28

1.3

"During the months of May, June, and July the sun's rays an-
generally obscured, the sky has a leaden appearance, but theiv
is very little fog until about the end of July, at which time also
there are usually two or three days of heavy rain. In June and
July there are occasionally days when the sun shines clearly for
two or three hours, but rarely longer. These days are dreaded by
the sealers. At a temperature of 40°, with obscuration of the
sun, the Seals lie quietly ; at 42° they manifest signs of discom-
fort from heat, and lie on their sides, fanning themselves with
their hind flippers, occasionally changing sides. At 45° they
are decidedly uncomfortable, and all that can go into the water
to bathe and cool themselves, remaining there an hour or two.

"The beachmasters, and the little Seals that have not yet
learned to swim, remain on the land. When the sun shines for
two or three hours, and the rocks become heated, there are oc-
casional deaths among the beachmasters and very young i)ups
from sunstroke, the symptoms being a nervous jerking of the
limbs, followed by convulsions and death. Fortunately these
occurrences are rare, and it was only in 1874 that any appre-
ciable number were lost from this cause. That year many yoiiiig
Seals diec^ about the first of August. With light rain or thick
fog they endure a temperature of 50° without inconveiiiencc.
The same fatal results occur from overheating when driviiig,
in which case if the animals are not skinned immediat<'lv the

XUMUKU UKQUIRED IJV THE NATIVKH FOR FOOD. 409

lur is loosciiwl and tlie .skin hoconics valiu'loss. It occasionally
liiiplMiis tliat when a h»n'<l lias been driven in dnrinji; the nij^ht
Iniiii a distance of five or six miles, they do not gvt snfliciently
cool Itefore seven o'clock. If the snn shines, in half an honr
tiif whole lii'i'd show synij)tonisof dis<'onifort, an<l soon become
entirely unmanajji'able, breakinj; away from the watchers and
nisliiny in all directions, heedless of obstacles, rnnnin}; into the
village, enterin};* open d«>ors, and attempting: to climb np the
sides of the houses, piles of lumber, or any other object in their
way, keeping on until convulsions and death result. At such
tiiiu's every available han<l is required with club and knife to
follow, knock down, and skin before the pelt is damaged by the
boat. The only remedy is to get them into the nearest water
as fast as possible, as all thus treated are saved. After a bath
of half an hour they can be driven again, and if allowed to lie
<iuietly no further trouble is experienced.

''They are also greatly disturbed by rain. They paj' little at-
tention to a slight drizzle, but when copious showers occur they
all resort to the water until the rain is over, preferring this to
the shore.

"It thus appears that for the successful breeding of these
animals certain meteorological conditions are indispensable, and
that they require a pla<'e where they can land and remain un-
<listuibed for half the year. The geographical situation of these
islands affords not only the isolation they require, but the requi-
site humidity and exemption from extremes of heat and cold.
If th»! islands had been especially created tov the Seals they
seemingly could • i have been better adapted to their require-
ments. Hence, if not rudely disturbed by man, there need be
no fear of their changing their place of breeding.

"Nr^mER OF Seals required for the Sursistence of
THE Natives. — The principal subsisten(;e of the native popula-
tion is Seal-flesh. When the Seals arrive in spring, if the winter
i^upply is not exhausted, it has become so stale as to render it
necessary to commence killing fresh food as soon as enough
jonng males i'or the ])urpose have landetl, which usually occurs
by the L'Otli of May. The skins of these animals are salted, and
"II the 1st of June (the legal tinie for taking Seals for their
^kins) all the skins of animals that have been taken fo' food
iiie turned over by the Treasury agent to the agent i i the
'wnpaiiy as a part of the quota for that y<'ar. While the com-

in'i'pffi'

!il

ill '~

410 CALLORIIINUa URSINUS — NORTHERN FUR SEAL.

paiiy aro taking thcso uuiinal.s for their skins, the natives sub
sist on the llesh of the animals so kiik'd. When tlie conipauy
iiave obtained tlieir full (in«)ta their control of the killing (H'ascs.
tlie Treasury agent dirocting the killing lor food. From ahoiit
tiu' end of .Inly until tlu; Seals Icavi' tin' island, there are re-
(piircd for th«' suUsistcnec of the natives tluv«' hundred iuii
iiials per \v«'ek. ('are is taken in k'Miiig I'or this pui-pose lo
take such animals as will yield skins acceptable by the comi>aii,v
lis a i)art of the next year's (|uota, but during the sheddinu
season the skins arc^ vabudess. .\s this period hists trom tlic
middle of August to October, the lunuber of skins so lost is

-f -T iilfout two thoiisanil. I5es,.les this loss, in Novend»«'r, belore
the young Seals leave the islands for the winter, about S,(MI(>
rbur-and-a-half months-old young nudes are taken for a .supjdv
(»f blubber and Seal-tlesh for use in winter while the Wt'ids are
absent from the islands. This is necessary, because at this sea
son the older Seals tnat have been so long ashore as to have
l>ecome quite thin and poor, yield little blubber, while their
tiesh is tough and stringy. The blubber of the nursing Seals
is quite different from that of the older Seals, being liner in
texture and firmer, with less proportion of oil, and is far i)refer-
able for food-puri)oses. The carcasses of these young Seals iuc
dressed and suspended on poles in the open air, and are kept
fresh nearly all winter by being frozen. It will be seen by this
that the total number of animals killed annually for all purjtoses
is 110,000. This, in the six years that ha\'e elapsed since the
beginning of the Idase, amounts to a total of 060,000 male Seals.
Allowing the sexes to be produced in equal numbers (and so
far as can be judged this appears to be the fact), there have
been added to the original stock of breeding females (500,000
~* over the number existing at the beginning of the lease ; aiul
this agrees very nearly with the increased area now occupied
by them, which shows a total of not much less than 1,8()0,0(M}

' '' breeding females.

" Winter Resorts and Habits while absent from the
Islands.— Of thr life of these animals while absent from the
islands but littk »wn, nor is it known where their princi-

pal feeding-" ^re. We know that the greater part pas')

through C . and Aukootan Straits, going east in autuiuu

and west taring; and that in December, about six weeks
after they leave the islands, fishing parties of Indians at Sitk;i

WINTER RESORTS, ETC.

411

1, ,"()() iiiihis oust of the Seal Lshuuls, occasioually nhoot ami
briiifi ill tlieyoiiiiH: Seal imps (they probably shoot the mothers,
but tlicy liavinj;- too little blubber to tloat thcui they lose them).
Diiiiiiy the winter nionths considerable numbers of Seal-skins
are taken by the natives of liritish (Joliimbia; some years as
iiiiiny as two thousand. These lind their way to the San Fran-
cisco niarki't. On examining'' parcels of them I have found them
to Itc mostly very younj; Seals, with no male skins anions; them
old enough to show the sex. When at Victoria I made special
iii(|iiiries about the sealing, and found that most of the skins
olttaiiied there were taken in the water, but a half-breed hunter
told me he had tbund in summer, on Queen Charlotte Island,
j;Tonps of these animals consisting of two or more beachmasters,
with a doz(Mi or more females and pups, but no half-grown males.
''Xor is it known whether the diflferent sexes associate during
tilt' jieriod of their absence from the islands. The mjiles inva-
riably come to the island first, take up their positions and wait
tlio arrival of the females, which come after the males have all
arrived. They not only come by themselves, but they all re-
main till after the males have gone. I have matle constant
inquiries of all masters of vessels cniisiug for trade or whales
in Behring's Sea with reference to the occurrence of these ani-
mals in those waters, but in only one instance can I learn that
they have been observed. In 1870 a vessel, becalmed for nearly
a week one hundred miles north of the islands, in the month of
August, reported seeing many Seals, nearly all old bulls. As
at that time this class was largely in excess, it is possible that
these males were off to feed. The Alaska Commercial Company
have a general depot of supplies at Onalaska, whence the mer-
chandise for their trade is distributed in schooners to the differ-
ent points on the main coast and the islands. The masters and
officers of these schooners, who are familiar with the Seals, say
they see small groups of small (apparently one- and two-year-old)
Seals at {ill times diu-ing July and August. These, I think, may
be young females, which, as already stated, do not visit the
island till they are three years old."

■A

't ■ ■

f ;t

.■^

412 FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

FAMILY PHOCID^.

EAKLESS SEALS.

t(W rhoquea miis oreillvs ou Phoqiiea proprement dita, BUFFON', Hist. Nat.

Siippl., vi, 1782, 30().
I'hocacea inauriculata, Pliuox, Voy. mix Terr. Austr., ii, 181(i, ;57, foot-'<ote.
Phocidw, Gray, Ann. of Phil., xxvi, 1825, :J40, in part, and also (in part only)

of nnmoroiia writers prior to abont 1870,
Phocidw, "Brookes, Cat. Miis., 1828, 3(5 '*; Gill, "roc. Essex Inst., v,

18G6, T).— Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th soi., iv, 1869, 21)?,.

342. 344.— Allkn, Bull. Mns. Coinp.
authors since 1870.

Zool., ii, 1870, — Also of most

Fore liinbs pla^eit well forward; neck rather sUort; liinti limbs
not susceptible of being turned forward, and not capablf. of use
in terrestrial locomotion. Manns and pes entirely hairy ; nails
of all the digits usually well developed (rudimentary in *SYe-
norhynchinw). Digits of the manus subequal, usually decreas-
ing slightly in size from the first to the fifth ; of the pes the first
and fifth stouter than the three middle ones. Scapula small,
the superior posterior angle rounded, the crests small, and the
acromion process slightly developed. Femur with the trochan-
ter minor undeveloped. Pubic bones approximated in the fe
males, and in the males appressed posteriorly for about one-
third of their length. Ilia short and broad, abruptly turned
outward and recurved anteriorly. Acetabula opposite first
.sacral vertebra. Skull with the postorbital process generally
wholly undeveloped or rudimentary ; mast«ul process swoUer.,
continuous with the auditory bullie ; no alisphent id canal. An-
d'^^o, bulljB greatly inflated. Incisors conical, variable in
i...inber (jE:% IS^ ^^ i^i)* I^^ntal formula: Milk dentition, 1.
( ."'able, as in the adult, and probably of the same number),
€. \~\, M. 1=^1', Permanent dentition, I. —-g, ~^l, or ^J, C. \^\,

M. t~t No external ear. Testes enclosed within the body.

:Jt-l |.
PI

TECHNICAL HISTORY,

Higher GROurs, — As noticed in the h'story of the preced-
ing families, the group formerly termed rhocUlw was coexten-
sive with the suborder Pinnipcdia. Although Peron in 1810
divided the Pinnipeds into Fhocacsa aitricidatw and Fkoeacea
inaurienlatw, and although F. Cuvier in 182-1: separated them

tt*i

TECHNICAL HISTOUY — HIGHER GROUPS.

413

into two primary unnamed gi'owps in accordanco with whether
tlic molar teeth were single-rooted or had several roots, and
hitor into three, based on the same eharaetevs coui)led with the
iiuinber of incisoi's, in his later classification his first division
is equivalent to the Phocinw and StenorJn/nchhuc of recent
iintiiors, his second, to the Cystoi)horinw of late authors, and
Ills third <!()mprises the Otaries. Nilsson, in 1837, nuwle t'« ^o
l)iiiiiary divisions of the Pinnipedia, the first comprising th^.
j>onera IStenorhynchus, Pelagiu^, and Phoca, and the other the
genera Ualichoerm, Trichechns, Cystophora, and Otarki, or the
(iray Seal, the Walruses, and the Otaries. Brookes, iu 1828,
was tiie fijst to accord to the Earless Seals the rank of a fam-
ily, (till, in 1860, however, was the first to eft'ectually make
clear their true position and relations to the other Pinnipeds,
since which date their family rank has been very generally con-
ceded, and the term PlMoidce has been restricted to the Earless
Seals. Turner, in 1848, presented the same scheme of primary
grouping of the Pinnipeds as that adopted by Gill, and pointed
out at the same time the leading distinctions of the three
groups, but he allowed to them merely the rank of subfamilies,
the term Phoddw still covering the whole of the Pinnipeds.

The eauly classifications of Pinnipeds having been already pre-
sented somewhat in detail (see anteiH, pp. 9-12), it is unnecessary
to rep:.at them at leujfth iu the present connection. It may
suffice to state that the classifications of the Phooidce, with the
exceptions already named, prior to 1866, generally embraced
both Eared Seals and Earless Seals in the same primary divis-
ion. This was the case in Gray's schemes of 1821 and 1825, iu
F. Cuvier's in 1824, in Nilsson's in 1837, in Wagner's in 1846,
and iu Giebel's in 1855, the two authors last named separating
the Walruses as one family, and combiniiig all the rest of the
Pinnipeds as another, called by them Phocina, with no subdi-
visions higher than genera. Gray, in 1825, divided the Phn-
ckkc {=Pinnipedia, exclusive of the Walruses and with the addi-
tion of Enhydris) into two primary groups and five secondary
groups, of whicli latter the Earless Seals formed four and the
Otaries a fifth. In 1837 he replaced the Walruses in Phocid/v
(but excluded Enhydrin), and adopted the classification em-
ployed by him till 1866. This includes two primary divisions
termed " Sections," and five secondary divisions termed "Sub-
foniilies," as follows : Section I. Subfamily 1. Stenorhynchina,
^fitli, originally, the genera Leptonyx, Pelagius, and Steno-
fhynchus, to which were added later Lohodon and Ommatophooa.

* H

'4'

I *

)
\ It

i:'

I m ^ 1

414

FAMILY PHOCIDJE.

Subfamily 2. Phocina, witli,ori};inally, the genera Phoca and Cai-
locephalun, to which were added hiter Puf/omys, Pagophilns, and
Hniicyon. Subfamily 3. Trichmna (or Trichechina, as spelled
later), with the genera HalichceniH and Trichccm (or Trichfchus,
as spelled later)*. Subfanuly 4. Cystnphnrino. with the geiiorn
Cystophora and Mortinga. Subfamily 5. Arvfo<rpliiilin<i (includ-
ing all the Eared Seals).

In 180G Gill restricted the fauiily Phoeidiv to the Earless
Seals — a group equivalent to Turner's subfamily Plincina — and
divided it into three subfamilies, as follows : 1. Phocincv, includ-
ing the genera Phoca, Ptuiomys, Payophilus, Urignathm, Halt-
chcerus, and Monachus ; 2. ^^yHtopliorincc, including the genera
Cystonhora and Macrorhimis ; .'5. Stenorhynchincc, with the gen
era Lohodon, Stenorhynchtis, Leptonyx, and Ommatophoea. Gill's
Phocinw is the equivalent of Gray's Phoeina and Trichcchim.
with the addition to the former of Monachus and the exclusion
from the latter of Trichcchns, while Gill's Cystophorinw and t^tena-
rhynchimc are the exact equivalents of Gray's groups of siniihn
name, except that Monachus is excluded from the latter.

In 1869 Gray separated from the Phoctdce the Walruses and
the Otaries as distinct families, thereby restricting the Phocido
to the Earless Seals, as Gill had previously done, but divided
the Phocidw into five " tribes." His classification of the group
as i)resented by him in 1871 is as follows: Family Phodda\
Tribe I. Phoeina ^ with the genera Callocephalus, Pagomys, Pago-
pMbis, Jfalicyon, Phoca. Tribe II. Balicha;rina, = genus Halt-
chscrus. Tribe III. Monachina, = genus Monachus. Trib*' IV.
Stenorhynchina, with the genera Sfenorhynchus, Lohodon, lA'p-
tonyx, Ommatophoea. Tribe V. Cystophorina, with the genera
Morunga and Cystophora. The difference between the two
schemes consists (1) in the equivalency of Gill's Phoeina with
Gray's first three " tribes," and (2) in ihe designations •• sut)
families" and "tribes." Gill's scheme of division of the fainily
into thiee subfamilies has been adopted by most subs(M|uent
writers, even Gray himself adopting it in 1874. The three
"subfamilies" now so currently accepted seem to be well-
raaiked natural groups, but whether entitled to the rank tlins
accorded may perhaps be oi)en to question.

Genera. — The first dismemberment of the Linua;aii ^^enus
Phoca, after the removal of the Eared Seals by P6ron in ISHJ,*

*F()r u discussion of /'((««, Scopoli, 1777, see j)08/tiit fortunately slimibered for a centnry, when it was uiiiiap-
pily revived.

TECHNICAL IIISTOKY — OKNERA.

415

-was ma<l«' by Nilsson in 1820,* who separated from the other
EiuU'ss Seals the (Iray Seal aiul the Crested Seal, which formed
tlic types and sole representatives, respectively, of his genera
UitUcharm (type, Ilulichwrux gr incus, Nils., = Phoca grifpus.
I'iilu'.), and Ci/stophora (type, Ci/fitophora borealis, Nils. = Plioca
cristiit<i, Erxl.). These genera became soon widely recognized,
;iii(l have been (with the exceptions soon to bo noticed) since
ciiiicntly adoj)ted. The next dismemberment was virtnally
ctlccted by J^'h'mingt in iSL'ii by suggesting that the ^ronk or
^Icditerraneaii Seal might recinire, with jiossibly others, to be
]iliic('(l in a genus Mo)iachits, with the Pltora monavhus of ITer-
iiiiinii as th*! typi'.f

!•'. ('nvier§ in 1SU4, either ignorant of, or ignoring, the generic
sc|)arations made by Nilsson and Fleming (as he makes no ref-
I'leiice to them), divid«'d the geinis I'ltoca of i)receding authors
into live genera, namely: 1. CiiUoci'plmJm (type, Vhnca ritulina,
Linn.); 2. ntcnnrhynchits {ty\»\ Pliovaleptony.); lihiinv.); .*?. Pela-
f/(((.s' (type, lV<om mouacltns, Hermann); 4. Stcmmatnpus (type,
Pliocd vrlntata, Erxleben); 5. Mncrorhini(H\\ (type, Phoca pro-

•••Skand. Fanna, i, lSiiO,pi).;{7<),;{H2."

♦ I'liilDsopliy of Zoology, vol. ii, lg"i"i, p. 187, loot-note.

t l'!ciiiiiii^ niigfifHlcd ratlwr than roiisHlutid the jrtnins Moiiarhitx, for ho
sinildy say.s of it in ii l'oot-not(! nntlei' the jj;enn.s Phoca: '".Some seals, as Ph.
imniiuhnH, aio said to h.ave finir incinors in each jaw. SiH;h will ho prob-
alily cDiistitnted into a new K<'i"i'<. nnder the title, Monachns." This is thti
wlidlc hasis of l'''leinin;^"s ;fenus Miniacliiis, whieh is allowed preoedenen over
r. ('ii\ ier's jjenns I'l'laii'ms, based on ii detailed account of the distinctive
• raiiiiil characters of I'lioca mnnarhiis, tojjether with a ligure of the skull.
Other Seals than I'hov.a moiiacliiin are not only "said to liave," but art; well
known to have "four incisors ineachjaw", and mention of /Viocrt motuichus
is all that saves Fleniinf^'s genus, for it cannot bo said to be, characterized,
and oii;riit n(,f, <„ !,(' recognized to the pr<;jndice of Pchujiux. Upon Dr. Gray
(Cat. Seals, TJrit. Mus., IH"/)) ajjpears to fall the responsibility of reviving
the ;;ciieric name Monuvhux, and renaming the species J/ohwc/iks a/fciwuto'
(ix lio(ldai'rt), although Nilsson appears to have itrevionsly emjiloyed it in
l'?:!7, but s]i(!edily abandoned it for I'diujUiH, F. Cuvier. Says Nils.son, " Ich
liattf ill der Vet. Aeademiens Handl. fiir 18IJ7, p. 'i'.\^y, die hierher gehorige
.\it MiiiKichnx meailcrramm genannt, aber seitdeni ich erfahren, class Fr.
Cuvier dieselbe schou im Diet, d'hist. nat. nnter dein Nainem Prlitffiiismonu-
c/iK.f lp('.-,i'hrieben, scheint niir dieser Name wegen seiner Prioritiit beibthalten
"<nliii zu miissen." — JViqimanH's Anh.fiir Xattufi., 1841, i. ]*. 'Mi*, foot-i-ote.

i^ Ann. (In Mus. d'llisl. Nat., vol. xi, 1824, pp. 174-200, pll. xii-xiv.

I !'"• ( iivicr's names app«'ared here only under the gallieized forms respect-
ively ef ('(lUoa'pliah; Sli'itorluiiqiu; Vvhxjv, SIcmmttlope, an<l Macrorliiiw. They
^viic fust Latinized as iib s by the same author in 1821! (Diet, des Scien.
^iit., vol. xxix, 182G, pp. r)4i-5.'j2), but naturalists generally loncnr in assign-
ing li*-H as the date of the introduction of these genera into .systennitie
Jii'Tature.

, Ilii

ft I

I' •

41G

FAMILY rilOCIDiE.

I i

boscidea, I'eioii = I'hoca Iconinu, Liiiiu', 1758). Of these geueia
two are synonyms, Stcin)nato2)Hs being antedated four years
by Cystophom of Nilsson, and rdiujlm* two years by Monu-
chiis of Fleming, in eaeli ease the two hiter names being the
exact e(iuivalents of the earlier ones. Yet Stemmatopim and
Pelayins had for a time considerable earrency, particularly witli
French and English Avriters. The name Stenorhynchus was
doubly preoccupied for genera of Articulates, and was thus un-
tenable in its present connection. CallocephahiSj as originally
used by its author, and later for some years by him and others,
embraced not only Pltoca vituUna, but also fcctida, yrcenlandica,
and harbata, as well as numerous nominal species referable to
these. In this connection it should be noted that nothing was
now left to represent the old Linnteau genus Phoca, which thus
became wholly set aside. In 1827 Grayt proposed the genus
Mirounga (later changed by him to MorungaX), including under
it Phoca cristata, Erxl., and Phoc^ -oboscidea, Peron, besides
three nominal species referable in part or wholly to the latter.
In 1830 Wagler§ renamed this genus Rhinophora (type, ^^Pfiom
proboscidea, Peron"). Dr. Gray, in 1837, || proposed the genus
Leptonyx for Lesson's ^^Otaria iceddellV\ which has been since
generally current for that species, but with which, however, some
authors (as Wagner, 184G, Giebel, 1855) have associated the
Monk Seal of the Mediterranean and all the Antarctic Phocids,
except the Sea-Elephant. The name, however, is antedated l)y
Leptonyx, Swainson, 1832, apjdied to a genus of birds, and is
hence untenable as used by Gray and others for a genus of Seals.
In 1844 Dr. Gray introduced four additional genera among
the Phocidce, which have since been more or less comniouly
adopted, either in a generic or subgeneric sense. These are
Pagophilus (introduced originally as "a subgenus of CaUoccph
alus^) for the Harp Sail {Phoca grcenlandica)', io&of7o» (type,
Phoca carcinophaga, Ilomb. and Jacq.) for the Antarctic Crab
eating Seal, and Ommatophoca (type, 0. rossi, n. sp.), based on
a species from the Antarctic seas here lirst described. He at
the same time revived the Linnoean name Phoca, separating the

* Thia namo is viiriously written by diflfercnt anthorSjYis Velagias, I'elafjios,
aucl Pelagius.

t Griffith's Auiiii. Kiugd,, vol. v, y. 179.

iList Osteolog. Spec, in Brit. Mns., 1847, p. 33 (species, " MoriDKja de-
pnantinu").

^Natur. Sysl. Anipli., 1830, p. 27.

1! Chuvles\v(.r(li'a JIag. Nat. Hist., vol. i, 1837, p. 582.

ip Hi

1 ;,

TECHXirAL HISTORY — (iKXKRA.

417

IJcaidcd S,.:,I iVom (Uniocephdux to l.oar tl.is iiinnc. Tr,.„ce
(Cray's -cnns /Vu/m (type aiMl solo ,si,«.ci(.s /V;wv^ /y^/Vyr,/.,) l.ad
lu.tlmi- III coiiiiiion with tli(> Liiiiia-an -onus „r that name
1.C1IIU assi-ii,.,l (oa sp,>r,Vs uiikiiowii to T.inn,'.. so that ZV/om'
(.liiy. as here (h'liiicMl, was virdially a new ^(miiis. '

III is:.t th.. sail... author* proposal tla- o^.m.s JTclmphoen for
;i nominal species which ho hiins.'lf ton years later relorrod to
Mn„arhu. olhhrutn: Fn ISdtf he added Halia/on and Pac/o.
"'//^. tlie first based <,n what ho described as a now species from
tlH' west coast of Xorth America, but which is merely the Phoca
ninhn,i Iron, the Pacific, and the other on the ]?ingod Seal
(/•//.(■. faruh,), which is here made the type of a new genus
1 y»n,.s, as will be shown later, is antedated by Pusa of Scopoli

I" 1S<»0 Dr. (Jill, in his ^'Prodrome of a Monograph of the

iimilxMles,"! instituted the genus Engnathm for the Phoca
Mat, of auhors (= Phoca, Gray), and insisted on the rostom-
ti..n ot Ihoca lor the group represented by Phoca rituUna, and
111 .Iffciise of his position otiered the following: '^n the Syst
N;it. l(.th ed., n.-KS, the first in which the binomial system w^s
n; HMlnce.!, our species were included by Linnaeus in the genus
ilxm: 1 P. m-sinus, = Arctocephalm ursinus; 2. P. Iconina,
= Mnn-ornnm Iconinm ; 3. P. romnarm, = Rosmarm obesus;
•• /. nf„l,na. The name Phoca must be retained for one of
tlM'so. and as tlu. third, socoml, and first species were succes-
s>v..Iy .-Knated to the rank of generic types, and the genus was
t lus by olnmnation restricted to the fourth species, for that and
n> allies the generic name must necessarily be reserved "

111 iv^ard to the above it may bo added that Linne, in 17CG
'3st.Nat, iL'th ed.) removed his Phoca rosmarus to Trlchechus,

.1 " .•.•OM, as early as 181G, and Desmarest in 1817 as well as
m ls_o^ ,,.ierre<l the Phoca nnina to Ofaria, thus leaving under
loco, as tn.rly as 1810, only Phocn leohuia and Phoca vituUna.

i o!';u '''"'; '•"\/^-^''"^^' respectively the types of his
.•>ua.-Macrorli,no''(J/«cror/miw«),and ''Callocephale" (CaZ^o-
,rn!n M'f'"' '"' l>"I>*'^^-«»^itle^l"l)e quolques especes de
I luis et des groupos genoriques entre losquels clles se parta-
'"•^"t, II i,ut Calhc'phalus is the first genus mentioned, and Phoca
•i>,.,„. V..". oT ' "■,: '~''. "7-:r\ ^ I

tlbid., 18G4, pp. t8, cl seq.

'''i"c.Zoo!. Soc. Loud., 1854, p. 43.
:l'rn,.. I.:s,s,.x in.sj., vol. v, 18C6, i>p. 4-13.
,; ;^'^;;' -'1 ^"-"••>; Voy. .u Torres Aust., ii, 181,;, p. 41 ; Xouv. Diet.
I f' ^".. V..1. XXX-. 1817, ,,. .TO: Miiiiun., 1820, .,. 219.

''^''■"'- '1" Mils. .rrrist.Nai. xi, 1824, pp. 174-214.
-^IiM'. Pub. Xo. 12 -27

''■' 4

'):.i

> V

fin

418

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

'11

vitulina is especially designated as the type. As both geueia
were published siimiltaiieously, i»iefereiic<' should be clainuMl for
Callocephcdm, as it oceurs rifjfhteeii pa^es earlier in the paper
than Mncrorhiniis. Thus the process of eliininatiou necessitat^.N
on the principle above iini)lied, and in accordance with a com-
monly recognized rule in such cases, the restriction of Phoaitu
Linne's Fhoca leonina. This, however, seems so contrary' to the
traditions of Phoca, wliich from 1735 to the present day Inis
been generally associated by the majority' of writers with ritn-
Una and its nearest allies, that it seems an act of violence tti
transfer it to what is logi<;ally its legitimate connection with
leonina, thereby making i)/r/cror7</»w.s' a synonym of the restricted
genus PItocit, notwithstanding that it has been universally ac
cepted for half a century for the Sea-Elephants, wliileP//om lias
not for an equal length of time been looked upon ashavuig any
intimate relationship with that group. In view of the Tradition
and usage of the case it seems best to waive the technicality
here involved and suffer Phoca to retain its time-honored assn
ciations.*

As regards further subdivision of the PJiocidcv, Dr. Gray,
in 18G0,t proposed TZii?//?/*//***^ as a generic name for Peale's//!!-
Uchcerus aniarcUcxis (= Phoca pedlei, Gill), while Dr. Gill, in
1872,1 substituted Leptonyckotes for Leptonyx, Gray, (183(5, wc

* In this connection referenco may be very properly iiiado to Prof. Alfi'd
Newton's Paper "On tlio Assignation of a Type to Linnajan Genera, witl;
especial reference to the Genns SIrix" (Ibis, 3(1 sor.. vi, 187G, pp. 94-10.")), in
Avhich ho very reasonably maintains that, as Linnd liatl no notion of a type
species as commonly nsed by modern systematists, we shonld make him
"the interpreter of his own intentions" by imagining him " pnt in our place
and called on to show which ho would consider his type sjiccics according
to modern ideas." This ho claims can bo accomplished by giving some
degree of attention to the works of Linnd's predecessors, which will enable j
one to hnnt down almost every name nsed by him, since by far the greater
part of Linnd's generic names were adopted by him from preceding autiiori.
"by whom the majority were nsed .ibsolntely and in a specitic sense. When
this was the case," coutinnes Professor Newton, "thert^ can scarcely he a
reasonable donbt that Liniuens, had he known onr modern practice, would |
have designated as the typo of his genus that species to which the name be j
adopted as generic hadfonnerly been specifically applied." As regards tbel
present case, there can bo no doubt that under this rule tho proper type of I
the Linna'an genns Phoca is the common small Seal of the European shores. I
the Fhoca viinUna of Linnd, and th.at CallocephaJm is strictly a synouyuioij
Phoca,

tAnn. and Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. xvii, 18Gti, p. 446.

t Families of Mannnals, p. 70.

TKCIINICAL iriSTOliY— GENERA.

419

Svvauis„u l8L'l),and in J.S7;5* in,sHtute.l the gcumJIistnophoca
tor the 7 lioca Jawiata of Sliaw (= i». equcsfrh, Pjillas)

IN'tHs, m LS7.-,,t fin.lino- ti.^t Mr. ohl -(Micric, .uunc AVe^o/V^vu-
r/-'^v ..I ]- . (, uvuT, which had lu-on cnnvntly ivccivcd since 1S24
as flu. ^vncn,.dcsio,„tion of th,. Sca-Lcopaid «.f tho Antarctic
Sens, was preoccn,,!,.! foia-cnnsof Crustaceans fwhich it was
;.l»i -y.. l.v Lan.ark in isi!,, .s well as for a «vnus of insects
'■; ^-N l.roj,ose,l M. its place the name (hjmorhlnm. Finally
0.11 I.as lecentl.v revive.l tla- name rnsa (8eo,)oIi, J 777) for the
<Tay Seal n. place <,f JlaUrluvrxs, .Mlsson, J820, Imt, as will bo
^liowM later, 7'/w, i,s j,„t tenabh- in this connection

At tins point the following meowc'of the subject n.ay be pre-
sent.. , synonyn.s and untenable names beinj,^ designated by

^^'~'''Z: !:''':"\"'^*'^"'^ '•""• '^l-^i-. l-'lonKing to three foinilies and
limr (lishnut genera.

I"7-/'«.w, Se(),,„]i, =. VhomfwIUlu, Fal.ririus.
,,.,^,j IlHJUharnx, r^Wsson, = J'hoca ;jn,p„s, Fal.ricius.
( CiMophom, Nil8fson, = /'/(o™ vrktot,i, Erxleb.-u
m-Momwhi., F],.,.m,-.^/'/,om mo««c7,».v, Ilrnnann

' "?W,7>A«/«,s,- F. Cnvi,.r, tyi.o, /./,oc« ,•//./,„«, Liund.
Senorhynchus F. Cuvier, = iV,om Wpton,,,. Blah^viUe. Preoccu-
K.,4 l>ie«l 111 eareiiiolo^vy and entomolotry.

j Pelagius, F. Cnvier,^iV(ora motnichm, llertnaun
Stemmatopus, F. Cuvicr, = /V,„m ,r/.s/«/rt, Erxlcbun
M/mr,„7u-»».s.»F. Cuvier, = i'/(o,.« k'OHiH«, LinuiS.
' r^IIT'T' <■'■'■:•' 7 ^->'«i''">'-". ^^iI.sso^, and Macrorhinns, F. Cuvier.

SS:^"-''^"'''""''''""" '"'''""'' ^- ^"^^^^- P-occupicdiu
r/%o/>/u7»,5, Oray,:=.P7,om ijrwnhnuUca, Fabricius.
^^^y, Luhoilon, Gmy,= Phoca mrcinophaga, Ilomb. and Jacn
I Ommatophoca, Gvay, = 0. rossi, n. sp.,, Gray.
iPhoca, Gray, nee Lvm6, = Phoca. barhata, Fabricius.

( Pagomys, Gray, ^ /'Aom fatida, Fabricius.
i '•■n;i„athHH, (im, = Pltoca barhata, Fabricius
' < Su''^""' ^"''^'-^"^''^""•"' <^ntarcHcnB, V^^\e,^Phoca vitulina,

^r^Vhu,„-l,oU,, G\\\,=.L,ptomjx, Gray, noc Swaiuson.
I '^<']~n>Htvtophoca, Gi]],== PhocafascMta, Shaw.
'-'■>~0,n,,,,,u,n>s, roU'rH,=Ste„orh!,nchus, F. Cuvier, nee Lamark.

'AiD.r. \af.. vol. vii, 1S7:?, p. ]7i). ■

tM"i.atsl,. Kr.ngl. l>nMi«s. Alvad. d Wissens. zu Berlin, 1875, p. 393.

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420

I'AMILY rHOCID/K

{Stcii <>rhiiitrlii(.s iiiid /.r/>/f>»//,r) m'tc iircoci'iipUMl in other dc-
]);iitint'iits ul' /.(Miloiiv, and cniisccnu'iitl.v uiitciiiiltlc ; ten wciv
«'\<'liisiv»'l,v l»as»'(l (III lour si>(-ci('s, so lliaf six ot'tiicsc Ion iimy
be set down as jmuv synoiiyniis. TJic icniaininf^' Ihiitccn liuvc
at times been more or less enrrent, eitlier in a j^eneric or Mih
p'uerie sense. liul leading' writers have eniidoyed se\er;il di
them witii \vi(h'ly difVerin;; scopes. Calloccitliahis, as al lirst
used, wassynonynions with /V<o(vf,aseoninioidy interpreted, ('al-
locephalm beinj;' einpU)yed I'or all of the smaller species of the
family (ritidiHa, /wtida, (ir<vnl<tn(nc(t,J'tinciafa, caspica, &c, '.vitli
all their numerous synonyms, as well as for harbata). in the
subjoined history of the species of the family, the varying .si<(-
nifi(Muce attache*! by difterent writers to the more prominent
generic names will become sutlicieutly apparent, but in the i»ros-
ent connection ii few examples may be cited.

In 1820, Desmarest placed all the riiiiiipeds, except tlic
AValruses, under Phoca, which he divided into tAVO snbf^eiicia
("sous-genre") — Phoca (including all the Pliociihv of recent au
thors) and Otaria { = OtarlUliv of late writers), in this followiiif;
Peron's classification of 1810. F. Cuvier, in 1824, divided tiic
Earless Seals into tive genera, w hich classification was followed
by the same writer in 1821), and by TjCssou in 1827, when lio
adopted strictly the generic nomenclature of F. Cuvic;, but
abandoned it in 1828. Gray, at about the sanuj date, employed
only two genera, Phoca and Miroiinya, while Fischer, in 1829,
placed all the species once more in Phoca.

Nilsson, in 1837, recognized live genera, — Stcnorhynchiis, Feh-
gins, Phoca, HaUchcenis, and Cystophora. Gray, in 1844 and in
18.>0, adopted ten, — Lohodoii, Leptonyx, Oinmatophoca, Stem-
rhynchus, Pelagius, CaUocephaJuH, Pafjophiius, Phoca (with one
species), HaUchairus, Moriinga, and Cystophora. Wagner, in
1840, adopted four, — Halicharus, Phoca (with six species), Lep-
tonyx (with five species), and Cystophora. Turner, in 1840, ad
mitted eight, — Monmga, Cystophora, llaliclmrm, Ommutophun
(ty]»ographi('al error for Ommatophoca), Lohodon, Lcptonyx, Stm-
rhyiichits, and Phoca. (liebel, in 18")"), adopted the same genera
as Wagner in 1840. Gray, in 1800 and in 1871, admitted tliii
teen, — Lohodon, Leptonyx, Ommatophoca, Stenorhynchns, ^foll(l■
chus, Calh,ccphalvs, Pagomys, Pagophihts, Ualicyoii, Phoca, //«'<
chants, Moninga,:\\n\ Cystophora; Gill, in I80()and 1872, twelve,—
Phocit, Pagoiiiys, Pagophilas, Erlgnaihus, llalichwrns, Monnchnx.
Cystophora, Macrorhiniis, Lohodon, IStcnorhynchiis, Le2>tonyr,iiw\
Ommatophoca ; in 1877, twelve, — Phoca, Pagophilvs, ErUjnaikn,

TECIIXIL'AL IIISTOKY SPECIES.

421

ill

IlLslriophoca, Pu.s((, Moiiaclni.s, Ci/shtpliora, MtwrorhinmyLohodon,
(himorliinuN, Leptuni/rhofrs, and Ommutophoca. While Dr. (Jill
urof'iiizod the .siiiiie intmhcr of jioiu'ia in 1S77 as in 18(JG, the
iKimciKlatiirc is (luitc (liircrciit ; l)iif tins is due niaiiily to simply
cliiiiiucs ol" naiiios, as the snhstitiitioii of J'ii.si.v; l>ut in the later enumeration r<i(jnm}is is omitted and ///«-
triophorti is added.

S() far as the number of j^'enera is eoiu'erned, the j;reatest difter-
ciicc (if opinion has always ol)tain(>d in respeet to the I'hocina;
all tlie nuMubers of which f^ronp are eontined to the Xortherii
llt'iuisphere. Gray, after 18(»4 ( 1804-1.S7 1), uniforndy recog-
nized seven; Gill, 180(5-1877, six, «)nly two of whien {llnViehai-
r;/.vaiid Mondchua, about whii-h autlun's •;enerally have for many
years been in unison) were the exact e«piivalents of Gray's
;;viR'ra; but the chief disagreement consisted in Gill's use of
Vhmx for what Gray termed CaUoeephaJus, and of ErUjnathm for
what Gray termed IVioca. Lilljeborg*, in 1874, referred all of
the s])ecies of the Phocincv, except HalkhvcruH (jrypnn (and Mo-
iHwhus ({Unrcnter, which latter is not there treated), to the geuus
I'hocH, and von Ileuglin the same year did the same, except that
I'luitnni/s, Fagophilus, and CaUocepIialus (the latter being applied
til (\ harhnta) were recogni/ed as subgenera under Phoca. The
ilassilication and nomendatui'e of Gicbel (1855), Bhisius (1857),
Malnisren (18G3), and Holmgren (18G5) are, generically, the
same as Lilljeborg's in 1874. The tendency has, in short, been
to refer all the species of Phoeiiuv, with the two exceptions al-
ready si)ecified, to the Linurean genus Phoca.

Spkcies. — Although Seals have iigured in works on natural
history since the time of liondelet, Olaus Magnus, and Gesuer
(1551-ir)55), it is unnecessary in the present connection to refer
in detail to those earlier Morks, since dov u to the time of Steller
(ITol), all the Phocids or Earless Seals known to systematic
writers were referred to the common Seal (ZVtom vitiUina, auct.)
tit' tile shores of Middle and Northern Europe. This indeed was
tlie (iiily si)ecies recognized by Linue, from the Ncn-thern llem-
isiiliere, even in the last (17(iG) edition of his "Systema Naturic."
But other species had been incideiitally and vaguely described
'jy tlie early Gri^enland missiojiaries, and by explorers and trav-
ellers in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, to which refer-

I'liMiiM Svcrigca dcIi Norgcs Ilyggradsdjur, i, Diiggdjinrn, pp. ()()7-729.

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422

rAMll.Y I'HOClDi*:.

once is iH'CJ'ssary, since llicscdcsciiptioiis lu'cainc liitcrtlie bnsjs,
ill part or wholly, of various systciiiatic iiaiiu's.

As early as 1711 tlie llaip Seal ami the ^'rested Seal wen
li;{iire<l (or caricatured) l»y Mji'ede* under the names respect ivch
of Snn'f.siide and Kltipm'iHs. \\v says in theaccompanyiuy text
tiial Seals are of dilVerent soils and sizes, l»ut have all the same
shipe, e\<'ept tiie h'hiinniits, whicii is the oidy s|)ecies he ex-
pressly dislin.nnishes in the text. l']llis,t in 17IS, ay;ain rudely
li;;ured these two species undei' tlie luiuies " IMackside Seal"
and "Seal witii a ("awl". .Uthouj^h lie jiivcsof them nodeseriit-
tions, sidtse(|ueut systematic writers ha\'e seen lit to cite the
nauH's and lit;nres j^iven by hotli tliese writers, but tlieir interesi
is purely historic.

The same year (174S) was also published in Anson's ••Von-
aj;<'"T: tlie lirst specially impiutant a<'count of the Southern Soii
Mleiihant ("Sea laon" of Anson), since it became^ later the basis
of Liniie's Plami iconina, and, besides, is one of the fullest ami
most exi»licit descrii)tions of the habits of the spe(!ies extant.

Stollor, in his meimur entitled '" J^e llestiis ^Nlarinis", i»ublislie(l
ill 17rvl,§ distinjiuished three spiicies of Seals as follows : "nis
tiiiji'uo autem plioeas ratiouo inajiiiitudinis in tres sjiecies. in
iiiaximam, (luae maH'nitiidine Tanrum sni)erat,ae soliimmodoiii
oceano Orientali a {jfradii latitudinis ."iO. ad .")!). o(!currit, nv. in <'(ilis
'■ Kamtschatieis Lachtak vocatur. Mediae maj:;nitiidinis, (piae oiii
nes Tipidum instar, nuiltis exijufuis nuu'ulis variac sunt, ;>. in
flmae magnitiulinis, ut Oceaniea, (luae tarn in mari r.idthico,
quam eirea portum Sti Avchaiiseli, in iSuecia, >iorwegia, Anier
lea et Kamtscliatkaca])itur, etlacustris duhnum aquarnm iiioiid
cbroa sen uuicolor, lit Baikali ea coloiis argoutei." Tlu^ first
two of the species here thii.s briefly meutuuied, have been (luotcil
by Sclireber, Krxlebeu, Giueliii, and by some later writciis. as
i'es])ectively, "P/tom maxium, Steller" (also ^'' Lachtalc, Stelltn"),
and '■'■rhoca oceaniea, Steller," the lirst being referred to Phocn
barhata, and the other sometimes to Phoea vituUna and soinetiincs
to Phoca grcenlatuliea.

Ill 1741: Parsons ])ublislied a paper eutitled " Some Account

*Det gamlo Gr^ulaiuls iiyo Perlystratioii, oiler Natural-Historic, o;^ Resk-
rivol.se over (let j^aniloGrpiilands Situation, Lul't, Temperament ogDeslialTcii
lied, ete. 1711. Plate faeiu}? p. 4(if He also figures the common Seal uiuler
the name Sprafilef.

t A Voyage to Hudson's Bay, etc;., 174H, plato facing p. 131.

t A Voyage around the World in 1740-1744, p. 172.

$ Nov. Comm. Aead. Petrop., toni. ii, p. 290.

^>f'

■' • J

Ti:( ' 1 1 N 1( ■ A r. U ISTORY — SPF.CIES.

423

of tlic r/imii, \'itnliis nuiiiiius, or Sca-Ciilf, slicwod at Charin^-
Cross, ill Kcliniary, 17 1--' IT',* coiitaiiiin}; a plato illiistrativcof
tlic iiiiiinal. l-'ifi'iiri' mw, it Is said by the author, '' IJoprosoiits
tlic IMioca I.viii;;' upon the ri^-ht sich', that t ho belly and Parts
()|'(!('ii('iiitioii may be tlu^ bettor observed." lie says the animal
\viis\eiy yoiiiiji', "thouji'li Seven Foot and half in Leiifith, haviiij;
scarce any Tooth, and haviii,irl"'onr Holes re.i;iilaily placed about
the naval, as appears by tli(> l'M,t;iire, which in lime become hi-
pilltv." This aec(tunt, as will bo noticed later, has lin'iifod very
pioiiiinently in relation to the history of the IJoarded Seal (I'lioea
hdrhofd, auet.), esi)ecially in reference to its rij;lit to a jilace in
the r.iitish I'^inna,

III IT.").'* the same author, in a paper entitled '' A Dissertation
ii|inii the Class of the IMiix^ao ;Mariiiae,''t formally described
live "speeios" under the ti'rm riiora, of which three were eari-
catiired in tij>ur<'s. in the way of eritieisni of his ])apor, it is
]iciliaps eiiouyh to say that one of his specaos is a compound of
the Maiiate(> and the Soa->ilepliant {i.e., " !\ranati. Do Laot"
ami "Sea-lion, Lord Anson"). Another, based (ni (Jrew's
''Loiij'-nocked Seal", from sin unknown locality, is evidently
some kind of Otary. His "Common Seal", his "Tortoise-headed
Seal", and his "Lonj;-bodied Seal", are evidently Phocids, but
till! .short diajiuosos give no distinctive characters, and the spe-
cies, as here described, are consequently unrecoj^nizable. The
last named, which was orij;inally described, as already noticed, iu
1744, has been usually referred, but {generally with doubt, to the
PhocK bnrhaia, mainly on account of its large size, but his figure
uives other characters that render it pretty certain that this is a
coiToct allo(;ation. His " Common SeaP' has been ])resumed to be
the Vhoca ritulino. Two of these were introduced iuto techni-
cal iioiiieiiclaturo by Kerr in 1792, on which Shaw imposed addi-
tional names in 1800.

In l7oS liinne, in the tenth edition of the " Syhtenui Xaturoe",
yavc four species under the genus Phoca, namely; 1, Phoca
)irsin<( (based exclusively on Steller's ^'UrsiiH marinus^^)', 2,
Phova lennina (based ex(!lusively on Anson's "Sea Lion"); 3,
Phoca rosmarus (the Walrus) ; and 4, Phoca vittiUna, with its hab-
itat (lelinod as "IMari Europajo". In the twelfth edition of the
■same work (17GG) the third species above named was removed to
the genus Trichcehits, and Ellis's figure of the "Seal with a

'Pliil. Trans., vol. xlii, for the years 1742 and 1743 (1744), p. 383, pi. i.
tlltid., vol. xlvii, 17r.l-17.'->-2 (17.53), pp. 109-12-2, pi. vi.

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424

FAMILY I'lKK'Il)^.

I'iiwl'' is cUcd iiiulcr Pltixv leonina, thereby incept in;;' the eon-
i'lision ol'tlie Ciest'd Seal of tlie Arotie Sens with the Sea-l-^Ie-
phuiil of the Soiithei'u Ilemisithere which prevailed more or les.s
j;-eiierally for the next (luaiter of a century, riioca ritiilino wax
thus the only northern IMiocid here <listinctively reci>;,'iii/e(l.

A second notice of Seals on th(> basis of Steller's observations,
and one that has lij;ured i>roniinenMy in the history of the suit-
ject, is contained in Ivraschinenikow's ''History of Kanit-
schatka", publishetl in 17(54,* — a work avowe<lly l)ased largely
on Steller's MSS. (Iricve's translation of tiie ]>assas't; relating
to the Seals is as follows: ''There arereconed to be four sorts
of this aninuil ; the very laryest of which iscatched from o(P to
04° of north latitude. This sort ditfers from the others in its
bulk, which exceeds that of a larye ox. The second species is
about the size of a yearliu}; bullock. Their skin is of ditlercnt
colours, something like the skin of a tygcr, liavinj;' several si>ots
of equal larjjeness on the back, with a white and yellowish belly.
Their joun^' ones are as white as snow. The third is yet less
than the former. Its skin is yellowish, with large cherry-col
oured circles, which take up uear the half of its surfac*'. The
fourth kind is seen in the large lakes of Baikaal and Oroniu: Its
size is like those tliat are found uear Archangel; and their colour
is whitish." These iudicatious, though so vague, have served,
either in part or solely, as the basis of several of the species of
the later systematic writers, they being referred to lUMuerioally
as the " First sort of Seal", the '< Fourth sort of Seal", etc.

The first really important account of the Seals of the !Xoith-
eru Seas is that given by Cranz in 17G5, in his "Ilistorie von
Gronlaud," in which he enumerates and brietly (characterizes
all of the five species of Seals hunted or commouly met with in
Greenland. Although his descriptions are in most eases meagre,
and relate more to the habits of the species and to their
useAil products than to their external characters, his species
are, from one circumstance or another, so easily recognized
that there has never been much uncertainty in regard to them.

* I t'ito Grievo's (English) translation (1 vol., 4to) from the original Kus-
sian, published in I7()4, wherein the matte r relating to the Seals appears at
jioge lie. There is also a Freueh translation (2 vols. 12mo) publisliod iu
1767, which is often quoted hy French authors. Thi> work (pioted by Ger-
man writers as Steller's " Bcschreibung von den Landc Kamtscliatka"
(1 vol. 8vo, 1774 — which I have not been able to see), seems to be, so far as
the matter relating to the Seals is concerned, merely a German vcrsiou of
the same work.

tkciinica: history — spkciiv<!.

425

':): fi.

Tlit'v arc, 1. Tht; Kastiujiak { — IVioca vitiiUiKt); l;. Alhn-malc
{^ riioia (/rccnkmdica); .'5. NeitseJc {=rho<afa:ti(l<t)', 4. Neitcr-
sotih; ri\\h'd also Chpmutz ( - Cijutophora ohluin)] iiiul 5. (//.v»/i
[— Et'UjnuihuH hiirhutuH). Tlio Neitsulc or IMiifjecl Soal {Vhoca
I'ltlidd) ai>iu'ar.s to be here ibr tlte (Irst time iiidieuted.

I'rnniiiit, in 1771, ibriujilly ijitroduccd three speeiea into liis
"t5yiM)i)siH of QuadruiK'ds" mtdor Enylisli iianios, the Neitsck
apiit'iirin^' under tlie naiiKs •' Kougli Seal." His (h'seription of
this speeieH is based wholly on Cnin/, and tliose, of the "Harp"
and " Ibunled" Seals on J'^^^ede and Cran/. In 177G these spe-
cies all received systematic! names at the hands of Fabricius, in
an iiiedited MS. in ^liiller's "Zooloyiie Danicie I'rodronnis" (x).
vili of the Introduction, received after the nu in body of the
Avork Mas printed), except the long previously nained Kassigiak
(Vhoca rifuUna). Fabrieius's names, however, were unaccompa-
nii'd by descriptions, but carried with them the common Ice-
landic and (Jreenlandic names of the species indicated, by
means of which they are susceptible of strict identitication,
aside from their being identilied later by Fabrieius's own dc-
wriptions and references to tliem. The following is a bteral
transcript of Fabrieius's inedited list :

"PIIOCA leonina capite antico cristato., I. Blandruseh. Gr.
yeiherxoal:
'^Vh.fcctida, I. VUth\ Gr. Neitsek. Neitsilek,
"Ph. f/rcenlcnuliea, I. Vadcsclr. Gr. Atdk.
''Ph. harhaiit, I. Oramsclr, Gr. Urksiilc.^^ *
Here is the origin of the names still in current use for three
ot the four species here named by Fabricius. t

Sinudtancously with the publication of Midler's "Prodromus"
must have appeared the lirst fasciculus of the third part of
Schrcbor's "Siiugthiere" (as appears by contemiioraneous evi-
dence, although the completed part bears date 1778), in which
all these and two other species of Seals are described, in ad-
dition to the common Phoca vitulina. In the text they are
mentioned only under vernacuhir names, but the plate of the

* Ic is worthy of note in this couuection that Miiller liimsolf, on page 1 of
ibo "PrndidiiiuH." under Phoca viiulhia, cites llio names of "Klapmiits"
•luil '■Sviiitsido." He then yivos a list of Icelandic, Grcenlandic, and other
vemaenlar names of Seals, respecting which ho says information is desira-
Ijlf, iir.il uMh "variotates an si)eciesr' Yet Miiller is ((uite commonly
Tiotcdiis the authority for these Fabriciau names.

^The liisr. species of the list bears the name previously given by Liund to
tlie .Soa-Llon of the Antarctic Seas.

426

FAMILY PIIOCID.^.

I ■■ I ■

"Neitsek" bears the iianio PAom hispida, between which and
Pabricins's Phocu Jwiiihi llicre is consequently a troublesome
•luestiou of j)riorit.v.* In Schrebei's work are iirst forinally
introilueed into a general systematic treatise, the Siberian Seal
and tlie (Caspian Seal (based wholly respectively on previouN
descriptions of the same by Steller and fJmelint), and '-Dei
,i;rane Seeliund," ,commonly referred to ILdichwruN fjri/piis.
Schreber also destvibed, under the head of riioca, two specios
of l)taiy. His species are the following': 1. Der Seebiir, PIiock
ursina (= Fi-Niis iiKd'iiiKN); L'. Der j;latte Seeh'hve, 7'//ow //on/'/id
( = primarily Anson's Sea Lion); .">. Der zotti^^ii Seelowe, Plitwtt
jiil)<(t(i ( = i)rimarily Stellei''s Leo inoriin(,Sj bnt including- also the
Southern Sea-Lion); 4. Fhoca vitulina ; 5. Der <:;Taue Seelunid
[— Er'ujnaihuH barbnfxs); (». Der sibirische Seeliund (^./'/(om
sihin'ca); 7. Der caspische Seehnnd (= P/zorvf ('as2)in(); S. Der
Schwarzside {= Plioca {/raiihoidica)', 0. Der rauln^ Seelniiid
(named Phoca hispuhi on the plate); 10. Der Klapi)iiiiize
(= Cyfitophora crititata)', 11, Der <>Tosse Seehund {= Phom
barbata + JL grypus)-, 12. Der kleine geohrte Seehund, iV/ocrt
otisilla. These twelve species, excepting the last, all represent
valid species, nine of which belong to the present family.
Ho mentions, however, Olafsen's Gramm-Selur as still aiiotlici
<' grosse Seehundsart," but does not formally noMce it as a spo
cies. His Der grosse Seehund, it should be further noticed, is
based on the Utsuk of Cranz and the L^tSelur of Olafsen, com
bining an account of the habits of the latter with a description
of the external characters of the other.

Olavsen (or Olafsen, as more conunonly written), in his account
of his travels in Iceland, i)ublished in 1772, | repeatedly alludes
to the various species of Seals nu't with in Iceland. .Vs already
noticed, Olafsen is quoted by Schreber, and quite fre(iuently b,v
lacer writers. AVhile he describes quite fully their habits, dis-
tribution, and i)roducts, he has ve.y little to say of their external

* For ii (liscnssioii of this point ho.o posted nndcr I'lioci J'mtiiia.

t Sclirobor'H "Dor caspisclii' St'ohuiul" is based on tlic aci-ount of tbo
Caspian Seal j;ivcn by (Jinelin in 177(1, in Ihc (bird vobnne (]>. '2M'>) of lii'*
Reisc durch Knsslund znr. Untcu-suclmnf? dor drey Xafurreiche.

ticito hero the Geruiau edition entitUid "Des Bicc-Liivniands K,i;Kirt
Olafseiis nnd des Landpliysi;M IJiarne Povelscns Reiso dnrch Ishmd. vci'ini-
stalt<!t von der Konij^lichen Societiit <h-r Wisseiisebaftoii in Kopenliiiyi'i'
nnd beschrieben von benieldteni Kn'gt'''f Olafsen. Aus dem Diinisehen iilnT-
setzt. Mit S:.j Kni»fertafeln nnd einer nenen Charte iiber I.sbmd versclu'i'
Kopeuhaj^en inid Leii)/.i<r bey Ileinecke nnd Ful)er, 1774." Zwei Tlii'ileii. I ■

TECHNICAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

427

clianH'ters. Yet in the light of present knowledge it is not
(lillicult todeterinine with considerable certainty the species he
mentioned.

His '• Laiid-vSehir,'' called also " Wor-Selur" or Spring Seal,l»e-
oaiise it brings forth its yonng in the spring (1. c. §§ 83, 329,
521, G51-Gori,) is evidently the Phoca riiulina, at least in greater
part, but may be a general term for the smaller Seals found
ill Iceland, and hence refer in i)art to Plioca fcctula. ITIs'TIt-
Selur,'' called also "Wetrar-Selur," or Winter Seal, because it
biings forth its young at the beginning of wiut<'r (1. c. §§
;>20, (!r)l-0.j.")) i,s without doubt the Ilalicluvnis (jrypuH. He says
it is nuich larger than the Land-Selur, but resembles it in
appearance, and brings forth its young on the island at the
time of the withering of the grass in the month of Xovember
(1. c. § 329). He also nientions not only the Walrus as of rare
occurrence in Iceland, but enumerates three other species of
Seals, two of which are identifiable. One of these is the " Vade-
Siil" or "Hav-Siil," said to be as large as the TJt-Seliu', or
four elles long, but thicker and fatter, vrith a very strong skin.
It is deticribed as being black in color, with large round spots,
which are smaller on the back than on the sides. It swims iu
a straight line, in great troops, and close together, in a certain
order, whence it derives its name ''Vada," signifying f^ swim-
ming herd. One of them, commonly the largest, takes the
lead, and is called "Stile Kongo" (King of the Seals). This
species is never seen on the land, but only on the drift-ice,
where it is hunted with harpoons, i)articularly on the Northern
Coast. It has its young in April, on the remote outlying rocks
and islands, for it goes away in March, and when it comes back
in ^lay it has its young with it. This account, in almost every
particiilar, points to the Bearded Seal {Phoca barbata, auct.)
as the species indicated, with which the size, coloration, and
habits sufficiently agree.

Another is the "Blaudru-Selur" or "Blase-Seehund," which
is here rarelj' met with and killed. It has a protuberance re-
sembling a bladder on the head over the nose, where the skin
is loose, so that the animal can suddenly draw it with the fat
down upon the nose. He says it is uncertain whether this is
the Phoca h'onina of Linne, for the character cnpHe antice cris-
tato does not agree. He also raises the question whether it can
be the Sea Bear, and decides it in the negative, and gently crit-
icises the above-named author for referring all the Seals to one^

i4w

M ' I

42 S

FAMILY PIlOCIUiE.

1
1

■11.,

W: :l

•spetties, iiiitU'r thi' Uiiiue Pkoca vituUna. In the cbaractcrs liorcj
yiveu \v«' have certainly indicated the Hooded or Crested Seal
{(.'yr.tophora cr'Mtata).

The third additional .species lie gives is called "(Iraiiiiii-
.Sehir," whiclj he says is also kno\vn in Iceland, and refers to its
being nientione<l in the " Speculo llegali, ]>. 177," and in "Olaf
Tryggesen's Saga, p. 2(5.")." lie says it is called coniiuoiily
"(lraui-Selur,"and is connted as large as some kinds of whales.
"Gram" signilies in the old poets a king; the Gram-Sehir may
lie twelve or tifteen Icehmdie elles long, and is rare in Iceland;
.s "11 they sometimes lind it in Westland where examples have
beeii killed on the outermost rocks of Breedetiord. They lind it
idso thrown up on the shore dead, but then no further inforiiiu-
tion oi description of it can be obtained tliau is tbund in Olaf
Tryggesen's Saga, namely, that it has long hair on the head,
particidarly around the mouth, therefore it is perhaps a Sea
Lion, or the great sjjceies which lives in the American ^Vntillos
(.see, he says, "Joh. Sam. llallens Xatur-Geschichte der Thiero,
1). .5().'5 uud 581"), which is also credible. It thus appears that
Olafseu, like the other early writers who refer to the "Graiii-
Selur," had no personal knowledge of it and spoke of it only
from report. It may doubtless therefore be safely treated a.s a
myth.

It will be noticed that two species known to frequent Iceland
are not here mentioned, namely, the Harp Seal and the Hough
Seal. The latter may have been confounded with the Land Seal,
but the former can hardly be thus accounted for, especially as
< )lafsen on one occasion distinctly refers to its occurrence in
Greenland. Only four species are thus a))parently referred to
by Olafseu as inhabitants of Iceland. He alludes further to thft
manner of capturing the ditterent kinds of seals in Icelan<l and
the value and uses of their products, and recounts the fables cur-
rent among the Icelanders resi)ecting tlie Seal-tribe, and the
estimation in which the animals are held anuuig them.

In Erxleben's admirable compilation, enttth'<l " Systema Ilcgui
Animalis," published in 1777, the Earless Seals recognized ami
brietlydia[jnased, are the following: 1. Phoca r if ul i no ,v>'ith thvQO
unnanu'd varieties (of whi(!h latter more will be .said later); 2.
Fhova (/t'ocnlaiidicit ; :>. J'hocd hispida ; 4. Phoca cri.stdtd (the
Klai)miitz of Egede and the Xeitser.soak of Cranz = Phuca
Iconina, capite antice cri.stato, l^'abricius, 1780, but not of Linue,
1758); 5, Phoca harbato. The Hooded Seal {Cyntophora oris-
tata) here receives its first tenable specific name.

TKCIIXICAL H/STOUY — .SPECIES.

429

III 1778 Lopc'rhiu* described two species of Seals under the
iiiiiiies Plioca occaniea siiid Phoca Icnoriiia. Tlie lirst is xiiiques-
tioiiiibly tlic J*liont f/ra'uldudica of i-'abriciiis and i"]rxlcl)en, wliile
the other is nstiidly rejiarded as haviiij;' l)een based on the
voiiiij;' of tlie I'liocii harhatii of tht^ saiiu^ authors, althonj^h in
hotii eases the incisors are <lescribed as four in eacli Jaw.

Tiie foHowinj;' year (1 77i>) appeared Hermann's ehd)orate me-
moir t (of iifty ]»aj>es and two plates) on 1 he .Monlv Seal ("Miinchs-
](obb«', — Phom monachuN^^) of the ^lediterranean Sea — the
lirst exi)lieit account of the species, and a very admirable mon-
ojiiiipli for this early date.

Tiie next year (1780) Fabricius published his "Fauna Grceu-
liiiulica," in which all the Seals named in ]\liiller's "Prodromus"
arc (piite satistjuttorily described, under the names there first
l)ioi)osed. He, however, erroneously includes among the Seals
of Greenland Steller's Sea Bear, under the name Phoca nrsina,
and concludes his account of the Greenland Seals by mention-
ing four other marine animals he had heard of from the Green-
landers, but of which he had never seen either skins or skulls,,
and of which he knew nothing with certainty, namely Singuktop,
TmabnlaUia, Atarpial; and Kongeseterial-.X

In 1780, in his "Synopsis der Quadrupeden" (Geographische
Gcschichte, etc., Theil ii, pp. 419-423), Zimmermann gave the
same species that Erxleben did in 1777, and under the same
names. In 1782, however, in an appendix to the "Synopsis"
(ibid., Theil iii, 1782, pp. 27G-278), he added three species under
"P/(«m," two of them based on Pennant's "History of Quad-
rupeds," published in 1781, as follows: 1. '■'■Phoca aiistralis.
Falkland Seal Pennant ii, 521"; 2. '■'■Phoca faseiata. Kubbon
Seal Pennant ii, p. 523"; 3. Phoca leporina, Lepech. The first
two are for the first time named; the first, however, is an
Otary. Zimmermann also says, "Le i)hoque ii Ventre blanc,
Biiftbu Suppl. vi, pi. 44, p. 310, ist wohl Phoca monachus^^; yet
subsequent writers of less discrimination held it for a distinct
species.

Buftbn, in 1782, in the sixth volume of the " Supplement" of his
"Ilistoiro naturelle," recognized eight species of " lies Phoques
sans oreilles on Phoques proprement dits" (some of which,

•Act. Acad. Sci. Iinp. Totrop., i, 1777 (1778), pp. 259,264, pU. vi-ix.
t IJcrscliaf r. d. Bcrliniscbo Gessolschal't iiatnrf. Frcuiide, Band iv, V77\f,
l>p. 45C-509, pU. xii, xiii (external characters).
{Respecting these acepostch, pp. 432,4:53. ,

"[ , I IF

' ii

Up:

1 -'id

j«^l w

^ :.

111

■-;')■; - 1 -■

iMlkg.'^

430

FAMILY PlIOCIDiE.

however, really (jovered several distinct species), as follows : 1.
Le graiid L*hoque a muscau ride {=Maerorh}mis leoninm); 2.
Le Plioque a ventre l>lanc (=i)riinarily MonachuN tilbi cento;
with an orijj;inal description and a good, tignre, from a si)e('iinen
taken October L*8, 1777, in the ^Vdriatie Sea, l>ul to w hich lie er-
roneonsly referred Parsons's Long-bodied .Seal, he gi\ ing a trans
Jatiou of Tarsois's description and a copy of liis figure, and also
the Utsuk of Cranz, and a large Seal mentioned by Cliarlevoix
as found on "les cotes do I'Aeadie"); ;». Le Flio(iue a capu-
chou ( = CjfKtopliora cyisfiita) ; 4. Le Phoipic a i roissant {—Flwra
fl roculandi CO, i\i least maiidy) ; 5. Le Phoque Xuit-soak [Fhoca
fatida)', 0. Lt' Piiocpu^ Laktak de Kamtschatka [=Erujnath\ix
burhatuH); 7. Le Phoque Gassigiak (= the .Seal "appelee hm-
,s/r/m/i; l>ar les Groenlandois*'; consequently Fhoca vituUnu)] 8.
Lo Phoque commuu ( = primarily Fhoca ritidiita, but with alln
sions to other species). (3f these eight species two are composite,
and one is jmrely nominal.*

lu the same year (1782) also ap])eared Molina's work on the
natural history of Chili, t in which, under the head of Fhoca, arc
described four 'species, all claimed by the author to be new.
These are : 1. " L'Uri(pie, Fhoca Jupina "' (a Fur-Seal, or at least
au Otary); L*. "'Il Poreo marina, Fhoca porchui'^ (probably the
young of the next); 3. "II Lame, Fhoca dcphantina'^ {=Fhocv
hmina, Liuue, 1758 and 17(5(i) ; 4. ''II Leon niarin, Fhoca ko-
«;««." { = Otariaji(hata, auct.).

lu 1784 Boddaert appears to have atlded (1 have not the worki
lit hand) four synonyms, as follows: 1. Fhoca albiventcr (=P.
monachus, Herm.); 2. Fhoca semilunaris {--F. grccnlandica)] 3.

"This enumeration, however, is a ^re.if improvement upon that given by
the same author in ITOfJ, in the thirteenth vohnue of his " Histoire naturrllc",
where all the Seals then known are referred to four species. ''.... le
premier {pi. xlv) est le i)hoque ilc notre ocean, <lont il y a plusieurs vavic-
t^s"; called .also "le Vean raarin on Phoque de nos mers". The second, sup-
posed to lie "lej)/(oca des anciens", and which is figured in pi. liii. is a yonng
Eared Seal, the Phoca jnmlla of later writers, of which ho says, "'on iioiis .a
assure que I'iudividu que nous vu vcnoit des Indes", etc. I^atcr it is
called "le petit phoque noir des Indes Sc du Levant". (See further, itiiku,
p. 104.) The third is the Seal described by Parsons in 1743— the Long-bodied
Seal of this and many sul).sequent authors — liere called ''le grand phoque
des mers du Nord". The fourth is Anson's "Sea Lion", but which here
covers also '• les grands phoques des mers du Canada, dont parle Dcui-^. sous
lo uom do loups marius". to which he is also inclined lo refer the larger Seal
described by Parsons I

tSaggio Sulla Storia X.ituraic del Chili, i)p. 'J7r>-til)0,:i41.

tElenchus Animaliiun, vol. i, 1784, pp. 170, 171.

TKCIIMCAL IIISTOIIY SPKCIES.

431

I'!i<irit ciicnlldtK ( = !'. vristaf((, Krxl.) ; 4. Phoca maeulnta (? =
/'. ritiiliiKi).

Tlic iK'xt work ol' iin|»ort:tiH;(' in this coinu'ctioii is (Jiiu'liii's
"Systi'iiiii Xiiliiiii'", whidi apitoired in ITSS. llviv Erxlclu'u's
li\(' species ni>i)e;ir witlioiil elian;;!' of iiiiiiie, and in addition to
tlii'iii tlie .Monk Seal (I'hova moitachuN) ot" the ^Mediterranean.*
Iiidcr I'liovct I'itiiliiia are lliree named vaiieties, to wit, botnica,
sihiricd ("colore arji'enteo. Ilnh'ttat in hicnhns Uaikal c/Oroin")
■A\id cii.siticd ("colore vario"), which are respectively Erxleben's
v;iiicties '/, ,3, and /-, and Schreher's "{^raue Sei'lnuul'', "sibi
risdie Seehnnde", and •'■cas])ische Seehnnd".

1 1 1700 and 171U l-'abricins published his celebrated memoir
111! ilie Seals of <'iieenland,+ in which all the (Ji'eenland s[)ecies
arc described in ;;reat d<'tail, and the skulls of Phom firanlund-
iai. Ciistophoni cristnta, I'jf'ujnailnis horbdtiiN, and lldliclia'nts
(jriiiiKs iiiv for the first time li^iured, while the last-mentioned
s]ifcies is for the liisi time nauicd. In this si'ries of j>ai)ers the
uciK ral subject is exhaustively treated in all its bearings, nearly
liulity payes beinji' devoted to the "Svartside" (Harp Seal,
I'liiint uranlaiidicd) ii]omr, twenty-four to the Fiordsad (Kinged
Seal, Pliocd J'a'fUUi) ; twenty-two (includin.u,' nearly four paj^es of
l»ihli();^iaphical references) to the -'Sprajilede Sad" (Ilarboi-Seal,
Vliira ritiilind); about the same number ea<di to iJie "Klai)-
luvdsen" (Hooded Seal, ('i/.si(>i>h<>r(i rri.slata); and the -'Ikcm-
iiiclsud" (IJearded Seal, Eritjiuifhitu h<irh((tits). In the bibliogra-
pliy of these species arc, liowever, yiven various references that
arc not pertinent, i)articularly nmlvv Plioca crisdita, under which
name are confounded the Sea-lOlephant of the Southern Ilenu-
splicrc with the Crested Seal of the Northern. The llaVwhirrus
firjipits is mentioned (but not fully described), and the skidl
ti;4Ui'c(l, under the names "Knunsnudede Stel (Phoca (frypm)-\
A.s regards changes in nomentdature, he abandons the names
fiilhla and l((>iiin<( ivspcidively for hispida and cristata. His
iiifiioir is '••reatly marred by the introduction into its (dosing
ixution of various species 'already referred to in his "Fauna
rincnlandiea'") that are ciu»«.;r mythical or have no relation to
t lie (ircenlaiul fauna, as the Sea-Bear("Sytebiyirne,7V/«m i(r.sinaf\
llu'-'Sviinsici [Vhoca poreina)^, the " S^ehare {Phoca Icporinn)''',

*Ex ■'lltriniiiiii, Act. Nat. Scrutnt. Binol. iv, p. '24(i, r. xii, xiii."
t"U<lt'0rlif,' l$c,skiivtd8c ovor dc Gi^nliuid.skf Sielu", Skriv. at" Naturh.

iSclsk., Islo Bind, Isto Ilofto, 1790, jip. 79-ir)7, 2dot Hcftc, 1791, pp. 7:5-170,

Tall, xii, xiii.

: .-I

i !

fll!

432

FAMILY rilOCIDiE

ainl tln' "Atfirpiiik", niiikinji' iii?i(' siiccies fr>riually int induced
(bcsiiU's ^' P/i(>((i firiijntN'\ wliicli is treated iiieideiitully at the
close of tlie account of the "Sviiiisa'!"'). Tlie Vhoni IqmrUui of
Lc'i)e<'liiii is ii syiion.vni of his I'hoca harlxtta, but the Vhoca Ivjh
or'nut of I-'iihiiciiis has (h)iil>th'ss ii(> fonii(hitioii except in tlio
iina;^iiiatioii of th(^ (Ireeiihindeis. These (h)nI»tfMl oi- mvtliiciii
species have been especially iiivestiji'ated by .All'. lN)l»eit ISrowii.
The Pltoi'd iirsina was based on a i)art of a craninni which Wiis
"full (»f holes", but so much uncertainty prevailed in Fabriciu.s's
mind respectinjj- the nature of the creature it represented that
he makes the same fragment the basis for the introduction into
the (Ireenland fauna ("Fauna (ira-nlandica'", j). 0) of two spe-
cies, — Steller's Sea-Cow (" Trichechm mana1m''\ = KhytiH(t (jUjan^
aiict.) as Avell as StoUer's Seal>ear. Says Mr. Brown, "What
ever it is, there can, I think, be scarcely a doubt as to the ex
elusion of Tricheclius manatus und Phoca ursiua from the Green
land fauna ; nor can llioir jdace as yet be supplied by any other
species. Prof. Steenstrnp thinks that it was a portion of the
skull of a Sea-wolf {Anarrhichati). The situation of the teeth
and the nature of this lisli's cellular skull well agree with his

description of the skull as 'full of holes' IJr. Bolbroe,

who I erstands the Eskimo language intimately, tells me that
the Wwid [Auvekajal] means a 'little walrus', and that in all
probability it was only the skull of a young walrus, an animal
not at all familiar to Fabricius, as they are chiefly confined to
one spot, and the natives fear to go near that locality. Fabri-
cius may have only writt<Mi the description from recollection;
and memory, assisted by i)reconceived notions, may have led
him into error in the description of the long teeth, which after
all might, without great trouble, be made to refer to the denti

tion of the young walrus This opinion is strengthened by

a passage in Fabricius's account of the walrus, where he again
is in doubt whether a certain animal is the young of the walrus

or the dugong So that, after all, perhaps the A ?»"cAYr/flA'

was only the young of the walrus; and this opinion I am on
the whole inclined to acquiesce in".*

The other species of Fabricius's supposed Phocn' are thus re-
ferred to by Mr. Brown : " Fabricius has notified in his fauna
[and noticed them more at length in his later memou- on the
Greenland Seals already cited] many species of supposed Seals,

*rroc. Zool. Soc. London, 18G8, p. X^S; Man. Nat. Hist., etc., Greenland,
Mam., p. 2a.

TKCHMCAL 1 1 ISTOUV SPECIES.

433

i\.f.. iiii(U'r various KskiiiKi iiiiiiics, but wliicli lie was imsiblo to
(Icciitlicr. III'. I'Mcisclici', Coloiiihcstyrcr of Jacohsliavii, lias
iiiili'd me in ivsolviiif^ these:

••I. sii/ithtoL: liaviii;^' a lonjn' snout and a body siiuilar to
I'lioni iiraiilaiKl!c(t, ju'iliaps /'. Kr.sina. This is apparently some
KskiiiKt perversi(ui, if interpreted ])roperly; for [ am assured
tliat it is oidy the name of the ICider Duek {SouKttvrin mollis-
siiiKi). [In his memoir in the ' Skrivter af Naturhistorie-
St'lsk;iltet' (vol. i, part ii, p. 1(».'}) it is called ' Sviinsjelen [Phoea
jiiirriii(i)\ and he refers to it sueh diverse creatures as Jlolina's
'I'liiiai iKitrhia'' and Pennant's ' Uotth'-nosed Seal,' ami devotes
nearly four i)af;es to its consideration.]

-L'. [iiiabnl-nllia, a Seal with a snoAV- white coat, 'theeyepre-
sfiitiiij: a red iris, ])robably /'. leporina'', is a rare albino of the
Sitsili ( I'afjomjiH f(eU(lm). The meaning of the word is the Sea-
hiiiv. I In the 'Skrivter' (1. c. p. KKS) this is called 'Sjieharen
[Vhmv leporina)\ of which Lepechiu's ^ Phoea leporina'' and
Sclirelter's 'sibirische Seehund' are cited as synonyms.]

".1. Atarpialc or atarpclc, 'the smallest species of Seal, not ex-
(ii'dinji- the size of the hand, of a whitish color, and a blackish
siiot of tlu! form of a half-moon on each side of the body.' This
(lt'scii|ifion does not correspond to the meaning of the word,
which is ' the Brown Seal'. [This in the <■ Skrivter' (1. c. p. 109)
aiipcius as the 'Xiende Art, Atarpiak', without a Latin name or
>,\ noiiynis.J Hr. Fleischer thinks that it is only a myth, as is —
••t. Konf/cstcriak [not mentioned in the 'Skrivter'], which
liiis, ' according to the desorii>lion given by the natives, some
its('ir1)lance to the Sea-ape des<n'ibed by Mr. Ileller'. This is
"lie (if the noilher". myths."*

Ill 17!)L' api)caied Kerr's "Animal Kingdom", the title-page
111 wliicli states it to be "A translation of that part of the Sys-
ttiiia XatnrsE, as lately ]>ublished by Professor Gmelin of Gcet-
tiiijrt'ii. together with numerous additions from more recent
'i«»l(»jii( id writers and illustrated Avith copper plates." In this
^^'•ilc (pp. 121-128) nineteen species appear under the generic
'lii!!!!' I'lioca, with iive additional varieties, among which we find
tlie roiil origin of quite a nund)er of names currentlj' attributed
!'• miich hder authors. The species and varieties here enuraer-
iit<'<l are the following, the new names being distinguished by
'licu.si^ of thick type: 1. Phoca nrsina; 2. P. leonina (=Bot-
'I'rop. Zool, ,Soc. London, 1H|J8, n. .360: Man. Nat. Hist., etc., Grcpniand,

Misc. Pub. No. 12-

-28

434

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

tled-uosed Seal of PcniiJint) ; 3. P. jubata ; 4. P. vitulina (with
\iiin. hotnica, sibir lea, cmpica); a. 1'. monavhns ; G. F. (/rccnlan-
(Ilea (with viir. nigra); 7. P. kifipida (with var. quadrata =
"Square Pliipper, Aict. Zool. i, KH"); 8. /'. cristata; 9. P.
harhata; 10. P. puaUla {iui Eared Seal); 11. Z*. chilensis ( = P.
porcina, ^Moluia); 12. P. mutica ( = Lonji-necked Seal of I'm
sons — iiii Eared Seal); l.'J. /', austral i,s ( = "Falkland Seal,
Teun. lliist, Quad., n. ."578"); 11. P. testudo ( = Tortoisr-lioml
Seal, Pennant); 15. P. J'asciata ("Ilarnassed Seal" = Kubboii
Seal, Pennant); 10. P. \&mgev {= Plioca Uporiiut, Lepeeliiii):
17. P. punctata (" Is speckled idl over the body, head, and
lind)s. I'enii. Hist. Quad. ]>. 52.^. Inhabits the seas aboiii
Kauitschatka and the Kurile Islands*'); 18. P. maculata (''Tlie
body is spotted with brown. Penn. Hist. Quad. ]». fii'^. in
habits the coasts about the Kurile Islands. Tins species i>
very scarce ") ; 19. P. nigra ("'lias a peculiar confonnation o\' tlic
legs. Penn. Hist. Quad. p. 520. lidiabts the coast about tlic
Kurile Islands. This and the two last species are nientioiicd
by Mr. Pennant as being- obscurely <lescribed in the niluiii-
scripts of Steller. What the peculiarity in the confonnation
of the hind legs, in the Black Seal, consists of, is not said'').

In this case the "iminorous additions" are all from Peniuiiit.
and embrace nino new names, seven of whicli are specilic and
two varietal. In each case explicit reference is made to Pen-
nant's species. Kerr's work has been so completely overlooked
or ignored by subsequent writers that most of his new naine>
have been attributed to Shaw^ and other still later sources.

Pennant, in 1793, ]>ublished the third and last edition of his
" History of Quadrupeds." Although he employed only ver
nacular names, his descriptions are well drawn, and some ui
tuem are important from their being the basis, Avholly or in
l)art, of several technical names imposed by later writers. Al
though almost exclusively a compilation, the matter relatiui;
to the Seals reflects fairly the then present state of Icnowleilgf
respecting these animals. As it was, furthermore, the last gen-
eral account of the Seals imblished prior to the year 1800, ir
may well be taken as an exponent of the subject as linown a
few years prior to that date.

Under the term " Seal " Pennant embraced all of the Piniii
peds then know n, ex(!ept the Walruses, the term being (Miiiivii
lent to ^^.Phoca''^ of more technical writers of, the same period.
The species he recognized are the following : * 1. " Common Seal,

* L. c, vol. ii, pp. 270-291.

TECHNICAL HISTORY SPECIES.

435

of wbicli he says, "lubabit most «iuiirtci's of tho jjlohe, but in
j,aoatcst multitudes towards the North and the South ; swarm
near the Arctic chcle, and the h)wer parts of South Atncricu, in
lM)thoeeaus; near the southern end of Terra del Fucjfo; and even
iiiiion";' the lh)atni;^' ice as low as nonth Int. (JO. Ul. l'\)und in the
Citnimu Si'ii, in tlie hilce^lm^, and hdies liaihd and Oron, whieh
are iVcsh waters. They are hissisr than thos<^ \viii*'h l're<iuent
sail waters; but so fat tiiat tliey seem almost sliaix'lcss. in
lake Ihiiktil some are ectvered with silviay liairs ; olliers are
ycllowisli, and have a larj^e dark-t;olored marlv on tlie liind i»art
of lilt' back, covering almost a tliird of the body." 1*. ''l*ietl
Seal" (= Le IMuxiue a ventre blanc, IJutlbn, = MondrhiiN (tlltit'en-
frr); .'5. " ^lediterrancau Seal" (= J'lioca monochus^ Hermann,
= Mi)iiachus albinntvr); 4. '- Lony-necked Seal" (of "Grew's
Museum, 05," and of Parsons = , some indeterminable species of
Otiuy); 5. "Falkland Isle Seal" ( = -iir(7t>(.'«'j>/<a///.v outitraUn—A.
/(dlldiidicuN, auct.); (». "Tortoise-headed Seal" (= Tortoise-
headed Seal, Parsons, — undeterminable); 7. " liubbon Seal,"
li-ised on a descrii)tion(!?) and a drawing comnumieated to him
by "Doctor Pallas," of a midilated skiu received by the latter
•'from one of the remotest Kuril islands." The drawing "is m-
Uraven on the title of Division 111, Pinnated Quadrupeds." This
is a species described much later by Pallas as I'hoca cqucntris ;
S. "Lejwriue Seal" (— P/tora leporimt, Lepechin); 0. "Great
Seal" (= Fhoca barltata, at least mainly); 10. "Hough Seal"
(=Neitsek, Cranz; Fhoca his2>iila, Schreber); 11. I'oreine Seal,
(Vhova 2>oreina, Molina); IL*. " Eared Seal " (described from a
specimen in I\irkinson's Museum, from the Straits of Magellau,
1111(1 ju'obably a youug Otaria jubata); 13. "Hooded Seal"
(= Cystophora cristata, immixed with any other species); 14.
••llarj) Seal" {Phoca granlandica)) 15. "Little Seal" (= Lo
petit Phoque, Buifou ; based on a specimen of a young Eared
Seal, originally supposed to have come from India — uudeter-
ininable) ; l(i. " Ursine Seal " (a compound of all the Sea-Bears
or Fur-Seals); 17. " Bottle-nose Seal" (= Sea Elephant of the
Southern Seas. A good description is given of the external
characters of both sexes, that of the female being based on a
-well preserved specimen in the Museum of the Koyal So-
ciety " — the specimen ijreviously described by Parsons under
the name Manatie!); 18. "Leonine Seal"(= a compound of
the Northern and Sou+hern Sea Lions); 19. " Urigcne Seal"
(= Uhnca hniina, Molina). ..

-J r " ■'

• » *. 1 '.1

■jifi

i-il

iniiw

43G

FAMILY 1MI(X'1J)^E.

m ■!

1 'i

':■■ rrjf

4 iMh^^^^^^^^^^^I

or llu'sr iiiiH'tocii s])('ci<'s six iirt' Otarics; of tlio rt'iiiiiiiiiiij;
thiitccii one is (U-scribcd lortlic liivst time; three are pure s.viiu-
iiyiiis, and two are not certainly determinable. Tliree valid
speeies are eonlbunded under the naino "Couunon Seal,"\vhi(li
embraces (a) VUova ritulina, (b) /'. ca.sjnca, (c) /'. nihiricd, tin*
two last already thus named as varieties oi' J'hoea vitulinti h\
(Imelin. With this e.\<'eption, all of tln^ species of Earh'ss Seals
of the Northern Hemisphere, up to that rime indicated, were
duly recognized and clearly distinjjuished by Pennant, as well
also as one from the Southern Seas.

In 17!>.S Thnnberff, in u small work on tlio mammalian fauna
of Sweden,* recognized five species of Seals, three of which
appeared under new names, but they are so brietly described it
is nearly imi)ossible to (h^termine to what his various names re-
hite, especially as he yives no synonyms, and no subse(pu!nt
author appears to have been, able to positively identify them,
The names are accompanied by short Latin <liaRuoses, which 1
here transcribe: 1. "P[ /««■«] hispida: corpore pallido fusco-
maculato." He adds the Swedish names " Sldl, GrdsMI, JIo/h-
8kdl.^ Perhaps the Phoca '•'• luapida-^ of authors, but of this
there is no certainty. L'.. "P. stT^m^.• corpore albido hnmacii-
lato." " Stfit-skill." Undeterminable. 3. " P. tYmin<! ; corpore
griseo immaculato." " F/^a res Wi och G'm nA*afe-«A«/." 4. "P.
mtidina: corpore fusco." ^^ Svart Vikare-sldU^ 5. "i*. mric-
gata: corpore griseo nigro-maculato." '■'• Morunge."" This by
some authors is judged to be Phoca vitulina. Eight of the
eleven pages devoted to the Seals in this work are occupied
with the account of the present species. Tiius Thunberg ob-
tained the distinction of adding live species to the numerous
list of Seals too inadequately described for recognition, and of
contributing three new names to the synonymy of the subject.

Pausing now for a hasty retrospect, Ave find that prior to the
year ISOO the following species (exclusive of synonyms and un-
identifiable " species"), named in the order of their first recogni-
tion in technical nomenclature, had already made their ai)poar-
ance in woi'ks on systematic zoology : 1. Phoca ritnlina ; 2. Ma-
crorhinus leonbms ; 3. Cystophnra cristata {1-3 as early as, or
liriorto, 1758); 4. Phoca fcetida ; 5. Phoca grcenlandica ; (). IJrifi-
nathiis barbatus {4r-G, 1766); 7. MonacMis alhiventer (1779); 8.

* Beskiifning pa Svenske Djur. Ftirsta ClasHen, om Mammalia ollor Diig-
gaadejnren, af Carl Peter Thunberg, Upsala, 1798. 8 vo. pp. 100. Seals,
pp.8r,-9G. , . . ......

TECHNICAL IIISTOUY — SPKCIES.

437

rii(H'(t /((Nciata ( 1 7tS;j) ; !), Jfalirliariis tfrifi>iis ( 1 71)1 ). Two other
.species lisul Imhmi distiiif^iiisluMl as vaiictics, namely, 10. PItoca
v(tHpi('(t ; 11. l'hoc(t sUnrica [\H)i\\ 1788). As will be seen later,
only two n<u'tliern species {^f^HrorhiuuK aiitfiistirostris and the
"Wcsl Indian Seal), imhI three others from the Sonthern Seas,
iciiiained to he adiletl, altiiouu'li the literal nre of the subject
lias since been burdened by the addition of not less than sixty

sviionyms

111 the year 1800 Shaw, in his "Cleneral Zoolojiy" (Quad-
nipeds, vol. i, pp. L*riO-L'7-) redeseribed I'ennant's nineteen
si"'cios. under Latin sis well as English names, bestowing new
Latin mimes upon live of them, none of which, however, have
pr()\ ed to be valid species. So far as the Seals are concerned,
his work is little more than an abriilged parai)hrase of Peu-
iiaiit, being strictly a compilation (based almost wholly on Pen-
nant), with the most of the bibliographiinil references omitted
(lie cites usually oidy Gmelin and Pennant), with the form of
tlie matter changed by throwing the descriptions of the external
diaracters into brief Latin di.ignoses, duplicated in English.*
His species are the following, the new names added being hero
primed in heavy type: 1. Fhoca rituUna ; 2. P/< oca bicolor(=Lo
riu)([iie a ventre blanc, Buffon, hence Momichus albiventer); 3.
I'hoca monaclms; 4. iV<ocfllongicolli8(= Long-necked Seal, Pen-
uaiit); ~i. Phoca falklandica (= Falkland Isle Seal, Pennant =
Phocd australiSjZhnm.)', G. P/tocrt testudinea (Tortoise-head Seal,
Pennant, ex Parsons = P/tom ^es/*«/o. Kerr); 7. Phoca fasciata
(= Kubbon Seal, Pennant) ; 8. Phoca leporina (= Leporine Seal,
Pennant; Lepechin not cited); 9. Phoca barhata; 10. Phoca
Idspitla ( = Rough Seal, Pennant) ; 1 1 . Phoca porcina ( = Porcine
Seal, Pennant; Molina not cited); 12. Phoca flavescens (= Eared
Seal, Pennant) ; 13. Phoca cristata ; 14. Phoca groenlandica ; 15.
Phoca pusilla; 10. Phoca ursina; 17. P/<oca Zcow/wa ( = Anson's
Sea-Lion); 18. Phoca juhata (= all the Sea-Lions then known);
19. Phoca hqrina (LTrigene Seal, Pennant ; Molina not cited).

'The iiiithor of the work under consideration thus expresses its raison
<l t'tre : ' • 'I"he general history of quadrupeds has 1)cen so often detailed in the
various works on Natural History, that a fresh i>ul)licatiou on tho subject
must (if necessity labour under peculiar disadvantages. The valuable works
nf till' Cdunt do Bullbn and Mr. Pennant have difl'uscd such a degree of in-
fi'iiiijitioii on those subjects, that it does not seem an easy task to improve
upon tliiir]>lau otherwise than by tho introduction of the Liuna;an method
nt'avninm'iiieut, tho rectification of errors rclativo to synonyms, tho addition

of lu'diicr s]ieciflc characters, and the introduction of new species " —

Gen. Zoill., lutrod. to vol. i, pp. vii, viii.

m^m

■■■■■VI ■

438

FAMILY rnociD^.

Uiidcr \\w {;eiieri(' term Phoca Jire lu'ie of couise iiieludod tho
Otiirics as well as the IMiocids. These nineteen species are sim-
l)1y tliose of reiinant, with (he addition of T^atin names.

IiiTSOr, Turtoii hioii-'Iit out iiis "(ieiieral System of Xatuic''
(the (hdieation is dated 1S0(») ip wideli (vol. i, j)i». .IS-tO) nine-
teen specit's of Phoca are };iv<'n, ley heinj^ the selfsame iiiue-
teen enumerated by Kerr in 1792.

Pi'tou,* in 181(5, deserihed in ^reat detail the Sea-Eh>phant of
the Southern Seas under tlie name Phov<( prohoscUlai^ elaiiniiit;'
lliat the liinn;ean name was not strictly tenable. He also
named! IbdVon's "I'lKKpU! a ventre blane" Phoca IcucofiaNter
(= Plioca iiioiiachuN, Hermann), and yave the name Phoca rcti!m(t\
to "le {^rand I'hoque des lies St.-I*ierre et St.-l'aul d'Amstcr-
dam, dont Macartney, Cox et Mortimer nous ont suecessiv(!iiiciit
donne Tint^'ressantc histoinv' (= MacrorhimiH Iconiuns, I'eni.),
thus introdnciuf;' three synonyms.

In th(} same year (181G) appeared the second part of Okeii's
"Lehrlnich der Xaturgeschichte", in which sixteen species are
enumerated under Phoca. The only noteworthy points are
bestowal upon Molina's Phoc<t lupina of the name tetradacfi/laj
the onnssion of all of Kerr's and Shaw's new names, and the
inclusion of three of Thunberg's (namely Phoca sericea, P. cauina,
and P. varicgata).

Desmarest gave in 1817 § a ^'ery fair monograph of the Seals,
especially considering the date of publication. He distinguishes,
first, with commendable discrimination, seven species "sans
oreilles" which he considers are not sufficiently well known to
take a place in a list of the si)e<nes, or to be referred with eci-
tainty to other species. These are very properly : 1. Phoca hni
gieollis, Shaw; 2. P. tcstiulinea, Shaw ; 3. P.faseiata,Sha\\; 1-
P. punctata, "Encycl. angl.";|| 5. P. maculata, "Eneycl. anji;l.'';

* Voy. aux Terr. Austr. vol. ii, 181(5, pp. 3!iJ-6(), pi. xxxii.

t L. c, p. 47, footnote.

tL. c., p. tl6.

fNouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., vol. xxv, article "Plioqne", 1817, pp.54.-59it.

II The "Encycl. angl." hero quoted by Desmarest, and later by F. Cuviii
and Lesson, and by Fischer as "Enc. Brit.," is doubtless Kees's "Cycl"-
psBdia ; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature," in wLiili
I (ind under "Phoca" (vol. xxviii,of the "first American edition,'" with-
out date, but given in catalogues as published 18()(>-1824), the uauics lici'i'
cited by Desmarest, as well as additional ones cited by Fischer (see boyoml.
p. 446). The authorship of the article is not given, but the editor of the
work states that th»i zoological ])ortions were chiefly prepared by Donovan.
The matter relating to the Seals could scarcely bo more noxious, the ac-

TECHNICAL HISTORY — 8PECIE8.

439

(i. Plioquc tigrr, Kiaschoiiinikow ; 7. Le Phoque grumm-sclur <les
Islandai.st's, "Ann. d'Olaf Tryggesen et lo Speculuui Kegalo".
Klcvcii spccios are admitted as valid, among which appear two
mi(h'r new names; eight may be considered as representatives
of \ alid species, the other four being synonyms, but not in all

('(Hints of cvcti tlif> iiioii' ('(million Hjiorics liciii)^ very nicntnv and crrouc^oiia,
wliilc niJiiiy of tli(> loss Unowu ari^ introdiicol \vitli niicli iiia(U'(i|iiiito dcscrip-
tidiis tliat from llicsc alone they avo mostly indctcrniiiialdc*. Altlion^^h vir-
tii;illy aiionyiiKjiiH, as well as wovtliless. they liavo hccii diaj;)'"'' <" "ol't •>>'
ilii' aliove-naiiuMl and otluu' \vrit(;rH, 1>iit t.lioy always appear in tlitt wast*?
liimlicr of niiidfiitilialde siiecies. To show tlie nature of lliis riihltisli, and
I'lir tlie iMirpose of eliicidatiiiji' the references to it wliieh follow, Iijiiote ver-
liiitiiu and eiitini tln^ portions in qnestion, and adding thereto the nal origin
and liasis of the iiaaies here a])]Mmrinfj.

I'hoca ^'muUva; Long-necl?ed Seal. IJody slender, without inlaws on the fore-
feet." [The " Lnny-neckcd Seal" of Parsons ( .:=rho(a mutira, Kerr),
which, as already stated, is sonic lUKh'terminaUlo si)ecies of Otary.]
riinca '^ tvstndo; Tortoise Seal. Head reseiiilding a tortoise ; neck slender.
It is said, to inhabit many European shores ; the species is, how-
ever, but little known." [The Tortoise-lieaded Seal of Parsons and
the riioca UhIuiIo of Kcit.J
Phoca "lanigrr; Leporine Seal. It has four fore-teeth iu each jaw; the
upper lip is thick, with long, thick whiskers ; the fur is soft and
* uneven ; the feet have nails, and its length is about six feet and
one-half. It inhabits the White Sea, Iceland, and the Frozen
Ocean." [The Phoca leporina of Lepechin (=rhoca laniger, Kerr).]
Phoca "jnnictata; Speckled Seal. Body, head, and limbs speckled. It in-
habits the seas of Kamtschatka, and the Knrile islands." [The
Phoca punctata of KeiT.]
Phoca "maculata; Spotted Seal. Body spotted with brown. It inhabits
the Kurile seas, and is very scarce." [The Phoca maculata of Kerr.]
Phoca ^' nUjra ; Black Seal. Hind legs peculiarly formed. It is found on
the coaiits of the Kurile seas; but the structure of its legs has not
been accurately ascertained." [The Phoca nigra of Kerr.]
Kerr's references show that the last three species were unquestionably de-
rivotl from the following passage in Pennant : "Other obscure species in those
[Kurile] seas, which are mentioned in Steller's MSS., are, I. A middle-sized
Seal, elegantly speckled in all parts ; II. One with brown spots, scarcer than
the rest ; III. A black species with a peculiar conformation of the hind legs." —
Pennant's Ilialory of Qnadrujmls, third edition (1793), vol. 11, p. 276.

None of these species make their first appearance here, they all occurring iu
Kerr. As KeiT (sec antia, pp. 4H3, 434) cites Pennant in each case, and also
Parsons and Lepechin respectively in the three Instances where Pennant's
species are based on these authors, the above-given names are thus strictly
identifiable. Whether these names and diagnoses were here copied from
Kerr or from Tnrton it is impossible to say, as Turton also gives them, but
entirely without reference to previous authors. It thus happens that neither
Turton nor the "Cyclopredia" gives us any direct clue to their origin.

:'-. I*

440

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

cases referable with certainty to other species. Three uotninal
species of previous authors are correctly allocated. All are iu-
troducetl imder the generic name (or rather "sous-genre" as
he terms it) Phoea, and all are true Phocids. His accepted
species are the following : 1. Phoca proboscidea : 2. ^hoca coxii
(sp. nov.= " Sea Lie John Henry Cox, Description of the Islaiul
called St.-Paulo by i.e Dutch, and by the English" -. P. resima.
Pdron = Macrorhinus leoninus, female) ; 3. Phoca nonachm
(correctly covers P. bicolor, Shaw, and P. albiventer Bodd.) ; i.
Phoca qrcenlandica (includes P. occanica, Lepechin); 5. Phoca
cristata; G. P/wca ?eponna (ex Lepechin) ; 7, Phoca viUdina ; 8.
Phoca maculata (ex Boddaert); 9. Phoca hisj)kla (= P.fa:tidu)',
10. Phoca lakhtali (sp. nov. = Lachtak, Krascheuinikow) ; 11,
Phoca lupina (ex Molina). Only six of th'ese are valid, to which
may be added one from the list of doubtful species, making
seven lu all.

In 1820 Desmarest gave a second account of the Earless
Seals in the "Encyclopedic methodique" (vol. clxxxii, Mamuial-
ogie. Part i, 1820,' pp. 237-247, Part ii, 1822, 511), recogniziuy
thirteen species as valid, all of which are referred, as before, to
P^ron's "subgenus" Phoca. Thej' are: 1. Phoca prohoscidco
(= llacrorhimis leoninus) ; 2. Phoca ansonl (cites " Phoca Iconiita,
I.i.nn,, Gmel., Erxl."), based in part on a skull of Otaria juhata.
and in part on Anson's Sea Lion, which is his Phoca prohos-
cidea; 3. Phoca byroni (ex Blainville MSS., based, it is stated,
on a skull in the Huuterian collection labelled "Sea Lion from
the Island of Tinian, by Commodore Byron"; = Macrorhinus
leoninus)', 4. Phoca cristata; 5. Phoca monachns ; 6. Phoca ocean-
ica; 7. Phoca leporina; 8 Phoca vituUna; 9. Phoca grwn-
landica; 10. Phoca fwtida; 11. Phoca barbata; 12. Phoca leptonyx
(" Blaiuv.") ; 13. Phoca albicauda {=Phoca grcenlandica). Of these
thirteen species three {Phoca ansoni, P. byroni, and P. albicauda)
are here first named; all are nominal. Two other nominal
species are Lepechin's Phoca occanica and P. leporina, leaving
eight valid species. Desmarest appends a list of eleven species,
briefly charafterized, "qui sont bien moins connus" than those
more formally recognized, these being as follows: 1. Phoca
lupina ; 2. Phoca eoxii ; 3. Phoca longicolUs ; 4. Phoca tcstudi-
nc.^ ; 5. Phoca fasciata; 6. Phoca pimctata ; 7. Phoca macidata ;
8. Phoca nigra ; 9. Le Phoque lalihtaV (= Phoca laMaJc, Dcsm.,
1817): 10. Le Phoque tigre ; 11. Le Phoque grummselur.

The present enumeration differs much from the same author's

TECHNICAL HISTORY SPECIES.

441

1 1

foniier oue. It includes as valid one more species, while the list
of doubtful ones contains three more, including the two "new
siiocies*' {P. coxii iv.iO P. /ac'Mf«/.) described by him three years
lidoic. Phoca occanici' is raised from a synonym to the ranlc of
a valid species; Phoca fwtida appears in itlAce of P. hispida ;
riiora hipina is transferred to tlie doubtful list, and two nomi-
nal species are added. Altogether ther '. is an increase of two
valid species {P. hnrhata and P. leptonyx), making eight iu all
^or )iii>(» with P.fawlata, given as doubtful).

Blainvillo, the sanu^ year (1820,) himself published descrip-
tions of the species accredited to him by Desmarest, namely,
Phoca hi/ronia * iiml Phoca leptonyx {= Stenorhynchtis .leptonyx,
r. Cuvier), both based on specimens in the Museum of the Koyal
College of Surgeons of London.

XilsBon, iu 1820, iu his " Skandinavisk Fauua", described
Pkova rltulma under the nauie Phoca variegata, Phoca fcetlda as
P/ioort anucllata, Halicha'nis (jrypus as Ilalichoerus griseus, and
Cijstophora cristata as Cystophora horealls.

Iu 1822, C'horis, in his "Voyage pittoresque autour du
Moiulo,"' flgured and described a Seal under the name " Chien
(le iiior du detroit de Behriug'' (pi. viii of the livraison treating
of Kamtschatka, etc.). The figure is exceedingly inartistic, but
the coloration agrees very well wit)', a common phase of Plioca
ritiilhiu. Its only importance turns on the fact that it later
becaiiic the Piioca chor'm of Lesson. The figure is often referred
to us being unaccompanied by a description, but at p. 12 of
the livraison above cited, occurs the following: " Phoque du
detroit de Behriug, blauc, tachete de petites marques noires ; il
diffeio cependant de celui des iles Aleoutiennes qui est d'un
blimc sale, et n'a presque point de taches. Dans les des Kou-
riles oil en trouve encore une autre espece, mais tout-a-fait
uoiie, iiuirquetee de petites taches blanches en form d'annelets
[Phom faiida ?\. Sa grandeur toutefois est generalemeut de
quatre pieds a quatre pieds et demi."

hi 1824, F. Cuvier, in his paper on the classification of the
Seals, alrea \y noticed, \ in which he divided the Earless Seals
into livci generi ' groups, gave to the young Seal figured and
described iu his livraison i' of his "Ilistoire Naturelle des
Mamrniteres'' as the "Phoque commun", the specific name dis-
cohr {r=z Phoca fcetida), referring it a^ the same time to his

*Jmini. .l<' I'hyssicnit", vol. xei, l»20, pp. 287, 288.
Auii. (In Mns. d'Hist. Nat., torn, xi, pp. 174-200, pll. xii-xix. Sec untia,

IT. •11.'), 117.

f .*i !«;;■-- J-;!!

1111 ffl''

442

FAMILY PHOCID^.

genus Callocpplmlm. He (liscusses to some extent the cliarac-
ters of several of the spetnt^s of Earless Heals (as well as Otarics)
and figures the skulls of live of them.

The same year (1824) Thienemanu* i)ul)lishe(l his observa-
tions on tlu' Seals L'oll('(;te(l and observed by him in Toelaml,
in wliicii lie renamed most of tlic si)(;eies, and ])ublislu'd ii lull
description and colored illnstrations of the animals, and li,uiii(d
the skulls of most of them. I le recognized seven species, wliicli
arc as IWUows, with the, allocations usnally assigned them in
recent authorities:! 1. PItoca Jlttorea (= /'. rituUiKt); 2. I'liixv
nuneUata {= I'/ioca Jaiidd); .'5. PIiock (jrwnlawlictt ; 1. J'Ikkh
harhata ; 5. riioni. liaJichtrnis {= IldlicharuN (frupun); (». I'liocn
scopnlicola {s= ITaUcha'ruH r/n/pus, young); 7. Phoca li'iicopla
(= (UfHtophord cristata). Of these seven species two are jitu'ely
nomiiud, and three others re])rcseiit species previously dc
scribed. Thienemanu here adds in all four syiH)nyms and no
new species, f

G. Cuvier, in his "Ossemens fossiles'',§ gave a somewliat
extended but informal review of the "Photpies vivant('S,"iii
which are described two new spe(;ies, namely, Phoca lafiuni
{= Phoca ffrcenlamlica, young), from "Terre-Neuve," recniviMJ
from M. de la Pilaye. It is evidently based on a quite youii!;
animal, having a length of "trois pied trois pouees," and cov-
ered with "laine blanche". He also describes a Phoca mitmtu
(ex "Camper" MSS.)|| based on a skull of Cystophora crisUttu

*Naturhi8tori8ch« Bomorkungcn gcsaininelt aul'einer Rciso iiii Nordcii vdii
Europa, vorziilicb in Island in d. Jahrcu 1820 bis 18'21, I, Siiugotli. W^-
Quoted at second Iiand, as cited by various authors, the work being inu(-
cessibb) to me.

t Based mainly on the identifications ol'Gray, Lilljeborg, and von Hcugliii

t According to Ferussac's Bull, des Sci. Nat v, 1825, pp. 2()0-26'2, Tliiew-
mann gives the fcdlowing figures: Phoca harhata, pi. i, $ adult; ])1 ii, d •
years old; pi. iii, <? 1 y<!ar old ; pi, iv, skull . Phoca scojmiicola, i>\. \ , <? iul.
Phoca litioraa, pi. vi, i; pi. vii, skull; pi. viii, anatomy. Phoca (uiiidMa.
pi. ix, $ ad. ; pi. x, juv. ; ])1. xi, skull ; pi. xii, anatomy. Phoca Icucoiik,
pi. xiii. Phoca (jrwnlandica, pi. xiv, g ad. ; pi, xv, $ ; j)!. xvi, ^ 2 yt^an
old; pi. xvii, <? 1 year old ; pi. xviii, young 8 days old ; pi. xix, skull; I'l
XX, anatomy; pi. xxi, attitudes in the water.

{ 1 cite here tlu; third (the author's last) edition, tom. v, 182.''), pi>. S**'
ei, nc].

II The name mitrata, d(!rived from the. same specimen, appears to huw
been iireviously made public by Desmarest in 1820, who says "M. Milbo".
correspondent du Musc^um, dans hss Etats-Unis, vient d'envoyer icet<?tiilili'**'
merit, sous le noni de Phoca mitrata, la tete d'un idiO(iue qui dift'crc csst "
tiellemeut do celui-ci {" Phoca criatatu"'] ivdv le manpio de erCte et pn '
nombro do dents. . . .'" — Mammahufw, p, 241, footnote.

TECIINIOAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

443

sent l>y INI. Milboit to tlio Paris Museum from New York. The
author's remarks on the species of this group abound with ju-
dicious su}4',!L;cstions and i'orm an important contribution to the
subjct't. lie discusses at leiii^tli the Vhncaoceanica of Lepecliin,
and ri't'ers it unquestionably 1o I'ltocd (jra;nlaiulica.

lliulan, in 1825, in his"Fauriii Americana" (pp. 102-llLV
r('cojinize<Hive spe(!ies, as follows: I. Pliom trisfaia ; 2. I'lioca
ritiilinn; .'{. Plioni (imnJaudicd ; I. I'hocd fatlda ; .1. Plioca
harhdla. AH are valid ; all stand undc!' tlieir 'orrect specific
iiaiiics; the lew synonyms ^iiNcnare all correctly referred; and
only one speci(!s [HnlichnrtiH (iri/pits) known at that time to in-
lialtit Xorth America is omitted.

(lodinan, the fo11owin<>' year (182r>), in his "Anu»rican Natural
History" (vol. i, i)p. .'UO—'MtJ,) reco.i,nii/.ed also the same nuud>er
of Xorth Anu'rican s[»ecies, and under the sauu; names, but
fjavc a much uu)re extended account of them.

In 1820, in the article " Phoeue," F. Cuvier j^ave, in the
"Dictionnairc! des Sciences Naturelles" (vol. xxxix, pp. 540-
i)')li), a systematic; revision of the Seals, respecting which he
says, "Nous reunirons dom; dans cet article, mais d'une mani-
ere fort succincte, tou^^ c'« qui a rapport aux phoques consid^r^s
comme ordre, comme genres et (iomme especes." In this re-
vision he adopts the genera proposed by him two years ear-
lier (see antea, p. 415), and recognizes the following species :
1. Callocephaliiti vitulinxiH ; 2. C. Utporinm; .'J. C. discolor ( =
"Phoque comuuui," Ilist. nat. des Mamm., O'' livraisou) ; 4, 0.
laguruH; 5. C (frcenlandicus ; 0. C. hispidvs ; 7. C. barbatus ;
8. Stenorhynchiis Jeptonyx; 0. Pclagiun monachns ; 10. Stemma-
topus crutahis ; 11. Macrorhinus proboscideiis.

In addition, luuler the caption ^'Fkoques irrivces d^oreiUea ex-
tcrncs,^^ he cites the following as too little known to enable him
to recognize their generic (sharacters, exjilains the basis on
which each rests, Uud gi\es such brief notices of their charac-
lers as he was able to glean: 1. Phoca coxii, Desm. ; 2. P.
maciiluta, Bodd.; li. P. hilhtah; Desm.; 4. P. lupina^ Molina;
5. V.hyroni, "Blainv."; 0. /'. rt^.sowi, '' Blainv."; 1. P.oceanica,
hepcch.; 8. P. tcstndinca, Shaw; 9. P. longicoHis, Slr.iw; 10.
P. fascinta, "Shaw"; 11. P. pmictata,''VAHtyii\. imgV; 12. P.
mucnldta, "Encycl. angl."; l.'i. 7*. nigra, "Encycl. angl."; 14.
Phoquv Hgrc, Ivi'asch.

Of the eleven species accepted as valid, two only (C. lepori-
nus and C. diHcolor) are nominal ; of the fourteen i)rovisionally

>mm

444

FAMILY l'lI()('II»i?i.

givon, Olio only (/'. ^^/at<ciata'^) is valid, iiiiiking nine ViilJd
sjn'rics now (^nuiiicrutcd, six of wliicli stiind iiiuhu' tlicir Iv/iH
iii!ii(; specific iiiiiiH^s.

Lesson,* in l.Sli(>, named VVeddell's Sea lieopard Oturla icitl-
th-lli, snpposinj,' it to bci an lOared S<!al, lait the foll(»\vin},' .year
(l.SL'7), in liis ''Manuel d(^ Mainiiialo;;iti", i-eleiTed it to !'.
( !uviei's ^i'einis Strnorliynrliiis. In tliis work, " Manuel d(! iMaiii
inalo^ie" (pp. 1!)(5-L'()S), lie treats I'orinally nineteen spe<'.ies of
Eal■l<^ss Weals (Nos, r>2\)-~}U'tj and •'i")!), and under tluMtapt ion
''§ J, I'oint (hn'cUles v.rttrnrs, IMnxpH's des aut(!urs," j;ives a list
ol" eleven additional specries, tlie last all under the ;;'enus I'liocft,
which he was unable to liji'orou 'y determine. The work is
admittedly based lar;>ely on tliatol" Lesmarestt ("EncyclojMdic
methodiciue," vol. clxxxii), but is Htated lo have jjrowii out of
his systJ'inatic studies of tin* eolle<;tions made durinj;' the voy-
afjfc of th(^ corvt'tte la (JoquilU; (1(SL'2- 181*5), the results of wliidi
were Just tln'ii published. Jle ado[>ts th<^ {generic divisions
previously instituted by F. (Juvier and XilsHOii, ami on the
whole presents a very judicious summary of the subject. Tiic
si)e<ties aiul geu(!ra, (concisely and fairly charact<'rized, are as
follows: 1. CalocepludusovcauiciDi ; 2.(J.(/ra'nl<in(U<-us ; 'A. C.ritu-
(inxs (incdudes 7*. /i/<«rm, Thieiiemann); 4. T. rtW>/>ai/f/a (ex Dt's-
inar(ist); 5. (J. leporinuH ; (>. (J. discolor (ex I'\ Cuvier); 7. C.
luffiirus (ex (1. (/uvier); 8. C. barlmtux; \). <". HcoimlkoluH (ex
Tldenemann); 10. iStenorhi/nchns h-ptonyx ; 11. S. weddcUi ( =
Otafiaweddelli, Los' 'n, 1820); 12. 1'daffiu.s monackus {conviiWy
covering Phoca bicolor, kShaw, and /'. lencof/UNter, JVron); lo.
StemmotopiiH cristatus; 14. Macrorhinus prohoscidciis ; 1.1. .1/.
atiMoni; \{\. M.hyroni ; 17. llalicharm ijriiicuH. No new names
are iatrodu<;ed, but several of the species arc jilaced under new
generic relations.

Among the eleven undetermined speciic^s referred to uiidei
Vhom are two (P. longicolli.s, Shaw, J', niffni, " I'jiKjyd. angl.")
Otaries. The other S(^v<m are as follows: 1. /'. co.iii, Desiii. ;
2. P. Uijiina, MuViUii', .'». /*. iiKiculata, liodd. ; I. '-'• rhoquc tnhh-
hik,^^ Desin. ex Kras(!h. ; r>. /'. tcntudineu, .Shaw; 0. /'. J'oHdnt^\
"Shaw"; 7. y. punctata^ " Kiicycl. angl."; 8. P. mnvulota,
"Encycl. angl."; !>. /*. iUjrina (ex Krasch., apparently here first
named).

» FCirusHac's Bull, des Sci. Nat., vol. vii,. IH-^fi, i». 4:{8.

tSoo (Indicatory noto a<l(heH8t'd to M. A. Ci. DcsniarcHt, 1. c, p. vii.

TVX: 1 1 N ICAL I [ IHTOK Y SPEC I EH.

445

(Iniy,* tli(^ saiiK! yciir (1HL57), in (Jiillitli's "(Juvici's Aiiiiiiiil
Kinutloiii" (v<»l. \, pp. 17r>-l.si), rcttojinizt'd lliiitc^cii spccicis, us
rollout: 1. I'lidca ritidiii't, with v;iri('ti('s "a. hothiouiciC C Lin.
I'aiiii. Sue."); "I>. .sr/y/Zcrf" (".s//^///w/, (linclin, Sy.st. Nat."); "c.
ntsp'n'ii" ("(Iniclin, Sysf. Nat."); "d. mdculnta''^ (^^mactilata,
ilddd."); U. I'liocii ''/>ry;oy///»,s" (—/<•/>«*•/«<(, LcjH'cliin); li. I'hoca
illsrolor { = discolor, V. (!iiv.); I. I'koctt latjunt { — tayura, (i.
Ciiv.): •"». I'liocK fird'ulandiro ((^tvcis n\so ocean ica, licpccli., and
sniiihiiiiiris, l»o(l(l.); (». I'lioco /u:li(ta {I'Atvv.vs hispida, ^(ilirebcr,
;iii(| Unlichwrm urisciis, Nilss., "His., 1«L'4, 810"!); 7. Plioca
lidrhiilft ; S, I'liocii leidoni/.v (covers Icpionyx, IJlaiiivilh!, Le
I'liixiiif i) reiitrc hianv, IJuflon, and also llcriiiann's plaice of
I'hont iiionuclim!)- !>. Miroiuiffa {n, <>;('Ai.) criHfatuH { = cnstata,
"(liiM'l.", leoniiia, I^'abric, and mUnita, "(Janiper"); JO. Mi-
rmn(f(i prohoHcidcu ; II. Mirounfja pataf/oidca (n. sp. = ^'■Phoque
lie P(d(i!ionc, V. (Jiiv., Menu Mas. iv, 2().'J" (= Macrorhinuti leoni-
im)\ \2. Miroum/a ansoni ( = leonina, "Ouuil.", auNoni, JJosin.) ;
1.;. Minmnffa hi/roni ( = Phoca hyronia, IJIainv.). Of these thir-
teen s|)('(;ies only six are valid, whih; two tlieii well-known spe-
cies [llfdichaTUH (/rifpuH and MonachuH albivcnter) are eonfonnded
with (»thers.

Ill 1S2S Lessont added a larj^e nnuiber of syuonynis by delib-
erately icnarniuj^ species pre.viously <leH(!ribed, a large part of
ilic sp(H;ies so renamed being also merely nominal, lie gives a
synopsis of the genera ])ropo.sed by F. (Javier in 1824, in his
^ieiiciiil history of the group, but cn\unerate.s the H[)ecies all
uiider the old generic name of Fhoca. His review of the group
isiiiadt! with discrimination, but is greatly marred by tlu; free
iiuhilgciice of his love for coining new names. In the list of his
spoeicm here following the new names are printed in thick type:
1. ]'h(ir(( crintata (covering leonina, Vnhr., cucullata, liodd., and
niilmfii, "DeKay"); 2. Phoca mulleri (covering grdcnlamlica,
"Miiiler'', oceanica, Lepechin, and Nemilunaris, Boddaert); .'{.
I'lioca schreberi (covering hispida, Schreber, faeMda, Miiller, and
"/(/u7/(r/(/, Nilss(ni); 4. i'/toca parBon8i(= "Phocamajor, Parsons,"
'" wiiich is referred barbata, "Miiller"); 5. P/joca thienemanni
(= sroindicola, Thienemann); (J. Phoca leucopla (ex Thiene-
'iiiiiiii); 7. Phoca. linnaei (= vUidina, Limi6) -, 8. Phoca littorea
(''X Tliiciiemann); 0. Phoca lepechini (= Icporina, Lepechin);

•TIk) aulhorship is not distinctly stated in tho volumo, so far as I bavo
l"!iii (ililc to (ind, bnt is uirifonnly claimed by Gruy in bis snbsequent

works.

tDiil. (liiNH. d'llist. Nat., touio xiii, art. Phoque, Janvier, 1828, pp. 400-.12a

UrA

446

FAMILY PIIOCIDiE.

ife ^ II J!

ilHi

Iff

11:

10. Phoca frederici (= d'mcolor, F. Ciiviei); 11. Fhoca pylayi
(= lagiira, (1. (!iivier); 12. riioca demaresti {= albicaiida, Des
iniucst) ; 13. /Viocr; hermanni ( = nunKtchun, IJermaiin, lo which
ar«5 jc'ferred also albiveutcr, JJodd., and leucoamtcr, Pihon); M.
I*ltoca chorisi (= Chioii dc Mor, (Jlioiis) ; ]">. 7V/o<v( hi/roiii {(i\
lilaiuville) ; Mi. J'h(>cahomei{= l<'i)ton}j.v, niiiiiivillc); IT. I'lioco
ivcddclU {Otaria icedikUi, Less.); 18. I'lioeu pioh<>.sci<lni (iacludes
Iconina, Linn., eleph(tiifui<(, ^Molina, and annoni, ])t'sni., in pai't).

Of these eiji(htee?i "species" nine are pnrely nominal; eleven
are needlessly renamed, and in addition to wliicli Clioiis's
'•(Jliicn de Mer" is lor the first time introduced into systematic
nomenclature, thereby adding in all twelve synonyms iu a
notice of eighteen supposed species, representing- only niiit;
valid ones. The only redeemable i'eaturo is the proper alloca
lion of twelve nominal sijceies of preec^ding anthors. lie also
iionsiders it probable that Peron's Phoca rcsima, Desina rest's
Phoca coxiij and 3Iolina's Phoca InpliKi, should be referred to lii>
Phoca proboNcidca. Of the nine \alid species only two stand
under tenable spccilic names.

Fischer, in 1820, in his " Synopsis ]\Iammalium," recognized
eighteen species of '■'Phoca:"' under his division ^^]\Auflculh
»?(/i?.S'" (1. c, pp. 231-212, "375-378," i. e., 575-578), which are
as follows: 1. Phoca leonhia, Linn. (= /'. prohoHcidca^ Perou);
2. Phoca annoni, Desni. ; 3. Phoca byronl, Blainv. (the three pre
ceding jdl referable, either Avliolly or in part, to MacrorhUm
leoninuH) ; 4. Phoca monachus, Ilerm. ; 5. Phoca vitulina, Liiiu.;
0. Phoca fcjf>orJ«rt, Lei)ech. ; 7. Phoca dincolor {=. Callocephaks
discolor^ V. Cay.)', 8. Phoca scopidicola, Thmini.', 9. Phoca leu-
cojda, Thienm. ; 10. Phoca hujuru, G. Cuv. ; 11. Phoca fjmn-
landica, "Midi."; 12. Phoca grypuH, Fabr. ; 13. Phoca Mspido.
Sehrober; 14. Phoca barbafa, "]\Iiill."; 15. Phoca lepiomjx.
Blainv.; IG. Phoca weddclli, "Less."; 17. P/tom mstoto, Erxl;
18, Phoca ch<^ •si. Less. Thirteen others are given as doubtful
or not well determined, one of which is here first named. These
are: \. Phoca duhia (n. sp., = Macrorhinus leoninus, juv.*); -•
Phoca oceanica, Lepecli.; Phoca I Kpina, Molina.; 4. Phoca scrmu
Thunb. ; 5. Phoca canina, Thunb.; (5. Phoca vituUna, Tliuuh.;
7. Phoca tcstudinea, Shaw ; 8. Phoca fanciata, Shaw ; 9. Phoca
punctata., " Ency. Brit."; 10. Phoca macidata, " Ency. JJrit.";

11. Phoca niijra., "Ency. Brit."; 13. Phoca antai'ctica, Thiuib.
(= Arctocephalus antarctivm). In the "Addenda" (1830), how-

* Soo Nilsson, Wiogmauu's Archiv, 1841, ]}]}. 324, SiiT).

t m

TECHNICAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

447

ivcr, I'hoea oceanica in reft'ired to /'. yrcenlandicay and Phoca
ttiiida, "Miill.," is substitutfMl for 7*. hispida. ^^ Phoca duhia'"
is ii|»pim'ntly the only now nanio j^ivcn. Xot only are all these
rclcrriMl to I'hoea^ but this name is made to <;over also all of
the Miired Heals.

or the eighteen spci'les here fornially r«'co;;nized ten only are
Milid, to which one maybe added from the. list of donl)tfid
siitM'ics, makin;;' eleven in all, nine of which have cori'ect si)edlie
(l(si,i;imtions — a <;Teat imin'ovennMit n])on Jjcsson's work of the
|i!cvi(tus year.

Ill l.s;>l* I'allas, in his "Zoo}j;r<ii>hia IJosso-Asiatiea" (vol. i,
|i|). I (10-110), described twelve species of luiirine mammals nnder
I lie ;icncric name Phoca, as follows : 1. I'hoea liitris (= IJnhydrhi
lilt r is); 2. J'hoca ut;sina{= Cdllorhiiins iirniitua); .'i. I'hocti Icouina
i — Eiiiiutopkis stclleri); i. J'hoca nUjra { = ('allorhuius nrnium,
jiiv.); r>. Phoca nautica {■=.? ErUjiiatkHH barhaim)', (». Phoca aJhi-
linid ( = EtHjnathvH harhatm); 7. Phoca cqiiestris (= llisttiophoca
I'lDiriata); <S. Phoca dornata {= Phoca {/ranland tea) ; i). Phoca mo-
nucha (= Monachvs alhircnfcr) ; 10. Phoca lanjha (ayonn^ ICarless
fjtiiil, s])e(!i(>s indeterminable); 11. Phoca canina (= J'hoca vitu-
Hull. J'hoca casplca, and Phoca sihirica)', 12. Phoca ochofcnuis (in-
determinable; jn'obably = P. ritulina). Of these twelve species
.seven only are Phocids, none of whi<;h are for th<^ tirst time
iiiiiiied ; two {P. nautica and /'. larf/ha) are not with certainty
(k'tenninable. The author himself identities live of his species
with si)(H;ii!s previonsly described, yet in each case bestows a new
naiue. In short, I'allas's twelve sni)po.sed species of " JV<om " add
seven pure synonyms, three indeternunal)le speciies, and not one
tenable name to the literature of the subject. Jlis Phoca ocho-
iensis (by some later authors, as A'on Schrenck, recognized as a
valid species) ])resents a combination of characters thus far un- ,
known in nature. His diagnosis begins " P. subauii<;ulata", and
in liis descrii)tion he says, "Auriculae externae minutae, nigri-
caiites", on which account it has been sometimes regarded as
an Otary, but he describes the molars as "supra infraque
iitiiii(|ue (piini, ])rin)o minori; suhhicuspidato ; i-eliqni acute tri-
cnspidati, medio majore, conico"; and also says, "Palmarum
unfiles teiininales magni, incurvi, robusti," etc., which certainly
caiiiiut be said of an Otary. There is nothing in the account '

'The (lilt (• (HI tliii title page 18 18.31, but flic worlc seems to have been imnted
as early ns lelll. The first vohinic, however, is (luolcd l)y Fiselier in the
"adilt'iidii " to Ills "Synopsis Maminaliuiu", dated 1830, and is not ([Uoted in
till' wjik itself, dated 18Si9. i

■'■%■ r

a. . .-A

liil

448

FAMILY PIIOCIDilS.

of tlui i)ela«;d or coloration, eitlicr of tlie yoniif? or aduli, that
inij;lit not apply, for iiiHtanco, to Vhoca vituUna, while the },M'h-
oral drift of the description certainly indicates an Earless Seal.
Nilsson, in 1837,* i)nblished an important revisioji of the Pin-
nq)e<lia, which, so far as the Thocids are <!oncerned, is one of
the most important contribntions to the snbject that has yet
appeared, the variations dependent npon age and individual
j)eenliarities beinjj discussed at lenj'th, while a number of the
nominal species of precedinj^ authors (some of them for the iirst
time) take their proper stations. Fhoca caspica is here iirst es-
tablished as a species, — the only new species added. Characters
strictly 8pecifl(! are sharply contrasted among allied species not
previously well understood. Only a limited amount of syn-
onymy is presented, but that is well considered, and has stood
the t(?st of subsequent researches. Only ten species of the fam-
ily Phocid(c, as now restricted, were recognized, as follows : I.
Stenorliynchus leptonyx; 2. Pelagivit monachus; 3. Phoca vitulina
(to which is referred Thienemann's P. Uttorea) ; 4. Phoca annel
lata { = Phoca feet ida, to which is referred F. Cuvier's Calloceph
aim discolor) ; 5. Phoca caspica (n. sp.) ; 6. Phoca grcenlandka (to
which are referred Lepechin's P. ocea.nica and G. Cuvier's P.
lagura); 7. Phoca barbata (to which are referred Lepechin's P.
leporina and Pallas's P. nautica and P. albigena) : 8. Halicha^rm
grypxis; 9. Cystophora proboscidea (to which Fischer's Phoca
dtibia is referred ; Phoca ansoni is again shown to be a componud
of this species and Otaria leonina [= O.jubata, auct.], and .P/iocfl
hyroni is declared to have been based on an old skull without
the lower jaw of ^^ Otaria jubata^^); 10. Cystophora cristata {to
, which are referred Phoca mitrata of "Fischer", P. leiicopla of
Thienemann, and Cystophora borealis of Nilsson, Skand.-Fanna,
'' 1, 1820, 283). No reference is hence made to several valid spe-
! cies, and a multitude of nominal ones, jireviously described.

Gray, in 1837, t described some kind of Hair Seal "forty-
seven inches" long from the "Cape of Good Hope", under the
name Phoca ? platythrix. He seemed to be thus in doubt as to
whether it was a true Phoca, but it was doubtless an Earless
Seal, or he would not have at this date referred it in any way
to Phoca. I find no subsequent reference to it, either by Gray

* "Utkast till en systeinatisk indoliiinff af Phocacecrna. <K. Vot. Akad.
Hand!. Stockholm, 18:j7, pp. 2:55-340". Translated by Dr. W. Poturs in
■Wiefjmann's Archiv fiir Naturgeschiclitc, 1841, lid. 1, pp. 401-332. This is
the version coraniouly cited, and the one used in the iiresont work,

tCharlcsworth's Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i, 1837, p. 582.

Ti;( • 1 1 NIC A I. 1 1 IST( )1{Y SPKCI KS.

449

or iiiiy (»tlu'r writer. It may have Ix'oii a yoiiu^' Seti- Elephant,
tliis ht'iiiji' t!ie only Phoeid n^ported from that huiallty.

Ill IS.'I!) Hamilton, in his ''Natnnil History of tlu^ Amphibi-
ous Carnivora"* (|)i». IL'I-L'L'T, L'71>, liSO), recoj^nized lii'teen spe-
cies (adoptin;;' l'\ Cnviei's j;enera) of ICarless Seals, as follows:
l.CdIoccphdIiiN i-itulin(( ; LI. (K (liscolor [=J'aii(Ut)) JJ. C. barbata;
\. (J. hicolor {= moiiHchn.s)', o. C.tintinUtndim ; (i. C oceanka ( =
liruiihuKlica); 7. C. hi.spi<Ia {=J'a;tida); 8. C. leporina {—barbata))
II. lldlivhwntu {/risvii.s ( = _r//'///>H,s); 10. StenorhynchuH lepfoni/x;
W.S. Idopardina { = iveddelli)', V2. Pelaijius mouachm; l.'{. Stem-
iMtopus cristatioi ; 14. ^i. mitmtm { — cri)itaia)\ 15. Macrorhinus
jDvboscidcm {=leonini(N). Of these fourteen species nine oidy
■Mv valid, and only six of these stand under their correct specilic
luimes. He also f^ives si list of four doubtful ones, only the
liist of \vhi(!h is described. These are the foUowinj^ : 1. Phoca
i\m(it<(j 2. r. coxii; 3. P. lupina; 4. P. punctata.

The same year (1839) Kutorgat gave a detailed account of
Phoca fwtida, under the name Phoca communis, characterizing
two new varieties, Avhicli he called octonotata and undulata.

Teinminck, in 1842, in the "Fauna Japonica" ''Mammiferes
Miuius, ])p. 1-4), passed in review the Seals of the North Pacilic,
ilisciissing especially those indicated by Steller and Pallas. The
only sj)ecies particularly described is Pallas's Phoca largha,
which lie renamed Phoca nummularis.

DcKay, in the same year (New York Zoology, part i, 1842, p.
53), bused the name Plioca concolor upon New York examples
of Phoca vitulina, he believing the Americ?n animal to be spe-
citically distinct from the European.

In ISl.'j Lesson | described a specimen of Cystophora cristata
takeu on the coast of France, under the name Phoca isidorei.

In the same year (1843) Owen§ redescribed Lobodon carcino-
l>kt(ja under the name Stenorhynchus serridens.

lu 1844 Gray, in the " Zoology of the Erebus and Terror",
described Ommatophoca rossi, a valid new species.

Seliiu/, in tho same year (1844), in his " Systematische Ver-
zeiclniiss aller bis jetzt bekannters Siiugethiere, oder Synop-
«sMainmalium" (i, pp. 429-480), recognized twelve sptcies of
i'hoca, and mentioned three additional doubtful ones, as follows :

Tonniiiir vq]. ^'ni of Ibo Mammalia of Jardino's "Naturalist's Library".
tliiill. Soc, Iiiip. (lesNat. de Mohcou, aun6o IKJO, pp. 178-190, pll. xiii-xviii.
■Keviu' Zoolgiquc, 1843, p. 256; Echo dn Monde Savant, 1843, p. 228.
n'roc. Zool. Soc. London, 1843, p. 131,
.Misc. Pub. No. 12 29

ii'-

... .,-

i^Hg^^u ■-

■^ff

;■',

■ ^ :;if .V '

f
i

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1 '

:1M;

■ m

mm'

450

FAMILY PIIOC'IDiE.

1. Phoca proboHcideii ; 2. 1*. monaehun ; .». i'. vitulma; 4. P,
caspica; o. P. burbutn; (J. P. anncUatn [=J\ctida)', 7. P. f/rccH-
lundica ; S. i'. //n//>H.v; 1>. P. h(()um ; 10. Z*. Icptonyx; 11. P.
Kcddelli ; 12- i', cristafu. Eleven of these represent valid spe
cies, ouc only (i\ liujum) being nominal. The «h)ubtl'nl ones aro.
1. P. chorisi ; 2. i'. serivea, Tlinnl). ; i5. Z*. testndlnca, Shaw,

In 18-40 Andreas Wagner, in liis continnation of Scluebci's
•'Silugtliierc -' (Theil vii, ])]). ."i-Dl) ])rescnted an important rcvi>-
ion of the Earless Seals. The fourteen speeies reeogni/ed In
him he lefers (o four genera, as tbllows: 1. Ualkharm (jrypus
(to whieli he refers Z'/(om /</.Sj()t(/«, Schreber!) ; 2. I'hoca barbaiu;
.S. Phocn iinvnlondlm ; 4. Phoca numnutlaris (ex ''Schlegcl", i.e.
Temminek, I'anna ,^^.)\)on.= ]\ fcvtida); "». Plioca rihilhui; i).
Pltovu (inndlaia (ex Nilsson ; P.fwtida and P. hispida, Fabric, aic
given as synonyms!); 7. Phoca cmpica ; 8. Lcptonyx scnkknx
{= Stciorhi/iichus scrridens, Owen, and Lobodon carcinophayti.
Gray) ; 1). Lcptouux hopardina (ex Jameson MSS. apud llaiii
ilton; ^^ Phoca hpfony.r, Blainvillo" = Lcptonyx wcddclli); 10.
Lcptonyx n-cddcUi; 11. Lcptonyx rons'i; 12. Lcptonyx monachus:
13. Cystophora proboHcidca ; 14. Cystophoni cristata. Of thcst'.
two {Phoca nmnniiiJaris iiiid Lcptonyx Icopanlinus) are noiuiiiiil.
Although a liighly important, and in most I'espects a judiciou>
re\iew of the subject, it presents several strange allocatious oi
synonymy, as above noted. Under Jjcptonyx wcddclli, for oxiiiii-
pie, the only references he cites he had just previously given
under /S'. Icopardinns, and api)ears to separate the two specie^
on the basis of erroneous drawings of the hind feet. Xeitliei
does he explain why he rel'erii Schreber's Phoca hispida to Mali'
choerus yrypus, or why he allows anncllata of Nils'sou to talcopre
cedence oifcctida of Fabricius.

Peale,* in 1848. misled by the transposition of a labeh de
scribed sjiecimens of Phoca vitulina from the Pacific coast oil
North America, under the name Ualicharus antarcticuH, suppov [
ing the specimens came from the Desolation Islands.

In 1849 Dr. J. E. Gray t "received", he says, ''from the We>t|
Indies the skin and skull of a Seal which evidently bclougstol
the same genus as the crested seal of the northern hemispliere i
"which he described under the name Cystophora antillarum. Hn
refers to another "imperfect skin of a seal from Jamaica, ^Yllicll|

*Rop. U. S. Ex. Exp., voi. viii, 1848, p. 30.
t Prof. ZoiJl. Soc. Loudou, 184'J, p. 03.

1 .''

TECHNICAL lIISTOliY — SPECIES.

451

was brought homo by Mr. Gosso", which the Ibllowiuy year*
beciuno the basis of his Phova tropicalis.

Gray, in 1850 (Cat. of Seals in I>rit. Mas.) recofj;iiize«lii;;Iiteeu
si»('('i«'sofEarless Seals, di.stribulcdaiiioiigeleveii genera, (trwhich
roiirteen of the speeies are doubtless mxYhI. The s[)eeiest recog-
nized are tlu^ following : 1. IjoIkxIdii ((ircindplutfid ; 2. Stciiiolnjn-
clniHh'ptoniJx ; 3. lA'ptoiii/.r iVfuldclli ; i. Moitacliiin alhi rente f ; o.
Ounnalophoca rosxl ; (!. C((ll<>cepli(ihi.s ritiilii(ii,s ; 7. (', hispid Kfi ;
.s. C./cctida (7 and S are I lie same); ',). ('. ea.spieiiN ; 10. C.dimi-
ilidfiis; 11. C. lanihit (10 and 11 nonunal); lU. P('(i(>pliiliis i/neit-
IniiilieKH ; 13. JVtoca Inirhiiln ; II. I'lioea tropicoli.s; l~). Jlnlichoe-
niti lirt/piis ; 10. ^[o)'nuu(( elephanlina ; \~. Cijufopliord criHttttu ;
IS. ('. antillariini. The only new names are CalloeephalKs iliini-
diotiiN (n. sp., ex Seldegel ^IS.), anil I'lioea Iropiealis (n. sp.). and
rlie only innovation in nomenelalurc is MohocIiks ,(ll>i renter {<il(ji-
renter ex Bodd.).

The same year (1850) Drs. llornsehuch and Schilling, J after
ail exaiiiiuation of some sixty skulls of Ualichari(x, proi)osed a
division of the genus into three species, namely, If. iinjpus
(Fabr. =(7>'j*CMsNilss.), H. mucrorltynvhnx, nnd JI. pitch yrhyneli us j
tlie last two being added as new species. Subseipient writers,
however, have not considered theui as entitled to specitic recog-
nition.

In 1854 Gray § described a specimen of jlhnachiis alb i venter
lidiii Madeira under the name Ueliophoca atlantica, basing on
it a new genus as well as uew species.

lu 1855 Giebel, in his " SUugethiere" (pp. 129-143), gave a
noteworthy account of the animals here under consideration.
It is concise and discriminative, and though closely following
Waj^ner, is an admirable exposition of the state of knowledge
respecting this group at the date of its publication, nearly a
quarter of a century ago. Although dealing to only a small
extent with the bibliography of the subject, the principivl syno-
nyms of the species are given in footnotes, with generally a
brief reference to their character. The species recognized,

'Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, p. 28.

tTlic syuonymy lie liero gave ia substantially the same .as that of liis hiii^v
[1'*%) "Catalogue of Seals and Whales", for a notice of wliicli sec below, p.

4r,;{

I " Kurzo Noiizcn iibcr die in der Ostsec vorkouiiiiindcn Ariten der Gattung
i/a/ic/iari/s, Kilss. Grclfsw.ald, ISoO". Abstract in Wicgmann's Archiv fiiv
^'aturgesch., 1851, 13d. 2, p. 22. The original brochure I have not seen.

v^Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1854, p. 43.

..«^..

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

^ .5^^^

1.0

1.1

IAS Hi

tAO

L25 iu

III

12.2

nMiiM
2.0

1.6

»N

\-0-

452

FAMILY PHOCID^.

P W:

tliirteeii in number, are referred to four genera, as follows: ].
Ualivliceriifi (frijjuifi; 2. Fhoca harbata (with leporina, Lepeeh.,
albifjena and nautica, Pallas, as synonyms) ; 3. Fhoca grcenlaudica
(with oceanica, "Steller," and dorsata^ Pallas, as synonyms, to
which also ochofensis, Pallas, is doubtfully added) ; 4. Plioea
nuni)nuh(ris, "Schlegel" ( = /tBiftrfa); 5. Phocavitulina {with tlie
synonyms variegata, Nilss., lUtorea and scoimlkola, Thienemanu,
concolor, DeKay, etc.) ; G. Phoca annellata (with fcetida and
hispida, Fabr., discolor, F. Guv., and octonotata and vndnlnta,
Kutorga, as synonyms) ; 7. Phoca caspica ; 8. Leptonyx serridens
(= carcinophaga) ; 9. Lcptonyx leopardimts (= leptonyx, Blainv.);
10. Leptonyx tceddelli ; 11. Leptonyx monachiis ; 12. Cystophora
proboscidea (with ansonl, Desm., and dubia, Fisch., as synonyms);
13. Cystophora cristata (with leonina, Linn., borealis, Nilss.,
leucopla, Thienmann, and mitrata, "Fisch.," as synonyms).
Of the thirteen species one only {nummularis) is nominal, and
nearly all stand under their proper specific names, while the
various synonyms are in every case correctly referred.

Von Schrenck, in 1859, in his " Eeisen und Forschungeii im
Amur-Lande" (vol. i, pp. 180-188, pi. ix) recognized four spe-
cies as occurring on the Amoor coast of the Ochots Sea, namely -
1. '■^ Phoca nummularis, Schleg." (— '■'Phoca largha, Pallas"); 2.
Phoca barbata {=*^Ph. nautica und Ph. albigena, Pallas"); 3.
"P/ioc« oc7tofensi9, Pallas"; 4. ^^ Phoca equestris, Pallas" (= P.
fasciata., Zimm.). While none are assumed by the author to be
new, the last is for the first time adequately described and fig-
ured. Although the existence of this remarkable species was
indicated by Pennant in 1781, on information and a drawing
furnished him by Pallas, it had hitherto been seen by no sub-
sequent author, and had generally figured as a synonym of
other species or in the lists of the doubtful or indeterminable
ones. Von Schrenck, however, not only gave detailed descrip-
tions of the dentition and external characters, with measure-
ments of the old and young of both sexes, but also colored
figures of the adult male and female.

In 1802, Iladde, in his "Eeisen im Siiden von Ost-Sibirien"
(Theil i, pp. 290-304, pi. xiii) described at length a skull of a
young female of the Lake Baikal Seal under the name Phoca
annellata, and incidentally in comparison therewith a skull of
the Caspian Seal {Phoca caspica) and three skulls of Phoca
fatida {'''■ annellata^^) from the East Sea, all of which he referred
to the Phoca annellata of Nilsson. His article is of importance

TECHNICAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

453

i':i;

as affording the first detailed description of an authentic speci-
men of the Baikal Seal.

In 18G4, Dr. Gray * described as new a species of Seal froui
the west coast of North America, under the name Halicyon
rii'hanli (lege ricMrdsi) based on a skeleton from Frazer's River
and a skull from Vancouver's Island. He was so impressed
with its distinctness that he created for it the new genus Hali-
cyoH. In the same paper Heliophoca atlantica is referred to
Monachns albiventer; and he enumerates fifteen species which
he claims are fully established on osteological as well as exter-
nal characters.

In 18G6 Dr. Theodore Gill t first made known the California
Sea-Elephant under the name Macrorhinus angiistirostris.

Gray, in 186G, in his " Catalogue of Seals and Whales in the
British Museum" (pp. 8-35, 38-43, 367, 308), enumerated nine-
teen species, placed in fourteen genera, as follows : 1. Lobodon
mrcimphaga (includes serridens, Owen, and antarctica, Peale) ;
2. Lepl07iyx tceddelli {leojyardinus, Jameson) ; 3. Ommatophoca
rossi; 4. Stenorhynchiis Icptonyx: 5. Monachns albiventer (in-
cludes bicolor, Shaw^, Icucogaster, Peron, atlantica. Gray, etc.) ;
'i.2[onachus ti'opicalis ; 7. Callocephalim vitulinm (includes va-
riegata, Nilsson, littorea, Thienemaun, canina, Pallas, communis,
vars. octonotata and vndulata, Kutorga, etc., the last incor-
rectly); 8. ^'•Callocephaliisf caspicus'''' ; 9. '•^Callocephalus? dimid-
ifliHs" (ex Schlegel MS.; locality "Norway" — not determinable);
10. Pagomys fcetidus (includes hispida, anneUata, discolor, etc.,
and, incorrectly, '■^fasciata, Shaw,".^ concolor,Y)e Kay, "? eques-
ins, Pallas"); 11. ^^ Pagomys? largha^^ {= fmtida; includes
dorm and tigrina, Lesson, and nummularis, Temm.); 12. Pa-
gophilus grcenlandicus (includes oceanica, Lepech., semilunaris,
Bodd., dorsata, Pallas, annellata, Gaimard, etc.) ; 13. Halicyon
richardsi {grcenlandica, Middendorff = vitulina); 14. Pliocabar-
bata {kporinus, Lepech., etc.); 15. Raliclicerus grypus (includes
Mk'hwnts, Thienem., griscus, Nilsson, etc., and incorrectly Ms-
jn'rffl, Schreber, and scopnlicola.i Thienem.); 16. Morunga ele-
phautina (includes Iconina, Linnet, proboscidca, Nilsson, ansoni,
^^'f^n\., patagonica, Gray, dubia, Fisch.); 17. Cystophoracristata
(inehules ciicullata, Bodd., mitrata, Milbert, MS., borealis, Nils-
son, IvHcopla, Thienem., etc.); 18. Cystophora antillanim; 19.
Salk'jjon californica (p. 367, n. sp.; nominal).

* Proc. Zoiil. Soo. Load., 18G1, p. 28.

tProc. Chicago Academy of Sciences, vol. i, p. ;}3.

<im

II if

-I '■;

li 'ii

454

FAMILY PHOCIDJE.

This is the largest number, both of species aiul genera, recog-
nized by one author since Lesson, who, in 1827, gave the same
number of species but only six genera. Of these nineteen
species, doubtless live {antillarum, dimUliati's, hm/hcf, richimhi,
and valifornim) are nominal, leaving fourteen that are ■valid, or
an average of one to each genus ! One of the genera, however,
{ILilici/oii) is based on a^ nominal siiecies; the second species
{Cj/sii)i)hor(i aniUJarv.m) of the only genus Avliich contains two,
may be regarded as doubtful (see postea, utider the general
history of ^fouachKn f iropicalis). Compared with the same
authors revision made in ISoO (see antca, \). 451) there is an
increase of three geiun'a and one si)ecies; only one " new spe-
cies" [cdlij'ornica) being here added. This the author seems to
have again recognized oidy once,* remarking that he considers
Gill's Phoca pcaJei as identical with his ^^HaUci/on f californiea'\

In the same year (186G) Dr. Theodore Gill published his
" Prodrome of a ^Monograph of tlie Pinnipedes ",t in which he pro-
posed one new generic name {Erignathns = Phoca, Gray), and
introduced one new specific name by renaming Peale's Hali-
choerns antarctictts, Phoca pcaJei. As regards this species, he
found that tbe type specimen, througli the misplacement of a
label, was wrongly assigned a habitat in the Antarctic Seas,
whereas it undoubtedly came irom the Pacific coast of Nortli
America, thereby rendering the name antarctictis undesirable
as perpetuating a grave error. Ee furthermore found that tlie
species had nothing to do with the genus HaUcharm, but was
a true Phoca. The papei introduced several important changes
from the Grayian nomenclature, particularly in substituting
Phoca for Callocephahts, Erujnathus for Phoca, and Macrorhbm
for Morunga, although, as above stated, only one new generic
name Avas introduced. Diagnoses are given of the genera, and
lists of the species found respectively on the east and west
coasts of North America. The species of North American
Phocidw given are the following :

^^ Eastern North America."

" California, Oregon, 4-c."

Phoca vitulina, Linn.

Phoca richanLsi, Gill ex Gray

PaKomye fcetidus, Gray.

Phoca. pealei, Gill.

Pagopliilns gniinlandicua, Gray.

Macrorhiniis angustirostris

Erigiiatluis barbatus, Gill.

Gill.

HalichoTus grypus, Nilss.

().

Cyetopbora cristata, Nilss.

'Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d series, vol. xvii, 1866, p. 446.
t Proc. Essex Inst., vol. v, 1866, pp. 3-13.

TECHNICAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

455

As the author himself now freely admits, iu the light of the
material he has siuce had opportunity of examining, P >ca rich-
anlsi and Phocapcalei are both synonyms otPhoca vituUna.

Gray, later in the same year, iu a short pnper* devoted to
a nctice of (j ill's " Prodrome," jn'oposcd to refer Peale's Hali-
clmrKsi nntarcticiia to a new genus which he named Ealiphilus.

Gray in 1871, in his " Supplement to the (Catalogue of Seals
and Whales in the IJritish Museum" (pp. 2-5), raised the num-
ber (nineteen) recognized by him in l<S(;r» to twentj'-two, omit-
tinj4' two and adding live, mainly by separating the species of
the Xorth Paciflc from their allies of the Xorth Atlantic. The
species added are: 1. '■'■HaUcyon fi^m/e/" [Q^GWl^ — Raliehoerus
(intareticv , Peale); 2. '■^ PagophUus ? cqucstris^^ (ex PaJas, cov-
ering /fl-sciflfn, Shaw," and rtWHeZ^fl/fljKadde); >\. '■'■Pagophilus'^.
ochotcnsis-^ (ex Pallas); 4. Phoca '■^nauHca^ (nautica undalbi-
(jena, Pallas); o. Morunga angustirostris {Macrorhhms angiistiros-
iris, Gill). Of these, two only (" eqiiestris^^ and angustirostris) are
valid. He also tabulated the species according to their dis-
tribution, as follows:

'' North Pacific.

"Halicyon ricliardsi.
"Halicyon pealci.
"Pagophilus f equestris.
"Pagopliilus ? ochotensis.
"Phoca uaurica.
"Monmga angustirostris."

^^ North Atlantic.

"CaUocepbalus vitnliuus.
"Calloceplialus dimitliatus.
"Pagorays foetidus.
"Pagopliilus grcenlandicus.
"Phoca barbata.
'■Halicbffirus grypus.
"Cystopbora cristata."

^''Halkyoii calif ornica^^ is thus omitted, and is nowhere men-
tioned iu the " Supplement," and the same is the case also with
''Pfl</ojHj/.s ? largha^\ Whether the former was accidentally
oveilooked, or intentionally retracted, does not appear. From
Dr. Gray's "Hand-List of Seals, Morses, Sea-Lions, and Sea-
Bears in the British Museum," published in 1874, in which " it
is proposed to give an account of all the specimens" of these
animals in the British Museum, it appears that the only speci-
mens *' Xorth Pacific Phocids there represented were the three
referred to Halicyon richardsi. Five out of six of his Xorth
Pacilic species were apparently vinknown to him except through
autliors' descriptions, and are, as I hope later to satisfaetorily
show, merely nominal. The Phoca annellata of Radde, referred
by him to his '•^Pagophihis% cquestris'', reflates not at all to this
*Anu. and Mag. Nat. Hist,, 1866, 3rt ser., vol. xvii, p. 446.

II! i

\l S

h\'

(,■• '';'■* f

456

FAMILY PIIOCID^.

species, lladde's specimen being Phoca caspica, wliile Eadde's
annelluta, as be understood it, is ih&fcetida of autbors.

In 1873 Dr. Dybowski* gave a detailed account of tbe Lake
Baikal Seal, witb figures, under tbe name Phoca baicalcnsis, for
tbe first time clearly setting fortb its distinctive cbaracters,
altbougb tbe species bad been vaguelj'^ known, cbiefly tbrough
incidental notices by travellers, for a century, and as early as
1788 bad received, at tbe bands of Gmelin, tbe varietal name
sibirtea, be referring it, bowever, as bave many subsequent
writers, to Phoca vitiiUna.

In 1875 Dr. Peters t proposed tbe recognition of five species
of Sea Elepbants, as follows: 1. Gystophora leonina, Livu. (=tlie
Sea Lion of Anson); 2. C. falklandica ( = tbe Sea Lion of
Pemety); 3. C.proboscidea {ex 'P^ron)', 4. C. angmtirostris {ex
Gill); 5. C. kergiielensis (tbe species occurring at Kerguelen
Island). Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 5 are doubtless synonyms of Macro-
rhinus leonimis. Two new names are proposed, namely, /a/^-
landica and kerguelensis.

The foregoing review bas been intentionally limited to \a orks
or papers tbat eitber (1) ostensibly relate to tbe wbole family,
or (2) to tbe species of the North American fauna, or (3) to
those which introduce "new species" or new synonyms. Con-
sequently, reference to many important papers or memoirs
treating of particular groups, or of special subjects, is wholly
omitted; but the greater part of these will be found cite' in
subsequent pages under the species to which they particularly
relate. No special reference has been made, for example, to
Bell's "History of British Quadrupeds", to Blasius's "Natiu-
geschichte der Saugethiere Deutscblands", Lilljeborg's " Fauna
ofver Sveriges och Norges Eyggradsdjur", etc., or to the spe-
cial memoirs on the Seals of the Arctic Seas by Brown, ]\Ialm
gren, von Heuglin, etc., or tbe various papers relating to the
anatomy, milk-dentition, etc., of the different species.

For convenience of reference, I present the following chrono-
logical summary of the foregoing analysis, premising that the
names following the sign of equality are those adopted in the
present monograph. The names under which valid species are
flirst introduced are designated by the use of thick type, syno-
nyms by italic type, and indeterminable names by i)lain type
Only the Phocids are here taken into account.

*Arch. liir Anat. ii. Phys., ItiT.i, pp. 109, ct aeqq, pll. ii, iii.
tMoiiatsb. Akad. d. Wissenscb, zn Berlin, 1875, p. 394, footnote.

TECHNICAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

Synonymailc Kmtmd.

457

1776— Fabricius ..

1778— Lepechix .

1784— BODDAERT

1758 — ^ T .A S Phoca leonina -r^ Macrorliiiius Iconiuus.

1760— S ' " ( Phoca vitulina — Plioca vituliua.

Phoca leoniiin :^ Cystopliom cristata.
Phoca fcetida = Phoca fa'tida.
Phoca grcenlandica = Phoca giueulaudica.
^ Phoca barbata ^= Ki-i^iiatlins barbatns.
1776— ScilREBER, Phoca hi82)kla — Phoca tVi'tida.

1777— Erxlebkx, Phoca cristata -^ Phoca leonina, Fabr., iu paxt, neo
leonina Liund.

Phoca ovcaiiim = Phoca j^nculandica.
Phova leporitia = Erignathus barbatus.
1779— IIebmann, Phoca monachus * := ]Mona(;hu8 albiveuter.
1782— Molina j Phoca porcinu -^ ? Macrorhinus leoniuus, juv.

\ Phoc<i elcphanlina =^ Macrorhinus leoniniTS.
1783— ZiMMERMANN, Phoca fasciata — Histriophoca fasciata.

'Phoca alhi venter" = Monachus alblventer.
Phoca semilunaris = Phoca groBnlandica.
Phoca cucnUata = Cystophora cristata.
Phoca maciilata = f Phoca vitulina.
( Phoca vitulina var. hotnica = ? Phoca vitulina.

1768— Gmelin < Phoca vitulina var. siblrlca = Phoca sibirica.

' Phoca tituUna var. caspica =^ Phoca caspica.
1T!)1— Fabricius, Phoca grypus — Halicha>ru8 grypus.

Phoca grwnlandica var. nigra =^ IV. grcenlandica.
Phoca hisjjtcla var. quadraia = fHalichoerus grypus.
Phoca chilenais =:= ? Macrorhinus leoninns, juv.
Piioca mutioa = ?

Phoca testudo = ? .

Phoca laniger = ? Erignathus barbatus, juv.
Phoca punctata = ?
Phoca niacuhita = ?
' Phoca hispida ::= ?
Phoca scri<!oa = ?
Phoca camna = 7
Phoca vitulina = ?

, Phoca varlcgata = f f Phoca vitulina.
Phoca hicolor = Monachus albiventer.
Phoca testudiuea = ?
e Phoca jyrohoscidea -— Macrorhinus leoninas.

1816— P£kox < Phoca lencogafter = Monachus albiventor.

( Phoca rcsima = ? Macrorhinus leoninns.
I Phoca coxii -- Macrorhinus leoninua.
{ Phoca lalMuk -^ Erignathus barbatus.
( Phoca bi/roni -- Macrorhinus leoninns.
( Phoca leptonyz :^ Ogniorhinus leptonyx.

ir92-KERR

1798-TinJNBEKG

1800-SuA-w .

1817— Desjiarest
1820— Blaixville

"When the name monachus was taken for tlie generic name of the species,
it became untenable in a specific sense, avA albiventer, oi'iginally a synonym,
^as taken for tho species.

l!i

I ,i 1

458

FAMILY PHOCID-a:.

'tj h

-;U ,t

1820— Desmarest

1820— NiLSSON.

■1

1824— TlIIEXKMANN . . {

1825— G. CuviEit

1827— Gray

t Phocii vitiili

. ^ Phora riluJii

( Morounqa pa

Phoca aiiHoiii (Illainvillo MS.)= Macrorhinua leooi*
Tins + Otiiria jubnta.

Phoca (lUiicatidn = Phoca ffrrenlandica.
' Phoi'it raricfiata = Plioca vituliiia.

Phoca anutUata ^^ Pliocii f(ctida.

nalkhuruH firlnvus ^--: llaliclidTiiH yiypiis.

Ciixtophora bonaUx ~ C'y8t()i)li()i'a iristata.
1824 — F. CuviER, CallocciihaliiK dincohr = Phoca fo'tida.

Phoca lilloiru - Phoca vituliiia.

Phoca iKilichoriix r- llaliclia>nis f^rypus.

Phoca xcopidicoht ~ J[alich(i'iiis ••rypus, juv.

I'hoca Icncopla ---~-- Cy.stoiihora cristata.
^ Phoca layitra —- Phoca ^nciilaiulica, juv.
\ Phoca mitrala (Milhcrt ^MS.) — Cy.stophora cristata.
1826 — Lesson, Otaria weddelU -= licptonychotcs wcdrtelll.

Phoca vituliiia var. hothioiiica = ?

hia var. aebrica --= Phoca sihirica.
ir/a patajionica = Maciorliinus leoninus.
'Phoca midleri -- Phoca gni'iihiudica.

Phoca schrcheri = Plioca ftctida.

Phoca parsoniti --^ ? Erif^nathuH harbatu.s.

Phoca thienemantii ;= HalicluBius grypus, juv.

Phoca Unnaei = Phoca vituliiia.

Phoca lepechhii = Erignathus barbatus.

Phoca frederici = Phoca fnctida.

Fhoca pylaiji = Phoca grconlandica, juv.

Phoca desmarenti = Phoca groDulandica.

Phoca hermanni = Monachus albiventer.

PAoca c/iorisi :^ ? Phoca vituliiia.

Phoca homci =■ Ogniorhinus lep.tonyx.
1829 — Fischer, Phoca dubia = Macrorhinus Icouiiins, juv.

■ Phoca nnntica = ? Erignathus barbatus.

Phoca aWgena = Erignatliu^barbatus.

Phoca equeatria = Histrioplioca fasciata.

Phoca doraaia = Phoca gra>ulandica.

Phoca largha = ?

Phoca canina = Phoca vitulina +.

- Phoca ochotenaia = ? Phoca vituliua.
1837 — NiLSSON, Phoca caspica* = Phoca caspica.
1837— Gray, Phoca? platythrix = ?

1839 — Hauhlton, Sicnorhyvchva leopardinus {Jameson, MS.) = Leptonychote8
weddclli.

1828— Lesson

1831— Pallas

1839— KUTOKGA

I Pi

Phoca commnnia var. octonotata i
hoca commnnia var. undiilata ^

Phoca foetida.

1842— Temminck Phoca nummularis = Phoca fcetida.

1842-^eKay, Phoca concolor = Phoca vitulina.

1843 — Lesson, Phoca iaidorci rt= Cy.stophora cristata.

1843 — Owen, Slenorhynchiia 8<Tridi-va = liobodoii carcinophaga.

1844 — Gray, Ommatophoca rossi = Ommatophoca rossi.

' First recognized as a species ; = Phoca ritulina var. caapica, GmeUii.

TECHNICAL HISTORY — SPECIES.

459

1848— Pkalk, HalichccruH antarcticua i=: Phoca vitulina.

1849— Gray, Cystophora antillaruni = ?

igrfiQjj ^Y ^ Phoca tropicalis = Mouachus tropicalis.

\ Calloccphalus iliuiuliatus (Sclilegel MS.) =t

{ Jlnlichaiua macrorhynchiis =H. grypiis.
18r.0-lIoHNSCiiucn&ScinM.ixG. \ j7„,;,/.^n<« pcchyrhynchm = 11. gryptis.

1854— Gray, UeVioplwca allantica --^ Monaclius alM venter.
1804— Gray, llaliqion rkliardsi r:::; Phoca vitulina.

f Macrorhiniis angustirostris ^^ Macrorhi aus angus-
18(iG— Gill ? tiro.stris.

( rUocapeald --^ Phoca vituliua.
18()(1— Gray, Ualicyon californica = Phoca vitulina.
187:i— Dydowski, Phoca haicalt'imis ■-- Phoca sibiiica.

1875— Pktkrs

< Cystophora fcMlandicus >

=3*Iaciovhiuus leouiuus.

Cystophora lcvr<iuclvHHi» S

One hundred and three distinct specific and varietal names
have thus been bestowed upon sixteen species, leaving eighty-
st'\ on of the names as synonyms, — an average of about six to a
sreeies. Fourteen names appear to be wholly indeterminable,
wliile fourteen others can be referred only with more or less
doubt. Of the flfty-nine remaining synonyms, about the identi-
fteation of which there can be but little doubt, Phoca vitulina
aud Phoca fcetida have each eleven ; Phoca groenlandica has eight,
andil/acror/tinMs leonimis nme; Halichcerus grypmand Cystophora
cristata have each six; Monachus alMvcnter has five; and Erig-
nathus harhatns seven. Five other species have each one, and
three {Phoca caspica, Macrorhinus anyitstirostris, and Ommato-
plioca rossi) are apparently without synonyms.

The above summary is exclusive of the generic changes that
have been rung on these sixteen species. Regarding each dif-
ferent generic combination as a synonym, would raise the total
iiuudier of distinct names to probably nearly four hundred, or
an average of at least twenty to each species, Avith a maximum
for some of the species of at least thirty.

It may be further observed that Lesson has the unenviable
distinction of having added thirteen (nearly one-fourth) of the
fifty-nine identifiable syaoiiyms, and only one valid species and
one tenable specific name out of a total of the fourteen specific
names for which he is responsible. Pailas comes next with seven
spe(!iflc names, only four of which are identifiable, and none of
them tenable. Next follows Gray with ten, covering two and
possibly three new species, and three unidentifiable ones, with
the result of seven and probably eight synonyms.

In respect to the general subject, it may be noted that there

1; Ih'l,

IHfl

460

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

/ 1

have been four periods of nniisiial fertility in respect to the lit-
erature of the rhockUv. The tirst covers the time of Egcde,
Cranz, Anson, Steller, and Parsons (1741-1705), and antedates
nearly all of the systematic literature of the subject, but for wliicli
it formed the yround-work of the early portion. The second
(177(!-17!>2) may be termed the i)eriod of Fabricius, Schrcber,
Erxleben, Molina, Gmelin, aud Kerr, or that of the early tccli
nical writers. The third may be <lenominated the Eucyclopa'dic
I)eriod, covering the work of Desnnirest, F. Cuvier, Lesson, Gray
(his first general review of the species only), to which may be
added (in pohit of time) P^ron, Xilsson, Fischer, and Pallas
(181G-1831). Duriug this period originated more than one-half
of the synonyms with which the literature of the subject is bur
dened, out of nearly forty names only two representing valid
new species. Within this period were i)ublished no less than
eight mougraphii; revisions of the Pinnipeds, prepared by the
leading mammalogists of that time. The fourth period may be
regarded as extending from 1837 to 1873, but the different por
tions of this interval were not equally prolific in imi)ortant gen-
eral memoirs. Of special note in tlie light of a general revision
of the subject are those of Nilsson (1837), Gray (1844), Wagner
(1846), Gray (1850), Giebel (1855), Gray (18CG, 1871, 1873), and
Gill (1866).

CLASSIFICATION.

As already noted, three subfamilies of the Phocidce are now
commonly recognized, while the number of genera admitted by
two leading authorities who have recently revised the grou}) is
respectively twelve (Gill) and thirteen (Gray), with, in the ma-
jority of instances, only a single valid species to each. Nine of
Gill's genera are monotypic, while of the others two have two
species each. The generic afiiuities of one — the little-known
West Indian Seal — have yet to be determined. As will be
shown later, only sixteen species can be considered as satis-
factorily established. Consequently the question naturally
arises whether generic division among the Phocids has not been
carried to an excessive degree, and if so, whether the groups
termed subfamilies are really entitled to that rank. In the
Pinnipedia differentiation, it is true, has been carried to sucli
a degree that not only are the family types sharply circum-
scribed, but the species are so far specialized as lo form types
that at least some naturalists look upon as ty]>es of generic, or
at least subgeneric, value. Of the six Otarian genera, four are

SYNOPSIS OF SUBFAMILIES AND GKNEKA.

461

(•ertaiiily monotypic, and if tlio other two arc not also mono-
typic, the species respectively coini)<)sing them liave not as
yet reached the point of 'well-prononnced specific- divergenco
1101' (tf j;eof;iai>hic isolation. As rej>ards the IMiocids, we have.
iilroiidy seen that in nearly every instance each siHH;h>s has been
iiiiule the tyja'- of a distinct genus. Conservative writers, how-
ever, aj-ree in referrinj,'' four species {vitulina, (jnenbindim^fwUda,
h(irh((f(t) to the genus Phova {Calloccjihalm, V. Cuvicr), yet each
speci's differs from the others to such a degree in cranial
iukI otlau- important osteologiciil characters that, if we allow
to siK'li difterences the value usually accorded them among
till' terrestrial Fcrw, each of these species may be regarded
us tlu' type of a distinct subgenus, or even genus. In the
Iireseiit re vision I feel constrained to separate the Phoca barhata
of authors as generically distinct from the other species of the
restricted genus Phoca, and to associate with the remaining
species Phoca caspica and Phoca sibiricn. The Phoca fasciata
of authors { = eqiiestris, Pallas) Gill has made the type of his
genus Histriophoca. The species is remarkable for its peculiar
pattern of coloration, and von Schrenck compares its dentition
to that of Halichoerus, between which and the ordinary Phocce
it holds an intermediate position as regards the structure of the
molar teeth. The other genera of the Phocids will be provision-
ally received as now commonly accepted. Monachus stands
widely aloof from the other genera of the Phocinw, with which,
however, it seems more closely allied than with any of the gen-
era of the Stenorhynchina;, although all of these have been re-
ferred by some systematists (as Wagner and Giebel) to a single
genus under the name Leptonyx. Without feeling sure that
the Phocids are susceptible of subdivision into trenchantly-
marked subfamilies, or into groups really entitled to such rank,
they will in the present connection be provisionally adopted in
their current acceptation.

Synopsis of Subfamilies and Genera.

I- Zygomatic process of the maxillary with the posterior border subvertical,
not extending far backward beneath ilie malar ; the latter short.
Intermaxillarics prolonged upward, meeting the nasals. Nasals
long, nearly reaching to the middle of the orbits, greatly narrowed
posteriorly, and wedged between the frontals. Supraorbital pro-
cesses wholly obsolete or (in Engnathus) rudimentary. Intororbital

region very narrow. Incisors usually g^^j exceptionally (in Mo-

nachm) ^^ Nails of all the digits well developed ; outer digits of
the pes not much prolonged beyond the others PHOCINiB.

:^l-

A ' '' :

I ■'

.11

462 FAMILY PHOCIDiB.

3 — 8
1. Muzzle narrow, regularly decliucd. lucisorH — -^ simple, conical; uiu-

lars, except first, 2-r<)i>tc(l, uud mostly 3-lobe(l. Digit** of laanus

slightly decreasing in length from first to fifth, or first and sccoud

, subcqnal. Maniiuui 2 Phoca.

a. Skull hroad, massive; geutiral l'»rm thick; the limlis sl>'iit; nose
hroad. Molar tooth larg<', crowded, obliquely iuiiilaulcd, tspccially
in youth and in the lower Jaw. Nasals considiraldy itiolongcd pos-
teriorly. Posterior nares narrow, the septum iucomplotely ossifleil.
Palatines deejdy fiiiarginate. Scapula sickle-shaped, the post-soap-
\ilar fossa grejitly developed (Subgenus) Phoca.

h. Skull thin, li^ht; nose pointed, and gtmeral form slender. Teotli
small, Hii;;liH\ separaled. Palatines, posterior nares, and narial
septum nearly as in the subgenus I'hoca. Nasals less prolonged
posteriorly. Digits of jjcs subequal. Scapula nearly as in I'hoca.

(Subgenus) Fum.

c. Skull, teeth, and general form nearly as in the su' jfenus Pum. Pos-
terior nares broad (nearly twice as broad as high), the narial sep-
tum complete. Palatines truncate, or slightly emargiujite ; never
deeply so as in Phoca and Pma, Scapula nearly as in the typicd
teiTcstrial Ftrw — not sickle-shaped, and with a broad pre-scapular
fossa. Sexes, when adult, widely diflereut in coloration.

(Subgenus) PagopUhi.
y. Muzzle broad; forehead convex. Rudimentary supraorbital processes.
Dentition weak ; the molars much separated, slightly implanted,
and partly deciduous or abortive in old age. Palatines broad,
emarginate. Middle digit of mauus the longest. Limbs small.
Scapula with no acromion process. Whiskers smooth, attenuated,
Mammre 4 Srignathus.

3. Cranial characters unknown. Dental formula las in Phoca. Molars,

except the first, 2-rooted, somewhat separated, with the cro\vL.s
simple and directed backward, as in Halichccrus, Sexes, when
adult, widely difi'erent in color Histriophoca,

4. Muzzle broad ; skull much arched, increasing in height anteriorly.

Molars single-rooted, except the last lower and the last two upper,
nearly simple or 1-lobed, conical. Whiskers crenulated. Digits of
manus as in Phoca Halichcenis,

5. Muzzle elongate, depressed ; nasals, short ; skull somewhut depressed

posteriorly. Incisors .j^t' ^^otchcd ♦''ansversely on the inner side ot
the crown. Canines large. Molars thick, strong, obliquely aud
closely implanted, imperfectly lobed, and ordy the three posterior 'i-
rooted. Whiskers flat, smooth, tapering. Claws small, especially

those of the pes Monachus.

II. Zygx)matic process of the maxillary and the malar bones nearly as in
the Phoclnw. Intcrmaxillaries not prolonged to meet the nasals.
Nasals very small. Supraorbital processes distinct, i)romin( nt, but
small. Incisors ^^^. Slolars simple or plaited, not lobed . with a

single club-shaped root CYSTOPHORIN51.

6. Palatines short, slightly emarginate, somewhat arched or a aulted.

Auditory bullaj square in front. Adult males with an liillatablc
sack extending from the nose to the occiput. All of the digits witli
claws strongly developed Cystophora.

8YN0NYMATIC LIST OF THE SPECIES.

463

7. Palatiues vory Hhort, deojily oniaigiimtu, and deeply vaulted. Au-

ditory bull«3 concave in front. Adult niules with an elongated
tubular proboHcis. Claws small, those of the pes rudimentary.

Maororhinus.

III. Zygomatic process of the maxillary prolonged backward beneath the

malar, the latter elongate. luterniaxillaries not (usually) reaching

the nasals. Supraorbital procesaes rudimentary. Nasals generally

greatly prolonged posteriorly, widely expanded anteriorly, and usu-

n n

ally early consolidated by anchyloses. Incisors ,, - ". Molars lobed
(in two genera iicutely multi-lobed). Cla\^ s of the hind limbs rudi-
mentary, and the outer digits lengthened . STENORHYNCHINiB.

8. Skull elongate, narrow anteriorly. Nasals greatly narrowed poste-

riorly. Molars 4- or ,')-lobed, the principal lobe large, pointed, re-
curved, with a smaller one in front of it and two (in the first and
second nmlars) or three (in the others) slender, pointed, recurved
lobes behind it. Lower jaw nhruptb angular beliind. . .Lobodon.

9. General form of the skull much as in the last. Nasiils greatly pro-

longed jiosteriorly. Molars 3-lobed, the central lobe cylindrical,
high, pointed, recurved, with a ;<maller lobe in front .and an-
other behind the i)rincipal one. Lower jaw gently rounded pos-
teriorly OgmorhinuB.

10. Skull iad; muzzle short and broad, with very short, small nasals.

Intermaxillaries prolonged upward, meeting the nasals. Molars
small, 8ei)arated, with a central prominent point, and a smaller one
(iu unworn teeth) behind„it. Lower jaw slender, with a short
symphysis and no i»rominent posterior angle Leptonychotes.

11. .'ikuU very broad (in general outline nnieh as iu the Cyatopltorinai),

with a broad, short muzzle, and very large orbita' fossro. Nasals
very broatl in front, greatly prolonged and gradually narrowed
posteriorly. Molars small, 3-lobed, the central lobe much the
largest and slightly recurved Ommatophoca.

'sill

SYNONYMATIC LIST OF THE SPECIES.*

I. Genua Phoca, Linne.

Syn,— Pusa, ScoPOLi; CallocephaluH, F. Cuvier; Pagophilus, Pagomya, Halt'
cyon, naliphilua, Oray.

1. Phoca vitulina, IAnn4.

Stn,— P/toca vafiej/ata, Nilsson, 1820.
Phoca Uttorea, Thienemann, 1824.
Phoca Unnai, tigrina, cJior'm, Lesson, 1828,
Phoca canina, Pallas, 1831.
Phoca concolor, DeKay, 1842.
Halichcenw antarciicus, Peale, 1848.
Lobodon carcinophaga, Casstn, 1858.

*For full citation of the synonymy of the North American Phocidd tv^
posteH, in the general history of the species.

464

FAMILi' PHOCID^.

Halicijon richardsi, Gray, 1864.
rhoca iiealei, Gill, 18GG.
Halicyonf californica, Gray, 1866.

Hab. — North Atlantic, from New Jersey and the Mediterranean northward
to the Arctic regions; Nortli Pacitic, f;vim Southern California and Kamt-
Hchatlr.a northward to Arctic regions.

'?. Phoca gioenlandica, Fabridua,

Syn. — I'hooi oceanica, Lepechin, 1778.

Phoca semilunaris, Boddaert, 1785.

Phoca albicauda, Desmarest, 1822.

Phoca lagura, G. Cuvier, 1825.

Phoca miilleri, dcsmaresti, pilayi, Lesson, 1828.

Phoca dorsata, Pallas, 1831.

Hab. — ^North Atlantic, from Newfoundland and the North Sea northward^
and the Arctic Seas; North Pacific.

3. Phoca foetida. Fabriciua.

Syn. — Phoca hispida, Scureber, 1776.
Phoca annellata, Nilsson, 1820.
Phoca discolor, F. Cuvier, 185J4.
Phoca frederici, schreheri, Lesson, 1828.
Phoco, largha, Pallas, 1831.

Phoca communis, vars. octonotata et widulata, KuTOBOA, 1839>
Phoca nummularis, Temminck, 1842.
f Callocephalus dimidiatus, Gray, 1850.
Hab. — North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Arctic Seaa.

4. Phoca caspica (Gmelin), Nilaaon,

Syn. — Phoca vitulina var. caspica, Gmelin, 1788.
Phoca canina [var. caspica'], Pallas, 1831.

Hab. — Caspian and Aral Seas.

Phoca sibirlca^ Gmelin.

Syn,

i'hoca vitulina var. sibirica, Gmelin, 1788.
Phoca annellaU,, Radde, 1862 (in part).
Phoca bnicaknsis, Dybowski, 1873.

Hab. — Lakes Baikal and Oron.

II. Genus Histriophoca, Gill.

G. Histriophoca fasciata {Zimmermann), QUk

Syn.— PAoOT equcstris, Pallas, 1831.
Hab. — North Pacific.

ni. Genua Erignathus, Gill.
Byk.— Phoca, Gray, 1850.

WS!

SYNONYMATIC LIST OF THE SPECIES. 465

7. Brignathus barbatus (Fabrioiua), Oill.

Brs.—Phoca leporina, Lf,"ECHIN, 1778.
Fhoca laohtak, Desmakest, 1817.
Phoca Icpechini, parsotisi, Lesson, 1828
Phoca albigena, nautica, Pallas, 1831.
Phoca naurica, Gray, 1871.

Hab.— North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Arctic Seas.
IV. Genua Halichcerus, Nilsson.

8. HaliohGerus grypus (Fabriciui), NilaBOUr

Sm.—Halichwrua griseua, Nilsson, 1820.

Phoca halichoerua, aeopulicola, Thienemann, 1824.
Phoca thienemanni, Lesson, 1828.

EalichceruB maororhynchus, pachyrhynchtis, HoRNSCHUOH and Shii<-
ling, 1850.

HvB. — North Atlantic, from Newfoundland and Western Islands north-
ward.

V. Genus Monachus, Fleming,

Bnf.—Monachm, Fleming, Phil. Zool., ii, 1822, 187, footnote.— Type, Phoca

monachus, Hermann.
Pelagius ("Pelnge"), F.Cuvier, Mto. du Mu8.,xi, 1824, 193.— Type,

Phoca monachus, Hermann.
HeUo2thoca, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1854, 43. — Type, Heliophoca

atlantica, OTaj,:= Monachus alhiventer, jur .

9. Monachus albiventer (Boddaert), Gray.

Sim,— Phoca monachus, Hermann, Beschaft. d. Berlinishche Gesells. Na-
turf. Freunde, iv, 1779, 456, pll. xii, xiii.

Phoqueh ventre Mane, BuFFON, Hist. Nat., Suppl., vi, 1782, pi. xliv.

"Phoca albiventer, Boddaert, Elen. Anim., 1785, 170" (from Boffon, as
above).

Phoca bicolor, Shaw, Gen. Zool., i, 1800, 254.

Phoca leucogaster, P^RON, Voy. aux Terr. Austr., ii, 1817, 47.

Pelagius m<machtts, F. Cuvier, Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 550.

Phoca hermanni. Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828 (^ Phoca
monachus, Hermann).

"Monachus mediterraneus, Nilsson, Kongl. Vet. Ak id. Handl. Stock-
holm, 1837, 235" (see Wiegmann's Arch. f. Naturg., 1841, i, 308,
footnote).

Heliophoca atlantica, Ghat, Proo. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1854,43 (yoong).
Hab,— Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Black Seas; Madeira and Canary
Islanila ; east coast of Africa f

VI. Genus Cystophora, Nilsson.
^Yn.—Stemmatopva, F. Cdvier; Mirounga, Gray (in part).

11. Cystophora crlstata {Erxleben), Nilsson.

SiTs.—Phoca leonina, Linn£ 1766 (in part; not Phooa leonina, Liimtf, 1768).
Phoca cueullata, Boddaert, 1785.

Misc. Pub. ITo. 12 30

',:t|

. !■! ij

'' ,lr

%if

'■ ii

liUM

i'Hl

IP'

466 FAMILY PHOCID^.

Cyatoiyhora horcalis, NiLSSON, 1820.
Phoca mitrata, G. Ouvier (ox Milbert, MSS.), 182S
Phoca leacopla, Thienkmann, 1824.
Plioca kidoroi, LkssoN; 1843.
Hab. — North Atlantic and Arctic Scan.

VII. Genus Macuoiuunus, F. Cuvier.
Syn. — Mirounya, Ghay (iu part); Khiiiophom, Wagler; Morunga, Gray.

12. Macrorhinua leoninus (^TAtm4).

Syn. — Phoca Iconina, Linne, Syst. Nat.,i, 1758, 38; ihid,, i, 1766, 38 (iu part).
Phoca elephantina, Molixa, Sagy. siil. Stor. Nat. del ^'hili, 1782, 280.
? Vhoca porcina, Molina, ihid., 279 (young).

Phoca prohoacidca, PI^ron, Voy. aux Terr. Anstr. ii, 1817, 34, pi. xxxii,
Phoca ansoni, Dksmarest, Mam., 1820, 231) (iu part).
Phoca hjironi, Desmarest, ibid., 240.
Phoca dubia, Fischer, Syuop. Mam., 1829, 235.
Mirounga patagonica, Gray, Griftith's An. King., v, 1827, 186.
Cystophora Iconina, jalklar.dlc:;. prohoacidea, kcrguelcnsis, Peters, Mo-
uatsb. K. P. Akad. Wisseusch. zu Berlin, 1875, 394, footnote.

Hab, — Soutliern portions of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans and the
Antarctic Seas.

13. Macrorhinua angustirostris, Gill.

Hab. — Coast of Weatern Mexico and Southern California.

VIII. Genus Ogmorhinus, Peters.

Byjh, —Stenorhynchus {"StSnor!>y.tque") F. Cuvier, M6m. du Mus., xi, 1824,
190 (preoccupied in Carcinology and Entomology). — Type, Phoca
Uptonyx, Blainville.
Ogmorhinus, Peters, Monatsb. K. P. Akad. Wissonsch. zu Berlin, 1875,
393, footnote.

14. Ogmorhinus leptonyac (Llainvllle), Peters.

Bts.— Phoca leptonyx, " Blainville, Joum. de Physique, xci, 1820, 288."
Phoca hornei. Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 417.

Hab. — "New Zealand; Lord Howe's Island," Gray; Desolation Islands.

IX. Genus Lobodon, Gray.

15. Lobodon caroinophaga. Gray.

8XJH.— Phoca carcinophaga, Homb. and Jacq., d'Urvillo's Voy. au PAlo snd,
Atlas, 1842? (1842-1853) Mam., pi. x (animal), x A (skull), (not de-
scribed). — Jacq., Zool.,iii, 1855, 27.
Stenorhynchus serridens, Owen, Ann. &, Mag. Nat. Hist., xii, 1863, 331.

Hab. — "Antarctic Seas," Gray.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
X. Genus Leptonychotes, Gill.

467

I! 'I i A' ^

Sw.—Leptonyx, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., x, 1836, 582 (prooccnpied
in Ornithology). — Typo, Lcptonyx weddeUi.
Leptonychotes, Gill, Arranfj. Pani. Mam., 1872, 70 (= Leptonyx, Gray).

16. Leptonychotes weddelll (Gray), Gill.

8ys.—0taria u'cddeUi, Lesson, JYrnssac'.s Bnll. dos Sci. Nat., vii, 1826,438.
StenorhytwhiiH wcddelli. Lesson, Man. do Mam., 1827, 200.
Leptonyx weddeUi, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., x, 1836, 582;
"Zool. EiebnL' and Terror, Mam., 2, pi. v (animal), plate vi (skull)."
Phoca leopardinu, Jameson, Hamilton's Mar. Aniphib., 1839, 183.

Hab. — Antarctic Seas. — "East coast of Patagonia", Gray.

XI. Genus Ommatophoca, Gray.

^YS.—Ommatophoca, Gray, "Zool. Erebus and Terror, Mam." — Type, 0.
roast.

17. Ommatophooa rosBi, Gray.

^Y^s.—Ommatophoca rossi. Gray, "Zoiil. Erebus and Terror, Mam., 3, pi. vii
(animal), pi. viii (skull)"; Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, 31; Hand-
List Seals, 1874, 15, pi. xi.

Hab.— "Antarctic Seas," Gray.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The Phocidtc are found along the seashores of all parts of the
temperate and colder portions of the globe, but those of the
Southern Hemisphere belong (with one exception) to different
genera from those whose habitat is in the Northern Hemisphere,
and for the most part to a distinct subfamily not elsewhere rep-
resented. All the members of the so-called " subfamily" Steno-
rlinncliince are confined to the south-temperate and Antarctic
Seas. The PhoeincB, on the other hand — 'sy far the most nu-
merous division of the family — are strictly northern, only two
or three of the species reaching the middle-temperate latitudes.
Of the Cystophorinw, consisting of two genera, one genus {Cys-
tophora) is boreal, and the other {Macrorhinus) has one repre-
sentative on the coast of Lower California, and another on the
islands and shores of the southern part of South America, South
Africa, and the Crozet and Desolation Islands in the Indian
Ocean. Of the Phocinte, one species, the Monk Seal {Monachtis
alhiventer), is found on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in
the Adriatic and Black Seas, and at the Madeira and Canary
Islands, and probably on the neighboring Atlantic coast of

M'H

HiM

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468

FAMILY PHOCID^

1 'ii
- 1

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..'A

Africa. An apparently near relative and geographical repre-
sentative of this species is found on the shores of Yucatan, Cuba,
Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Florida Keys. None of the
remaining members of the PhocitKV occur in the North Atlantic,
except as stragglers, south of the British Islands and Spain, on
the European coast, or of New Jersey on the American, or of
Japar -nd Lower California in the North Pacific. The species
' '.('■■, Aaviug the widest distribution is the common Phoca viUilim.
which occurs not only in both the North Atlantic and North
Pacific Oceans, as far southward as the limits just given, but
refiches Greenland, Finmark, and the northern coast of Europe
generally, and is also found in Behring's Straits. Other species,
as Erignathm barbatus, Phoca foetida, and Phoca groenUindica,
extend beyond its habitat to the northward, but have a nuich
more Hmited range to the southward, the British Islands and
the coast of the United States being quite beyond their usual
southern limit of distribution. Li ke Phoca vituUna these species
also occur in the North Pacifi< . Two other species are restricted
to the North Atlantic, namdv, Halichcerus grypus and Cysto-
phora cristata, neither of whic. • anges so far northward as the
others, and the latter only casually wanders to the southward
of Newfoundland and the southern coast of Scandinavia, while
the former reaches Nova Scotia and Ireland. Phoca fcetida and
Erignathus barbatus are the most northern of all, both being
winter residents of the icy shores of Davis's Strait and Jan
Mayen Island. It thus appears that of the six species found
on the northern shores of Europe, Greenland, and the Atlantic
coast of North America, two only are confined to the North
Atlantic, the other four being common also to the North Pacific.
The Histriophoca faadata, on the other hand, is limited to the
North Pacific, and is the only species occurring there that is not
also found in the North Atlantic. Consequently about one-
half of the commonly recognized species of the Phocidce of the
Northern Hemisphere have a circumpolar distribution.

A species {Phoca caspica) formerly regarded by writers as
identical with Phoca vitulina, and by others a nearly allied but
distinct species, inhabits the Caspian Sea, and another {Phoca
aibirica), similarly referred by most writers to Phoca fcetiAa^
inhabits Lake Baikal. These great interior and almost iso-
lated seas have been for so long a time separated, the Caspian
Sea wholly, and Lake Baikal nearly, from the great oceans or
any other large body of water communicating with tbe sea,

f . I.

FOSSIL REMAINS.

469

that if originally derived from the rnariue species to which they
are allied, it may well be supposed that the peculiar couditious
of eiivironmeut to which they have been for so long a time sub-
jected have not been powerless in effecting slight changes of
structure, as they have certainly led to well-marked changes in
habits.

As already noted, Macrorhinus is the only genus having rep-
resentatives on both sides of the equator, the two species of
whi(!h are nevertheless separated by wide areas, the one occur-
ring on the Pacific coast of North America between the parallels
of 23° and 35° north latitude, while the other is restricted to the
shores and islands of the southern extremity of the South Amer-
ican continent. New Zealand, and a few groups of pelagic islands
in the southern parts of the Indian Ocean.

Of the Stenorhynchince only four species are recognized, all of
large size, and all confined to the cold-temperate or subMgid
southern waters.

FOSSIL REMAINS.

i!(0RTn America. — In North America teeth or other remains
attributed to Seals have been reported as occurring at various
localities, in Tertiary and Quaternary deposits, from Maine and
Canada southward to Virginia and South Carolina. In several
instances, merely the finding of such remains has been recorded,
the specimens themselves having never been described, or even
specifically determined, so that it is impossible to assign them
to any particular species, or even to say whether they were
correctly identified as the remains of Seals. In other cases,
remains described as Phocine are unquestionably referable to
Squalodont Cetaceans. In only two or three instances are the
supposed remains of Seals obviously Phocine, and in each of
these cases they were found in deposits of Post-pliocene age,
and referred (usually with some doubt) to existing species.
The subject may, therefore, be conveniently treated under the
following heads, namely : 1. Remains supposed to be Phocine,
but which are not specifically determinable. 2. Squalodont
remains described as I'hocine. 3. Eemains doub ully referred
to existing species. 4. Extinct species.

I. Remains supposed to be Phociiie, but not specifically determin-
(ihk — 1. Newbern, North Carolina. — Under this head must be
placed the iucidental reference by Dr. Harlan * to the remains

* Am Joiim. Sci., vol. xliii, 1842, p. 143.

1 . i'

I 5

470

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

of a " Seal" tbimd associated with those of Mastodon, Elephant,
Horse, Deer, Elk, etc., in the Post-i)lioceiie deposits of Newborn,
]North Carolina, in his description of his^^Sw* Americ'.mm^\
The specimens here referred to appear to have never been
described, and the only information we have respectinjif tlie
occurrence of Phocine remains at this locality is Dr. Uarlaii's
casual reference to the matter, as above indicated.

2. Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. — Sir Charles Lyell, iu
a paper "On the Tertiary Strata of the Island of Martha's Vine-
yard in Massachusetts", in enumerating the organic remains col-
lected by him at that locality, mentions,* under the head of
Mammalia, "A tooth, identified by Prof. Owen as the canine
tooth of a Seal, of which the crown is punctured. It seems
nearly allied to the modern Cystophora proboscidea". As no
description is given, its positive determination is impossible.
No other Seal remains, so far as known to me, have been found
at that locality.

3. Kichmond, Virginia. — As will be presently noticed more
fully, some supposed Phocine remains were described by the
late Professor Wyman from the Tertiary deposits underlying
the city of Eichmond, Virginia. They came from two local-
ities, and consisted of quite different materials. The specimens
are at present unknown, so that their reexamination is impos-
sible. A part of these remains were in all probabilitj'^ Squalo-
dont, while others may have been Phocine. A detailed account
of these specimens, with the original descriptions in full, is
given below, under the heading ^'■PJwca wymani ".

4. South Berwick, Maine. — Professor Wyman, in 1850,t re-
ferred briefly to some Seal bones found at South Berwick,
Maine, in "marine mud", at a depth of thirty feet from the siu-
face, in digging a well. They "proved to be an ulna and a
radius", but no description of them is given, they being men-
tioned simply as "bones of a Seal". Professor LeidyJ has con-
jecturally referred them to Phoca flroenlandica.

II. Squalodont Bemaitis described as Phocine. — No less than
three species referred originally to ^^Phoca^ are in all proba-
bility referable, in part or wholly, to Sq^ialodon, as is more or
less explicitly admitted by their original describer. These are
Plioca wymani, P. debilis, and P. modesta, of Leidy. The first

*Proc. Geol. Soc. Loud., vol. iv, 1843-1845, p. 32; Amer. Journ. Sci., vol.
xMi, 1844, p. 319; Phil. Mag., vol. xxxiii, 1843, p. 188.
tAmer. Jouin. Sci. and Arts, 2d ser., vol. x, 1850, p. 830, footnote,
t Extinct Mam. N. Amor., 1869, p. 415.

ill li lit

FOSHIL REMAINS.

471

ttiis based originally on remains from the Tertiary deposit at
Kiclimond, Virginia; the others on teeth from the Ashley Kiver
bods of the same age in South Carolina.

1. ''•Phoca w\imanV\ — The Kiehmond remains were iirst de-
'ifiibed by the late IMofessor VV'yman in J850, * who merely
rct'crred them to " an animal belonging to the family of iVtoc/rf^c".
The bones are si)oken of as fragile, and as having "evidently
k'cu crushed i)revious to exhumatio i". "The pieces in my pos-
session", says Professor Wyman, "consist of two temporal Ixmes
nc'iirly entire, a fraguu'nt including a portion of the parietal and
occipital bones, and in addition a i)art of the base of the skull.
The reentering angle of the occiput, the well-marked depressions
concsponding with the cerebral convolutions on the parietal
l)oiie.s, the form of the cianial cavity, the deep fossa above the
internal auditory foramen, the vascular canals opening on the
occiput, and the inflated tympanic bones, all indicated an affin-
ity to the Phocidic. The size varied but little from that of the
common Harp Seal {Phoca groenlandiea). The presence of an in-
terparietal crest, indicating a large development of the temporal
muscles, offers a diagnostic sign by which it may be distinguished
from P. harbata, P. groenlandiea, P. hisjnda, P. mitrata^ and P.
rituUna. From those species of Seals which are provided with
a crest the fossil presents a well-marked difference in having
the mastoid process much larger, more rounded and i)romiuent,
nearly equaLling the tympanic bone in size. The entrance to
the carotid artery is in full view when the base of the skull is
turned upwards. The imiierfectly divided canal which lodges
the Eustachian tube and the tensor tympani muscle is of re-
markable dimensions, especially when compared with that of
P. (jmnlandica. The interparietal crest, extending from the
occii)ut to the anterior edge of the frontals, is most narrow pos-
teriorly where it is but slightly elevated above the surrounding
bones".

In the description above given there is nothing to prevent
the supposition that these cranial fragments are referable to a
small species of Squalodout. If, however, they are really
Phociuo, they represent a type very unlike anything at present
known, either existing or extinct. But other remains are de-
scribed by Professor Wyman, from the same locality, and in
the same paper, which do not seem to admit of such an inter-
pretation. Thus, to continue the quotation : " The fragments

* Amer. Jour. Sci., 2d ser,, vol. x, 1850, p. 229.

li'il

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472

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

of caninm abovo described were found -n the SiiO'koe Creek
ravine near the base of Church Hill. In the ravine at the
eastern extremity of the city, and in the neigiiborhood cf the
penitentiary, Dr. Burton obtained several other portions of the
skeleton of another Seal. These consisted of an imperfect cer-
vical vertebra, a lumbar vertebra nearly entire, a fragment of
the sacrum, coccygeal vertebra, fragments of ribs, and the lower
extremity of a fibula. Their generic characters have been sat-
isfactorily made out by comparison with recent bones.

" In figure 1, page 232, I have represented the coccygeal ver-
tebra which corres])onds in its general characters very accurately
with recent bones of P. grcenlandica from the same region of the
vertebral column. T}»e small size of the vertebral canal and the
imperfect transverse process, the wide-spread articulating pro-
cesses, and the blunted spinous process indicate its affinity
to the Seals. The fragment of a left fibula (figs. 2 and 3), pre-
sents at its lower extremity (fig. 3) an oblique, regularly concave
articulating surface on its inner fa<;e, and on its outer (figs. 2
and 3), an elevated ridge or crest, on either side of which is a
groove for the passage of a tendon."

The specimens here described do not appear to have been pre-
served, or to have been seen by subsequent writers, but Pro-
fessor Wyman was an osteologist of too well-known proficiency
to admit of the supposition that these remains did not present
well-marked Phocine aflftnities. Indeed, his description and rude
figures of the fibula above mentioned show clearly that its affini-
ties were rightly interj^reted. The vertebra is not so evidently
Phocine. Three years later the description of these remains
be(!ame the basis of Dr. Leidy's '•'•Phoca icymaniV\ who, in pro-
posing the name,* merely cited Wyman's description. In 18561
he referred to it a tooth "apparently an inferior canine from
the miocene deposit of Virginia." This tooth he describes as
being " 14 lines, and about as robust in its proportions as the
corresponding tooth of P. barbata. The crown is 4J lines long
and 3^ broad at base, and it presents an anterior and a posterior
ridge, of which the former is denticulated, and bifurcates half
way towards the base. The enamel is rugose, especially towards
the base of the crown internally; and at one or two pomts in
froLt presents a short inconspicuous tubercle."

In 1867 Professor Dope referred Phoca wynu m, Leidy, to

* Ancient Fauna of Nebraska, 1853, p. 8.
tProc. Acad. Nat. Sci. PhUa., 1856, p. 265.

FOSSIL REMAINS.

473

fiqitahdon*, of which he says: "Of this, the smallest species
of the genns. three premolar teeth are in the collection [made
l)\ Mr. James T. Thomas, in Charles County, Maryland from
beds of the Yorktown epoch], and the type specimen [Dr.
Lt'idy's?] is in the Academy's Museum. The teeth are re-
markable for the abnipt posterior direction of their crowns.
Tlic roots are curved, one of them abruptly so, and tlattened."

The Squalodon tcymani of Cope thus, inferentially at least,
includes the remains described by Wyman, though direct refer-
ence seems to be nmde only to the tooth referred by Leidy to
his Phoca wymani in 185G, and which is that of a Squalodont.
The Phoca icymani, if not originally a composite species, as was
iu all ]>robability the case, certaiidy became so in 1856. In 1869
Dr. Leidy retained, under the name Phoca tcymani, the speci-
mens above mentioned as described by Wyman in 1850, sepa-
rating the tooth referred by him to this species iu 1856 under
the name Delphinodon wymaniA

2. ^^ Phoca debilh'^. — In 1856 1 Dr. Leidy gave a description
of his Phoca debilia, of which the following is a transcript in
full : "A species of Seal is apparently indicated by three speci-
mens of molar teeth obtained by Capt. Bowman, U. S. A., from
the sands of the Ashley River, South Carolina. The teeth bear
considerable resemblance to the corresponding ones of Otaria
juhatOj having small, compressed conical crowns, tuberculate in
front and behind, and single, long, gibbous fangs. The small-
est specimen is 5J lines long, and the largest, when perfect, was
about an inch long".

In 1867 this species was referred by Professor Cope to Squa-
lo(U)tt, who says : — "A species still smaller than S. icymanii has
been described by Leidy as Phoca debilis, from the Pliocene of
Ashley River of S. Carolina. It will no doubt be found to be
allied to Squalodon ".§ It had, in fact, been apparently already
referred by Cope in the early part of the same paper to Sqtial-
odon, where (on page 144) he gives, in his list of species, " Squal-
odon (Jehilis Cope, Pliocene". Dr. Leidy himself, in 1869, ad-
mitted that Proi«».sjor Cope's suspicions of their Squalodont
affinities might be correct, but adds that these teeth "may
belong to a Dolphin ".||

""S(|iialo(lou wymanii m. Phoca wymanii Leidy. Proceedings Academy
N. Hci., 1856, 265."— Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1867, p. 152.
tExt. Mam. N. Amer., p. 426.
!Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1856, p. 265.
Hhia., 1867, p. 153.
II Ext. Mam. N, Am., p. 475.

.'!■;'*'

liSiX

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474

FAMILY PIIOCIDiE.

3. '"'■Phoca inoilesta''\ — This s[)ecieis, described by Leidy In
1S(»U,* is based on a small tooth from the Asldey River deposits
of South Carolina, and, says this author, "ih referred to a Heal.
thoujjh it is not improbable it may belong to a Scjualodont" ; an,
in faet, 1 have little doubt is the ease.

III. liemaim re/erred to Existing ISpeciea. — In 185G Professor
Leidy described and figured t some fossil remains of Seals foiuid
in the '" township of Gloucester, county of Carleton, Canada
West, aboui nine miles east of the city of Ottawa ", in a bed of
blue clay containing boulders and marine shells and fishes. The
shells found embrace, according to Mr. E. Billings, TeUina ymn-
landica, Mytilus edulis, Sajcicava rugosa, and a small species allied
to Leda; while the fishtjs are Mallotus villosus and Cycloptenis
lumpus, and the clays containing them are regarded as of Post-
pliocene age. "The bones," says Dr. Leidy, "proved on exam-
ination to be those of the greater portion of the hinder extremities
of a young Seal, but whether of a species distinct from those
now found in the neighboring seas, is only to be determined by
careful comparison with the corresponding parts of the recent
animals. The soft distal extremities of the tibia and fibula are
crushed together. The bones of the ankle and foot are well
preserved, but the epiphyses of the latter are separated and
only i)artially developed. The matrix in the vicinity of the
bones is marked by the impression of the hairs and skin which
enveloped them."

Dr. Leidy has since J referred these remains provisionally to
Phoca groenlandica.

Dr. Leidy's account of these remains was also published in the
"Canadian i^^aturalist and Geologist" (i, 1857, pp. 238, 239, pi.
iii). Twenty years later some further notice of fossil Seal re-
mains from the same locality was given by Dr. Dawson, § in
which, referring to the former account, he says : "A good figure
and description were published in the first volume of the
Naturalist in 1856. No further information bearing directly on
this fossil was secured until the present yeai', when the bone
now exhibited [before the Natural History Society of Montreal,
October 29, 1877], was obtained by Dr. Grant, from a boy who had
coUecterl at the same place and in the same bed in which the
first-men„ioned specimen was found. It is the left ramus of the

•Ext. Mam. N. Amer., 1869, p. 415, pi. xxviii, lig. 14.
tProc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1856, pp. 90, 91, pi. iii.
tExt. Mam. N. Amer., 1869, p. 415.
$ Canad. Nat., 2 ser., vol. viii, 1877, pp. 340, 341.

FOSSIL UKMAINS.

475

lowiT jaw of SI youii{^ Seal, coutaiuiuf; a canine ami I'onr molar
tt't'tli, with an iminession of a tiftb. It enables ua now to aiUnu
that the species is Phoca Groenlantlica — {Pagophilus Groenlnndi-
CHS of (Imy's Catalogue'), the common (rreenlaiul Seal, and it is
of such size that it may have belonged to the same individual
wliich furnished the bones described in 18;j<{, or at least au
iiuiiiial of the same species and of similar age.''

IV. EMinct Species. — Another reference to fossil n.'inains ap-
parently referable to a Seal is of special interest as indicating,
if there is no mistake respecting the origin of the specimen, the
I'oruier presence on our Atlantic coast of a Phocine type exist-
ing at present only in the Antarctic Seas. The species was
(k'seribed by Dr. Leidy in 185.5, under the name Stenorhynchus
cetus. The description is based entirely on an outline drawing of
11 tootii puri>orting to be from the ^'^ green sand of the Cretace-
ous series, near Burlington, New Jersey". The spacimen was
never seen by the describer of the species, and was long since
lost. The tooth is said to have been found by Mr. Samuel A.
Wetherill, who gave it to Mr. T. A. Conratl, by whom was made
the drawing. "The figure", says Dr. Leidy, "represents a
double-fauged tooth, with a crown divided into five prominent
loI)e.s. It is, without doubt, the tooth of a mammal, and resem-
bles very much one of the posterior molars of Stenorhynchus ser-
ridens, Owen, an animal of the Seal tribe. It may have be-
longed to a Cetacean allied to Basilosaurus, but until further
t'vi<lence is obtained I propose to call the species indicated by the
tooth Stenorhynchus vetus ".* Later the same writer referred the
species to Lobodon, and adds, "The specimen purports to have
been derived from the green sand, but is probably of miocene
age and accidental in its position in relation with the preceding
forniiition. The original of the tooth I hav^e not seen, but it was
in the possession of Timothy Conrad, the well-known naturalist,
who made an outline drawing of it the size of nature, which is
represented in a wood-cut, of the same size, on page 377 of the
I'roceedings of this Academy for 1853. The specimen has been
lost. The drawing of it so nearly resembles the representations
of the molar teeth of the Crab-eating Seal, Lobodon carcinopliaga
of Gray, or the Stenorhynchus serridem of Owen, that it may be
regarded as an indication of an extinct species of the same
genus ".t The close resemblance of the figure to the tooth of

* Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853, p. 377 (wood-cut),
t Extinct Mam. N. Amer., 1869, p. 4 IG.

Is. WU

476

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

. I

Si ,

I '

Lobodon caroinophaga is certainly unquestionable, but the his-
tory of the tooth which served as the original of tlie tlrawiufj, in
refereiice to the locality of its assumed discovery, seems not alto-
gether satisfactory. Dr. Leidy discards i's Miocene origin, but
seems to have no doubt respecting its discovery at the locality
named. Dr. Gray, in his synonymy oi' Lobodon cardnophaga,*
says, " See Stenorhynchus vetm, Leidy, .... tooth, said to l)e
found in the greensand of New Jersey", seemingly implying not
oiily its close resemblance to Lobodon caroinophaga, but doubt
as to the correctness of the assumed locality. In view of the
possible extralimital origin of the tooth, I hesitate to formally
include the species in the list of North American Pinnipeds.t
Europe. — While fossil remains of Seals have been found so
rarely in North America, not a single extinct species having
been certainly determined, the Tertiary deposits of Europe, par-
ticularly those of Belgium, have yielded abundant remains of

•Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, p. 10.

tMr. Andrew Murray, in commontiug (Geog. Distr. Mam., p. 124, 186C)
upon tills species (Leidy's Stenorhynchits vetua) observes, as follows: "Sir
CI les Lyell tells us [Element"} of Geology, sixth ed., Loudon, 1865, p. 336]
that that gentleman [Mr. Samuel R. Wetherill] related to him and Mr. Con-
rad, in 1853, the circumstances under which he met with it, associated with
Ammonites placenta, Ammonites Delawarensis, Trigonia thoracica, &c., aud he
adds that although the tooth had been mislaid, it was not so until it had ex-
cited much interest, and been carefully examined by good zoologists

There seems to be lo reason to doubt that the tooth was found where Mr.
Wetherill said it was, nor is there any question here of misplaced labels, but
there is certainly room for doubting its determination, because we see wlien-
and how an error might easily enough have arisen. In the first place, it h
referred to a living genus of mammals, and we know of no genus which has
subsisted through so many cycles. The presumption is therefore against
it on that score. In the next place, there is a certain resemblance between
the teeth of Sharks and some Seals, and it is precisely in the genus Stem-

r/ij/ncfttM that the resemblance is most marked It is possible, therefore,

that the supposed Seal's tooih "^ay have been a very much rubbed and worn
Shark's tooth ; and although Lyell says it was carefully examined by good
zoologists, the only one of known competence whom he mentions as having
had to do with it is Dr. Leidy, who did not see it, but described it from a
drawing. The objections to the supposed mesozoic Seal's tooth, therefore,
appear to be too well ibunded to require us to devote much time to a specu-
lation founded r,pon its authenticity." Mr. kurray gives comparative views
of Shark and Seal teeth, to show how close is the resemblance of the teeth
of Stenorhynchvs to those of certain Sharks, but if Mr. Murray had taken
the trouble to consult th^ original figure of the tooth of S. vetus he would
have seen, first, that it was not a "much worn and rubbed tooth", and,
secondly, that it was not a tAree-pointed tooth like those he figm'ea, but a
^ve-pointed tooth, representing Lobodon and not Stenorhynohm,

F08SIL REMAINS.

477

tlu'sc animals, Professor J. P. Van Beneden having already iiuli-
ciit»'d thirteen supposed sjtecies from the Anvers Basin alone,
(ijiiite a number »»f species have also been described from vari-
ous localities iu Frai -e, Germany, Italy, and the borders of the
black Sea. Va:iou> ■ mains of Seals have also been obtained
fidin the (Quaternary, es^jccially in the British Islands and in Nor-
fliiv, but all such prove to be closely allied to if not identical
Avitli species still existinj; in the neighboring or more northerly
.seas. No remains of Seals have been reported from beds older
than the Upj)cr INIiocene, while the greater i)art have been
obtained from deposits referable to the Pliocene. While a de-
taiU'il account of the extralimital species of extinct Phocids is
hardly re<piired in the present connection, a brief remme of the
subject may be of interest. This will be based mainly on the
elaborate memoirs on this subject recently published by Van
Beiieden. •

Until quite recently very few extinct species of tiiie Pho-
cids bad been described, most of the remains attributed to this
group by the earlier i)al£eoutologist8 proving on later examina-
tion to be mainly referable to Squalodont, Delphinoid, or Xiphoid
Cetaceans. The two fragments considered by Cuvier to be
Phocine were found by Blainville to be Sirenian. Of the vari-
ous suppositive remains of Seals described by Blainville, Van
Beueden claims that in one instance only do they belong posi-
tively to this grouj), this being the foot preserved in the Museum
of Pesth, described under the name Phoca halitschensia, which
is said to somewhat resemble the corresponding part of the com-
mon Phoca vitulina. H. von Meyer's Phoca rugidens turns out
to be referable to Squalodon. The same author's Phoca ambigua
is allied to Phoca vitulina. Pictet's genus Pachyodon, Van Ben-
eden says is Squalodont and not Seal, while the bones referred
by the same author to Phoca ambigua, Van Beneden believes
was not a fortunate reference. Staring's Phoca ambigua, Van
Beneden refers to his own PaJwophoca nysti. Some of the bones
of Seals from various localities in France referred by Gervais to
Pridtiophoca occitana are thought by other authorities to be those
of Delphinoid or Xiphoid Whales, while Van Beueden consid-
ers the Phoca pedroni, Gervais, to be probably also i^iphoid.
The Phoca pontica of Nordmann is closely related to P. vitulina

* See especially this author's magnificently illustrated work on the Fossil
Pinnipeds of the Basin of Anvers, forming part one of volume one of the
Annales du Mus^e royal d'Histoire naturelle de Belgique, 1877, where the his-
torical portion of the subject is presented with considerable! detail.

w-yf "

478

FAMILY PIIOClDiE.

(from wlii<!h it i.s Hfti«l to differ in size), while hi.s P. moeoticn is
alli(Ml to MonachuH alldventer, of whi<;h liitt<'-r OuiHcardi'H J'ltom
gaiidini HeciiiH to liaAC been t"l«e proj^enitor.

In 1853, M. J. ]'. Villi lieneden «leHcri')ed an extinct HjxHnes
of Heal under the name Palwophoca nytiti, l)aK(!d inaiidy on Hjicci-
nieiiH from the vieinity of AnverH. In 187(J the, same writer, in
his memoir on "Loh Pho(|ueH foMHiles dii Basnin d'Anvj^rs",*
abided tw<'lve Hi)eeieH to those previously indicated, all from tlio
environs of Anvers, makiuff thirteen describe*! by him from tliat
lo(!ality. They are base«l usually on numerous s]tecimens, (ion-
sistiiifi {jf(^n(5rally of veiti^bra; and the bones of the limbs and
pelvis. They are {jt'ix'rnlly more or less fragnu'iitary, and tlie
most chariMJteristic ])arts of the skeleton, as the cranium and
dentition, are not represented. These species were redescribed
in j^reater detail the followinj^year, and illustrated with aHi)leii
did suiter Miocene, an<l eight from the Pliocene.
None of them depart very widely from existing types, although
with one exception all are referred to extinct genera. One (Me-
solaria ambigua), Professor Van Beneden thinks, presents char-
acters indicative of Otarian aflinities, and that this form prol)-
ably representiCd the Otaries in the Tertiary seas of Europe, but
neither the description nfu* the figures seem to me to evince sucli
an alliance. On the contrary, Menoiurm ambigua appears to be
not remotely allied to the Cystojyhorinw (see awted, pp. 219,220).
All the other specjies, so far as can be judged by their i'rag-
mentary remains, exhibit affinities, more or less remote, with
one or another of the species still existing in tho European seas.
The extinct species of this familj considered by Van Beneden a«
fairly entitled to recognition, are the following:!

1. Mesotaiia ambigua, Van Boiiodeii. AnvcrH. Pliocene. Allied to Cyt-

tophora criatata, or at lo.^8t relorablo in all probability to the Cy»to-
phorinw.

2. PalBBophooa nysti, Van Beneden. EIhIoo ; Boltringen ; Anvers. Plio-

oone. Allied t-o Motiachm albivenier,

3. Prlstiophoca oocitana, Oorvaia. Central France. Allied to Monaohvi

albirenUtr.

•Bull, de I'Acad. roy. de Belgiqne 2'"«, s^r. 1, xli, No. 4, April, 1876.

tDeHcriptiouH dos osHeinents lo8«ileH des Environs d'Auvors, folio, 1877,
with an Atlan of eighteen plate8.=Ann. du Mns. roy. d'Hist. nat. du Bel-
gique, torne i, preni. part.

t The authority for the localities, geological age, and affinities (except to
the case of Meaotaria) is M. Van Beneden.

FOSSIL REMAINS. 479

4. Phoca gaudinl, Oumcardi. Italy, from cavema. Allied to MonachuB

alhivvnkr.
f). Phoca mcBotlca, Kicliwald. BaHin of the Black Sea. Allied to Afona-

chiiH alhivvnUr.
(i. Phoca ambigua, II. von Moyor. Osnahruk. Tertiary. Allied to P/ioco

v'lluHtia.
7. Platyphoca vulgaris, Van Uencdou. AiivorH. Pliocene. Allied to

KriijnnthHH haroatuH.
». Callophona obBCura, Van Benedou. Anvers. Pliocene. Allied to /'Aoca

(iriinhiiHUvM.
1). Gryphoca similia, Van Beneden. Anvers. Pliocene. Allied to Ua-

liiltariiH f/rypiiH.
in. ir'hocanella pumila, Van Beneden. AnverH. Pliocene. Allied to Phoca

fiitidd.
11. Phocanella minor, Van Beneden. Anverw. Pliocene. Allied to Phoca

J'dtida.
[•I Phoca vitulinoides, Van Beneden. Anvers. Pliocene. Allie<l to Phocu

litiiliiia,

13. Phoca pontica, Eichwald. Basin of the Black Sea. Allied to Phoca

vitiilina.

14. Phoca balltschensis, Bluinville. Valley of the Dannbe. Allied to

Phoca Htulinu.

1.'). MonaUierium delongil, Van B*;ne<len. Anvers. Upper Miocene. So
far as <:nn he Judged the j^eniis Monatherium (known only from verte-
brie) is allied t.o Monachnn.

I'i. Monatherium aberratum, Van Benedi;n. Anvers. Upper Miocene.

17. Monatherium afflnis, Van Beneden. Anvet^. Upper Miocene.

li. Frophoca rousaeaul, Van Beneden. Anvers. Upi>er Miocene.

I'J. Prophoca prozima, Van Beneden. Anvers. Upper Miocene. Al-
though the genns Prophoca is a tnie Phocid, its affinities with any
one of the existing types rather than with another are not ap[»arent.

It thu8 appears tliat each of the existing specieH in repre-
si'iitod by one or moni allied forms among the extinct species,
the jfrcater part of the extinct forms, however, cluHtering about
the Mo, k Seal {MonachuH albiventer) of the MeditcJiranean, and
the ('oiinnon Vituline or Harbor Seal {Phoca vitulina).* As

" The nearest living aflines of the extinct genera may l)e thns tabnlated:
Exiinit. Living.

Memlana, represented by, or allied to Cyttoj'hora.

V" " ' / represented bv, or allied to Monaohu«.

Mmphoca, >

Callophoca, represented by, or allied to Pagophilu*.

I'ktiiiihora, represented by, or allied to Erignathna.

Gnjphocn, represented by, or allied to Haliohterut,

PhocumlJa, represented by, or allied to " Pagomyn."

Phoca vitulinoides, represented by, or allied to Phoca Hfultno.

^nnntheriiim, represented by, or allied to Monaohiu,

Prophoni^ niprosentod by, or allied to .

^rw

' ;'*

* ii'

. S ! 1

r '

480

FAMILY PHOCIDjE.

/■)

KiLaa?

111

1^^^

Van Beiieden has remarked, the extinct species of Phocidie pre-
sent already tlie distinctive characters of the gronp ; the siM'cits,
however, were more numerons, a 1 they were of hirf^er size*
The rcjnains of Seals discov(;red in deposits of (iuatcrnary af,'('
ha\ e all beeif referred to existing species j those from the Ter-
tiary bear a strong resemblance to existing types, the genus
1 rophoca, of the Miocene of Anvers, alone, having no very
closely related existing representative. The materials on wliich
are based many of the species above enumerated are so scanty,
and in many cases so imi)erfectly preser\'ed, that doubtless addi-
tional specimens may show the necessity of scmiewhat reducing
the nundier, while, on the other hand, others nmy be added.

By far the greater ])art of the remains of lMnnii)eds thus far
known have been found at the single locality of Anvers, wli(!re
not only most of the species have l)een found, but where i)rob-
ably more than nine-tenths of all such remains have thus far
been obtained. Tlni Royid Museum of Belgium alone contains
upward of five hundred specimens from this locality, which M.
Van Beneden has referred to sixteen species and twelve genera.
With these remains are associated those of TIalitherium, and of
various tyi)es of Cetaceans. The whole series of the beds con-
taining these fossils are regarded by some geologists as Pliocene,
but by other good authorities the lower ones of the series are
regarded as Upper Miocene. The great Tertiary sea, l)eiH'atii
whose waters these deposits were formed, covered the greater
part of Holland, part of Gernumy, and extended to the coun-
ties of Norfolk and Suffolk in Englaiul, over all of which region
the waters prevailed till the close of the Tertiary epoch.

As ha« already been shown, in North America few remains of
Pinnipeds have been found, and these, with two exceptions, arc
all from the Quaternary, and are referable tx) existing species.
The excei)tions are the so-called Phoca wymani, based in part
at least upon veritable Phocine remains from the Miocene of
Richmond, Virginia, and the enigmatical Lohodon rcttis, based
on a tooth purporting to have been found at Burlington, New

*"Non» liniroiis par cotte obwrvatioii que Hi toim ces ThalassotlK^riem
pri^sentent «l6ji\ h-n caractJiWH jiropreH do hnir groujM?, la seul«! (lillViitnciMli'
qnelqiio importance m rappoi*^o i\ leur nonibro (|ui si consid<;ralilt'meiit
T^dnit et h lenr taille qui a notablement ditniniK^. ... A I't'xcfptio"
cien osHomontfi rocn<',illi»daiiH la sable noir [the Miocene nKimti I'ropliocal
toHH Ion antrcH se rapi>ortent h dcH eHp^ce8 (pii rapellent cellcH qui vivuient
encore dans notre h<^mi8i>here, d(;|)iiiM la Floe rat jiiHqu'au grand I'lioqut.
— Deacrip. dea Ossem. /oh. de» Environs d'Jmcra, pp. 85, 66.

MILK-DKNTITION.

4.S1

Jersey, in beds of Cn^tiU'eous iiye. An error of liorizon, if not
iit'iiK'iility, hciii^' adiiiittcd in <!iise, of tlie lust nsiined, itup])ear8
thus liirtliiit no traces ol' Piniiip«'ds liave been met with in beds
older llian ^lioccine.

MILIv-UKNTiTlON.

In tlie Phi>ri(la; as in the othei- I'iiiiiijtedia, the milk-teeth are
very small, are perteetly fnn»•,tioId(^ss, and jxTsist for only a
short period b<\vond IVetal lif(^ As in the other CJarnivores,
the iiniaber of mili%-teetli in Wnt molar series is (iiree, and their
l)().siti(»n is the same as lliat of tins deeiduous molars of the
lissii)ede Fcr(e, standing; resiunitively over tiio second, thii'd,
and fourth of the permanent set. The incisors and (janines are
c'a<;h preceded by deciduous teeth, always 'uinute, and j^enerally
absorlted 'jv'or to the birth of tiir^ anim.ii, as are also, in most
eases, the tluous molars. It is consequently dillicult to

olttiiiii dry h^ .jcimens that retain tlie minute milk-teeth, they
iniiiii' usually partly or wholly (especially the very small in-
cisois) lost in the preparation of the specimen, or by subsequent
liandlinfif. Alcoholic or fresh specimens alone alford satisfac-
tory material, and these are not often accessible. The milk-
tleiitition of most of the northern genera of Phocids has, how-
I'vcr, been (Uiscribed, but I have met with no referen(!0 to that
of any of the genera of the, iitenorhj/nchiruv. As alreiuly stated,
lai li incisor of the permanent dentition is iireeeded by a milk-
tooth, and th(^ nund)er of temporary incisors thus varies in the
ilitlcrent genera in accordance with the number of jiermauoiit
ones. Tlie Stenorhynvhinw will doubtless be foun<l to alibrd no
exception as regards the relativ^e number and position of the
tleciduoas teeth.

Steeiistrup, * in 1801, d'iscribed and ligured the milk-dentit ion
"f Er'ujnnthm harbatm and ' Phoca yranlandica, and described
also tlial of Phova f(£lMa. ^(U'dmann, t at about the same
'late, described that of JIalicheerm, and in 18<).") the milk-denti-
tion of Cytitojihora cristata was described and ligured by Kein-

'Mii'lkctiindsajttet ho8 Uumtuesailen, Sviirtsiden og FjonlHtiilon {I'hoca
>'nri),,;ii (). Fahr,, Ph. (jriinlandioa O. Fabr., off Ph. higpida .Selir«b.), og i An-
Iwlnin^; (Icraf iioglo Honiiorkningor oni TandHystHiuot Jios to foswilo Slmgtor
{llij(vti(iflini og Ptrrtxhni). Af ProfesHor Jnpntiis Stwnstru;,. Vi<l. Metld. fra
'I'll naliiili. I'mMiiiig i Kjiibhavn, im) (1H(51), pp. 2r)l-2f)4, pi. v.

'"I'liliutntologiw SiidruHHlamls, iv Abtb. vorgetr. in tl. Fiiiul. Soc. d. Wiss.,
''•'0, ])]>. ',V)6-'6(i'i." — Tho oi.ly copy of Nordruami'H work a;;cus8iblo to me is
iniperf(>( t and tiiifortunatidy lacks th( iv Abth.
Misc. Pub. No. l!i 'il

'ofll

■i^'

■BiWj

.Hj

l[}l

III

l-liii

4S2

FAMILY I'HOCIDiE.

f:i:

hardt,* while Stet'ii.striii) t further discussed that of Eriynoihm
barbatus. Flo\ver,| in ISOt), liyured wiid des(':'il)ed the iiiilk-
teeth oi' ''^ Monimja jtrohoncUlea"' (= Mncrorhinim Iconinm).

So far as known to me the observations here cited enihract'
all the orij^inal descriptions of the milk-dentition of the J'hixida'.

While the nund>er of the milk-molars is in «'ach case three on
each side, both above; au<l below, their size, as well as that of the
other deciduous teeth, varies in the<litierent genera, beiii;; very
small in Macrorhinus iuid CijufopUora, and larj^er in Plioca, ErUj-
nathus, and Halicharns. Professor Klowei', in describing tlie
teeth of a f<etal specimen o( Mttcrorhinus says: "The Jaws con-
tained a complete set of very minute teeth, viz. i. t, c. j, m. f,
on each side, all of the simplest character. The i:icisors and
canines were cylindrical, and open at the base. The ui)])er
canine, which was the largest tooth, and of which the whole of
the crown and greater i)art of the root were calcified, measured in
length 0.1" and in greatest thickness 0.04". The second upper
incisor was about half this size, and the first still smaller. The
molars consisted only of a rounded crown, about the size of a
small i)in's head, the roots were not calcified. As the crowns of
teeth once calcified never enlarge in diameter, we may piesiime
that these mdimentary teeth had attained their full dimensions,
except perhajis as to the root of some of them." §

Professor Reinhardt's description and figures of the milk-teetli
of CyHtophora cristata represent them as corre8i)ondingly small,
ex(!ept the last molar, which is broader and thicker than tlit
others. With this exception they ai)pear to be equally siinpk'
and rudimentary.

The milk-teeth of Erir/natlms barbatus, as figured by Stoeii-
striip, agree in number, relative size, and form very nearly witli
those of Phoca fircenlandica, as described and figured by the
same author, with, however, one important discrepancy, namely,
u large fourth, probably caducous, upper mcdar, many tiiaes
larger and otherwise quite uidike the true ndlk-teetli. Tl]i>
has the appearance of being an abnormal or siipernuiiicr.iry

* Om Klapmydsens ufiidte Unge og dons Melketandsiut. Af J. RtMnhartlt
Vid. Medd. f. d. Naturb. Forening i Kjobhavn, 1864 (18(]5), pp. 248-'2()4.

t fdorligere Bemiurkninger om Madketaudsii'ttet bos Remniosu'leii (Ph(0
harJmlo). Ibid., jtp. 269-274.

t Remarks on tlie HomologicH and Notation of tlu' Teeth of tbo Mainmiili«
Joiu-n. Anat. and Phys., vol. iii, 18()i), pp. 270, 271, fig. 4.

i^S Or, ratlier, had not the roots been already absorbed ? Sec rcniarkH lioloif j
uii'lfr I'hoca/utidu,

if:

MILK-DENTITION.

483

tooth,* intermediate in size between the peimauent and decid-
uous molars. The true milk-teeth are I. lz% ^- \Zv ^^- S"-l»
the ui»|)er are all much smaller than their representatives of the
lower series, the canine and incisors torminy merely minute
cylindrical calcified points. The molars jire sdso very small,
consisting' of little rootless dentinal caps, tlu; middle one the
larger, with indications of two roots. The lower molars are not
only si'Vt'ral times larger, but have coni< :il, jminted crowns,
auil two long', distinct roots, esi)ecially the tirst and se«!ond.
Steenstrup gives the milk-dentition of both I'lioca graitland-

m laid P. fatida as 1. ',,~'^, C. j^^, ^I- jZic "^^^^^ lower molars
and the second and third u])per are distinctly two-rooted ; the
upper, however, are many times smaller than the lower, the
liist iipi)er consisting of merely a minute rootless <Town.

Four f(etal specimens oi Phoca fcetida, collectetl by Mr. Lud-
ffi}.' Kundien on the late Howgate Polar Expedition, show the
upper, as well as the lower, molars to be all two-rooted, but
thioufih the process of absorption the anterior fang of the up-
per molars early disappears, in one specimen the upper molars
consisting of mijuite crowns, with an oblique posterior fang.
The lower molars are several times larger than the correspond-
iujr teeth of the upper series, and are all distinctly two-rooted;
till' third, or posterior, is much the larger, and is distinctly
tricuspid, thei-e being a well-developed secondary cusp on each
Mile of the larger principal one. In the specimen in whi(;h the
faiijis of the upper molars have become partly absorbed, the ca-
nines and incisors are wholly wanting. In the others the canines
lire present ; one has all the lower incisors, but only one of the
upper incisors. Most of the incisors, both above and below,
hail, in the other examples, either been wholly absorbed, or were
lost in the preparation of the specimens. The upper canines are
f'irected horizontally forward, forming a large angle with the
iH'rnianent canines beneath them, and consist of small cylinders
two tenths of an inch long and about two-one-hundredths in
thickness. The lower canines are somewhat larger, and are
directed obliquely upward and forward.

In Ffl/Ze/iflprMs, according to Nordmann, a foetal specimen gave
I the following formula: I. Izl C. \z\, M. I^l. The milk-molars

"This is the view maintained by Reiubardt (Vid. Medd. f. d. Naturb.
I Foreniiig f. 1864 (p. 259), and to which Steenstrup (Ibid., pp. 2(59-274)
»wms to f tibstautially accede.

ili'l

' tr

« ■*.<

J' : - ■';■ V

^il^lf-K

484

FAMILY PIIOCID^,

Stand respectively over the second, third, and fourth of the
permanent set, those of the lower series being also much larger
than those of the upper.*

GENERAL HABITS AND INSTINCTS.

The species of the family Pfiocidw agree, almost without ex-
ception, in possessing strong social instincts and in being uhuost
unsurpassed in their affection for their young. Many of the
species are gregarious, at least during the breeding season, while
some associate at all seasons in large herds. They are, in gen-
eral, patient and submissive creatures, and harndess to man, to
whose power and love of gain doubtless not less than ji niillion
to a million and a half fall victims each year. The Crested Seal
of the North Atlantic is one of the few species that ^viU habitu-
ally resist an attack, or whose power is in any degree dangerous.
As regards their reproduction, the female, as a rule, brings fonh
but a single young one, and the period of gestation is supposed
to range from nine to nearly twelve months. The Sea Elei)haiits
are well known to visit, for the purpose of reproduction, partic-
ular breeding stations on land, assembling in large numbers at
their favorite resorts, and, like the Otaries and Walruses, crawl
up some distance on to sjvndy shores or rocky islands, to re
main for weeks without food and without visiting the sea.
Others, like the common Seal {Phoca v^tuU^a), select outlying
rocky islands or rocky points of the mainland for their breed
ing stations, and never congregate in large ni imbers. The Green-
land Seal {Phoca (jrcenlandica) is at all times gregarious, assem-
bling in immense numbers in particular districts to bring forth its
young on tlie ice-floes. The Caspian Seal (Phoca ca^pica) pos
sesses similar instincts, and is said to be always found in im-
mense herds. While most of the species are confined to the
neighborhood of shores or firm ice, others are almost jialagic,
though rarelj^ found far from floating ice.

Seals are very fond of basking in the sunshine, and sjjenda j
large part of their time on sand-bars, locks, or on the ice, ucconl-
ing to the season, the species, or the locality. They are verr I
voracious, their food consisting chiefly of fishes, but in part of
crustaceans and moUuftks. Nearly all the species, and in fa«t all j
the Pinnipeds, are known to swallow small stones, often in con

* This rffeience is based ou Hensol's "Bericht Uber die Ltustungin indtrl
Naturgeachicbte der Siingethiere wahrend des Jahres 1864," iu Arch, fflrj
Naturg., I8til, ii, pp. 99, 100.

:-^:Mi-f

; I'"

iiiii'M-.

GENERAL HABITS AND INSTINCTS.

485

sideiablo quantities, tlu^ purpose of which habit is still a matter
ot coiijocture. Sailors, and even some intelligent naturalists,
lii'licve they serve sis ballast, and some affirm that a larger quan-
tity is swallowed when the animals are fat than when they are
kan, and that when tliey are very fat they require them to give
their bodies the proper specific gravity to enable them to remain
easily under water. Whatever m.ay be the cause, the strange
tact rests on abundant and trustworthy evidence. Most species
of Seals are strongly attracted by musical sounds, but whether
their interest is merely that of curiosity or real fondness for such
souikIs may be fairly judged to be an open question. That they
possess a great deal of curiosity admits of no doubt.

One of their most remarkable traits is the great length of
time they are able to remain under water. Mr. li. Brown
states that the average time is five to eight ujinutes, and that
be never saw them remain below the surface for more than fif-
teen minutes, but other observers give from twenty minutes to
half an hour. Various theories have been offered in exi^lana-
tion of this remarkable power in a warm-blooded, air-breathing
auimal, but none seems satisfactory. It has by some been sup-
posed to be due to the large size of the venous system of circu-
lation; by others to venous sinuses in the liver and surrounding
parts, wliich serve as reservoirs for the venous blood ; by others
to the large size of the foramen ovale ; while still others deem
it to be wholly physiological ami not structural. Some of
the Arctic species have the habit of forming breathing-holes
throufrh the ice, through which they not only rise to breathe,
but ascend to bask oh the ice. These are circular, with smooth
''ides, and are kept open by constant use, and are believed to
be made while the ice is forming. Other species keep near nat-
ural openings formed by the winds and currents and never con-
struct breathing-holes.

Strange as it may seem, it is a well-established fact that the
young Seals take to the water reluctantly and have to be act-
ually tauglit to swim by their parents. The young of some
species remain entirely on the ice for the first two or three
^eeks of their lives, or until they have shed their first or soft
^•JoUy coat of hair. Those that are brought forth on land, as
'» the case of the Elephant Seals, are, like the Otaries, timid
j 01 the water, swim at first awkwardly, and tire easily in their
1 first eflbrts.
Seals utter a variety of cries, from which they have derived

ill

■nv-

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■(;

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486

FAMILY I*IIOCID/E.

such various names as Sea-dojjs, Sea-calves, Sea-wolv»'s, etc.
Some have a barkiiiff note, others a kind of ten«ler bleat, ova
cry more or less resemblinj? that of a child. The cry of the
young is usually more or less i)athetic, while that of the adults
is heavier and hoarser. None appear to i)roduco the loud I mik-
ing or roaring so characteristic of most of the Sea-Lions aiul
Sea-Bears.

FOOD.

The food of Seals is known to consist largely of tish, but some
of the si>ecies are believed to subsist mainly u]>on mollusks ami
crustaceans, i)articularly the latter. Malmgren states explicitly
that this is the food of tht; Rough and Bearded Seals, as ho has
found by an examination of their stomachs. The Harbor and
Greeidand Seals are supposed to subsist almost exclusively upon
fish, of which they destroy enormous «iuantities. Mr. Carroll
estimates that not less than three millions to four millions of
Seals annually congregate around the island of Newfoundland,
remaining there for a period of not less than one hundred and
twenty days. Allowing that each Seal con>sumes only one cod
flsh a day, they would each destroy during this interval not less
than a quintal of flsh, making in the aggregate some three mil
lions to foui' millions of quintals of codfish killed by Seals duriuir
about one-third of the year. Startling as this may seem, it is
unquestionably a low estimate. Indeed, the destruction of these
flsh by Seals is believed to account, in part at least, for the "short
catch" of codflsh at the various fishing stations around tlie
island. They, however, do not restrict themselves to codtisb,
but doubtless vary their fare as circumstances may favor, they
being known to wage a furious warfare upon the white-fisb.
As long as white-fish are " in with the land," in passing domi
from the Labrador coast, " so sure will Seals of every descrip
tion be there." Late in autuuui the white-fish always pass
through the Straits of Belle Isle, followed by " all kinds of Seals
known to ice-hunters."*

Mr. Kobert Brown states that all of the different species of
Seals "live on the same description of food, varying this at
different times of the year and according to the relative abuii
dance or otherwise of that article in ditterent portions of tlu' |
Arctic seas. The great staple of food, however, consists nt i
various species of Crustacea which swarm in the northern seas.
* Canoll, Seal .aud HeiTiug Fisheries of Newtbuudlaud, \f^'S, {>. I'i

ene:mies and migrations.

487

Diiiiiif,' the sealingseason in the Spitzbergen sea I liavo inva-
liiildy taken out of their stoinaehs vaiious speeies of Gam-
mariiH [0. aabini, Leach, 0. loricutiis, 8ab., 0. piriffuis, Kr., 0.
ikiitdfxx, Kn., 0. mnUitm, Lilljeb., ete.), colleetively known to
tlic whah'rs under the name of 'Mountebank Shrimps,' deriv-
iiiji tlie name from their peculiar agility in the water. This
'seals' f(MHl' is found more plentiful in some latitudes than in
others, but in all parts of the Greenland sea, from Icehind to
Spitsbergen ; I have seen the sea at sonu* places literally swann-
iiijiwith them. Agahi, in the summer in Davis's Strait 1 have
found in their stomach remains of whatever species of small
Fish happened to be just then abundant on the c-oast, such as
the Mallotus arctictttf, Salmo (various si)ecies), etc. I have even
known them to draw down small birds swimming on the sur-
face ; but their chief food is Crustacea and Fish. They also feed
on ]\ledusa} and Cuttlefish (Squids)." * That Seals vary their fare
with an occasional gull or duck is attested by numenms observ-
ers ; but birds form, of course, but an insiguhicaut portion of
their diet. Malmgren also refers especially to the occurrence
iu the stomachs of EHgnathtis harbattis and other Seals of va-
rious species of crustaceans and moUusks, and sometimes of
tishes. t

ENEMIES.

Man is undoubtedly the Seal's chief enemy, but many fall a
prey to the Polar Bear, and doubtless, also, — particularly in the
case of the young — to sharks, and to that carnivorous Cetacean,
the < )rca. They are also greatly subject to the attacks of intes-
tinal parasites. Many are also destroyed by the elements,
thousands being sometimes ground to pieces by the ice. They
are said to avoid rough water, but when amidst the ice-floes
are lref[ueutly killed by the jamming together of the ice in a
heavy sea. "At times during the spring, if there is a heavy
sea, the Seals are sure to mount the ice, and whilst on it, pro-
vided it runs together, they are certain to be jannned", at which
times many old Seals, as well as young, are destroyed.!

MIGRATIONS OF SKALS.

The periodical movements of Seals have long been noticed,
ami it has been found that a proper senu-annual migration is ^

' I'roc. Zocll. Soc. London, 1868, p. 411 ; Miin. Nat. Hist. Greenland, etc.,
Mamuiiils, 187;'), pp. 40,41.
tArch. fiir Nnturg., 18()4, pi». 75-84.
{Carroll, Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, pp. 19, 20.

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488

FAMILY PHOCID-E.

common to several of the species. Others, however, are sedeu
tary. The common IlarborSeul iPhoca vitidina) is so strictly nou
mijiratory that wherever it occurs at all it is reported to be
found at all seasons. The Rough or Hispid Seal (Phoca foetidu)
is to only a small extent, if at all, migratory, and the same hi
true of the Bearded Seal {Erignathus harhatus). On the other
hand, the Hooded Saul {CyHtophora cr iHtata) imd the Harp or
Greenland Sea] {Phoca groenlandica) move southward in winter
and northward in summer. Most Arctic explorers have noted
these movements, which in point of regularity have been com-
pared to migrations of ducks and geese and other boreal water-
fowl. Their i)as8age along the Labrador coast and arrival lii
the Straits of Belle Isle, and other portions of the ^Newfound
land coast, have long been a matter of record, as well as the
periodical departure and return of certain species on the west
coast of Greenland. The Greenland Seal especially makes
long journeys in spring to its favorite breeding-grounds, aiul
later disperses to other haunts. Drs. Koldewey and Pausch, iu
referring to the assembling in spring of this species in the icy
seas westward of Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen, observe as fol-
lows: " The appearance of these Seals reuunded us that we
were now in the neighborhood of the Seal-catchers, that is, iu
that part of the northern icj^ seas where, from the end of 3Iarcli
to the end of April, the Seals come in thousands to the smootli
floating ice to cast their young ones. These 'Seal-coasts' change
their i^osition somewhat every year, and range between 08°
and 74° N. Lat., and from 2° to 10° W. Long. It is a highly
Initrcoting sight to see the Seals assendded from all quarters
at this time. It is said that they not only come from the coasts
of Spitzbergen and Greenland, but even swim in flocks from
Kova Zembla." *

Mr. n. Y. Hind, in referring to their movements along the
eastern coast of !North America, says that in autumn, before
the ice forms, "they 'hug' the shore, either of Labrador or
Newfoundland, i)enetrating into all the bays and never going
far from land. During the colder winter months they strike into
the Gulf, looking for ice-floes, on which they give birth to theii
young iu March, and [where they] continue for two or tbnt
months. In Maj- and June they congregate near the coasts,
and return to the main ocean for the summer." t

•German Anitic Expcd., l>J6l)-70, English eil., 1874, p. 6L

tExpI. iu tbu Inti-rior of tbc Labrador PeniuHula, vol. ii, 18C3, p. 2()2.

MKiUATIOXS.

489

::IH/'i!

The jjonoral snbj«M't of Mio inovoinont of Seals alon^j our
iiorthern Atlantic coast haviiij- been ])n»s«'iite«l quite fully by
Mr. .1. C Steavenson, 1 herewith subjoin a transciint of his ac-
oouiit, preniisinj;', ho\ve\'er, that his veniarks have a more lini-
itt'd aj^plication to Seals in {i'eneral than the writer appears
to h:»ve supi)ose(l, Uiey doubtless liaviuf^ reference mainly to
the two species already juentioned as beinj-' preeminently mi-
gnitory.

" Independe-'tly ot his constant motion in i)ursuit of his prey,
the nnp:rations of the Seal are most extensive. Durinj; the
sniiuner and autumn numbers of those creatures are met with,
scattered in small parties, in all i)arts of the Northern Ocean
visited by the whalers and other fishermen, where they remain
until the severity of the Arctic winter warns them to retreat
southward. INIariners who have been beset amonj;;-.t the ice, or
for otlu^r reasons have passed the winter in these hyperborean
seas, remark that few Seals are met with during the winter,
and some of them chronicle the time at which they first ap-
peared on their return. Our information with regard to their
{jcncral motions is not limited to these somewhat vague records.
Tlu' habits of the genus (for it consists of many species) are so
visible that we must conclude the scattere«l Seals met with
(luring the dark winter of the Pole are only stragglers [in
reality, the non-migratory si)ecies] left behin<l when the main
body moved southward. As the seventy of the weather in-
creases it is evident that, like swallows, an instinctive move
ment iimst commence, <;ommunicated to and understood by the
whole family, like a nm^^onic sign, prompting a general assem-
bly of the clans at some long-frequented, well-known spot of
their wide domain, where, it is to be supposed, they enjoy their
sport until the gathering is comi)leted. At length the frost
connnences, and the army is set in motion. This proceeding is
keenly looked forward to and watched by the inhabitants of the
toast, whose interest is much involved in their passing visit,
and who fail not to levy tribute in kind. A fisherman, posted
as sentinel on some headland commanding an extensive sea-
view, communiciites to the hamlet the first indication of the
apitroaching host, the vanguard of which invariably consists of
small d«>tachment8 of from half a dozen to a score of Seals ;
sueh parties continue to pass at intervals, gradually increasing
in frequency and niunbers during the first two or three days of
the exodus, by the end of which time they are seen in companies

I' 3 1

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I* ><

l»; I

V -

490

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

of one or more hundreds. The imiin body is now at liand, and
dnriug the ^'reater part of the next two fhiyn one eontiinums,
uncountable crowd Ls constantly in Miy;ht. The whole procos
sion roasts along at no great distance from the shore, pic-
seuting to an eye-witness a most extraordinary scene, in all
quarters, as far as the eye can carry, nothing is visible hut
Seals — the sea seems paved with their heads. Some idea may
be formed of the vast multitude when we consider the tiiiit;
occupied in passing, and the rate at which the animals are
hurried along by the ceaseless, rapid stream which forms the
highway of their long though ex])editious voyage. The rear is
brought up l)y small parties, such as formed the leading detach-
ments. In one short week the whole host passes, consisting of
njany hundreds of thousands. The current of which these
sagacious voyagers take advantage is the well-known polar
current whi(!h proved so inimical to the success of our Xortli-
West Passage discoverers, and which sets through Hudson's
Bay, and sweeps the coast of Labrador in a southeast direc-
tion ; running at all seasons at the rate of several knots an
hour, hurling with it, during the winter and spring, quanti-
ties of ponderous field -ice, together with numerous icebergs of
various size, and frequently of most grotesque shapes. By it
the Seals continue their passage steadily on in one unbroken
course until the island of Belleisle presents an obstacle — situ-
ated in the entrance of the Straits of Belleisle, into which
a branch of the current sets, carrying with it a portion of the
force towards the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The main body con-
tinue onward until they reach the Gulf Stream, on the banks
of Newfoundland. Here they arrive about the end of Decein
ber or early in January, and halt for a time in the more still
and warmer waters of that locality, resting until the time for
bringing forth their young arrives; nor is the rest of long
duration. About the end of January it becomes necessary to
turn northward. During the southerly migration no ice en-
cumbered the way — all circumstances were favorable ; but now
the new projected movement is undertaken under many im-
l)ediments; the anii. als, heavy with young, nuist stem the
strong current; the bed on Avhich their snow-white cubs are to
be laid is solid ice. Onward they struggle until they fall in
with the immense continent of this material — one part of which
is formed on the shores and a much larger portion hurried for
ward by the Polar Stream. This now covers the identieal sea

LOCOMOTION ON LAND.

491

iiloii^' which they so recently j)assed, ami \h to be their home
until the (lutieH of the nursery are performed, and their sleek
prof^eny are stronj? enoujfh to accompany the herd. The tle-
tiichments which we left on their way nj) the Straits of IJelle-
isle [havoj met their own dittlcultitis : the fishermen waylay them
here most assiduously — net after net awaits the toiliny emi-
grants, which are turned to {,'ood purpofse. Several thousands
are taken at the many stations planted on all parts of the shore
from (Jape Charles to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the Gulf
many of them pass tue winter and brinj; forth on the ice formed
near the shores of this sea ; a few of the youn;^ are taken by
tla^ inhabitants of the Maj,'daleno and other islands; but a con-
siderable section of the original stock circumnavigate New-
foundland, and join the great body on the banks. Those which
winter in the Gulf of St. Lawrence quit their quarters hi that
sea about the end of June, and on their way down the Straits
of Belleisle reward the watchful fishermen with a few additional
thousands of their much-iirized carcasses. These are now ac-
companied by their young, all but as round and bulky as their
parents. After clearing the Straits little more is seen of them.
It is believed that, in order to avoid the adverse current, thty
make their passage north to their old summer haunts at a mucli
greater distance from the land." •

LOCOMOTION ON LAND.

As first pointed out by Dr. Murie,t the Pinnipeds present three
distinct modes of terrestrial locomotion. The common or Ear-
less Seals are usually described as progressing belly- wise, by a
wriggling motion of the body, with the hind-limbs directed back-
ward and held in opposition, and the fore-limbs drawn close to
the body. This seems to have been hitherto commonly consid-
ered as the only mode of progression on land or ice possessed by
any member of this group, | the Elephant Seal perhaps excepted.
The plantigrade walk of the Otaries and the Walruses has of

' J. C. Steavcnson, in the "Field" of November 28, 1863; qnotert in (and
lure transcribed from) the " Zoologist," vol. xxii, 1864, pp. 8873, 8874.

♦ Proc. Zoiil. Soc. London, 1870, p. 005, pi. xxxii.

t Bell, writing of the Phocw in 1837 says, "Their movements on land are
Indicroiisly awkward. They make j o use of their feet in terrestrial pro-
gnssioii, bnt throw themselves forward by plunges, the anterior part of the
lioily and the posterior being alternately applied to the ground. In this way
tliey make their way at a moderate pace along a tolerably even surface." —
Hist. Brit, quad., p. 257.

1 'i I

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492

FAMILY THOCID^.

late been repeatedly described, while their considerable power
of locomotion on k.nd has been known for a century. Dr. Murie,
however, in 18V 0, described a mode of progression among the
common Seals intermediate in character between that usua'y-
recognized as characteristic of these animals and that of the
Otaries and Walruses. From observations made on a living
Greenland Seal or "Saddle-back" {Phoca grcenlandiea) in the
Gardens of the London Zoological Society, Dr. Murie has de-
scribed this "third sort of land-movement," and given figures of
the various attitudes assumed by this Seal, i)articularly when
moving on land. The Greenland Seal, he says, " very often uses
its fore limbs, placing these ou the ground in a semigrasping
manner, and by an alternate use of them drags its body along.
The hind legs meantime are either trailed behind slightly apart,
or with opposed plantar surfaces slightly raised and shot stiffly
behind. On uneven ground, or in attempting to climb, a pecu-
liar lateral wriggling movement is made ; and at such times, be-
sides alternate palmar action, the body and the hind limbs de-
scribe a sinuous spiral track." He also states that he has seen
the Crested Seal {Cystophora cristata) assume similar attitudes,
and says that in the Harp Seal {Phoca grcenlandiea), as well as
the Crested Seal, " the fore legs and paws, and, to a very mod-
erate extent, the hind limbs are freely brought into a^'tiou,"
while in the common Seal {Phoca. vitulma) the "limb-append-
ages on land are of slight subservience to progression, the fore
paws only oc casionally being used among rocks."*

Other observers report that other kinds of Earless Seals pos-
sess a considerable power of locomotion. Michael Carroll, in his
account of the Harp Seal, sayst that when Seals get " embayed"
and cannot get into the water owing to the ice being jammed,
"they begin to travel out in a direct line for the water. . . .
Much depends upon the character of the ice they have to travel
on, as to their rate of speed ; they travel principally by night.
I have killed them with the hair and skui worn off the fore flip-
pers and bleeding. Were it not for the fore flippers they could
not mount the ice or travel over it. All kinds of Seals known in
Newfoundland travel to that degree so as to overheat themselves ;
then the fur or hair is loosened and the skin becomes almost
valueless. In a cool night Seals will « verage about one mile per
hour. Much depends oh the character of the ice they have to

* Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Loiidou, 1870, p. 606.

t Seal aud Herriug Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, i)p. 24, 25.

LOCOMOTION ON LAND

493

travel on ; they travel by lifting themselves from off the ice on
their fore legs or fore flippers and hitching their body after them
with a kind of sidelong loping gallop. An old Seal when on
level ice will outstrip a smart fellow in a distance of sixty yards,
provided the Seal is ten or twelve feet ahead of him." This ac-
count, though couched in rather untechnical latiguage, indicates
a speed and manner of progression in the common Phocine Pin-
nipeds not as yet generally recognized, and certainly surprising
from its rapidity.

Scoresby also long since observed that although tlie Seals
"cannot be said to walk, as they do not raise their bodies oft' the
ground ; yet they shuffle along, especially over the ice,i^'ith sur-
in-ising speed."*

Mr. H. W. Elliott has recorded a similar mode and rate of pro-
gression on land in the common Seal of Alaska {Phocn vituHna)
that has not, to my knowledge, been noted by other observers.
Says Mr. Elliott, " I desire also to correct a common error, made
in comparing Phocifia; with Otariidai, where it is stated thfit, in
consequence of the peculiar structure of their limbs, in the
former, their progression on land is ' mainly accomplished by a
wriggling, serpentine motion of the body, slightly assisted by
the extremities.' This is not so ; for, when excited to run or
exert themsidves to reach the water suddenly, they strike out
(luickly with both fore feet, simultaneously lift and drag the whole
b(Kly, without any wriggling whatever, from 6 inches to a foot
aliead and slightly from the earth, according to the violence of
the effort and the character of the ground ; the body then fails
flat, and the fore-flippers are fre for another similar action, and
tl>is is done so earnestly and rapidly that in attempting to head
off a young nearhpah from the water I was obliged to leave a
brisk walk and take to a dog-trot to do it. The hind feet are not
used when exerted in rapid movement at all, and r.re dragged
along in the wake of the body, perfectly limp. They do use
their posterior parts, however, when leisurely climbing up and
over rocks, or playing one with another, but it is always a weak
effort, and clumsy. These remarks of mine, it should be borne
in mind, apply only to the Phoca vitulina, that is found around
these islands at all seasons of the year, but in very small num-
bers." Mr. Elliott adds that he thinks this mode of locomotion
oi; land will be found to characterize all the species of the genus
PhocaA

'Account of the Arctic Regious, vol. i, p. 509.
t Condition of Afi'airs in Alaska, p. lli'i.

tSs,

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(

494

FAMILY PIIOCIDiE.

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Mr. Lloyd i-elates sovcral well-attested iiu^tances of Seals mak-
ing long Jiairnei^ s on la'iid, the mcst remarkable of which is the
following : He saj's, " ' Dnrir.^ the winter of 1829,' so we read in
Jagare FdrhundetH TkJshift of 1832 — and the truth of the story
la certified by the signature of several moat respectable indi-
viduals — ' a young Graj- Seal took to the land from the SkiirgarU,
near the village of Grono, and, striking into the forest in a
southerly direction, passed, in its way, the hamlets of Sund and
Wahlnas, the chui'ch and iron-forge of Leufata, ami the hamlets
of Elinge and Fahlandbo. Xear the last-named it met with a
small river, then haid frozen over. This it followed for a while,
but was enable to find an openmg in the ice. It then took to the
forest in a south-westerly direction to the Flo Lakes, in the par-
ish of Tegelsmora, where it was also unsuccessful in obtaining
access to water. Hence it proceeded south-east, crossing in its
progress the Lake Wika, in the parish of Film, on the opposite
side of which it pgain entered the forest, and finally entered the
hamlet of Andersbo, situated,about three (English) miles from
Dannemora (the celebrated iron-mines), where it was overtaken
by its pursuers and killed. The peregrinations of this Seal are
believed to have occupied nearly a week, it being, as is imag-
ined, without nourishment of any kind ; and during which period
it must have gone over at least thirty (English) miles of country.
The ground, it should be remarked, was then covered with a
foot and a half, or more, of newly fallen suow, which, no doubt,
very greatly facilitated the animal's movements.'"*

The Sea-Elephants (genus Macrorhinus) are well known to re-
sort to the land for reproduction very much in the manner of
the Otaries or Eared Seals, but I ha\ e met with no very clear
statement of their manner of progression. Captain Scammon,
in his history of the Sea-Elephant of the California coast (M. an-
gmtirostrw, Gill) gives the following account of their power of
movement on land : " When coming ui> out of the water thoy
were generally first seen near the line of surf; then crawling up
by degrees, frequently reclining as if to sleep ; again, moving
up or along the shore, appearing not cont.ent with their last rest-
ing-place. In this manner they would ascend the ravines, or
'low-downs,' half a mile or more, congregating by hundreds.
They are not so active on land as the seals ; but when excited
to inordinate exertion, their motions are (]uick, the whole body

• The Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden aud Norway, 1867, p. Wi.

■w

t^ t

LOCOMOTION OX LAND.

495

qiiivt'iiug with their craw liny, seniiviuiltiug gait, aiul the iiuimal
at such times mauifestiufj great fatigue. Notwithstanding their
unwioldiness, we have sometimes found them on broken and ele-
vated ground, fifty or sixty feet above the sea."*

In describing the " Leopard " Seal of the California coast
('•I'liova peulei ? Gill "=P. vituUna), the same author says: "Its
terrestrial movements, however, are quite different from those of
the Sea Lion, having a quick, shuffling, or hobbling gait, only
Uising its pectorals to draw itself along with, while a small por-
tion of the animal's belly alternately rests upon the ground, the
posterior part of the body, including the hind flippers, being
turned a little upward. The head and neck are slightly ele-
vated, ilso, when the animal is in its land-traveling attitude, but
the creature is not so erect as, nor does it i)resent the imposing
appearance of, the Sea Lion, in its habits upon shore." + No
direct statement is made as to the extent of its land journeys,
but one is led to infer that it is not often seen far from the
water.

From the foregoing it appears that the Phocine Seals gener-
ally have considerable power of movement upon land, though
using only the fore limbs in terrestrial locomotion; and that not
only the Sea-Elephauts, but the (.'ommon Seals of the North At-
lantic are capable of moving quite freely when out of the water ;
and that their nmnner of progression at such times ditt'ers mainly
from that of the other Pinnipeds in their using only the fore
limbs, and in their not being able to raise the body fully from
tlie ground or ice.

The Walruses and the Otaries, as mentioned in the account
ot tliese animals, not only use their hind limbs as a means of
locomotion on land, turning them freely forward, but move the
tore limbs alternately, actually "stepping" with them, as one
writer terms it. while the hind limbs are carried forvard simul-
taneously by archuig the biu'k and " hitching" them up beneath
the body. In the Fur Seals, and in some of the smaller Sea
Lions, the walk is not only plantigrade with all the feet, but the
body is raised clear of the ground. The same is generally true
also of the larger Sea Lions and the Walruses, but according
to some writers the latter partly lose this power in ohl age,
either from indolence, obesity, or decrepitude. The larger spe-
cies appear to be simply less agile, both in the water and out,

*Mai'iuu Muiiiuiulia, p. 117.
t Ibid., 1). 106.

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496

FAMILY TllOni)^..

than their smaller aflflnes, and do uot volimtarilj- retire so far
inland.

SEAL-HUNTING.

The jjursuit of Seals for their commercial products, forms, as
is well known, a highly important branch of industry, giviri"^
employment for a considerable part of each year to hundreds ot
vessels and thousands of seamen, as well as to many of the in-
habitants of the Seal-frequented coasts of NewiVmndland, Green-
land, and Northern Europe. Althoutfh these animals are desti-
tute of the line soft coat of under-fur that gives to the Fur Seals
their great economic imjmrtance, their oil and skins render them
a valuable booty. Seals have been hunted from time immemo-
rial, but until within the last hundred years their pursuit was
limited to the vicinity of such inhabited coasts as they were
accustomed to frequent. For nearly a century, however, a
greater or less number of vessels have been const.antly emi)loyed
in their capture on the ice-lloes of the Arctic seas, or on the
uninhabited coasts and islands of the far North. This industry,
therefore, plays an imi)ortant i)art in the history of the species
here under consideration, and is, moreover, of such high com-
mercial importance as to render a somewhat detailed account
of the g<'neral subject indisi)ensable in the present connection.
As all the species hunted in the northern waters belong to the
North American fauna, the consideration of the subject involves
other hunting-grounds than those geographically connected
with the North American continent. Although the ju-incipal
sealing-grounds are in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans,
there were formerly other important sealing-stations on the coast
of Lower California antl in the Antarcticj waters. Here, how-
ever, the business was mainly limited (aside from the Fur-Seal
fishery, already considered) to Sea-Elephant hunting, which has
of late greatly declined in importance in consequence of the
well-nigh practical extermination of the species hunted, through
indiscriminate and injmlicious over-hunting. Yet some notice
of what Sea-Elephant hunting has been, as well as its present
status, may not be out of i)lace in the present general cousidei-
atiou of the subject.

Seal-hunting Districts in the North Atlantic and
Arctic Waters. — The principal "Sealing-grounds" in tlie
North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans are: (1) the West Greenland
coasts; (2) Newfoun<llaud, the coast of Labrador, and the islands

SEA L-ITI^NTINO NEWFOUNDLAND DISTRICT.

407

and sluiros of tlie (riilf of S.iint Lawroiice, but cspocially tlie
i(r-lln«\s to the. eastwiird of tliose coasts; (;.{) tlio. SL)itzberjfon
and -Ian Mayenseas; (4) Nova Zeinbla and the adjacont waters;
(')) tlie VVliito 8ea. In achlition to these <listricts (<») the Cas-
pian Sea allbi'ds an important s(;alli slier j'.

1. West Grccnlaii<L — Ah)n}^ the West (Jreenland coasts seal-
Imiitiiij;' is mainly ])ros(rcnted by tin; natives of th<^ conntry,
and is their chief means of sii|)j)ort. Dr. llink states that the
avei'ii};!? annual catch ajiiounts to abont 89,000 Seals. Of these
2.00(1 to .'5,000, belonf^iii};' mainly to the larj:er species, are con-
smiicd as food; the remainder consist chiefly of II arp Seals
[Phocd ffr(enlan(Um), but embrace many Kinfjed Seals {Fhoca
fwtitld), and Harbor Seals {Phocn vitulina). Rather more than
ouclialf of the skins taken are ex])orted, while the rest are
used by the inhabitants of Greenlaiul. TIu' (rreeidanders,
hiintinf^ chielly with the harpoon and kayak, or the ritle, are
coiitined in their operations to the iinniediatc vicinity of the
coast.*

2. Newfoundland District. — Many Seals are taken ,at the Mag-
dalen and other islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint
Lawrence as well as along the shores of Newfoundland, in nets
or with the gun, but by far the greater part are captured on
the floating ice to the eastward of Newfoundland, to which sev-
eral hundred vessels annually repair at the proper season, and
wliere ah)ne the yearly catch aggregates about half a million
Seals. This, indeed, is the sealing-ground par excellence of the
world, twice as many Seals being taken here by the Newfound-
laud fleet alone as by the combined sealing- fleets of Great Brit-
ain, Germany, and Norway in the icy seas about Jan Mayen, or
the so-called " Greenland Sea" of the whalemen and sealers.

According to Charlevoix (see beyond, p. 554) thousands of
Seals were taken along the shores of the Gulf of Saint Law-
rence as early as the beginning of the last century, but a high
authority on the subject — Mr. Michael Carroll,! of Bonavista,
Xewt'onndland — states that the seal-fishery was not regularly
prosecuted, at least in vessels especially equipped for the pur-
I'ose. prior to the year 17G3. As early as 1787 the business had
aUeady begjui to assume importance, during which year nearly
tivt> thousand Seals were taken. Twenty years later (1807)

1; !-ii.

I'iil

Irt'

>«.; j

.'■'1

■ M ■'IP

J |J'J:1..1|

■ -ll

' Daiiisli Greenland, its People and its Products, pp. 129, 130.
t Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, p. 7.

-Misc. Pub. No. 12 32

.:u

m'^:

41)8

TAMIIA I'lluCID^:.

thirty vessels from Newfoiuullimd alone were en^ajied in ilie
])r<)seciitii>n of s«*alilij; voyages, and snbsc'nu iiily tli«' nnmlicr
becanu' <;r('atl.v increased. In tiie year 1S;!1 one Inindred ;iii(l
twenty-live vesseis, manned by three thonsand men, siiIUmI
from the sinj;le i«>rt of St. John's; two hnndred and eijilitccii
vessels, with nearly live thonsand men, from Concept io;i IJiiy.
and nineteen iV(»m Trinity Hay, besides many otheis liom oilitr
ports, makin;; in all not less than three bundled an<l sesciuy.
live, with crews nundK-iin-A' in the aji'^rej^ate about nine thou-
sand UHMi.* To these are to be addecl a eonsideiable niniilKr
from Nova Scotia (<'liielly iVom llalit'ax), and the iMajiKliilt'ii
Islands. In 1S."»7 tin* Xewfoundland sealin;^-lleet exceeded
three hundred an«l se\-enty vessels, their "united crews iiiiiii
berinj;' i;i,(I(K) men.'' The total catch of Seals Ibr that year wiis
five hundred thousand, value«lat <£425,(K)0, i)rovincial currency.^
The busiui'ss at this date seems to have attained its ma.vinniiii
so far as tlu' nundter of men and vessels are concerned, tln'
number of vessels subsecjuently employeil falling' to below two
hundred, which has since still further decreased. Yet the niiiii
ber of Seals aniuially cajJtured has not apparently diminished,
the business beinjj^ i)rosecuted in larger vessels, which seciuc
larj>er catches. Ae<.'(vsdin<;' to statistics furnished by (loveiiioi
Hill, C H., of Newfonndland, to the home ;i-overnment,| it ap'
pears that in 1871 the whole nnnd)er of vessels (^mijloyed in
sealinjf was one hundretl and forty-six sailing;- vessels and tiftet'i)
steamers, manned by 8,850 men. The exi)orts of Seal products
for that year from Newfoun<lland were 0,1)4.'{ tuns of oil, vnlueil
at $972,020, and 48(5,202 skins, valued at $480,202, the catoli
for the year being about 000,000 Seals, which were sold for tlic
aggregate sum of $l,4o8,282. The single steamship "Coinmo-
dore," of Harbour (irace, brought in .{2,000 Seals, valued at
£24,000 sterling. While the inunbe)' of vessels emph)ye(l in tin
-Newfoundland Seal slaughter had at this time declined v v
than one-half, and the number of men engagt'd was one-tliini |
less, it appears that the annual catch was ecpud to that oi'uvir
age seasons twenty years earlier.

Prior to about 18(5(1 the sealing-tleet consisted wholly of sail
ing-vessels, but since that date a snndl but steadily increasiug|

* IJomiytastic, Ncwloimdlaiirl in 1842, vol. i, p. ir>l».
t Carroll, Seal ami Herriiij; FiHli'-ricH of Ncwi'oiiiMlland. p. 7.
t I'apers relatiiij? to Her Majesty's Colonial PoHseKsions. part ii. 1*"'. I'P|
143, 145.

SF.AL-IirNTlNi; JAN MAYKN SKALINMi-liWOUNDS. 499

'i'W

iiiiinlx'i' of stciiinsliips liiivc hccii added. In 1S7.'5, oC tlio one
liuiiiiictl iind seven sralinji' vessels titfed out IVoiii llie ports of
New roiiiidlaiid, iieiiily one-lirtli were steamers. Notw itlistand-
iii;i. ho\v»'ver, this eoiiiparatively small niimlicr of vessels, the
••iMtcli'' foi- that year is said to have been .~)LM ;,(»(»(>.*

Till' mimbei- of vessels sailiii;i IVom <»ther proviiieial ports i.s
iiMinlly small in e»»mparisoii with the niindxT from N«'\vfonnd-
l;iii(l. and they are j;enerally of smaller size.t

.'!. ■Itiii Mdj/en or '■'•(iirriiJftnd'^ ISois. — The iey seas about Jail
Miiyt'u are the sealinji-^-rounds pt(r c.vcclkniv of the Knj;iisli and
(•(iiitinental s«'al-hunters. Aceoidin^ to Aloritz Lindeman, the
diit'f sealin^i-distriet is a eircular area four hundred miles iu
(liaiii('t«u', theeentral i)oint of whieh is the island of .Ian Mayeu,
Imt it varies .somewhat in dilfereiit years in conseiiuence of the
uiist;il)le position of the ice-lield.s. The i)oint Miiere the yreat-
ist slaujihter o(HMirs is a small area on the meridian of (Ireeu-
wicli, between 7U^^ and 7."P X. lat., about two hundred miles
iiititlicast of Jan Mayen.f In this limited distri<',t are taken an-
nually about L'(K>,()()() Seals.

Lindeman, in his history of the Arctic Fisheries,§ has .sketched.
ill considerable detail the f>entTal history of the whale- and seal-
tisju'ries of the North Atlantic. From this exceedingly inter-
I'stiiijj and important memoir we learn that .scalinji' was jn'ose-
ctitod as early as 1720 from the i)orts of the Weser, and that in
till year 17(i() nineteen sailing- vessels from Qamburj>' took -14,-
u':' Seals; and that in 1790 the Hamburg tleet took 4r),000. In
lS."iO twelve vessels returned with 48,800. Few statistics, how-
ever, can be gathered resjieeting the early history of the seal-
tisliery, tho.se given relating generally to the amount and value
ot the cargo rather than to the nund)er of Seals taken. The ves-
sels wore engaged priiunpally in the whale-fishery, imrsuing,
liowi'vcr, either Seals, Whales, or Walruses, as op])ortunity fa-
viirwl. Lindeman gives a few detailed statistics relating to the

'Cainill, Soiil anil Honiiin Fisberit^s of Nowfoiiudland, p. 7.

*Iii l':'r)(l, iilH>ut livi' thimHaiid Seals woni taken l)y vessels from the Mag-
Naliii Isl;iii(ls; in 1807, attinK tlirec thousand two hundred, and the follow-
'"^'ytMidnlyalioiit eighl hinidred and liCty. — Ann. Rvp. of Depart, of Marine
I nml FiHhcriiHfor 1S()H.

:P't.nti. Miitlieil., ErgiinznnKslieft Nr. 2f). lH(iO. Taf. 1, '>.

'»r)it.Avktis(heFisehoreiderl)eutachenSee8tildtel6'20-18»)8. In Verjjloich-
Ifinltr Daisicllnng vonMoritz, Lindeman, Ergiinznngs heft Nr. 2(5, zn Peter-
lni:mn'srt(ograi>hisclien Mitthoilungou, pp. vi, III^, niit zwei liaiten von A.
l''''trniiiiiiii, IStiK.

. l!

600 FAMILY I'HOCID^.

capture of Seals in later years. The results of the seallishory
for the year 1808, he states as follows :

Taken by o Gerniau ships 17. OflO

Taken by 5 Danish shii>s 5, 00(1

Taken by 15 Norwegian ships 03, 7.jO

Taken by 22 British shi])s TjI, (IIX)

makin;; a total of 130,7.10, while 100,000 nion^ were taken in
Greenland. Great numbers are also killed about Nova Zeiiilila
by the Russians, whose sealin^f-Ueet in 1805 is said to have imiii-
bered twenty-six vessels. According to Sjjorer, three hundml
Seals were taken at Nova Zenibla in three days in three nets.*
Lindeman gives a tabular statement of the number of vessels
engaged iu seal-hunting from the ports of Southern Norway for
the Ave years ending with 1808, together with their tonnage, size
of the crews, value of theshii)s, number of Seals taken by each,
etc., from which I compile the following :

■ ,■«' <■

'■ '

[■

■'',■- i

Year.

Number of
ships.

Number of
men.

Number of Seals taken.

Value In
tlmlcre.

Young.

GUI.

714

23,304

24, 7^3

132, OM

714

41,758

18,724

172,0(Ki

728

30, 576

8,106

144,00(1

688

50, 031

23,202

247,000

684

40, 533

14,224

184,284

From the foregoing it appears that the number of Seals talien |
by the same fleet in different years is exceedingly variable,
ranging from about 48,000 iu 1804 to upward of 83,000 in 1861,
and that while in 1864 more old Seals were taken than youiigj
ones, there were taken in 1866 five times as many young ones I
as old ones. In 1870, according to Captain Jakob Melsom.t of I
Tonsberg, eighteen vessels (three of them screw-steamships) j
from Southern Norway captured 55,375 young Seals and 30,
390 old ones, or 85,765 in all. The greatest number brought in I
by a siugle vessel was 9,400. This year and the year 18G7 are!
said by Captain Melsom to be the best years the Norwei,ian Seal |
hunters had experienced up to that date.

The British sealing- vessels are mainly from Dundee. Accord I
ing to statistics given by Mr. Robert Brown the number fromj

• Pctennann's Mitthcil., Nr. 21, 1867.
tPetermanii'8 Googr. Mittheil. 17 Band, 1871, p. 340.

SEAL-IIL'XTING .TAN MAYEN SEALING- GROUNDS. 501

this i>ort varies {jreatly in dift'ereiit years, being only fonr in
ISO'), .\m\ twelve in 1808, bnt notwithstanding the foot that the
uuinbor of vessels was three times greater in 1808 than in 1865,
the catch was less tlian one-third as large as in 1805. Mr.
Brown gives* the following statistics relating to the Dundee
sealers :

Tear.

Numberof
vuhbuIh.

Number of Seals

t«kl!U.

1865

6.'?, 000
58, 000
50,000
10, 070
45,000
90,450
62,000

1866

1867

1888

1869

1870

I I871t

In 1874, the Dundee sealers are said to have taken 40,252
Seals ;t in 1875, 45,295 Seals, valued at £27,026; and in 1876,
53,770 Seals, valued at £34,332. §

Tbe Si)itzbergen sealing-tleet from British ports, says Mr.
Brown, "meets about the end of February in Bressa Sound ofif
Lerwick, in Zetland ; it leaves for the north about the first week
iu March, aud generally arrives at the ice in the early part of
that month. The vessels then begin to make observations for
tile purpose of finding the locus of the Seals, and this they do
l\v frawling along the edge of the ice, and occasionally pene-
tratiiifj as far as possible between 70° and 73° N. lat.; then
coutiime sailing about until they find them, which they generally
do about the first week of April. If they do not get access to
tliem, they remain until early in May, when, if they intend to
I pursue the whaling in the Spitzbergen sea that summer, they
I go north to about 74° N. lat. to the 'old sealing,' or further still
(eveu to Sio ;n.) to the whaling. Most of them, however, if not
I siu'cessful by the middle of April, leave for home to comi)lete
their supplies in order to be ofif by the first of May, to the
iDavis's Strait Whale fishery. ...

''The number of Seals taken yearly by the British and Con-
|tiiieutal sliips (principally Norse, Dutch, and German) in the

*Maii. \iit. Hist., Gcol., etc., of Greeulaud, 1875, Mam., p. 68, footnote.
''l l> t'( thf 11th of April," and bonce including only part of the catch of

|th;it yoar.

iGw.frraiih. Mag., vol. i, 1874, p. 386.

i^Baira's Ann. Rcc. Sci. aud Inclust., 1876, p. 389.

•!<1 If

s ^

I %

.fi

■i\

602

FAMILY PIIOCIDiE.

Grociiland sea, wlion thoy yef iiinniifr tlicin, will averayc up.
wanls ol" 2(M>,(KM>, the ^fical Itiilk of uliicli arc youn^' 'Saddle-
backs', or, in tlu' lan^iuaf-c of tlic .s<'al('r, 'wliitc-coats'".*

A<!C()rdiiijr to liiiHlciiian (I. c, ]>. 81) tlic scalliiintcrs lonvp
the ])ortM of the VVescr and 1 he lOIltc about the end of Kebruiiiv,
or, at latest, by the bejiiniiinji' of .March, and i<'ach tlie huntiii;'-
t-Touuils about the tliinl W( 4'k of March, sail iiif-' to the iKtrth.
westward between tlu' .Shetland Islands and Norway, and
thence throu<;h the "funnel" (''Trechter") of the "Spanish Scir.
and eastward to Jan Mayen, varying- their cuurse accordin;;' to
the winds and tlu- ice, n-achin;;' tliis rocky island iu from ei;;lit
days to four weeks, according:' to tlie faxorablcness of the sea-
son. The steamships delay their voyaj^es so as to reach the seal-
infj-jfrouuds at the same time as the sailiny-vessels.

About the ISth of March, as a rule, the "bay ice" ("pan-iee"
of the Enj^lish) bej^ins to form, at about which time the sliiiis
reach this latitude. The bay-ice first takes the form of small
round tlakes, of the size of a tea-plate, varying- in thickness
from an inch to a foot. In it the ships find protection from
storms, it considerably lesseninfj the force of the sea, and serv-
ing to keep down the waves. Where the bay-ice has formed the
surface of the sea looks as if oil had been ponred over it. The
flakes increase in size, and if sharp cold ensues they become
united the following day into masses six feet broad. The uext
two or three weeks are devoted to seal-hunting and seal-killing.
This is the time when the males and females are seeking their
food of small fishes, raoUusks, and crustsiceans. Frequently uo
bay-ice forms, and then the Seals must be sought on the hard
polar-ice. About the 22d to the 24th of March, the Seals resort
to the ice and the femsiles bring forth their young. Later they
seek by preference for this purpose the somewhat firmer bayioe.
At the time of the birth of the young the males are found witli
the females, and sometimes two males to one female. As a rule
the female has but one young, which, if she be not disturbed,
she suckles for about seventeen to eighteen days. The young
develop with extraordinary rapidity, and after three to four
weeks are fat enough to yield a good booty. The whelping I
time continues till about the 5th of April ; four to five days [
later the males leave the "school" ("Stapel") or "shoal," and I
depart in a northeasterly direction. The females still remaiu

• Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 1868, pp. 438, 439; Mau. Nat. Hist., etc., Gmu-M J
land, Mam., p. 67. ■ ^^

sr.AI.-lirNTIMJ — JAN MAYFA' SKAMNO-CSROINDS,

503

l((r 11 sliort time with tlic .voiin}^'; tlicn tlicy alsa j-o oH' in tlio
(liitctioii tiilvcii hy the males. 'I'lic yttiiii;;, left to tlu'ir iat«',
still I'cinaiii soinc days without noiirishiiiciit, and then also
take to the watn-. II' tin' wratlier hv soiiu'wliat I'avorabK?,
and t'S|i('<'ially if no sn(»w is falling', iinnu'diati'ly CoUows the
••Ijitcilall", as tlu' (h'stiiiction of the Seals upon the ice hy
tlic seal killeis (IJohhensehliij^ci's*) is ealled.t

Tlic /^reat destruction of 8cals in the icy seas about -Ian Ma-
ycii lor many years prior to 1<S70 bi'ji'an to show its etl'eets so
stroiijily at this timt^ as to raise «;rave fears for the results. At-
It'iitiiiu w.>s sti-on^ily drawn to the matter in 1S71 by (Captain
Jakob Melsoin, of /("insberj"', in an article published that year
ill I'eternuinn's "(Jeoj;ra})hische Mittheilungen," entitled "J)er
Secliundsfanf,' im nordlichen Eisineore." In this memoir he
ilisciissed. at length the immediate causes tlmt \vi\ to the de-
pletion, ; I suggested a remedy for it which has since been
adopted, Msimely, an international agreeuu'ut for a "close-sea-
son" for the Seals. He traces the decrease in great part to the
iiitrodu(;tion of steamships into the sealing-lleets, and the too
early arrixal of vessels at the sealing-grounds. Captain Mel-
som's paper throws so much light upon the general subject that
I (U'oin it of interest to give a translation of the more especially
important portions of his memoir.

Says Cai)tain Melsom: "There is good evidence that steam-
lKtw<'r is «letrimental to the sealing business. Respecting this
point 1 will mention only the fact that steamships have it in
their ])ower to reach, nearly every year, the breeding-grounds
of the Seals so early that the young are scarcf ^y born before
the mothers are killed. The young are then orthless ; the
real (iapital, if I may so speak, — the old Seals, — is imprudently
expended, and the profits are entirely lost. If in this way great
iiuiiihcrs of old female Seals are destroyed without being re-
plaeed by a i)roportionate number of young ones, every one
can see what must be the result.f

'Ht may be asked why the English, who are still our teach-
ers in this flehl, have introduced steamships. This I will allow
myself to answer. TJntil the year 1847 the competitors of the

* The (rciiuans very appropriately term the biitchory of tlie young Seals
niHMi 111!' ico Hoal-slanjtbter ("RobbcMi-schliig"), and the bntcherH wiil-
slinijilitcrcrs (" RobbenscliliigerH ").

tPctonnann'sGeogr. Mitth., ErgUnzuiigs heft Nr. 2C, 1869, p. 81.

t"Ii is well known that the Seal brings forth young only once a year,
and only ouo at a time."

ir^":':f^:

i ! I f

iT 111

504

FAMILY i'llOClDyK.

J 1

•^:|

i! ^ 1"^

fi'HPc

\ «^-

1 ■ i'.-

■ '" wv

■ 1

, '■ . ■;■

■

English in HCiil-liuiitiiig in the Arctic Soii.s were some Daiii.sh
ami Gernian vessels, wliieh (certainly were rarely an Inipedi-
nient to these masters of the seu; but n«)W came also the Nor-
we^iians, led by llerrn Sventl Foyn ; and however unskillful
they may have been at Ibst,* it was not lonjjf before they beyiiii
to prove troublesonu! to their old teachers, and as the Norwe-
gians some years later began to nuike use of the rifle, shoot-
ing the full grown nuile Seal, they by this means — thanks to
our good marksmen — were freciuently more succjssful than the
English themselves ; then it occurred to the latte" that by tlie
aid of artificial power they could triumph over the poor Nor-
wegians who had oidy natural forces at their command and
soon floated colossi with powerfiU steam-engines and dingy
sails upon the waves of the icy seas, terrifying alike the sailin}^-
vessels aud the Seals.

"The English have yet another reason besides that already
given for the introduction of steam-power, namely, that their
voyages to Davis's Strait for Whales absoluiely require the
use of steam, this enabling them very easily to join in thecatcli
in the northern ice-seas; the ships, returning home at the close
of the seal-catching season, discharging their cargoes, etc., then
proceeding on the voyage to Davis's Strait, wiiere they arrive
in time to engage in whaling; in this way they find employment
tor their steamships the greater i)art of the year.

"It IS my opinion that the aliove-mentioned reasons have led
the Eng ' '> to employ steam in seal-hunting ; they surely saw
the hu ;s of it, but to the stronger belongs the lion's share

as ' acre is anything to have. Meanwhile the Germans,

1 is the Norwegians, grew tired of competing with sailiiig-

i \^ jis against the English steamships, and therefore these na-
tions built steamships in order to obtain an equal mooting in this
hitherto unequal struggle.

"The English are not at all blind to the fact that their goldeu
time in the Arctic Seas is apparently over, for they well know
that now in Norway, as well as in Germany, steamships are
built for seal-hunting. 1 had evidence of this last winter in a
conference with one of the before-mentioned [in an earlier part
of his paperj English steamship captains ; it was not less in-

* "I hav»' lifiird that, as when Foyn for the first time participatc<l in tlic
hunt, tlic uu'u can'ied tlie young Seals on board alive on their backs ; later
they wi're convoyed on sledges drawn by four ine^n, — ^all of which naturally
gave great satisfaction to the practical Englishmen."

Pll

SKAL-HUNTING — JAN MAYEN SKAMNO-liHOUNDS. 505

• M

I I

ti'icstiiiy" that it ut the .snmo timo iiulicuted the businciss feeliuf»'
ol'thc Eii^^li.sh.

" He iirji'ed me to try to unite the Norweyiaii' ami tlennan
.siii|i()\viu'i'.s ill an a{;reeii)ent that in the futnii' they wouUl not
take th«^ younji' Heals before the 1st of April, till which time the
ii'iiiah's should remain undisturbed ; he would then, on his |)art,
endeavor to briny about a siniihir ajirreement on the part of the
Kii;;lisli shipowners. In passhi^', I will renuirk that this idea
is a sound one, and that if the close-time shotdd be extended till
the 4th, or better still, till the (»th of Ai»ril, it would be espe-
cially favorable for the catch, and it will surely be necessary,
.sooner or later, to unite upon a preserve-law ; but the strange
part of the mattur is that the English never drew the rein so
loiif'' as they were the only ones who emi»loyed steamships, but
only when they feared that they should lose their supremacy.

"iVs for the rest, it is still a i)recarious matter how to arrive
at the agreement proposed by the Englishman. The Norwegi-
aus must flrst be granted cqinil privileges with the English in
the use of steam-i)ower ; I doubt not that the English would
then have not less reason to fear this agreement. Perhaps it
will result in bringing about the advantage of a close-tim i, as
already projjosed by the Englishman.

"There appeared some time since in Dammen's Journal an ac-
€ount of the construction of two steamships built for use i. seal-
buutiug, and it expresses great hope for the continuance of the
same. The i<',e-sea fleet from here (Tonsberg) has considerably
increased this .- ^ar, and next year will be still further augmented.
So far as I have, thus far been able to determine, the ice-sea fleet
from Southern i!forway for the year 1872 will consist of eight-
een sailing-vessels and eight steamships, besides one sailing-
vessel and two steamships owned by foreigners, which ought to
be ('(|uipi)ed and nmnned here. I must call this for our small
share in a single fleld a great expansion ; indeed, so magniticeut
that it is time to cry Halt !

" The last four fortunate years have unquestionably aroused
so strongly the spirit of speculation that the loss fortunate years
which preceded them are meanwhile wholly overlooked or quite
forgotten. If I mistake not, it is the same with the seal hunt-
ing as with the herring fishery — it is periodical.

" The catch of young Seals has considerably diminished dur-
ing late years ; scarcely a doubt prevails as to that. If in spite
of this the Norwegians in the last four consecutive years have

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FAMILY PHOCIl)^.

obtained such favorable results, tbis good fortxme is in i^art due
to tbe fact that a considerable nninber of old Seals — owiny to the
peculiar situation of the ice— have sought refuge on the sIkucs
of the neighboring islands, where our accomplished niarksmcn
with their improved rifles have killed great numbe'-'^. But to
kill in this way year after year the old Seals means ultimately
the destruction of the business ; and as a consequence of the in-
creasing nuuiber of voyages, and the introduction of stcaii'
power into the Norwegian sealing ves'^els, the hunt has become
now more than ever a war of extermination instead of a judi-
cious hunt. But the icesea voyages were during a series of
years a great blessing to our coiintry nd especially to the poorer
class of our people ; should we not tnen exert ourselves and do
all in our power to preserve the same ? Should our ships '^o
continually in the old track, visiting always the usual huntiu;,'
places, and there continue the already long- waged war of exter-
mination ? Is it not high time that we went to the assistance of
our less favorably situated countrymen of Northern Norway with
one or two of our well-equipped and excellently adapted steam-
ships, to aid them in their praiseworthy eflbrt to discover new
hunting-grounds, not only in the Kara Sea and on the shores of
Nova Zembla, but also eastward of White Island (at the mouth
of the Obi) along the coast of Siberia f The rarely traversed
stretch between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla, to tbe north-
ward, should especially be explored with great perseverance,
where there is good hope that unknown land and good huntiujf
places may be found, of which wealth one can now scarcely have
a presentiment.

" In order to prevent the loss of our ice-sea v oyages and with
them the capital that now is or may yet be invested in ice-sea
ships, I venture to call the attention of my countrymen to the
experiment here proposed, as I likewise pray for a hearing iu
reference to the before-mentioned proposition for a close-time
for the Seals, not only on the part of the Norwegians, but also
of the Germans and English.

" I have read with great interest Mr. Carl Petersen's conunu-
nication *0n our Huntinr ields in the Arctic Sea,' [' 0ber unser
Fangsfeld aut d. ,n Eismeer'], and another in the 'Finnuuks-
post.' It appears from these articles that we are indebted to
Consul Finckenhagen, of Hammerfest, for the extension of
the hunting-field to Nova Zembla. His vessel, commanded l',v
Captain Carlsen, of Tromso, took a new course and made ii

SEAL-HUNTINO JAN »IAYEN SEALING-GROUNDS. 507

very fortunate trip, since wliieli other hunting expeditions have
been made, both from Tromso and Hammerfest. These enter-
prising people may not only rejoice in the discovery of new
hunting-grounds, but in the accumulation of a considerable
aiuount of scientific information, as Professor Mohn, Director
of the IMeteorological Institute, of Christiania, can attest.*

" Ought Soutiiern Xorway, which furnishes nuich more cap-
ital than our friends in the North, and has in its proud Arctic
tleet several steamships, look passively upon the praiseworthy
efforts of our less favorably situated countrymen ?

"The Swedish Government again equipped last year two
ships of war for an expedition into the Arctic waters — natui'ally
for exclusively scientific purposes ; for the Swedes, who have no
interest in the northern ice-seas, yet sacrifice large surus for the
honor of their country and the advancement of knowledge.
We can with relatively less expense not only bring honor to
our own country, preserve our reputation for seamanship, and
serve science, but can indulge the highest hopes of finding rich
fif^lds for the employment of our costly Arctic iieet, which per-
haps in the old, it may be too quickly despoiled, hunting-fields
will be without especially remunerative business." t

From the foregoing it appears that the decrease of the Seals
in the Jan Mayen seas, and the improvident slaughter that was
yearly waged, had already begun to attract serious attention,
as a threatening evil of no small magnitude. Captain Mel-
soni's strong protest seems not to have been without salutary
eftect. Subsequently the proposition for a close-time for Seals
received more and more attention each year, not only in ]!^or-
way but in Germany and England, with finally the happy result
of an international agreement on the part of these countries
fa\'orable to the preservation of the Seals.

As regards the general history of the subject it may be of
interest to transcribe in the present connection a communication
from Mr. Lovenskiold to Mr. Colam, Secretary of the British
"Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals", as pub-
lished by Mr. Frank Buckland in " Land and Water," in the
issue of August 28, 1875. This communication is of special
int( rest, not only from its containing a report of a series of res-
olutions adopted by the shipowners of Southern Norway re-
specting a ch se-time, but also much statistical information

*Gi'0{>;r. Miith., 1670, \t\). 194 et seq. ; 1871, Heft i, pp. ;J5 ct seq.. Heft
iii. ]»p. i»7 ot seq., Heft vi, pp. 'IM ot seq.
t PotormaDu's Gooj:rr. Mitth., 17 Baud, 1871, pp. 341-343.

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FAMILY niOVWJE.

concerning the sealing bnsiness as carried on from tlie single
port of Tonsberg, and especiallj' as relating to the decline of
the trade since 1871, foreshadowed in Captain Melsom's above-
quoted paper.

Says Mr. Lovenskiold : " I am sorry that I am not very
familiar myself with the proceedings in Xorway as to seal-flsh-
ing, and the protection of that trade. But as I have been hon-
oured by an invitation to attend this meeting of the committee,
I should think it the best way of giving the committee some
knowledge of those proceedings to give you the substance of
some resolutions, carried in a meeting of shipowners the 17th
of February of this year [1875]. That meeting was kept at
Tourberg [Tonsberg], a town in the southeastern part of Nor-
way, the centre of the seal trade, and of the shipjHng concern-
ing that trade. The contents of those resolutions is this : —

" 1. A term should be fixed, within which the fishing of Sta.i8
in the Arctic Seas should be prohibited.

" 2. The 1st of April would be a suitable term for the begin-
ning of the seal-fishing. The term of the beginning ought not
to be fixed later than the 3d of April. The fishing should
not be continued after the 5th of June.

"3. If the protection of the seals shall be of any use, it
needs to be enforced by an international treaty, valid for all
nations, engaged in shipping and fishing (all sea-faring nations).
If such an interaational treaty can be concluded, we dissuade
any protection.

"4. Any violation by any ship, of the laws conceraing the
protection of the seals, should be punished with the confisca-
tion of the whole cargo caught by that ship.

" Those resolutions were carried, the three first ones by all
votes but two, and the fourth one by all votes but three.

"As it might be of interest for the committee to know the
imi)ortance of the seal trade, carried on from Norway, I shall
give you the following numbers in rouiul figures :

" In the fifteen years, 18G0-74, the tonnage of the ships em-
ployed in the °'>al trade from the southern part of Norway, by
far the most important, has increased from 5,000 tons in 18G0,
to 0,000 in 1874. The value of the same ships has increased
from £77,500 in 18G0 to £175,500 in 1874. In those fifteen yea) s
the ships engaged in the seal trade caught together 624,000
young seals, and 370,000 old ones, or at an average per year of
41,600 young seals, and 25,000 old ones. The aggregate value

SEAL-HUNTINO JAN MAYEN SEALING-GR0UND8.

509

of the seals eanyht in those fifteen years was £050,000, or at an
average per year of £43,3.10, and the aggrefjate net gain (snr-
phis) of the tra<le for the shipowners was £OJ,L*00, or at an
average per year of £7,150.

'* In tlie last three years from the same part of Norway were
employed in the seal trade: —

" 1872. Ten steamers an<l sixteen sailing-ships, with an aggre-
gate tonnage of abont 7,000 tons, and manned with 1,200 saihms.

" 1873. Sixteen steamers and eleven sailing-ships, with an
aggregate tonnage of about 8,500, manned with 1,500 sailors.

"1874. Sixteen steamers and nineteen sailing-ships, with an
aggregate tonnage of about 9,000 tons, and manned with 1,000
sailors.

"In these three years all the ships together caught 142,500
young seals, and 128,000 old ones, or at an average per year of
47,500 young seals, and 42,700 old ones.

" The value of the seals caught in three years, 1872-74, was
£10,000, or at an average per jear of £00,300 [nic]. The steam-
ers engaged in the trade gave in those three years a net gain
(surplus) for the shipowners of £9,500; the sailing-ships a loss
of £27,500; steamers and saiUng vessels together a loss of
£18,000.

" I give you the numbers pursuant to a rei^orl iu a Norwegian
newspaper {Morfienbladt) of the 20th April this year. If you
comi)ar'' hese numbers concerning the fifteen years (1800-74)
and the last three years (1872-74), you will see that the catch-
ing of the old seals has considerably increased, but that the
catching of the young seals, altho'igh the tonnage and the value
of the ships employed in the trade has been almost doubled, has
only been maintained at the r,ame rate, and that the small sur-
plus of former years has been changed into a consitlerable loss
in the last three years. '*

These statistics show the actual occurrence of what Melsoin
four years before clearly showed must happen under the then
prevalent system of indiscriminate slaughter. With the rapid
increase of the sealing-fleet was a corresponding decline in the
profits of the trade, which soon changed to a considerable an-
nnal loss. The relatively small catch of young Senls, and the
disproportionate increase in the number of old Seals killed show
plainly the state of the business, and expose clearly the ruinous
way in which it was prosecuted. As Melsom figuratively ex-

* Laud and Water (uewspaper), August 28, 1875, p. 160.

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FAMILY PHOCID^.

I)res8e<i it, liio rciil eiij»ital was being ruinously expended, and
the profits iiad wlioUy disapi)eared.

Steps were now, liowever, promptly taken to remedy the evil,
but apparently years must elapse, even with the stringent ex-
ercise of every precaution lor the due preservation of the Seals,
before the golden harvests of the previous decade can again be
realized.

In June, 1S75, as appears bj' the British "Law Eeport" for
that year, the British government passe<l a statute known as
the " Seal Fishery Act, 1875,"* which prohibits any liritisli sub-
ject from killing or captiuing, or att^empting to kill or capture,
auy Seal within the are ' icluded between the parallels of 07<^
and 75° north latitude, und the Greenwich meridians of 5° east
longitude and 17° west longitude, under a penalty not exceed-
ing £500 for each ottense, one-half to go to the prosecutor. In
this act the term " Seal " is defined as meaning " Harp or Saddle-
back Seal, the Bladder-nosed or Hooded Seal, the Ground or
Bearded Seal, and the Floe Rat, and includes any animal of the
Seal kind which may be specified" by au "Order in Council"
under the act. The beginning of the close-time was left to be
determined by the Order in Council. The act was made opera-
tive by the Queen m Council the 5th of February, 187G, the 3d
day of April of every year being fixed as the time when Seala
may first be captured.

A few months later a similar act was passed by the Norwe-
gian government, fixing the limits of the protected district by
the same boundaries, and prescribing the same date for the be-
ginning of the hTiut. The penalty for the violation of the act
is 200 to 10,000 'jrowns. The law received the King's signature
the 28th of October, 1876, and was to become operative on the
25th of the following April, upon condition that the other in-
terested governments agree to join with Norway in the enforce-
ment of similar protective legislation.!

* Tho following is a transcript of a portion of the act in question:
"... Tb<' miistcr or person in charge of or auy person belonging to auy
British ship, or auy British subject, shall not kill or capture, or attempt to
kill or capture any seal within the area numtioncd in tho schedule to this
act, or the part of the area specified in tho order, before such day in any year
as may be fixed by the order, and the master or persou in charge of a Brit-
ish ship shall not permit such ship to be employed in such killing or captur-
ing, or permit any persou belonging to such ship to act iu breach of tliis
section. "

t See Acts of 1876, Nos. 13 and 32. For coi)ies of 1 heso acts I am indebted
to Professor S. F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

SEAL-HUNTING AT NOVA ZEMBLA, ETC.

511

J liave been unable to determine whether ainiilar legishitive
action 1ms been taken by Germany, but in all probability such
is tlie case, rendering the protective act a thoroughly interuur
tional one so far as the three goveniments chiefly interested
are concerned.

4. Xora Zemhla <inil the Kara Sea. — Captain ]\relsom, as above
indicated {aniea, p. .jO(>) believed, in 1871, that the Kara Sea and
tlic shores ofKova Zend)la oilered new and prolitable hunting-
fjrounds for the Norwegian sealing-fleet, and relates that already
st'\ (Mill su<;cf>ssful voyages had been made to Nova Zembla from
Troiiiso and Ilannnerfest. According to Schultz, the Russians,
btftween the years 1830 and 1840, brought "rich cargoes of sal-
iiioii or trout, of seals and walruses" from Nova Zembla, but he
states that later "the product of the fishenes and of the chase
(liiiiinished; the animals left their usual places of abode and re-
moved to others less accessible. The lishermen consequently
ceased going to Novaya-Zemlya, so that in 1850 and 1800 only five
vessels sailed for that group of islands.

" The northern island of Novaya-Zemlya is most frequented by
tisliermen, while those who have strong and well-equipped ves-
sels venture as tar north as Matoschkiue. The arrangements
are ma<le so as to arrive toward the end of June at Novaya-
Zemlya, where the fishermen commence their work by hunting
tlic seals aTid the walrus, and afterward devote themselves to
fishing for the common trout, the variety called Salmo alpimin,
which the Russians call ' golets.' "•

5. White Sea. — Many Seals are taken in the White Sea, where
they have been hunted by the inhabitants of the neighboring
coasts since numy hundred years. Now, a? formerly, seal-hunt-
iii}; is here mainly prosecuted by the Russians. According to
Schultz, the species chiefly hunted is the Phova grcenlandk'a,
wliicli is killed on the ice. The hunt is carried on principally along
the eastern shore (which is called the " Winter Coast "), and " in
the hays of the Dwina and Mezeue, and on the coastof Kanine."
During summer, or from May till Sej^tember, these animals re-
pair to the more remote Arcti(i Seas, but later make their appear-
ance in the gulfs and bays of the Arctic Coast. They pair on
the ice in the White Sea about the beginning of February, espe-
cially in the Gulf of the Dwina, at which time the females give

*Aci'ouut of the Fisheries and iSeal-huutiug iu the White Sea, the Arctic
Ocean, and the Caspian Sea. Rep. U. 8. Com. of Fish and Fisheries, pt. ill, for
l«!T;{-74 and 1874-76, originally published (in French) at St. Petersburg in

187:t,

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FAMir.Y PTionn^E.

birth to their younfj. The hunt on the " "Winter Coast " bcfrins
at this time, and continues till the end of ^Farch. The chase
extends over a district two liundred an<l thirty miles in len^itli ;
here numerous huntsmen assemble " from the districts of xVrcli-
anfi'el, IMnej^a, and Mezene. Tln^ jmncipal ])lace of meeting', and
at which {jfenerally two thousand huntsmen assemble, is called
Kedy, and is located twelve ' versts' (about seven miles) from
Cape Vonmov. The huntsmen have built at this place iiboiit
one hundred liuts, where there is constant excitement from l'\'b-
ruai'y till the end of March, while during the rest of the year
these huts are deserted.

"Alxmt the mi<ldle of March, the young phociB are large
enough to leave the ice and swim toward the open sea, whither
the old ones do not follow them. They assemble in the Gulf of
Mezene, where they rest on the ice and pair. Tbe pieces of ice
in the gulf are sheltered from the wind, and arc not carried
about by the waves, although they melt a little, especially dur-
ing the rainy periods.

" Numerous societies of huntsmen assemble in the beginning
of April at the mouth of the river Kouloi, in order to follow for
several weeks the chase of the phociB on the ice. They use sail-
ing-vessels 22 feet long, with an iron-plated bottom. Every
vessel is manned by several huntsmen, is comi^letely equipped,
and furnished with provisions and fuel. The huntsmen all l(^a\e
the shore at the same time ; and having reached the Hoating ice,
they draw their vessels on the ice, and there establish a vast
encampment. The younger and more active huntsmen are sent
out to reconnoiter. Provided with snow-shoes, they hasten in
all directions to search for the phocsB. As soon as they observe
a flock, they advise the other huntsmen of the fact, and then
all run towanls the spot, drawing their boat* after them. Hav-
ing arrived vfithin gunshot distance, the most expert arei)la('ed
in the front rank and commence the chase; for every shotnnist
kill, and not merely wound, lest the cries of the wounded pliuciB
frighten the whole tlock and make them speed away. The ani
mals which are killed are then placed in the boats, and tbe
huntsmen return to the shore — sometimes on the ice, sometimes
in the oi)en sea — to deposit there the result of the chase, and
bring new ])rovisions to the comrades who had been left tbero.

"The huntsmen usually receive from their master, provisions
and clothing for the whole season, and must give him in return
half, or even two-thirds of all the animals which have been killed.

ife

I!ltl<'l

SEAL-nUNTING— CASPIAN SEA.

513

Tlic more hardenort and expert a huntsman is, the Uirger \» hia
sliare. Every society of twenty huntsmen elects a ' starosta,'
(th(^ old one,) whose duty it is to guard the coast and prepare
the food, without receixing for this a larger share than the other
huntsmen.

'' On the western coast of the White ^^ea, (called the Terski
coast,) the phocuichase is not as producti\"e as on the eastern
coast, because the pieces of ice, driven toward the north, float
along the shore. Scarcely more than 15,000 * ponds ' (540,000
])oun(ls) of i>hocie are caught there every year.

"in tiiese latitudes, the principal meeting-i)lace of the hunts-
men is sixteen ' versts' (about nine Uiiles) north of the river
Pouoi, and is called Deviataya. Huts are built here, and about
flvebuudred huntsmen assemble, who form themselves into socie-
ties. Every society is composed of a nuistor and three hunts-
men. While one of the members of the society remains on
shore with his sleigh and his reindeer, the other three xenture
on the pieces of ice to discover the phocte, wldch are sleeping
there. Every huntsman wears over his clothes a short cloak
of reindeer skin, called ' sovik,' and has on his feet large boots
lined with fur. At the end of a long stnip passed over his
shoulder he draws a small boat, weighing 20 kilograms. A
game-bag with provisions is attached to his belt. His gun on
his shoulder, and having in his hand a long stick, with an iron
point, he rapidly and skillfully advances, by means of his snow-
shoes, over the vast fields of snow and ice. He acts as guide,
and his two comrades follow him in single file, drawing their
boat after them. When they have arrived at an expanse of
water where phocfB are swimming, two of the huntsmen fire,
while the third pushes the boat into the water in order to take
up the d(!ad animals, which he hoists into the boat by means of
a boat-hook.

" The chase commences early in the morning, and the hunts-
men do not return to their hut till evening; a flag hoisted on
the shore indicating to them its position."

(I. VdHpian Sea. — Strange as it may seem, the Caspian Sea, —
an inland brackish lake, with no natural comnumication with the
'X'eans, utid »pute far removed from any other considerable body
(if water — is the seat of a sealing industry only second in im-
portance to that of the so-called " Greenland " or Jan Mayen
Seas. Many more Seals are taken here than Dr. Rink reports
the annual catch to be in Greenland, and the number is rather
.Misc. Pub. No. 12 33

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514

FAMILY I'lIOCIPiE.

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tip i r'/i . ; !'!•( ij 1^

more than half a.s large as that taken by the combined seahiig
fleet of Western Europe in the icy seas about Jan Mayeu. The
number of skins annually taken during the sLx years ending
with 1872 is given by Schultz as follows : in 18G7, 131,723 ; in
1808, 150,047; in 18{J9, 128,701 ; in 1870, 137,030; in 18;i,
90,408 ; in 1872, 150,759, or a yearly average of about 13(),()()0,
The species here hunted is the Phoca caspica of Nilsson, which
by some authors has been regarded merely as a synonym of
Phoca ritulina. Its habits, however, indicate a species (iiiite
distinct. It is said to be from three to six feet long, and to
weigh from 72 to 144 pounds. They gather in large herds on
the shore, where thousands are sometimes killed in a single
hunt.

In 1873 M. Schultz, in his report upon fishing and seal-
hunting in the Caspian Sea, described in considerable detail
the habits and haunts of the Caspian Seal, and the methods
employed for its capture. He says, " The seals love the cold ;
and, in summer, they seek the deep sea, leaving it in the au-
tumn for their favorite place of abode, the northeastern basin
of the Caspian Sea, which is the portion first covered with ice,
and where the ice breaks up latest. Numerous herds of seals
gather on pieces of floating ice, to rest or to pair. The pairing
season lasts from the end of December till January 10. The
female every year gives birth to one young, seldom to two. The
young have a shining white, silky fur, but after ten days it be-
comes coarse and turns gray. Then the tender solicitude of
the mother ceases, for the little one has to go into the water
and swim. Seals that are one year old have gray fur, speckled
with black spots.

"The seal is hunted down the western coast of the Caspian
Sea, at the mouths of the Volga and the Ural, and in its south-
ern part, especially on the islands of the Gulf of A])ch6ron.

"The principal meeting-places of seal-^hunters are on the
seven islands situated north of the Peninsula of Mangyshlak,
called the ' Seals' Islands,' on account of the large number of
these animals found there. Other islands also abound in pho-
C£e. Thus there have been years when about 40,000 seals were
killed on the island of Peshnoi, before the mouths of the Ural,
and, in 184G, 1,300 were killed in 6ne night.

"The seals are hunted in three different ways: they are
killed with clubs on the islands where they gather ; or they
are shot with guns ; or they are caught in nets. The flrst-uieu-
tioned way is the grandest, and yields the best results.

fSflfl

SEAL-HUNTING CASPI> N SEA.

515

"The groat mectinf?-plaoe of tlic Imntsmen is Konlali, tlie
larfrcst of the Seal islands, having a length of thirty-five
'vcrsts,' (about twei.ty miles,) and a breadth of three 'versts,'
(al)()ut one and tNvo-thirds miles). The hunters, who winter
there every year, have built wooden houses, huts, and sheds on
this island. The tishiug authorit ies at Astrachan send every
year one of their oflieers to Konlali to superintend the chase
aud the hunters, where he renuiins from October till the mid-
dle of May. On account of the bustle and noise, the seals
have deserted this island for a number of years, and selected
for their place of gathering tlie islands of Sviatoi and Pod-
goriioi.

"In the spring and autumn the seals seek the shore to rest
in tlie sun, one herd arriving after the other. Scarcely has the
first settled when a second comes yelling and showing their
teeth to drive it away, followed soon by a third, to which it in
turn has to lose its j^lace ; so that the last herd arriving always
(Irivt's tlie first farther bjick on the coast. The invasion ter-
minates by the arrival of some isolated stragglers.

"Now is the time for the hunters to commence the chase.
They carefully observe in what place, and, approximately, in
what numbers, the seals have gathered ; and then elect as their
chief the most experienced and skillful among them. The> ap-
proach the rookery in boats, either at dusk or during the night,
always going against the wind, to conceal their approach.

" After their arrival on shore, the hunters disembark noiso-
k'ssly, form a line in order to cut off the retreat of the seals,
ami thus, creeping, advance quite near to the herd, which is
sleeping and suspects no danger. On a signal from the chief,
the hmiters all rise at once and pitilessly attack their unfortu-
nate victims, killing them by a single blow on the snout with
the club. The bodies are piled up by means of gafts, and after
a few minutes form a rampart, depriving the survivors of every
chance of regaining the sea. The seals howl, groan, bite, and
defend themselves, but the hunters, eager for gain, go on kill-
iii;; them without mercy, and soon the whole herd is massacred.
It is no infrequent occurrence to see 15,000 dead seals cover the
batih'-lleld of a single night.

"After the killing, the dressing of the seals commences, usu-
ally about daybreak. The head is cut off, the belly is oj)ened,
and the .skin is taken off with the thick layer of fat adhering
to it. These skins are piled up on the boats, which take them

>lli

lit; .'li

Ill

III

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mit

616

FAMIT-Y rHOriDiE.

Jgl

^ : if

to large sailing vessels, anchored some 'vcrsts' from th- slioro,
on Miiieh they are heaped up, each layer being eovereo with
salt. These vessels sail witli their eargo to Astraehan. wiiile
th<^ hunters return totln^ coast to earefuUy cle;in tliebattle-ticid.
They bury the bodies and entrails, at some distance, deej) in
the gronn<l, or throw them into the sea, far from the shore, iiiid
carefully obliterate evei-y trace of blcMxl, so lliat^wlien aiiotlit'i-
herd of seals arrives, tlu^sc animals do not see any marivs of
the shuight<'r which has taken place; for experience has shown
that tln'y never select for their rookery a place from wliicii
every trace «)f the slaughter has not been carefully removed.

"Two hundred seal-hunters, emjdoyed by wealthy merchants
or lisjiermen, usually winter on the island of Koulali. Numer-
ous boats, besides, go there every year to ])artieipate in the
chase. The masters of these boats secure permits* from tiie
lishing authorities and give them to their workmen, who re-
ceive their wages in money. . . .

"'Another way of hunting the seals is to take them in nets.
Immense nets are stretched out, into which the hunters en-
deavor to chase tlieni by yelling and making a noise. This way
of hunting is chiefly employed in the maritime district of the
Ural Cossacks and in the Gulf of Sindy(5 IMortso, from October
till the sea is covered with ice. The nets, called ' okhaui,' are
6 'sagenes'(42 feet) deep, and have meshes of seven and a
half inches.

" The following is the manner of proceeding : Forty boats
join together and elect a chief and an assistant chief. Tlieu
the boats sail out to sea with a fair wind, or use their oars, go-
ing in a line, thus forming a sort of chain. In every boat there
are three nets. The chief, followed by twenty boats, is on the
lookout for a herd of seals, which he endeavors to cut oft", while
his assistant remains with the other half of the fleet nt sctiiio
distance from the shore. When the chief thinks that the time
for action has come, he gives the signal by throwing into the
sea a bale, to which a flag is fastened. At this signal the boats
simultaneously cast their nets, which are all tied together so as
to form a wall of meshes, bj' which the seals are soon com-
pletely surrounded. Then the hunters begin to yell and to
strike the water with their oars, in order to frighten ^hem.
These seek to avoid the danger by phmgiug, but they rush

* Tho Eussiau goveriimeut derives au average annual iucome of about
|700 from the sale of permits for scal-huutiug in the Caspian Sea.

.SKAL-HUNTINO — NORTH I'AC'IFIC AND SOUTHERN 8KAS. 517

iiliiiinst tlio l>MiTi«M' of nets, and an^ caufjht in the moshes, so
tliiit tlicy ciin 1m' kilh'd witliont ditlirnlty. This way of linnt-
iiij; JM proliihitod in thoso parts of the soa wlion^ it injures the
tisliinfj or obstructs the first manner of liuntinfj. The ehaseon
tlu' ice is fraufjfht with many dangers, and is, therefore, at i)res-
out prohibited. Tiie liunters, sittinj; on litth> sh'dges drawn by
stronjf and hardy liorses, and provided with food, continue on
for s«n'eral weeks to slioot ohl seals, and kill youn^,' ones while
tlicy still have their white and silk-like fur. Those hunters
brav(^ all danjjers ; an«l it has sometimes ha])pened that the
sniitli or southwest wind, haviuff deta<;hed larj,^'! masses of ice
from the shore, has driven them out into the open sea, where
they have floated in all directions, with the adventurous hunts-
men on them. These unfortunate hunters usually perish from
cold an«l hunjjer on these masses of ice, or find their death in
tlie waves." *

7. Xorth Pacific, — In the North Pacific the capture of seals
lor commercial purposes is mainly restricted to the pursuit of
the Hea- Elephant {MncrorhinuH angustirostris), on the coasts of
Western Mexico and Lower California. This, although at oue
time a business of no small importance, was nearly abandoned
inaiiy years since, and for the best of reasons, namely, the well-
nigh complete extinction of the species in consequence of indis-
criminate and reckless slaughter. As the history of the subject
falls more naturally into the account of that species (to be given
later), little further need be said respecting it in the present
couiiection. Many Seals are, of course, annually killed by the
natives of the Alaskan, Kamtschatkan, and other coasts of the
Xorth Pacific, but I am not aware that sealing is there carried
on anywhere, either by the natives or foreign sealing-vessels, to
any noteworthy extent.

8. Anta otic Seas. — In the southern hemisphere no Seals occur
that are the strict representatives of the Greenland aud other
Seals which, in the uortheru hemisphere, aftbrd the seal-hunter
80 lucrative a booty. In the colder south temperate aud Ant-
arctic seas is found their commercial representative in that mam-
mrtii of tlie Seal tribe, the Sea-Elephant, or so-called Elephant
Seal {Macrorhinus leoninus). Here Elephant Seal hunting was
for i) time prosecuted v:ith great vigor, especially during the
early part of the present century. The species was hunted almost
exclusively 'or its oil, and so easily were the animals taken, and

*Rep. U. S. Co:^\. Fish and Fisheries, part iii, 1873-74 and 1874-75, pp. 93, 95.

I'f

^:iy

t--l

IP?!]

I (■

618

FAMILY PnOCIDJE.

SO iiuliNcriininatcly and injiulioiously were they slaughtered,
that in comparatively a few years it became i>ra<!ti(!ally exter-
minated alonj; all those coasts and islands that atlbrded safe
harbors for the vessels enyajjed in this exceedinj^ly proHtaltle
ent«'ri>rise. At one time aboundinj; on many of the islands urt"
the southern portion of the Soutli American (continent, on both
the Atlantic and Pa<uflc sides, alonj; favorable stretches of tlie
Patajjonian <roast, in Terra <lel Fneffo, the Falkhmd, South Sliet-
land, South (leorjjfian, and otliernei^jfhborinj^ishmds, as well iis
at the Orozet's, Kerj^uelen, and Heard's 1. -lands, they ar(! siild
to be now fouml in inimbers oidy on the more inaccessjiilo
l)ortion of tiie last-named jjroup of islands. It is ditlicult, in-
deed imi)()ssible, to f;ive ev(!n a])iU'oximate statistics respecting
the nundu'rs of the animals killed, or the amount of Elepiiaiit
Sea) oil obtained. For many years s«iveral shij)s annually ob-
tained partial or complete carjjoes from the various localitii'!*
already mentioned, new stations being- sought when the old
ones had become exhausted, but the vessels engaged in Sea-
Elephant hunting w^ere mostly also engaged in Fur Seal hunting
and in whaling, and generally no separate reports of the pro-
ducts of each being given, the statistics of the business .are
consequently not easily obtainable.

Kespecting the history and the present status of Elephant
Seal hunting at Kerguelen Land and Heard's Island I quote
the following from Dr. J. H. Kidder's recent report on the nat-
ural history of Kerguelen Island : " In former years the Ker-
guelen group of islands was noted as a favorite breeding-place
for the sea-elephant {Macrorhimis leoninun L.). On this ac-
count it has been much frequented by sealers for the last forty
years, and resorted to also by whalers as a wintering-place, on
account of the great security of Three Island Harbor. The sea-
elephants have been so recklessly killed off year after year, uo
precautions having been taken to secure the preservation of tlie
species, that now thejj^ have become very rare. Only a single
small schooner, the Roswell King, was working the island dur-
ing our visit, two others and a bark working Heard's Island,
some three hundred miles to the south, where the elephants are
still found in considerable numbers. Probably they would lonjr
since have abandoned the Kerguelen Islands altogether bill
for a single inaccessible stretch of coast. Bonfire Beach; where
they still 'haul up' every si)ring (October and November) and
breed in considerable numbers. The beach is limited at each

HKAl.-mJNTIXO .SOUTHERN HEAS.

519

(11(1 l).v precipitous clin's, acrosa which it is (piite iini>ossiblo to
tniiisptut oil ill (;asks, nor can boats land from the sea, or v«'s-
scls lie at anchor in the otlinjf, from the fact that the beach is
on the west, or windward coast, an<l exposed to the full violence
(if the wind. . . .

'•'riie increasinj;' scarcity of the sea-elephant, and (lonsequent
iiiiccrtainty in huntiiij;' it, toj,'etln'r with the diminished demand
I'ortlieoil siiute the introduction of coal-oil into {jfeiieral use,
liiu (' caused a ^I'cat falling!: off in the business of elejdiant-hunt-
iii^i. Tim Crozet Islands, for (^\am[)le, had not been 'w(U'ked'
tor live y«'iirs, and at Keryuelen there was only one small
scliooner eii^ajjed in this jjiirsuit, two others making Three Isl-
iiikI Harbor their headcpiarters, but si)ending the 'season' at
Heard's Island, three hundred miles to the southward. It may,
tlierefore, be reasonably hojie*! that these singular animals, but
liitclv far on the way toward extinction, will have an opportu-
nity to increase again in numbers, and that sealers may iearn
tiom past experience to carry on their hunting operations w'^h
iiiori' Judgment, sparing breeding feinales and verj' young cubs.
When the Monongahela visited the Crozet Islands on Decem-
licr 1, they found th(^ sea-elephant very numerous, although left
undisturbed for only live seasons."*

At the Falkland Islands, where at the beginning of the pres-
ent century the Sea-Elephants occurred in great troops, they
lonfj since became virtually exterminated, as has been the case
at most of the early sealing-grounds. In this work of destruc-
tion American % essels have taken a prominent part, and for
many years have "maintained a monopoly of the business,"
most of them sailing from New London, Ct.

As an interesting reminiscence of the palmy days of Sea-Ele-
pliiuit hunting, and as ctmveying a vivid picture of the scenes
and iiKudents of the business, I quote the following from a re-
I'ont account by Mr. Charles Lannian, based on the unpublished
jouvniils and log-books of some of the chief participants. Says
Mr. banman : — "But it is of Ileard's Island that we desire espe-
'iiilly to speak in this paper. It is about eighteen miles long
iiiid i»erhaps six or seven wide ; and by right of discovery is an
Amciioan possession. For many years the merchants of New
London cherished the belief that there was land somewhere

*(!ontribntion8 to the Natural History of Kcrgiielen Island, made in con-
nection with the United States Trausit-of-Vcnns Expedition, 1874-75. Bull.
U- S, Nat. Mus., No, 3, pp. 39, 40, 187U.

.k kJ

520

FAMILY PIIOCID^.

illKill-

f"f'^i!

south of Kerguelen's Islaud, for in no other way could their cap-
tains account for the continuous supply of the sea-elephant ou
its shores. As long ago as 1849 Captain Thomas Long, then of
the Charles Carroll, reported to the owners of his ship that be
had seen land from the masthead, while sailing south of Keryu-
elen's Land ; but Captain Head has received the credit of the
discovery, although he did not land upon the island. The iiiau
who first did this was Captain E. Darwin Rogers. He was on
a cruise after sperm whale; his ship was the Corinthian, and be
had three tenders ; and his employers were Perkins and ISinitb
— the same Smith heretofore mentioned. Captain Eogers com-
memorated his success by an onslaught upon the sea-elephants,
which he found very numerous on the shore ; and after secuiin;,'
four hundred barrels of oil, improved the first opportunity to
inform his emjdoye'.s of what he had done, urging them not
only to keep the information secret, but to dispatch another ves-
sel to the newly discovered island The firm purchased ii

ship at once, Cai>tain Smith took command, and sailed for Heard's
Island. With Captain Darwin Rogers as his right-hand mau be
fully explored the island, named all its headlands and bays
and other prominent features, made a map of it, and succeeded
in filling all his vessels with oil. Two exploits which he per-
formed with the assistance of his several crews, are worth m u-
tioning: — At one point, which he called the Seal Rookery, tbey
slaughtered five hundred of these animals, and as was after-
ward found, thereby exterminated the race in that locality ; and
they performed the marvelous labor of rolling three thousand
barrels of elephant oil a distance of three miles, across a neck of
the island, from one hore to another, where their vessel was
anchored. The ship which he himself commanded returned in
safety to New Lon<lon with a cargo of oil valued at $130,000,
one-half of which was his own property."

Continuing the account he says : — " The number of the.se aui
mals which annuallj- resort to Heard's Island, coming from
unknown regions, is truly immense. In former times the men
who hunted them invariably spared all the cubs they met with,
but in these latter days the young and old are slaughtered in
discriminately. We can give no figures as to the total yield of
elephant oil in this particular locality, but we know that tlic
men who follow the business lead a most fatiguing an<l wild
life, and well deserve the largest profits they can make. Wliilo
Kerguelen's Land is the place where the ships of the elephant

■■■< tVi
: If'.

SEAL-HUNTING — SOUTHERN SEAS.

521

hunters spend the snniPier months, whicli season is htenilly the
^viiiter of their discontent,' it is upon Heard's Ishuid that the
niainnioth game is chiefly, if not exchisively, found. Then it is
tliiit the gang of men have the hardihood to huikl themselves
rude cabins u])on the ishuid, and there spend the entire winter.
Among those wlio first exiled themselves to this land of fogs
and snow and stormy winds, was one Ca^ tain Henry Rogers,
then serving as first mate, and from his journal, which he kept
during this period, we may obtain a realizing sense of the lone-
liness and hardshi])s of the life to which Americans, for the
love of gain, willingly subje.t themselves in the far-off Indian
Ocean.

'^ Having taken a glance [in previous portions of the paper not
here (pioted] at the leading men who identified themselves with
the Desolation Islands, and also at the physical peculiarities of
those islands, we proi)ose to conclude this paper with a run-
ning account of Cai)tain Henry Rogers' adventures during his
winter on Heard's Island.

" He left Xew London in the brig Zoe, Cai)tain Jas. Rogers,
master, Oct. 20, 1850, and arrived at their place of destination
February 13, 1857. For about five weeks after their arrival the
crew was kept very busy in rafting to the brig se^•eral hundred
barrels of oil, which had already b' 'u prepared and left over
by the crew of a sist<n' vessel, and on the 22d of March, the
wintering gang, with Capt. Henry Rogers as their chief leader,
proceeded to move their plunder to the shore, and when that
worlc was completed, the brig sailed for the Cape of Good Hope.
Tlie gang consisted of twenty-live men, and after building their
house, which was merely a square excavation in the ground,
covered with boards and made air tight with moss and snow,
they proceeded to business. Those who were expert with the
lance did most of the killing ; the coopers hammered away at
tlieir barrels ; and, as occasions demanded, all hands partici-
pated in skinning the huge sea-elephants, or cutting off" the blub-
ber in pieces of about fifteen pounds each, and then on their
back or on rude sledges, transporting it to the trying works,
wlicre it was turned into the precious oil. Not a day was per-
mitted to pass without 'bringing to bay' "^ ^Htle game, and the
number of elei)hants killed ranged from tl rue to as high a figure
as forty. According to the record, if one day out of thirty haj)-
pened to be bright and pleasant, the men were thankful ; for the
I'cguJarity with which rain followed snow, and the fogs were

'. . i\

1 1

II'

I
t

1 '■

{■ 1

■

■i

: :'!*!

■il f

■i::ii;|.,|B i;' tWlH

522

FAMILY PHOCID^..

blown about by high winds, was monotonous beyond concoi)
tion. . . . Month after month passi!d away, and there in no
cessation in the labors of the elephant hunters. Mist and snow
and slaughter, the packing of oil, hard bread and sad beef,
fatigue and heavy slumbers — these are the burthen of their soug
of life."*

METHODS OF CAPTURE, ETO.

The methods employed in capturing Seals vary according to
circumstances of locality and other contingencies. In the fore-
going pages some of the ways and devices used have been
given incidentally at some length in connection with the ac-
counts of certain important sealing districts, but the general
subject of Seal capturing claims further and more methodical
treatment. Although no very rigid classitication of the methods
employed will be attempted, a convenient division may be made
under the two heads of "Shore Sealing" and "Ice-Hunting",
in accordance with whether the Seals are taken on or near tbe
land, or upon the ice-floes of the high seas. While the former
may be carried on partly in boats, the latter requires vessels
especially equipped for protracted voyages.

I. Shore- Hunting. — The capture of Seals on or near the
land is accomplished in various ways, as by the use of nets, the
rifle, the sealing-club, the lance, the harpoon, etc. While the
use of nets is necessarily restricted to the shore, the club, the
rifle, and the lance are the common implements of destruction
used also on the ice-floes. The metliods employed in shore-
hunting vary also with the species pursued and with the sea
son of the year. The capture of Seals by use of the harpoon is
mainly i)ractised Ly the Esquimaux and other northern tribes,
and may be termed —

J . The Greenland method. — In Greenland about one-sixth of
the catch is taken in nets, and the remainder with the harpoon
and giui. The Esquimaux method of capturing Seals with the
harpoon, has been often described by arctic voyagers, the fol-
lowing account of which, as still practised by the Greenlanders,
is here transcribed from Dr. Rink's late work on "Danish Green
land". He says, "The art of catchii.g seals by the harpoon
and bladder is still pursued in Greenland exactly in the same
way as before Europeans had settled there, without the least

* Forest and Stream (iH'W8pai)or), vol. xi, pp. 437, 4H8, Jan. 2, 1S79. A vi'iy
good account of 8oa-EU'i)hant hnutiiig iiiUiy also be found in Cii]»taiii Sriuii-
moil's "Marine Maiumals of tlio NoitU-Wfsteru Coast of Noilli Aim ilea.''
pp. 119-12;$.

METHODS OF CAPTURE SEAL-NETS.

523

chiiuge 01* improvement; and though some other means of

ca])tiire have been added, ^nz, the rifle and the twine-made net,

tlicre is some reason to believe that the abolition of the ancient

manner of hunting seals would prove fatal to the welfare, if not

the (existence, of the present race of inhabitants. Still more in-

(lisi)enHable to them is the kayak or skin canoe, fitted out espe-

ciiilly for this pursuit. It measures upwards of 18 feet in length

and about li feet in breadth, and weighs about 55 pounds, so that

tlu' mau on landing can take it in one hand and carry it along

with him up the beach. . . . When the kayaker intends to

strike a seal with his harpoon, he advances within a distance

ol id)out 25 feet from it, then throws the harpoon by means of

a jtiece of wood adapted to support the harpoon while he takes

aim with it, and called the 'thrower'. At the same time he

loosens the bladder and throws it off likewise. The animal

struck dives, carrying awaj* the coiled-up line with great speed;

if in this moment the line happens to become entangled with

some part of the kayak, or if the bladder is not discharged quick

enough, the kayaker in most cases will be capsized without any

chance of saving his life by rising again. But if the operation

lias been entirely successful, the bladder moving on the surface

of the water indicates the track of the animal underneath it,

and the hunter follows it with the large lance which he throws

like the harpoon when the seal appears above the water, repeat-

iug the same several times, the lance always disengaging itself

and floating on the surface. Finally, when the convulsions of

the animal are subsiding, he rows close up to it and kills it

witli the small hand-spear or knife." *

2. By means of nets. — The capture of Seals in nets is mainly
limited to the periodical visits of the migratory species to the
shore, and occurs chiefly during spring and fall. At some
points on the northern shores of Europe, and particularly in the
Gulf of Bothnia, the Caspian Sea, and Lake Baikal, sealing
nets have been in use for centuries, and are set either from the
shore or beneath the ice. Cneiff, in his account of Seal-hunt-
ius in East Bothnia,t published originally in 1757, describes,

'Dfiuish Greeuland, its People ami its Products, 1877, pp. 113, 114.

tlicricht voiii Seekiilberfange ill Ostb )tbuii!u. Vom Proviiiciulschaffuor,
Hcnn .loliaiin David Km-ilf, eingpgcbcu. Dt-r Kouigl. Seliwedisclicn Akad.
il< r Wissi'iisc'h. Abliandl., ans der Naturlohre, Hausbaltinigskuiiat iiiul Me-
t'liiinik. aiif das Jalir 1757. Ans dem Schwediscbcu iibersftzt, vou Abra-
liam(i()ttludf Kiijjtuer, etc. 19 Baud, 1759. pp. 171-18(). This is a detailed
and very interesting account of Seal-hunting as practised in the Gulf of
Boiliiiia alidiit the middle of the last century.

■vt'

#=rl

■i 'Ifi,

ill'

524

FAMILY IMIOCIU^E.

among other mctluMls, the use of th(! net. The nvX, he nays, is
from sixty to ninety leet in h-ngth, and twelve meshes, or about
six feet, deep. It is made of Unen yarn, spun from good hemp, as
coarse as strong sail-yarn, except the lower meshes, whieh arc
mad(! from poor hemp, so that when a Heal enters the net and
begins to press against it, the lower meshes, if entangled among
stones, will easily tear out, and the Seal, feeling the net yield
before him, will not turn about and go out. The net is provided
with iloats of charred fir-wood, pointed at both ends, flattened
beneath and rounde<l above, and about a foot long. These are
plaeed about a foot apart along the ui)per edge of the net, to
which they are tirmly bound.* The nets are set in the autumn,
from Bartholomew's day till the ieo closes, and are used for the
cajiture of what he calls the Bay Sea-Calf, whieh is tloubtle.ss
the coumion Harbor Seal {Phoca vitulina). In setting the nets
two are commonly fastened together, and are ])lace<l near rocks
to which the Seals are known to resort. One end of the net
is usually fastened by a small cord to a large, stone, whieh is
placed on the Seal Rock, the other end of the net being ke])t ni
place by an anchor formed of large stones suidi in the water.
When the Seal enters the net, thinking to scrand)le ui)on the
rocks, he immediately thrusts his head through some of the
meshes ; when he finds the net hanging loostily in the water, lie
winds himself about in it, believing he is still free, but in turn
ing about to go back he finds his head again through another
mesh at the other end of the net, whereupon he thus draws the
net around him, and so becomes completely wound uj) in it, and
is held a prisoner by the anchor-stone and line till morning',
when he is killed. The nets are placed only where the Seal
Rocks lie to the leeward of the li«nd. otf rocky points or islands.
If the rocks lie to the northward, the nets are laid -hen the
wijid "s south, and not when it is north, for the Seal seeks the
sheltered side where the sea is smooth.

Mv. Lloyd, in his " Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden
and Norway" (pp. 420-424), who gives an illustration of the
" Stand-Niit " from Rosted (I. c., p. 420), states that the way of
setting the net varies, the net being sometimes placed near a
''Skiil-Sten" (Seal Rock), and at other times "across a narrow
strait, leading to a bay or inlet of the sea that is resorted to by

* A shorter aud Moniowliat ciirlior (li^Hcriptioii of th<^ Rt'ul iitst in ^ivtii by
Liun<?, ill his history of liis joiinmy through Ooiaiid an<l Gothlaud, in 1741.
See tho German translatiuii, liallu, 17()4, p. 2*^1.

MirniODS OF CAPTUllE SEAL-NETS.

525

soiils. Generally," eoiitinues Mr. Lloyd, " its iunorinost imd
is seciUHMl by iiieaiis of a stout roi)e to a liea\'y stone, or to sea-
weed, on the 'Skiil-Sten' itself, wiiilst its onterniost end has no
other fastejiinj"' than a small stone of Just snlliei«Mit weij^ht to
k('(']> it in its place, that is, sunk in the deep water beyond. At
otiiei' times the reverse is th(M;ase. Thi; innei- end of the net is
iiltaehed t() the 'Skiil-Sten' by a mere thread, whilst its outer
extremity is seetired to the bottom by a hinivy stone. In eitln'r
case the inner or outer end of the net is left in a measure free,
so that when th«^ seal strikes it, the meshes on all sides may
more readily collapse about the animal, and tln^ more violently it
struy^les the more inextricably will it be fixed in the. toils.

"The 'StatHl-Nilt' is usually set in theeveninj^-, and taken up
a^iiiin at a i)retty early hour on the following;' day. If placed
near a 'Skiil-Sten' it should b(! to leeward, because! the- seal
usually mounts the stone on the weather side at night, and in
tlie morninj;- takes to the water in the opposite direction. The
('lian(!es, therefore, are that in making its plunge into the sea,
more (^sptH'.ially if its movements be (piiekened by a blank shot,
wliich is olten tired for the pur2)ose, it will be made (taptive.

" It oceasior '1y happens that the seal is taken in the net of
ail (evening when about to mount the 'Skiil-Sten,' as prior to
so doing it is in the frequent habit of making several circuits
round the «tone for the purpose of ascertaining if all be safe,
and shoul' it not observe the net, it runs its head into one or
other of the meshes.

"The ' Stiin<l-Xiit,' it should be observed, ought not to be set
iiiih'ss the weather be fine* for if the wind and waves beat on
tlic ro<rk, seals will not take up their night quarters there. To
lur(( these animals into the net, various expedients are resorted
to. Hright lights, as is known, greatly ex<rite their curiosity.
A tire is therefore mad(i on the shore, or on a rock, in rear of
the 'Skiil-Sten,' which has the effect of attracting tiiem to the
spot; and as a further in«lucement, their olfactory nerves are
ti('Id(>d by the fumes of bones and other strong-s(;ented sub-
stances, which are cast into the tlames. At other times Kntar,
or s('al-f5ubs, are tied to a line within the net, the cries of which
oftt'ii attract old ones. . . .

"The ' Sti\nd-Niit ' would app«'ar to be a very destructive
• iiinine. We read of as many as fourteen seals ha\ing been
tak(iii at a single 'haul.' It is chiefly the young ones, however,
that are uia<le j)risoners. The old ones, let the night be dark as

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FAMILY PIIOriD^.

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pitch, would seem by scout or otherwise to discern the toils ; and
even should they get entangled in the meshes, their strength is
such, especially in the case of the Grey Seal, that it mnst be
a very strong net to retain them within its folds. Odman tills
us, indeed, that they at times carry away the net altogether.
* A man of my acquaintance,' ho goes on to say, 'related to ine
that he once captured an old seal with portions of ten ditfereiit
nets attjiched to its bt)dy, which was, however, finally se(!ured
by the eleventh. On flaying the animal, a i)art of one of the
nets was found to have grown into the skin, and a considerable
portion of the others were in a state of decomposition.' When
within the folds of the net, the struggles of the seal are most
violent, and as it constantly endeavors to 'go ahead', never to
retrace its course, it soon becomes so entangled that the captor
has difficulty in disengaging it. What with the animal's great
exertions, however, in its endeavors to escape, and the want of
air, it soon becomes exhausted, and when taken out of the
water is often found quite dead."

On the coast of Newfoundland larger nets than those above
described are used. Mr. Carroll says: '<A seal-net is usually
fifty fathoms long and seventeen feet deep. The twine they
are made of is about three times the size of salmon-net twiue;
it will require sixty pounds of such twine t<» make a seal-net.
The net is made on an eight and a half inch card." Each net
requires twenty pounds of good cork cut into oval pieces,
pointed at each end, seven inches long and two and a half
inches wide at the widest part. These are placed one fathom
apart on the head rope. The net, with all its attachments, will
weigh about two hundred pounds.*

The manner of using these nets, or " seal-frames," is thus
described by Mr. Eeeks : " Three long nets of strong seal twine
are required to construct a frame. One net is firmly secured by
anchors parallel with the shore, and at such a distance that the
remaining nets, i)laced one at each end, will just reach the
shore, thus forming a kind of oolong figure, the longest net
being on the outside. If in the spring, when the Seals migrate
from the westward, the net nearest that point is sunk to the
bottom; but if in the fall, when the Seals migrate hi the reverse
direction, — the shores of the island running nearly N. E. and
S. W., — the eastern net is sunk. Two men are required to con-
stantly watch the nets. As soon as a herd of Seals has been
• Seal and Herring Fisheries of Nowfouuillaiid, p. 155.

METHODS OF CAPTURE — SEAL-NETS.

527

seen to cross the suukon uot the top of it is immediately raised
to the sui'faoe of the water by means of a pulley, and so fast-
I'ut'd iu that position ; the men then commence shouting and
liiiiiff off guns loaded only with powder, to keep the Seals
uikUt water and cause them to 'mesh' in the nets; otherwise
they would spring over the nets and escape. When it is seen
that no Seals ris(5 to the surface the men launch their boats into
till' i)ountl and take the Seals from the nets, most of them being
drowned, while the others have to be killed.

•' As soon as the Seals are got on shore the net is again sunk,
aiul the men, or others employed for the purpose, occupy them-
vsi'h es ' pelting,' or skinning, the Seals until another herd is
iuii»ounded. In a successful season as many as eighteen hun-
dred Seals have been (!a])ture<l in one of these frames."*

In the Caspian Sea the nets, instead of being anchored to the
slune, are suspended from boats at a considerable distance from
litiid, as has already been fully described in the account of the
Caspian Sea Seal-hunting (quoted from Schultz {anted,, p. 516).
Lhtyd also states that in Norwaj', in winter, when the sea is
frozen over, the seal-nets a 3 set under the ice. " Small circu-
lar holes at stated intervals are first cut in the ice, and after-
wards the hauling lines attached to the net are passed, by means
of long and forked poles, from the one aperture to the other." t
A similar use of nets in Seal-catching prevailed in Lake Baikal
a century and a quarter ago. Bell, writing in 1702, describes
the process as follows : " The seals are generally caught in
winter, by strong nets hung under the ice. The method they
use is, to cut many holes n the ice, at certain distances from
one another, so that the fishermen can, with long poles, stretch
their nets from one hole to another, and thus continue them to
any distance. The seals not being able to bear long conflne-
uieni nnder the i(!e, for want of air, seek these holes for relief,
and thus entangle themselves in the nets. These creatures,
indeed commonly make many holes for themselves, at the set-
ting in of the frost." t

According to Bybowslci, nets are still employed for the cap-
tnre of Seals beneath the ice in Lake Baikal, but apparently in
a somewhat dift'erent manner. He states that stxong nets,

' Zooldfri.st, 2d Ser,, vol. vi, p. 2542.

tTlic Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden aud Norway, p. 42^.

t John Bell, Travela from Saint Petersburg iu RuBsia to varioua parts of
Asiii, vol. 1 (Edinburg ed. of 1788), p. 320. (An earlierGlasgow edition was
published iu 1763.)

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iiiiide of horsehair, are iuscrted through the Seals' breathiuj,'-
holes in the ice, and that iu these nets the Seals, in attempting
to reach the surta(!e, become imi)ris(nie<l.*

•Mr. Lloyd describes and limues another kind of net used in
the cai)ture of Seals, which he calls the "Li<;g-Nat". His de-
scrijitiou of the "Lifi-g-Niit", borrowed, as is his ligure, from
Liun6,t is as follows: — "It is attached to two wooden frames,
one at each end, which are secured to the bottom of a ' Slciil
Steu.' To the uj)i)er bar of the innennost of the frames is fast-
ened a Umg line reaching to the shore. When one pulls at this
line, the net is brought to the surface, but when the line is slack-
ened, it sinks to the bottom. The net, \ hilst there, is altogether
unseen, and the seal, unsuspicious of danger, creeps up, tliere-
fore, on to the 'Skiil-Sten'. When the peasant sees that it is
asleep, he i)ulls gently at the line, which brings the net to the
surface, and surrounds the stone in the manner of a quadrangu-
lar fence. The aninnil, on awakening from its slumber, casts
itself headlong into the water, but cannot extricate itself from
the toils before the man, with his harpoon or other implement
of destruction, reaches the spot and puts an end to its exist-
ence."!

3. The Seal-Box. — Mr. Lloyd also describes another ingenious
device for the capture of Seals, used ii. Xorway and Swedeu.
He says it is called the ^^Skal-Kista^\ or Seal-box. "In princi-
ple it is the same as the so-called Wo tten- Oilier, the expedient
commonly adopted to catch rats and mice, viz., a ' balance- board,'
placed across a tub of water. It is constructed of logs, and
square in form, as seen in the above diagram [referring to a iig-
ure of the " Skiil-Kista"], and is sunk in the water up to the let
ter Y [about the basal third being submerged]. Large stones
are afterwards heaped up around and about it, especially at both
ends, so as to make it resemble a 'Skal-Sten' as much as possi-
ble. The trap-door T consists of an oblong flat stone, or of ])lauk
ends, and swings on an iron bar, the extremities of which rest
on the side-walls of the ' Skiil-Kista' itself. To prevent the trap-
door T from falling too low there is a spring or stop, so that ou
the pressure <?easing it at once resumes its horizontal position.
This device, a« will be readily understood, is covered with sea

* Arch, t'iir Anat. n. Phys., 1873, p. 124.

tReiscn (lun;h Oelauil niid Gothland, (^fc. Aiis dem schwodisclieu iiber-
setzt. Hallo, 1764, pi). 20;^, -^04, pi. 1, fig. G.
t Gamo Birds and Wild Fowl, etc., pp 424, 425.

METHODS OF CAPTURE ---seal-hook; " SKRACKTa". 529

weod, and when, therefore, the seal, tired of contending with
the \vuv(is, seeks in all innocence to rest its wearied limbs on
what it takes to be a rock, the trap-door swings on its axle, and
the yawning gulf beneath presently receives the poor animal;
ami as the aperture through which it falls is at once closed again,
the trap is in readiness to receive others of its comrades who
may allow themselves to be similarly beguiled." *

4. The Seal-Hook. — In certain parts of the Norwegian coast,
aud ])robably elsewhere in Scandinavia, the writer last (luoted.
tells us that Seals are captured by means of barbed hooks, and
he depicts the manner of theii* use. The hooks, he says, quot-
ing from Kosted, should be made of tough iron or steel of at
least the thickness of one's finger, with shanks some eighteen
inches in length. These are fastened by a half-hitch to a strong
horse-hair or hempen line, which is stretched completely around
the base A a "Skal-Sten" or Seal Rock, to which its ends are
firmly attached, ^'he hooks are set at low water, and in mod-
erate weather, for in stormy weather the Seals do not usually
repair to the rock. At half-ebb of the following tide the rock
should be reconnoitered with a telescope. " If any of these ani-
mals are then observed to be lying on it, a blank shot (when
the boat has approached sufficiently near) should be discharged,
which will at once arouse them from their slumbers, and cause
them to plunge headlong into the sea, in their progxes^ to
which one or more of the company are commonly ' brought up
by the run'; for though, when ascending the 'Skal- Sten,' they
are not in the slightest degree impeded by the hooks, which point
upwards, and are, moreover, slightly cove'ed with sea-weed,
yet in their passage to the water they can hardly pass them
unscathed." i

5. The ^^SkracTcta^K — Mr. Lloyd also describes and figures an-
other ingenious implement adopted in Scandinavia for the de-
struction of Seals. This consists of a harpoon enclosed in a tube.
The tube is made of thick sheet-iron, two feet long and two and
a half inches in diameter, with two fixed heads, one at the lower
and the other near the upper end. At the bottom is fixed a
strong spiral spring, which propels the harpoon, and at the
upper end is a projecting trigger, pressure against which serves
to discharge the harpoon. Several of these destructive imple-
ments are inserted, by the aid of an auger, in a "Skal-Sten"

Misc.

•Game Birds and Wild Fowlj etc., pp. 4iJ5, 426.
tibid., pp. 4-26, 427.

Pub. No. 12 34

•4 1 1 ,

fri!

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HiPif in

530

FAMILY riloCIDiE.

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known to hi' tlu' H'sort of Heals, aiid di'tvr Ix'iii;^ si't an- lij^lilly
covered willi sea-wc^ed. VVlicii (he Seal, in creepinj;' np on tlit-
r(M!k, comes in (;onta<'t witli the tii;;j;'er tiie liarpoon is released
and beeoMies lodged in the body of the unlneky animal.*

(i. OUicr mrlhoih;. — In shore-hiinliu^' the lilleis (tl'len resorted
to when other means are nnavailin;;', or the Seals cannot he
a|»pr(taelied .■^nllieienlly near to l)e dispatched in other ways,
'i he nsc! of the harpoon and bladder, as employed by I he (iieeii-
hinder, has already been (h'seril»e(l ; bnt the hariMion is iilsn
used in other ways, not only by the lOscpiimanx, but i»y the
inhabitants of Northern ICnrope, especially, in former times, in
S(;andinavia. it is employed ma.iidy in winter, when the hunter,
usually attired in white, steals u]>on the Seal while asleep on tlic
i(!e, or lies in wait for it at its breathinj;-hole, stiikinjuit when it
«'omes to tin' surface to breathe The Seal, when sti'n<'k with
the harpoon, is allowed to descend oeneath the ice, bein;; held
by the line atta<dn'd to th<^ harpoon. Tim Seal soon becoiiifs
weak from its struj-'jiles and is (juickly eom])elled to (!onn'. to the
KurtiU'c to breathe, wIumi it is easily dispatched ami secured.

The seal-club can of conrs(^ be employed in .shore-hunt in;;
only when {\w S<'als can be su!'j)rised at their faviU'ite landing'
pla(!es, to which, as alrea<ly detailed, they .sometinies re|)aii' in
herds of thousands. At such ])oiuts, S<'hult/ tells us, hundreds
of seal-hunters <;onj;re^ate by ' juearran cement and make n
cond)ined attack upon the assend)h'(l lu'ids (»f Seals, a|)proa(li
in<4- them stealthily from the s(?a un(h'r covei- of darkm^ss, iind
by cuttiiif? off their retreat to the water make a wlndesidc
butchery of the unsuspecting multitude, sometimes desti'ON iii^,
it is said, as immy as fifteen thousand Seals iu ti single night.
(See anted, \). 515.)

II. ICE-IIUNTlNft. 1. Tn the (hiJf of Bothnia. — The prosccu
tion of sealing voyages in ves.sels es])ecially (Hpiipj)e(l for tiic
]mrpose <lates back to at least the b(!ginuing of the .seventeenth
century, l)ut, as already stated, attaincnl no great impoi tiincc
until near the close of that century. A few vessels only, evtii
then, visit'Ml the great Arctic .sealing- grounds, but in the Maltit:
sealing voyages a])pear to have been for a long time i)rose(;nti'(l
with considerable regularity. Cneiff has left us a very partic
ular account of the sealing business as carried on about I'JO
in the Gulf of Bothnia ; it also forms one of the earliest (k
tailed histories of ice-huuting to which I have seen refercwc

•Guuii; Birds iiiul Wild Fowl, etc., pp. \-Z7, 428.

Si:AMN(i IN TlIK (Jl'M' OF IU>TIIMA.

TkU

Tlic spocit'H filially liiiiitc*! scciiih to liiivc boen tlie fiiiiy Si'iil
illidiclKiriis jiri/intN), this Im'Jiij;- IIm' only larj;(^ Sciil IoiiikI in
iihiMHliUKH'. in tlios(^ wiitcrs. A(;rorilin;; to this writer tlic liunt-
cis were accnslotned lo make llicir voya;;«',s in open boats,
iiiiiitc li^lit and sti'on^', and al)out tilty tcct in length. Tiio
keels were sliod willi iron, and IIk^ boats were provided with
iiiiists and sa'ls. I'hey w<'re aeenstonied (<> start on tiieii- voy-
ii;;(s about the, L'r)tii ol' I''ebrnary, several boats nsindly keeping;
ill eoiiipany, so that ifoneof them met with an acrcidiMit thej>eo-
lileeouid be Nave<l by the other boats. Ea(;h boat's erinv, says
CiieilV, nniid>ered eij^ld peisons, ainouf; whom were a (juptain or
master, a lielinsMian, and also, in oi'der to have the Ibod (piiekly
jirepared, two cooks, the one to provid*'. water, theother, wood,
(if wliieh they take very litth;, in oi'der to keep the boat lijiiit,
the wood taken consist inj;' of a sinj^le lii' sti<!k about a foot thick
;iii(l six le(^t lony. Their provisions <'onsiste«l chiefly of sour
iireiid, to whi<!h were added butter, elu'cse, smoked meat, and
.silted fish. lirandy was also taken, but tlie chief drink was
the salt or brackish water of the f;ulf, with which meal was
niiiiiiioidy mixed to make it more! palatable. Kuvh man also
inovided himself with two fidl suits of elotlu's, so thath«M!ould
(iiuiijic in case he fell throuf^h the ice, the wet (dothes being
ilried lr»- sittiuf-' on them. in the boat. The, most notewoithy
iiitielc of clothinj-', says our author, is a skin of calf leatlu^"
witli tiie hairturiKMl outwaid. It must be made of the skin of a
wiioliy white calf, ho that the Seals may not so readily distin-
nuisli the wearer from the ice.

Wluiu the time for dei)arture. arrived they i)ut into the boat
ill! Llioir various im])lementsand {.-oods and launched it with its
wlieiiy from the <'dj;'e of the firm ice. If there chanced to be a
stieteli of o])en water to the southward they sailed throu^di it
it'< tar as jjossibh^, for in this direction the Gi'ay Seals were
most abundant. In case, however, there was new ice alonj^the
«!}{»' of the old ice, they drew the boat ovc^r it, each man pull-
ing by a hair roi)e fasteruMl to the boat, the cai)tain holdinj:?
tlic boat straij;ht by means of a lonjf pole fasten<;d across it
^^iiiletlie others drew it. This luird work they were frequently
obliged to perform at other times during the journey when meet-
in}? with fields of new ice. At such times the heaviest of their
tliiii};s, as the i>rovisions and firewood, were left behind, but
never more than an eighth of a mile, when they returned for
tlieiu with sledges. Tliey drew the boat no farther at one time

r i

ffff

532

FAMILY PHOCID^.

( ,

-¥l-ii

for fear of t'e breakiDj^ up of the ice, which might separate
them from their sledges, and they woidd thus lose their provis-
ions and other ne<!es8aries, they having learned this precaution
through such losses. If the new blue ice was too weak to sup-
port the boat, they waited till it became stronger, or till a
strong favorable wind enabled them to sail through it, in case
it was not broken up by the waves. To protect the boat at
such times from being cut by the ice, boards wore nailed uimiu
it. If the ice was not of great extent the men passed along
outside of the boat and broke it through with clubs ; if very
weak and the wind favorable, they sailed through it without
delay or fear. Jf on the other hand they found the ice strong
and comparatively snjooth, with not too much snow upon it,
they sailed over it, the keel of the boat being protected from
wearing by the iron sheathing. In sailing over the ice two nieu
run on the leeward side of the boat and one man on the wind-
ward side, who keep the boat steady, while the captain steers it
by means of the pole. If after having i)ursued their journey,
by pulling and sailing, for a long time they meet with uo
Seals on the ice-fields to which the Seals are accustomed to re-
sort, two men from each boat are sent on in advance to search
for the Seals. They take with them the wherry, so that they
can cross any openings in the ice they may meet with, and also
a white dog, which by barking gives them notice if it discovers
any Seals.

When at last they arrive at an ice-fleld on which there are
great numbers of Seals, the men hasten with clubs to kill them.
The largest of them, says our narrator, are so courageous that
they face their pursuers, who, if they do not kill them at once
must get out of the way, as the Seals can bite veiy severely.
They leave the young ones till the last, as they are not shy. If
there chance to be a great many holes in the ice-floe, so that the
Seals can readily get under the ice, the hunters creep stealthily
upon them till they get near enough to cut them off from such
retreats, and then aim at the largest of the herd. Should there
be a great many Seals on a small ice-floe, the men cry like the
Seals, and creep toward them on their bellies, often raising their
feet and striking them together. But should there be hope of
getting only a single shot, they are not permitted to shoot at all,
as then, certainly, all the Seals would leave the ice and go di-
rectly into the water, save those that were killed. Those Seals
that are under the ice are not alarmed by the shooting, and a« i

SEALING IN THE GULF OF BOTHNIA.

533

tiny coino out upon the ice are successively shot, the hunters
nicimtinie lieopin^j up their cry in imitiition of the Seals, and
eoiitimiin}; to strike their feet together as already described.
If the hunters have good luck they in this way secure in a
siiif^le day a large booty.

Another very common way of securing these animals was to
Wilt eh for them at their breathing-holes, and as they came to the
surf iure for air to transtix them with the harpoon or "seal-iron".
The iron being fixed loosely to tlie shaft the latter is easily de-
tached when the Seal descends again under the i(!e. To the iron,
lid vever, is fastened a line about six feet in length, which the
Imnter quickly seizes, and allows the Seal to dance about be-
neath the ice, the barbed iron preventing its escape. When
the Seal becomes weak and must again obtain air, the lino is
(Iniwn slowly in as the Seal a])proache8 the air-hole, and finally
tlifc Seal is <lrawn out upon the ice, the hunter being in the
meiiiitime aided by his companions. At other times the young
are used as a lure for the capture of the mothers. For this pur-
l)Ose they employ an iron implement having three barbed hooks,
oil one ol which the young Seal is impaled alive. The mother
bearing its cries approaches it quickly, and immediately em-
braces it, in the hope to free it, but in so doing presses the other
barbed hooks mto herself, and both mother and young are dra wn
out of the water together.

The last method of hunting Seals described by Cneifif, as adopt-
ed on these early expeditions, is the following : If they have
not already secured a suflQcient number of Seals, they seek for
them on their return from the south over the ice about the end
of spring, when they are then much more surely taken, because
they cannot so readily find an opening in the ice through which
to escape ; then, if attacked, thej' scramble about over the rough
ice in search of openings, during which they are destroyed in
such numbers that the sledges are soon loaded with them, and
even return the second and third times in case the ice-pack is
large and the Seals do not reach open water. It sometimes hap-
pens, on these perilous journeys, that a strong wind breaks up
the ice, and the hunter suddenly finds himself on a detached
piece of drifting ice, when those who are in the boat must turn
to rescue him. He is fortunate, indeed, if he can bring his slain
animals with him ; otherwise he must be satisfied to save his
life.

Thus it is, says Oneiff, on these dangerous voyages, during

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534

FAMILY PHOCID^.

which (hose ])()or i)t'Oi)le iire cxpo.sed to fierce cold and .sevcro
snow-storms, uiidcr the open sky, they havuis no protection save
that ati'orded by the sails of their boat, under whi<;h they lie,
for it a]>pears that they have not even the comforts of a liio.
The^^e ])erilous journeys occupy commonly two or three niontlis,
and sometimes more, according to their success in hunliiij;.
remaining- out hiter when they luive a long search in lindhij" the
Seals, or are hit.', in obtaining a full cargo. Sonn^times, how-
ever, wiien very fortunate, the voyage would be com])Iet('(l in
five weeks. In case they meet with an abundaiu^eof S<'a!s tlie.v
save only the skin and fat, throwing away the tlesh. On their
return tlui products of the voyage are divided equally among
the ditferent !)oats.

It would seem (hat siu'h exjMxsure and risk would only be un-
dertaken un(h!r the incentive of large prolits, but on the con-
trary, after de<bu'ting the cost of each man's outfit, and the
value of his time if devoted to other pursuits, little is really
gained by these arduous and dangerous voyages.

Later in the season (about tlie end of ]\Iar(;h) thej were ac-
customed to make a second voyage, this time for the Wikare or
Bay Seal (apjiarently Fhora vitulina), for thisjiurpose proceeding
northward, with much the same outfit, and in nearly the same
manner as on the earlier voyage. These later voyages seem to
have been equally beset with (hiiiger, fifteen boats, as Cneilt
tells us, being lost at one time.*

2. Off the coaat of Newfoundland. — The season for " ice-hunting''
begins at the Newfoundland "sealing-grounds" about the lirst
of March and continues for about two months. The Seals arc
then on the ice-floes at \ considerable distance from land,' ottcn
several hundred miles. The same vessel, however, sometimes
makes two, and on rare occasions three, vovages during the
season. Formerly (flfly years ago) vessels engaged in sealiiig
rarely left port before March 17, but more recently have sailed
by the first of that month, and sometimes during the last days
of February, This, Mr. Carroll claims, is too early, and tends

* Alsr-'tjicd I'nuii Ciioiir's " ({("iclir voin .Seckiillx'rfiiif^o in Ostbollinicu. "
Abhaiull. (Icr K innl. Schwcd \, mi. dcr VViHsciiHch. 19 IJiuid, 17')!), ii|) 1*4-
183. Lloyd, in !tis "Gauio Birds and Wild Fowl of Swddeu and Ninway"
(pp. 433-'14y) gives a very similar account of what }>uri»ortsto hv r liistory
of Sfial-hnntin-; in llic Gnlf of .''otiinia in nu'cnt timoa (186(5), 1)ut liisn -
count is littlo luuro than a i)ariii)hru.s<.' of the forcgoinj;-, although C'nciU'i^ mtl
cited in this councctiou. Here anil there additional details are given, but
iu the main Lloyd's account is substantially the same as Cuciff's.

lOJ

METHODS OV CAPTURE NEWFOUNDLAND SEALING. 535

;;r(!ii(lv to the dotriiiuMi of the interests of the sesilors them-
selves, as they thus disturb the Seals at a time .vlieii they should
lie left ill peace, or before the "wheli);iif'-time" is over. He
stioiiyly advocates the i)rohibitioii by {^ovcrniiHMitof the depar-
nirt' of any vessels for the sealin^-^rouiids betbre March 5 to
1(1. ;nid of steamers before; the lOth to the lath of the same
iiioiitli, sine(; ollif-iwise, he observes, "the seal-lishery of New-
louiidland may soon, and very soon, dwindle away to such a
cliaracter that it will not be worth the lisk of money to prose-
cute it."

The "essels emjdoyed in the sealing business are "pounded
oil' ill the hold," or divided into small (ioinpartments to i)ro-
toct the j)elts from injury by friction, as well as to preserve the
I'uifio from shifting. TIk; pelts an; allowed to thoroughly cool
liet'ore they are stowed, and are i>a(!ked " hair to fat to prevent
the lilt fi'om ' running.'" The owners of sealing-vessels " find all
till; boats, sealing-gear, powder, shot, and provisions, in consid-
ci'iitidu of which they are entitled to one half of the seals; the
iiit'ii are entitled to the other half. In steamshii»s the owners
find (everything required for the prosecution of the voyage, and
I'oeeive two-thirds of the value of the seals, and the men one-
thinl."*

The \ oyages are attended with nmch danger, great hardship,
and inicertainty of resi Its, a "good trip" being entirely a niat-
tor (»f chance. I^ot unfrequently the vessels become "Jammetl
ill the ice", and if not crushed in the pack-ice, may be detained
for w e(;ks before being able to force their way to the ice-lioes
which form at this season the grand rendezvous of the Seals.
The iffcidents and dangers ordinarily attending a sealing voy-
age, as well as the manner of capturing and disposing of the
Seals, have been so graphically set forth by Professer Jukes in
liis entertaining and instructive wo:k entitled "Excursions in
Newfoundland", that I transcjribe in this connection i)ortions
of his account of a sealing c;uise participated in by him iu
March, 1840, in the brigantine "Topaz", Captain Furneaux, of
St. .John's, Newfoundland. Having, after a week's arduous
iiuise, fallen in with the ?'"ds an«l captured a few young ones,
lie says: "Wo soon afterwards passed through some loose ice
on wliieh the young seals were scattered, ami nearly all hands
were ovcirboard, slaying, skinning, a ' nauling. We then got
into another lake of water and sent out Ave i)unts. The crews
*CaiToll, Soal and Herring F..shory of Nowfonndlaiul, j). 9.

J :,§■'>:

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536

FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

of these joined those aheady on the ice, and dragging either
the whole seals or their 'pelts' to the edge of the water, collected
them in the pnnts, and when one of these was full brought
them on board. The cook of the vessel, and my man Simon,
with the captain and myself, managed* the vessel, circumnavi-
gating the lake and picking up the boats as they put ofl" one
after another from the edge of the ice. In this way, when it
became too dark to do any more, we found we had got three
hundred seals on board, and the deck was one great shambles.
When piled in a heap together the young seals looked like so
many lambs, and when occasionally, from out of the bloody and
dirty mass of carcasses, one poor wretch still alive would lift up
its face and begin to flounder about, 1 could stand it no longer;
and arming myself with a hand-spike, I proceeded to knock on
the head and put out of their misery all in whom I saw signs
of life. After dark we left the lake and got jammed in a field
of ice, with the wind blowing strong from the north-west. The
watch was employed in skinning those seals which werebrouglit
on board whole, and throwing away the carcass. In skinning,
a cut is made through the fat to the flesh, a thickness generally
of about three inchcKS, along the whole length of the belly from
the throat to the tail. The legs, or 'tippers,' and also the head,
are then drawn out from the inside and the skin is laid out
flat and entire, with the layer of fat or blubber firmly adhering
to it, and the skin in this state is called the ' pelt,' and some-
times the ' sculp.' it is generally about three feet long and two
and a half wide, and weighs from thirty to fifty pounds. The
carcass when turned out of its warm covering is light and slim,
and, except such parts as are preserved for eating, is tTirown
away."

The next day, continues Mr. Jukes, as soon as it was light,
"all hands were overboard on the ice, and the whole of the day
was employed in slaughtering young seals in all directions and
hauling their pelts to the vessel. The day [March 13] was clear
and cold, with a strong north-west wind blowing, and occasiou-
ally the vessel made good way through the ice, the men follow
ing her and clearing off the seals on each side as we went alonj;.
The young seals lie dispersed hej-e and there on the ice, bask-
ing in the sun, and often sheltered by thj -rough blocks and
piles of ice, covered with snow. Six or eight may sometimes
be seen within a space of twenty yards square. The men, armed
with a gaff and a hauling rope slung over their shoulderw, dis

Wml

METHODS OF CAPTURE NEWFOUNDLAND SEALING. 537

jjcrse about ou tlie ice, and wheuever tliey find a seal strilie it
a heavy blow in the head, which either stuns the animal or kills
it outright. Having killed or at least stunned all they see
within a short distance, they skin, or, as they call it, 'sculp'
them with a broad clasp-knife, called a sculping-knife, and
making two holes along t lie edge of each side of the skin they
lay them one over another, passing the rope through the nose
of eaci: pelt and hieing it through the side holes, in such a mau-
uer that when pidled tight it draws them into a compact bun-
dle. Fastening the gaff in this bundle, they then put the rope
over the shoulder, and liaul it away over the ice to the vessel.
Ill this way they bring in bundles of pelts, three, six, or even
se\'en at a time, and sometimes from a distance of two miles.
Six pelts, however, is reckoned a very heavy load to drag over
the rough and broken ice, leaping from pan to pan, and they
generally contrive to l»eep two or three together to assist each
:ithor at bad places, (;i* to pull those out who fall into the water.
The ice to-day was in places very slippery and in others broken
and treacherous, and as I had not got my boots properly fitted
with 'sparable' and 'chisels' I stayed on board and helped the
captain and the cook in managing the vessel and whipping in
the pelts as they were brought alongside. By twelve o'clock,
however, my arms were aching with the work, and on the
leeside of tlie vessel we stood more than knee-deep in warm
sealskins, all blood and fat. Some of the men brought in as
many as sixty each in the course of the day, and by night the
decks were covered, in many places the full height of the rail.
As tjie men came on board they occasionally snatched a hasty
moment to drink a bowl of tea, or eat a piece of biscnit and
butter ; and as the sweat was dripping from their faces, and
their hands and bodies were reeking with blood and fat, and
they often spread the butter with their thumbs, and wiped their
faces with the backs of their hands, they took both the liquids
and the solids mingled with the blood. The deck, of course,
when the deck could be seen, was almost as slippery with gore
as if it had been ice. Still there was a bustle and excitement
in the scene that did not permit the fancy to dwell on the disa-
greeables, and aft^ir a hearty refreshment the men would snatch
up their gaffs and hauling ropes, and hurry off in search of new
victims : besides, every pelt was worth a dollar ! During this
tinn' hundreds of old seals were popping up their heads in the
small lakes of water an«l holes among the ice, anxiously look-

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538

FAMILY PHOCID^E.

iiig for their young. Occasionally one wonld hurry across si
pan in search of the snow-white; darling- she had left, and whicli
she could not recognize iu the bloody and broken carcass,
8trii)i)c(l of its warm coverinj?, that alone remained of it. I
lircd several times at these old ones in the afternoon with my
rifle from the deck, but without success, as unless the ball liiis
them on the head, it is a great chance whether it touch any
vital part, the body being so thicjkly clothed with fat. In tiie
evening, however, Captain Purueaux went out on the ice and
killed two with his sealing-gun loaded with seal shot. Tlio
wir 1 had now sunk to a light air, and the sun set most glori-
ously, glancing from the golden west across the bright ex]»anse
of snow now stained with many a bloody spot and the ensan-
guined trail which marked the footsteps of the intruders on the
peacefulness of the scene. Several vessels came np near iis
from the south, in the afternoon ; but notwithstanding all tlie
slaughter the air as night closed in resounded with the cries of
the young seals on every side of us. As the sunlight faded in
the west, the quiet moon looked down from the zenith, and a
brilliant arch of aui'ora crossed the heavens nearly from cast to
west, in a long waving line of glancing light, slowly mo\ijig
backwards and forwards from north to south across the facjc of
the moon. . . .

" Early iu the morning [of the next day, March 14] the crew
were out on the ice, and brought in 350 seals. The nurnljer
hauled in yesterday was 1,380, making the total number now
on l)oard upwards of 2,000. After suffering the pelts to lie opeu
on deck for a few hours, in order to get cool, they are stowed
away in the hold, being laid one over the other in pairs, eacli
pair having the hair outwards. The hold is divided by stout
partitions into several compartments or 'pounds' to prevent too
much motion among the seal-skins and keep each in its place.
The ballast is heaved entirely out as the pelts are stowed away,
and the cargo is trusted to ballast the vessel. In consequ('n<'t;
of neglecting to divide the hohl into pounds in one of his earlier
voyages. Captain Furneaux told us he once lost his vessel. He
was detained on his return with 5,000 seals on board, by stroi)}>;
contrary gales which kept him at sea, till by the continued jno
tion and friction his seals began to run to oil. The skins tiieii
dashed about from one side of the hold to the other with <" cry
roll of ^he vessel, and he was obliged to run before the w^nd.
whicli was then Idowing from the northwest. Tln> oil siuciiil

^ I ; f

METHODS OF CAPTURE NEWFOUNDLAND SEALING. 539

from tlio hold into the cabiu and forecastle, floating over every-
thing and forcing the crow to reumin on the deck. They got
up some bags of bread, an<l by putting a pump down through
the oil into the water-casks they luanaged to get fresh water.
After being in this state some days himself and his crew were
taken out of the vessel by a ship they luckily fell in with, and
carried to 8t. John's, Xew llrunswick; but his own vessel, with
her once valuable cargo, and almost all the vahuible property
of himself and his crew were necessarily aban(h)ned to the
mercy of the winds an<l waves, and what became of her was
ii('\ er known. This was a good ])ra('tical lesson as to the proi)er
method of stowing n cargo of seals, and one not likely to be
forgotten. In the present instance, therefore, the pounds wei*e
both numerous and strong." *

In a few days more they completed their cargo and returned
to St. John's with the vessel loaded with between 4,000 and
5,000 Seals. "' It was a very good season," I'rofessor Jukes fur-
ther remarks; '-one vessel in two trips brought in eleven thou-
sand Seals, and tlie total take this year [1840] nmst have been
(.'onsiderably upwards of live hundred thousand." t Mr. Iteeks
states that in 186G one vesstl, which made two successful trips
to the ice, brought into St. John's harbor 25,000 Seals.J

To complete the picture here partially drawn of the seal
tisb(H'y as pursued by the Newfouiullaud seal-hunters, I quote
still further from the same author respecting the scenes iii-
(ident to ai sealing voyage of forty years ago. Under date
of March 5, Mr. Jukes writes: "This morning was dark and
foggy, with the wind at southeast. At seven o'clock, after mak-
ing a tack or two about an open lake and finding no channel,
we dashed into the ice with all sail set, in company with two
other vessels on a north-northwest course. The ice soon got
flniior, thicker and heavier, and we shortly stuck fa.st. 'Over-
board with you! gaffs and pokers!' sung out the captain, and
over went, accordingly, the ma;jor part of the crew to the ice.
Tbc ]iokers were large poles of light wood, six or eight inches
in circumference, and twelve or fifteen feet long. Pounding
witli these, or hewing the ice with axes, the men would split
tbc pans near the bows of the vessel, and then, iuserting the
cutis of |he pokers, use them as large levers, lifting up one side
;)f t!ie broken ]nece and depressing the other, and several get-

* Exctirsioiis ill Ncwfouudland, vol. i, pp. 27)i-2ii0,

tlbid., p. -.122.

tZ(>i>l<)jriNf, '2d Scr., vdI. vi, 1H71, p. 2548.

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540

FAMILY PHOCID^.

ting round with their gaffs, they shoved it by main force un-
der the adjoining ice. Smashing, breaking, and pounding the
smaller pieces in the course the vessel wished to take, room was
afforded for the motion of the larger pans. Laying out great
claws on the ice ahead when the wind was light the crew warped
the vessel on. If a large, strong pan was met with, the ice-saw
was got out. Sometimes, a crowd of men, clinging round the
ship's bows and holdhig on to the bights of ropes suspended
there for the purpose, woulf^ jump and dance on the ice, bend-
ing and breaking it with their weight, shoving it below the ves-
sel, and dragging her on over it with all their force. Up to their
knees in water, as one piece after another sank below the cut-
water they still held on, hurrahing at every fresh start she made,
dancing, jumping, pushing, shoving, hauling, hewing, sawing,
till every soul on board was roused into excited exertion. . . .
They continued their exertions the whole day, relieved occasion-
ally by small open pools of water; and in the evening we cal-
culated that we had made about fifteen miles. It continued
foggy all day, and at night it began to rain. We had seen no
vessel since morning — nothing but a dreary expanse of ice and
snow stretching away into the misty horizon." The next day
"the wind was from the west, and the sky fine and clear. Sev-
eral vessels were near us, and several more on the horizon. The
ice became thicker, stronger, and more compact. We made a
few miles in the morning and stuck fast the rest of the day in a
very large pan or field of ice, sawing, axing, prising, warping,
etc., etc., as yesterday." *

This, in short, was the hist'jry of their daily experiences for
a week, at the end of which time they first heard the cry of tlie
Seals, and entered upon their work of slaughter.

3. In the Jan Mayen Seas. — Seal-hunting in the icy seas about
Jan Mayen is conducted under similar conditions and in much
the same way as among the ice-floes to the eastward of New-
foundland. Lindeman, in his memoir on the Arctic fisheries
as prosecuted from the German seaports, gives a pretty full ac-
count of the vessels sailing from the Weser ports, selecting for
this purpose the " Hudson", J. H. Westermeyer, commander, as
a type, and not only describes her special armature for iirotec-
tion against ice, but her general outfit, including oflBcers and
crew, the weapons employed, the commissariat, even to tlic
weekly bill of fare, the "wat<;h", and daily life and duties ou
* Excurs. in Newfoundland, vol. i, pp. 261-263.

Pii'w

METHODS OF CAPTURE — SEALING IN JAN MAYEN SEAS. 541

shii)boiir(l; and tinally gives a history of the voyage she marte
tlic year preceding his account, a brief abstra(!t of which may
not bo here out of place. The captain assembled his crew in
January, and on the 2l8t of February the " Hudsou" sailed out
of the Weser for her Arctic voyage. Tlie 8th of March found
her in N. lat. 71° 18' and W. long. .'P 8'. On the evening
of tlie 9th they sighted Jan Mayen Island, twenty miles dis-
tant to the northwest. On the 14th they encountered heavy
winds and a turbulent sea. About the beginning of April she
reached the sealhig-grounds ("Eobbenkiiste'), the Seals being
this year northwestward of Jan Mayen in north latitude 7l!° and
east h)ngitu(le 2°. Already, numerous vessels were at the place,
and on the 14th of April, at 3 p. m., began the slaughter of the
young Seals. At eleven o'clock the same evening the " Hud-
son " had on board 901 young Seals, and on the evening of the
following day the number secured reached 2,171. In the course
of a few days the crew of the "Hudson" completed their cargo,
numbering altogether 5,400 young Seals, which yielded 620 tuns
of oil. This, with the skins of the Seals and one Whale ("eia
Fisch '), brought 23,983 thalers, gold.

The same writer thus describes the "Seal-coasts" and the
limit. Under the heading "Die Eobbenkiiste, der Kobbeu-
sclilag," he says : — " The district of the Seal-hunt, if we may so
term the butchery of the most patient and submissive of animals,
embraces the immensely large area of 0,000 to 8,000 square miles,
and though called ' coast' is really no coast, but sea and ice aelds.
Ill this area one comes upon immense herds of Seals, which,
according to Yeaman's account, are often twenty to thirty Eng-
lish miles broad. The English call such herds ' Seal'vS- weddings '
or ' Seal-meadows.' The commander, peering through his spy-
glass from the ' crow's nest ' first discovers the herds of Seals.
He shouts the order 'Over all!' The crew costume themselves
for the slaughter, their suit consisting of gray linen. Into a
leathern belt fastened around the body they stick the skinning-
linife. Each provides himself with ropes and a seal-club, the
latter implement consisting of a strong stick or shaft, having an
iron point, a hammer and hook. Soon the boats are lowered
and the men rush into them, and with a loud ' Holulu." start for
the ice. The killing of the Seals upon the ice begins. When
tUe Seals are dead, the skin, together with the fat or blubber, is
leraoved from the body with the skinning-knife. The cabin-
boys ('Schiffsjungen') and later all the men draw the skins of

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642

J'AMILY PTTOCTDiE.

the ' doffs,' as the Seals are called in Greenland parlance, with
ropes to the ship, where the so-called doctor (or barber) receives
them, counting them as soon as they come in at the Flenmiot."
The rest of the animal, termed the 'krang', remains on the i(^e,
a booty to the birds and tlie Polar Bear. The success of the Seal-
hunt depends ui)on quickly taking advantage of the favorable
moment. The crew must be constantly quick of hand. Five
hundred to six hundred Seals may be killed in a day by a crew
of a shij) of ISO tons. The difficulty experienced by the men
in springing from ice-cake to ice-cake to reach the shi]» again,
is not slight.

" Hunting irom boats or vessels is comfortable, and is rie-
ferred when there is much open water. They spring from the
boats to the ice-floes, kill the Seals in the same way, take them
temporarily into the boat and stack them on the first suitable
ice-floe. The removal of t\e skins from the fat is made by the
oflBcers on shipboard as opportunity may favor. In this work,
folio tving an old Dutch custom, they stand in a row to take
'a little' ("ein 'Liitjer' genommen"),t and occasionally divert
themselves with a song. The skins are fastened by hooks to a
wooden frame, and the fat is quickly removed and thrown into
tubs. The coopers then pack the fat in casks or iron tanks ia
the lower or middle holds of the vessel. The art of properly
removing the fat without injury to the skins is not easy to
acquire, and upon this depends in a high degree the value of
the skins. I hear that the owner of the 'Albert' has, through
a slight modification of the share-money, interested the men in
exercising the greatest jiossible care in removing the skins,
in order to secure a good result. The skins are salted, again
counted and laid away. By the end of April the proper Seal-
hunt is over. Old Seals are rarely to be obtained, they beipg
very watchful ; however, the crews of the Norwegian ships are
excellent marksmen, and by them many are shot. The value
of a young Seal (fat and skin) is 2^ to 3 thalers, while the old
ones are worth twice this sum.":):

* Opening in the side of a whaling-vessel through which the blubber is
taken on board in cutting up a whale.

t "On such occasions the Dutch drunk schnapsfroin cups. On many Dutch
ships it was the cnstom (•' Branch') or much more the bad custom (' Miss-
brauch') to take the schnaps-bottle into the boat with them, or hang it by
a line from the ship."

t Translated from Petermann's Geog. Mitth., Ergjinznngsheft No. 26,
pp. 81, 82.

UANGERK AND UNCERTAINTIES OF SEALING VOYAGES. 543

Dangeus and Uncertainties op Ice-Hunting. — Tho dan-
{,'ors and uiuiertaintios attending ice-hunting have to some extent
1)0011 already indicated. The cliief hiiidran<!es arise from en-
countering fieldice, within which not only single vessels, but
whole tleets, are soraetiraes held prisoners for weeks, constantly
subject to danger from the shifting and grinding of tho pack-
ice. Among the many dangers to which the ice-hunter is sub-
jcctod none is greater than that arising from tlie "rafting" of
the i(!e, which is especially disastrous to steamships. While
some vessels, owing to the form of the hull, will "heave out"
uninjured, in other cases they will be crushed by the ice pass-
ing over them. In general, steamships are said to be in far
groater i)eril when jammed in the ice than sailing-vessels, there
being in such cases "no chance whatever" of extricating the
fornun-, while the latter usually escape with slight injury. Great
danger is said to also arise from large masses of ice being car-
liod by currents against the wind, when, despite every exer-
tion to avert disaster, steamships as well as sailing-vessels are
wro<'ked against the floating islands of ice.

In illustration of the danger from drifting ice I transcribe
iiio followhig: "In the spring of 1871," says Mr. Carroll, "that
si)loiulid new brig, the 'Confederate,' with an experienced cap-
tain and scA enty-live men, as fine as any country under the sun
could pro<luce, left Harbour Grace for the sealing voyage. The
brig was driven into Bonavista Bay, jammed in the drift-ice,
until it struck the land, seven miles to the westward of Cape
Bonavista. There the brig remained for ten days, and not a
wag in the water or amongst the ice, the men in anxious wait-
iiij; tor an ott-shore Avind, when, without any apparent cause, a
large Hat pan of ice a short distance from the brig moved slowly
ouwiuds until it struck the after part of the keel and whipped
ton foot of it away. So keen was the cut that it was not observed
umil tho brig began to make water", and the master and men
were obliged to abandon her. " Many, in all probability", con-
tiuuos the same writer, "of the steamships at present [1873]
engaged in the prosecution of the Seal fishery on the coast of
^e\\ioundland will, without doubt, sooner or later meet with a
t'ato similar to that of the brig ' Confederate.' Sailing vessels
will ' heave out ' when jammed in the ice and escape uninjured
wlion steamships would be squeezed to atoms." *
ijfot only are the sealers exposed to dangers from ^ioaiiing ice,

* Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, p. 22.

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544

FAMILY PTlOClDiE.

but other risks attend thoso lumly adventurers. Although tlio
present connection is not the i)Uice for an extended history of
the disasters incident to the seal-tisliery, a single incident in
illustration of the danger arising from sudden storms overtak-
ing the seal-hunters when absent from their vessels may here
ai»propriately tind place. Scoresby relates, on trustwortiiy au-
thority, the folhnving that befel the sealing fleet in the Jan
Mayen Seas in 1774:

"Fifty- tour ships, chiefly ITamburghers, were that year fitted
out for the sealtishery alone, from foreign ports. Most of these,
with several English ships, had, in the spring of the year, met
together on the borders of the i(!e, about sixty miles to the east-
ward of the island of Jan Mayen. On the 29th of March, when
the weather was moderate, the wliole fleet penetrated within
some streams of ice, and sent out their boats in search for seals.
While thus engaged, a dreadful storm suddenly arose. So sud-
den and furious, indeed, was the commencement, and so tre-
mendous and lasting the continuance, that almost all the people
who were at a distance from their ships i)erished." After giv-
ing a detailed account of the loss of various ships, as well as
boats' crews, he says, " The result of these disasters, when
summed up, is dreadful. About 400 foreign seamen, and near
200 British, are said to have been drowned ; four or five ships
were lost, and scarcely any escaped without damage." *

Although accidents attended with such great fatality are for-
tunately of rare occurrence, doubtless not a year passes without
the loss of numerous A^essels and many lives.

Most writers who have given any account of the Seal-flsh-
ery refer to the uncertainties of the catch, owing to circnm
stances wholly beyond the knowledge or control of the sealers.
As already stated, a good trip is a matter of chance rather
than of foresight or judicious management on the part of the
master of the vessel. This uncertainty arises mainly from the
unstable character of the ice-floes, which vary in their course
with the prevailing direction of the wind and the combined ac-
tion of the winds and currents. While the Seals congregate
annually on the ice-fields of the same general region, and brinjr
forth their young with surprising regularity as regards season.
the place of rendezvous is constantly variable. In like manner
the course of the vessel is greatly at the mercy of the elements,
or under the control of wholly unforeseen circumstances. The
* Arctic, Regions, vol. i, pp. 513-517.

I' 11'

SPECIES nUNTED.

545

whole matter in question has been thus tersely presented by Mr.
Carroll. " For the last fifty years," says this experii»nced writer,
"1 have been from time to time well iin<l intimately a<'qnaii)ted
with iee-hnntinfjr masters; nine-tenths of tliem when they first
took eharge of iee-hnntinj; vessi^ls gent^ally brought into port
what is usually termed ' good staving trips.' It is strange to
say, but not the less tnie, that the longer a man takes charge
of an iee-hunting vessel the less he knows where to obtain a
tri]) of old and young seals. Tn a word, the inosperity of a
Rpiiling voyage, one year with another, depends upon chances,
and I will go farther and say that three-fourths of the heavy trips
of seals' fat that were broiight heretofore into port, as well as
tlie heavy trips of seals' fat brought into port at the present
day, were got also by chance. Spring after spring I have known
ice-hunting vessels to get Jammed in the ice, and there kept so
long that the men despaired of obtaining a profitable trip of
seals. Steamships as well as sailing vessels are verj often,
owing to gales of wind, obliged to run into the ice fo^j safety,
much against the master's will, and the very place the master
wished above all things to avoid turned out to be the very spot
where what he was after was — plenty* of oeals."*

Species Hunted. — The Seals hunted in the North Atlantic
and Arctic waters belong chiefly to four species, namely, the
Ilarp or Greenland Seal, Phoca {PagophiJus) grcenlandica, the
Rough Seal, Phooa (Pusa) foetida, the Harbor Seal {Plioca vitu-
Um), and the Hooded Seal {Cysfophora erktata). The first, by*
its numbers, far exceeds in importance all the others together,
afld is hence the chief object of pursuit. Two other species, the
Bearded Seal {Erignathtm barbatiis), and the Gray Seal {llnli-
ch(eruft grypm), are also taken when met with, but both are rare
and neither enters largely into the general product of the Seal-
fishery. The NeAvfoundland Seal-fishery is limited to the capture
of the Greenland, Harbor, and Hooded Seals. The latter is not,
however, a regular object of pursuit, but is taken as opportunity
favors, and some seasons but very few individuals of this species
are met with. The Harbor Seal is taken along the shores, where
it is i)ermanently resident, but comparatively" only in small
numbers. The Rough Seal and the Bearded Seal are of con-
siderable Importance to the Greenlanders, the former especially,
more than half of the Seals taken by them belonging to this
species.

* Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, p. 36.
Misc. Pub. No. 12 35

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FAMILY PIIOCID^.

In addition to the above, the Caspian Seal [Phoca casinea) is
extensively hunted in the Caspian Sea, and Sea-Elephants on
the coast of Lower California and in the Antarctic seas.

Abundance of Seals at particular Localities.— Ee-
spectiug the abundance of Seals, particularly at certain localities,
and the ease with which they are taken, a few excerpts may
here be added to the various incidental referenccK to the subject
already made in the general account of Seal-hunting. Mr. II. Y.
Hind states that "On March 24, 1857, large ice-ftelds, driven
by the H. and N. W. wind, grounded on the coast of Amherst
Island, one of the Magdalen group, and were found to be a
vast ' seal meadow.' Not less than 4,000 of these animals, nearly
all young, were killed in five days." *"

Drs. Koldewey and Pansch, of the Gernmn Arctic Expedition
of 1809-70, make the following statement :

" The whitish colored young stay on the ice the first few days,
and arc then killed with clubs by the parties of seal-hunters,
. . . The number caught by a single Bremen ship now some
times amounts to 8 to 10,000 seals ; and one may form some idea
of the war of destruction waged against these harmless crea-
tures by man, when we hear that of European ships in 1808, fivo
German, five Danish, tlfteen Norwegian, and twenty-two British,
whicli were in company in West Greenland, obtained 237,000."'*

Mr. Robert Brown states that in the Spitzbergen Sea, tbo
Greenland Seals, at the time of bringing forth of the young.
* "may be seen literally covering the frozen waste as far as the
eye can reach with the aid of a telescope from the 'crow's nest'
at the main-royal masthead, and have, on such occasions, been
calculated to number upwards of half a million of males and
females."! It is little wonder that, at such times, but more
especially after the young are born and rest helplessly upon
the ice, a ship's crcNv will secure several hundreds in a siu;j;le
day, and quickly fill their vessels with cargoes of ten thousuud
Seals.

PRODUCTS.

So much has been already said, incidentally, in relation to
the products of the SeaLs and their commercial importance
that little need here be added. Of chief importance is the
oil, so well known for its valuable properties for illuminating

* Expl. ill Laliraflor, vol, ii, p. 207.

tGcrmun Arct. Exptul. 18;)9-7(), Eiig. od., 1874, pp. (51, 6*-i.

tProc. Zoiil. Soc. Lon., 1608, p. 418.

B. 'li

•11? i- ■ !

PRODUCTS.

547

purposes and for the lubrication of machinerj'. The amount an-
nually obtained falls not far short of 90,000 tuns, with a total
vahie of $1,250,000. Next in inix>ortance are the skins, which are
nearly as valuable as the oil. From very early times they were
used for covering trunks, the manufacture of kna,ps.ncks, and for
many of the uses of ordinary leather. They have been exten-
sively employed, as indeed they are still, for the manufacture of
caps, gloves, shoes, and jackets. Of late many have been con-
verted in England into lacquered leather, which is said to be of
a .superior quality, being beautiful and shining, and of firm text-
ure, and can be furnished at moderate cost. Tlie skins ditt'er
in value according to size and color, these varying, of course,
witli the species and with the age of the animal.

As an article of food, Seals are of the utmost importance to
the nati\^es of Greenland, and the northern tribes generally,
they deriving from them the greater part of their subsistence.
They have beeii found likewise not unpalatable by our Arctic
voyagers, whose sustena-ice often for long periods has been
mainly the flesh of these animals. The Esquimaux and allied
tribes of the North are well known to depend upon the Seals not
only for their food, but for most of the materials for their boats
and sledges, as well as for clothing and the various imidements
of t!ie chase.

Ill respect to the character of Seal flesh as food, and the im-
portance of these animals to the Esquimaux, I quote the follow-
ing from Dr. A. Horner, surgeon to the "Pandora", who, in
"Land and Water" for December 18, 1875 (p. 475), thus refers
to the general subject :

"From the length of time these people have inhabited this
lohl country, one naturally expects them to have found some
parti(;ular food well adapted by its nutritious and heat-giving
properties to supply all the wants of such a rigorous climate,
and such is found to be the case, for there is no food more deli-
cious to the tastes of the Esquimaux than the flesh of the seal,
and especially that of the common seal ( Phoca vituUna). But
it is not only the human inhabitants who find it has such ex-
cellent qualities, but all the larger carnivora that are able to
prey on them. Seal's meat is so unhke the flesh to which we
Eurojieans are accustomed, that it is not surprising we should
luuo some difiiculty at first in making up our minds to taste it ;
'Hit when once that diflBculty is overcome, every one praises its
flavour, tenderness, digestibility, juiciness, and decidedly warm-

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FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

ing after-effects. Its colour is almost black, from the large
amonnt of venous blood it contains, except in very younj? soals,
and is, therefore, very siufjular looking, and not inviting, wliilo
its flavour is unlike anything else, and c« nnot be descri bed excci)t
by saying delicions! To suit European palates, there are cer-
tain precautions to be taken before it is cooked. It has to be
cut in thin slices, carefully removing any fat or blubber, and
then soaked in salt water for from twelve to twenty -lour hours,
to remove the blood, which gives it a slightly lishy flavour. The
blubber has such a strong taste, that it requires an Arctic
winter's appetite to find out how good it is. That of the bearded
seal {Phoca harhatn) is most relished by epicures. The dain-
tiest morsel of a seal is the liver, wliich requires no soaking,
but may be eaten as soon as the animal is killed. The heart is
good eating, while the sweetbread and kidneys are not to be
despised.

"The usual mode of cooking seal's meat is to stew it with a
few pieces of fat bacon, when an excellent rich gravy is formed,
or it may be fried with a few pieces of pork, or ' white-man,'
being cut up with the seal, or < black-man.'

"The Esquimaux make use of every part of the seal, and, it
is said, make an excellent soup by putting its blood and any odd
scraps of meat inside the stomach, heating the contents, and
then devouring tripe, blood and all with the greatest relish.

" For my own part, I would sooner eat seal's meat than mut
ton or beef, and I am not singular in my liking for it, as several
of the officers on board the Pandora shared the same opinion
as myself. I can confidently recommend it as a dish to be tried
on a cold winter's day to those who are tired of the everlasting
beef and muttx>n, and are desirous of a change of diet. It is
very fatvenir^, and if eaten every day for several weeks together
is likely to produce rather surprising effects

"Seal's meat is a panacea for aU complrants among these
primitive people. Our Esquimaux interpreter, 'Joe,' had a
most troublesome cough when we left England, and was con-
vinced he should not get rid of it until he had seal's flesh to eat.
He would not look at any medicine offered to him on board,
but shook his head and said, ' By-and-bye, eat seal, get well '
His prescription turned out to be a very good one, for he had
not long been feasting on his favourite food before he lost his
cough, and we heard no more of it. For delicdte persons, and
especially young ladies and gentlemen who cannot succeed in

PREPARATION OF THE PRODUCTS.

549

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making their features sufficiently attractive on cMcken and
cheesecakes, no diet is likely to succeed so well as delicate cut-
lets from the loin of a seal.

" For my own part I cannot help thinking that the diiamu-
lioii in the number of seals caught near the principal Danish
settlements in Greelaud, has a great deal to do with the preva-
lence of consumption and other diseases among the native in-
liiibitants of those places. Seals are becoming scarcer every
year, and, in company with the bison of the North American
prairies, will ere long be of the past, and leave the poor Green-
laiuler and Bed Indian to follow them."

Preparation of the Products. — The Seals being captured
iiud brought into port, their subsequent treatment as practised by
the NewfoundliiTid sealers, may be briefly detailed as folk ws :
After landing a.id we ^hing the " pelts," the fat is immediately re-
moved from the skii.. This is accomplished by extending the
pelt on a table, behind which the skinner stands, holding the skin
with the left hand while with a large skinning-knife he removes
the fat with the right hand ; a good skinner, it is stated, being
able to " remove the fat from the skins of four hundred and fifty
Harp Seals in ten hours." The skins are then salted and packed,
with the flesh side uppermost, and at the end of three weeks are
considered cured and fit for shipping. The fat is reduced to oil
either by maceration in vats in the sun, or is " rendered " by steam.
The latter process is so rapid that at the establishment of John
Mium & Co., at Harbour Grace, four thousand "pelts" have
beeu "skinned and rendered into pure Seal oil in twenty -four
hours." Although the steam-rendered oil meets with ready sale
in consequence of its superior burning qualities and freedom
from disagreeable odor, it is less free from smoke than that ex-
tracted by the agency of the sun, and for this reason the latter
is preferred by the miners. " Formerly every description of
Seals' oil was entirely manufactured in wooden vats exposed to
the weather," the vats being capable of containing three thou-
sand to four thousand Seals' pelts. When the fat from old Seals
is mixed with that from the young, " the oil obtained is some-
what smoky." When drawn off from the tanks, all the oil ren-
dered from I. e fat of young Seals is sure to come first and is
called "pale seal," the other being heavier and darker, and
known as " straw color."

From Schultz's minute account of the sealing industry of the
Caspian Sea I transcribe the following, as of general interest in

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the present connection : " The fat adhering to the skin of the
seal is dofcached from it, cut into pieces, and melted in caldrons,
after which the oil is poured in barrels. This is the simplest
way of making seal-oil, and the hunters often emi)loy it. But
oil is also manufactured by steam, in establishments built for
this purpose on the left bank of the Volga, opposite Astrachan,
by some rich merchants. Thirty-five 'versts' (about twenty
miles) below Astrachan the Sapojnikow Brothers have built a
steam oil-factory at the ' vataga' (fishing establishment) of Ikri-
annaya. This factory is particuhirly busy in the spring, when
whole cargoes of seal-fat arrive, which is either boiled immedi-
ately in order to extract the oil, or is safely stored away in cel-
lars. These cellars are long, floored, and furnished with four
ventilators and several windows. Large oak-wood tubs, plated
with lead on the inside, and capable of holding 700 'pouds'
(25,200 pounds) of oil each, are placed at intervals in holes dug
in the ground. The oil which runs out of the seal fat piled up
in layers flows into these tubs by way of an inclined i)lane. Th-^

oil is then poured into barrels. , Kalmyks are employed

chiefly to detach the fat from the skins. They spread the skin,
with the fui' down, on an inclined plank, which they lean against
their breast, in order to have the free use of both their hands.
Then, armed with a two-handled knife, they scrape the fat from
the skin. The oil, which is pure and clear, running down din-
ing this operation, flows into a reservoir let into the ground,
holding 400 'pouds' (14,400 pounds,) and forming a cube, each
side of which measures one 'sagene' (7 fe«t). This work is ex-
tremely fatiguing. A strong and experienced Kalmyk can, how-
ever, clean 500 or even 700 skins in a single day. The workmen
form associations, sharing their labor and their gain.

" The fat is then melted in large tubs, where it is exposed to
the action of steam. The oil flows through a funnel-shaped ap-
paratus, and, finally, through pipes into immense oak-wood res-
ervoirs. There are three such reservoirs connected by pipes,
and let into the ground, so that the oil from the first flows into
the second, and then into the third, from whence, through cocks,
it passes into casks, which can be shipped as soon as filled. Each
one of these reservoirs has a diameter of 3 ' sagenes,' (21 feet,) a
depth of 1 'sagene,' (7 feet,) and can hold 4,800 'pouds' (172,000
pounds) of oil.

" The oil thus extracted forms the first quality. The second
quality is obtained by melting the residue in caldrons, and by

NEEDLESS WASTE OF SEAL-LIFE.

551

I H

pressing it. The color of tliis oil is dark brown. Before the res-
idue is put into the caldrons, capable of holding 200 'pouds'
(7,200 pounds) each, it is thrown into a receptacle with an in-
clined bottom, and the whole mass is stirred violently by means
of wooden shovels. This is done in the sunlight, so that the
heat may help to melt the mass. This receptacle is joined to
the caldron by a large gutter, which is walled uj) in the furnace.
Through this gutter, the residue is led into the caldron, there to
melt, which done, the mass is taken out with dippers and cast
into a box, which is then pressed. By means of this last opera-
tion all the remaining oil contained in the residue is extracted.

''The oil factory of the Sapqjnikow Brothers formerly man-
ufactured about 100,000 'ponds' (3,000,000 pounds) of seal-
oil, which was sent to Moscow, where it was chiefly used in
leather-factories; but during the last fifteen years, this estab
lisliinent has gone considerably, and other wealthy Astrachau
merchants, among them Messrs. Vlasow, Smoline, and Orek-
bow, have established several factories for the oil.

" The skins of the seals are used for making knapsacks and
for covering valises."*

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WASTEFUL DESTRUCTION OF SEALS.

There is often a lamentably great and needless waste of Seal-
life at the Newfoundland aud other sealing-grounds. Mr. Car-
roll, in 1871, pointedly called the attention of the government
authorities to the so-called "panning" process, as a matter
calling for statutory regulation. He says, " No greater in-
jury can [)08sibly be done to the seal fishery than that of bulk-
ing seals on pans of ice, by crews of ice-hunters. Thousands
of seals are killed and bulked, and never seen afterwards.
When the men come up with a large number of old and young
seals, that cannot get into the water, owing to the ice being in
one solid jam, they drive them together, selecting a pan sur-
I'ouiuled with rafted ice, on which thousands of seals are placed
one over the other, perhaps fifteen deep. A certain number of
men is picked out by the ship master to pelt and put on board
the bulked seals, whilst others are sent to kill more. It often
happens that the men are obliged to go from one to ten miles,
before they come up with the seals again, and very often the
men pile from five hundred to two thousand in each bulk, which

'Reit. U. S. Commis. Fiah and Fisheries, pt. iii, lo73-4 and 1874-5, pp.

95, 9C.

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FAMILY PHOCIDiE.

bulks are from oue to two luileis apart ; care is also taken that
flafi;s are stuck up as a guide to direct the uieii where to fiud such
bulked seals. So uncertain is the weather and precarious the
shifting about of the ice, as well as heavy falls of snow and
drift, that very often such bulked seals are never seen again by
the men that killed and bulked them, as the vessels and steam-
ships are frequently driven by gales of wind far out of sight or
reach of them, and frequently wheeled or driven into another
spot, where the men* again conunence killing and bulking as
before. In Thany instances it has haj/pened that the crews of
vessels, as well as the crews of steamships, have killed and
bulked twice their load. 'So doubt seals that are bulked are
often ]>icked up by the crews of other vessels, but such is the
law, that as long as the flags are erected upon the bulks, aud
the vessel or steamship is in sight, no man can take them, not
withstanding the vessel's or steamship's men that bulked tlien
may be ten nules away from them, whilst another vessel may bo
driven within a quarter of a mile of the thousands of bulked
seals, but owing to the law dare not take them." Sometimes af-
ter Seals are bulked heavy gales of wind spring up, driving the
vessels or steamships that claim them, as well as any others in the
vicinity, twenty or thirty miles fro'u them, and they are thus
lost. " Ice-hunting masters make it a rule to have the seals
bulked on large flat pans." In this way the skins are damaged
by exposure to the weather, being injured by severe frosts, as
well as by the sun, so that " between frost and sun thousands
of seal skins are rendered valueless." Loss also often happens
by the capsizing of the pan of ice on which the skins are piled,
and " the seals are never seen afterwards " — this forming the
" greatest evil known to ice-huu,ters." In the spring of 1871,
about four miles to the south of Bonavista Cajie, there were
three pans of ice, marked by flags, on which were piled not less
than four thousand seals, but owing to the severity of the
weather the men from the shore could not reach them. Owing
to the heavy sea and bad weather none of them were ever
obtained, as the pans passed over the Flower Bocks upon which
the seals were ground to pieces. In the spring of 1872, some
five thousand seals, obtained to the westward of Bonavista by
the inhabitants of that place, were heaped upon the ice. " There
were thirteen flags to be seen in the morning over bulked
seals, and when the drift ice struck the land in the evening only
six of the flags were visible, the ice having rafted over both

DF .{EASE OF SEALS FROM INJUDICIOUS HUNTING. 553

fliij^f.s and seals. Some days after, when the ice moved off from
tl\(^ shore, sev^eral bulks of seals were found, but in such a putrid
state that they could not be handled. At the lowest calculation,"
continues Mr. Carroll, " I make bold to state that not less than
from ten to twelve thousand pounds currency worth of seals'
pelts is lost to the country each sealing voyage [or season], by
the present system, carried on by the sealing masters and their
crews ! " The partial remedy that he suggests is that while no
man should have the right to take any Seals of v/hich he is not
tlie owner as long as the owners watch over them, yet as soon
as the prop'ir owners leave them the Seals should be free prop-
erty to any one who can take them away.*

DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SEALS FRCJM INJUDICIOUS

HUNTING.

Formerly so numerous were the Seals commonly hunted in
the Xorth Atlantic and Arctic waters (consisting chiefly of the
Harp or Greenland Seal), that for many years the annual de-
struction of hundreds of thousands seemed not in the least to
(liniiuish their numbers, and as late as 1873 Mr. Carroll * gave
it as his oi)inion that they were actually on the increase at
the Newfoundland sealing-grounds, an opinion concurred in by
other authorities. Here, indeed, their number seems unlim-
ited, but it is otherwise in the sealing-districts about Jan
May en and elsewhere at the various sealing-stations north of
the northern coast of Europe. As already detailed (see anted,,
pp. 503-510), a marked decline began to be apparent as early as
1865 to 1870, which each succeeding year increased at an alarm-
ing rate. Attention was at once directed to the cause, which
was evidently overdestruction by the rival sealing-fleets of
England, Germany, and Norway, and ruinous and indiscrimi-
nate slaughter at improper seasons. The agitation of the mat-
ter which followed resulted, as already shown, in the enactment
of close-time acts for the protection of the Seals during the
period when the young are brought forth. The act on the part
of the English came into force in 18V6, and soon after similar
legislative action was taken by the other interested govern-
ments. While a close-time must be favorable to the increase
of tlie Seals, or at least to the maintainance of their present

• Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, pp. 82-34.
tibid., p. 26.

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nurabers, too little time has thus far elapsed to show to what
extent it may prove beaeflcial.

The chief victims of the seal-hunter in the Antarctic seas and
on the Mexican and Lower Californian coasts — the Sea-Ele-
phauts — long since (as previously stated, see anted,, pp. 517-.')L*2)
became practically exterminated on all the islands and coasts
where they were formerly hunted, and where at the beginning
of the present century they were found in immense troops, and
in seemingly exh.austless numbers.

SEALS AND SEAL-HUNTING IN THE OLDEN TIME IN THE GULP

OP SAINT LAWRENCE.

This already protracted account of the Seal-fishery may be
fittingly closed with the following extraei from Charlevoix
respecting the Seals of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and the
Seal-fishery as practised there one hundred and sixty years
ago. Charlevoix's account is contained in his letters of travel
addressed to the Duchesse of Lesdigiueres, which I give here in
the quaint language of the Dodsley translation published 1701.
Under date of March 21, 1721, he says: "The sea- wolf owes
its name to its cry, which is a sort of howling, for as to its fig-
ure it has nothing of the wolf, nor of any knowu laud animal.
. . . . They never hesitate in this country to place the sea-
wolf in the rank of fishes, tho' it is far from being dumb, is
brought forth on shore, on which it lives as much as iu the
water, is covered with hair, in a word, though nothing is want-
ing to it which constitutes an animal truly amphibious. . . .
Thus the war which :s carried on against the sea-wolf, though
often on shore, and with muskets, is called a fishery ; and that
carried on against the beaver, though in the water, and witli
nets, is called hunting.

" The head of the sea- wolf," he continues, " resembles that of
a dog ; he has four very short legs, especially the hind legs ; in
every other circumstance he is entirely a fish [il est Poisson] :
he rathe] crawls than walks on his legs ; those before are armed
with nails, the hind being shaped like fins ; his skin is hard, and
is covered with a short hair of various colours. There are some
entirely white, as they are all when first brought forth ; some
grow black, and others red, as they grow older, and others
again of both colours together.

"The fishermen distinguish several sorts of sea-woh"..,; t!?"
largest weigh two thousand weight, and it is pretended liave

EARLV SEAL-HUNTING IN THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE. 555

sharper snouts than the rest. There are some of them which
flounce only in water [qui ne sont que fretiller dans I'eau] ; our
sailors call them fraaseurs, as they call another sort nau, of
which I neither know the origin nor meaning. Another sort
arc called Grosses ietes, Thickheads. Some of their young are
very alert, and dextrous iu breaking the nets spread for them ;
these are of a greyish colour, and are very gamesome, full of
mettle, and as handsome as an animal of this figure can be • ;
the Indians accustom them to follow them like little dogs, and
oat them nevertheless.

" M. Denis [Denys] mentions two sorts of sea- wolves, which he
found on the coasts of Acadia ; one of them, says he, are so very
hirge, that their young ones are bigger than our largest hogs,
rie adds that a little while aft^er they are brought forth, the
parents lead %em to the water, and from time to time conduct
them back on shore to suckle them ; that this fishery is carried
on in the month of February, when the young ones which they
arc not desirous of catching, t scarce ever go to water ; thus
on the first alarm the old ones take to flight, making a prodi-
gious noise to advertise their young, that they ought to follow
them, which summons they never fad to obey, provided the
fishermen do not quickly stop them by a knock on the snout
with a stick, which is sufficient to stop them. The number of
these animals upon this coast must needs be prodigi'^fus, if it is
true, what the same author assures us, that eight hundred of
these young ones have been taken in one day. . . .

"It is by all agreed that the flesh of the sea- wolf is good
eating, but it turns much better to account to make oil of it,
which is no very difficult operation. They melt the blubber fat
of it over the fire which dissolves into an oil. Oftentimes they
content themselves with erecting what they call charniers, a
name given to large squares of boards or plank, on which is
spread the flesh of a number of sea- wolves ; here it melts of it-
self, and the oil runs through a hole contrived for the purpose.
This oil when fresh is good for the use of the kitchen, but that
of the young ones soon grows rank, and that of the others if
kept for any considerable timej becomes toe drj' [d6fl6che trop].
In this case it is made use of to bum, or in currying leather.

* An allusion probably to the Phoca vttulina, which is said to be very de-
structivo to nets.

tThe original — "loraque lea Petits, ausquelsonen veut principalement" —
states just the opposite.

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FAMILY PHOCID^.

It keeps long clear, has uo smell, or impuj-ity whatsoever at the
bottom of the cask.

" In the infancy of the colony jj^reat numbers of the hides of
sea-wolves were made use of foi muflfs. This fashion has long
been laid aside, so that the general use they are now put to is
the covering of trunks and cliests. When tanned, they ha \ e
almost the same grain with morocco leather ; they are not (luitc
so fine, but are less liable to crack, and keep longer quite fresh
and look as if new. Very good shoes and boots have bceu
made of them, which let in uo water. Tliey also cover seats
with them, and the wood wears out before the leather; they
tan these hides here with the bark of the oak, and >ii the dye
stuff with which they use black, is mixed a powder made from
a certain stone found on the banks of rivers. This is called
thunder-stone, or marcasite of the mines.

"The sea wolves couple and bring forth their young on rocks,
and sometimes on the ice ; their coumjon litter is two, whicli
they often suckle in the water, but ofteuer on shore ; wlieu
they would teach them to swim they carry them, say they, ou
their backs, then throw them off in the water, afterwards tak-
ing them up again, and continue this sort of instruction till the
young ones are able to swim alone. If this is true, it is an odd
sort of fish, and which nature seems not to have instructed iu
what most sort of land animals do the moment tJiey are brought
forth. The sea- wolf has very acute senses, which are his sole
means of defense : he is, however, often surprised in spite of all
his vigilance, as I have already taken notice ; but the most
common way of catching them is the following.

"It is the custom of this animal to enter the creeks with the
tide ; when the fishermen have found out such creeks to which
great numbers of sea-wolves resort, they enclose them with
stakes and nets, leaving only a small opening for the sea- wolves
to enter ; as soon as it is high-water they shut this opening,
so that when the tide goes out the fishes remain a dry, and
are easily dispatched. They also follow them in canoes to the
places to which many of them resort, and fire upon them wlien
they raise their heads above water to breathe. If they happen
to be no more than wounded they are easily taken ; but if killed
outright, they immediately sink to the bottom like beavers;
but they have large dogs bred to this exercise, which i'etch
them from the bottom in even seven or eight fathoms of water.
Lastly, I have been told, that a sailor having one day surprised

GENUS PHOCA.

557

a vast herd of thein ashore drove them before tiim to his lodg-
iuiis with a switch, as he would havn done a flock of sheei),
and that he with Ids comrades killed to the number of nine
huudred of them. Sit fides penes autoremy*

Subfamily PHOCINiE Grai/.
Genus PHOCA, Linn6 {emend.).

Pkoca, LiNNft, Syst. Nat., 17r>8, i, 37; ibid., ITfitJ, i, 55 (in part).

Pi(8a, 8COPOLI, Introil. Hist. Nat., 1777, 490.— Type, I'hocafcetida. {See infra,

under genus Halichwrua.)
Calociphale [Callocephalua'], F. Cuvier, M^ui. du Mu8., xi, 18'-i4, 182. — Type,

Phoca vitiiHna, Linnd.
CalocephaluB, F. Covier, Diet. Sci. Nat., xxxix, 18^6, .544; lix, 1829, 462.
Pagophilus, Gray, "Zoiil. Erebus andTeiTor, 1844, 3" (aubgenus); Cat. Seals

Brit. Mus., 1850, 25 (genua). — Typ«' Phoca grwnlandica.
Pagomya, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864, 31. — Type, Phoca fcetida, Fa-

bricius.
UaUviion, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864, 28.— Type, "^aWvfon riohardi"

■•= Phoca vituUna.
HaUphiliis, Gray, n. and Mag. Nat. Hisi., xvii, 1866, 446. — Type, Ilali-

chwrua antu, clioua, Pealo = Phoca vitulina,

lucisors .j5-2 ; molars, except the first, 2-rooted and multi-
lobed ; facia i portion of the skull narrow, elongated, the dorsal
outline gradually declining anteriorly ; general form of the skull
lather flat, depressed, the interorbital region very naiTow,

The ge lus Phoca, as here defined, is composed of the smallest
species of ^he family. The three here treat* I in detail, and the
only ones thoroughly known, differ widely in cranial and other
osteological characters, and by some writers have been each re-
garded as the type of a distinct genus, and may be considered
as entitled at least to subgeneric rank. The only genus closely
allied to Phoca (unless Histriophoca be excepted, the cranial
characters of which are unknown) is ^rignathus, consisting of a
single species, still placed by many \yx iters in the genus Phoca.
Tlie form of the skull, however, is wid ly different, the muzzle
being broad and short, the frontal region convex and veiy high,
the orbital fossae and the auditory bullae very small. Erignathus
further differs from Phoca in having small supra-orbital pro-
cesses ; in the total absence of the acromion process of the scap-

* Journal of a Voyage to North America (Dodsley translation), vol. 1, 1761,
pp. 222-226. For the original see Journal d'un Voyage fait par ordre dn
Roi dana I'Amerique septentrinonale (12mo ed., 1744), pp. 211-216.

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558

FAMILY PHOCIDJE.

ula, and in lacking the abrupt eversion of the upper border of
the ilia.

The subgenus Phoca, consisting, so far as certainly known, of
a single speijies {Phoca vituUna), differs from Pusa ( = Pagomys,
Gray), and from Pagophilm, principally in its generally heavy
structure, especially of the skull and dentition, and in thethi(!k-
ness of the body and the shortness of tuc limbs, particularly of
the tibial and radial segments. In Pum and Pngophilus the skull
is similar in general outlines and propoitions, it differing in both
from Phoca in its generally much slighter structure, very small
teeth, flatness of the dorsal aspect of the brain-case, and the slen-
derness of the nuizzle and whole facial region, as well as in the
form of the lower jaw. Pagophilus differs from Pusa in having
the posterior nares completely divided into two distinct pas-
sages, by the complete ossittcatiou of the narial septum, in the
broad form of the scapula, and in having only three, instead of
four, anchylosed sacral vertebrte — (characters possibly of generic
rather than subgeneric value. The well-known representatives
of these groups are respectively Phoca fcetida and P. grcenland-
tea, to which are to be referred also the Phoca caspica and the
Phoca, sihirica.*

As alreadj' noticed {antea^ p. 417) the name Phoca, by strict
adherence to rules of nomenclature, should be reserved for the
Phoca leotiina, Linn6, this being the only Linnean species of
Phoca left after the removal (in 1824) of Phoca vitulina as the
type of F. Cuvier's genus CallocepJialus. t Pusa of Scopoli, 1777,
with Phoca fatkla as the type, however, long antedates CaUo-
cephalu^, and would be strictly the name of the group were
Phoca set aside. Yet as Pusa may be deemed by some as unten-
able, and as to restrict Plwca, on, at best, a sligliL technicality,
to what is now called Macrorhinus, would be to subvert all the
traditions of nomenclature relating to the generic name of our
smaller Phocids, it seems best not to attempt, on so slight a
pretext, a change in nomenclature that would doubtless be re-
ceived with reluctance, if indeed it could be for a long time
brought into general use.

Gallooeplialus has been in more or less general use for the
smaller Phocids ever since it was proposed by F. Ouvier iu
1824, especially among the earlier French writers, and it has

• If the Phoca nummularis of Temminck prove to be a valid siiecLos its
closest affinities are doubtless with P. vitulina. On this point see infra.

t In the same paper, but eight pages later, Phoca leoaina, Linn^> vras made
the typo of the same author's genus Macrorhinus.

^^■^im

iff

PHOCA VITULINA — HARBOR SEAL.

659

been also adopted by several Euglisli aud German zoologists,
li has been given especial prominence by Dr. Gray and those
who have followed his nomenclature. Latterly, however, Gray
restricted it to the single species Phoea vitulina. Ouvier and
his followers placed in it not only Phoca vitulhia, P./cetida, and
P. grcenlamlica, but also P. harbata.

As early as 1844, Gray removed Phoca harbata from the genus
Callocephaltis as the tyi)e aud sole species of his restricted genus
Phoea. At the same time Pagophilus, with Phoca gfroenlntidlca
as type, was proposed as a subgenus of Callocephalus, but was
later raised by him to full generic rank. In 1844 the same
author introduced the " genera " Halicyon and Pagomys, with
'"'• Phoca richardi,^'' Graj' {= Phoca vitulina) as type of the former,
while Phoca fcetida was chosen as the type of Pagomys. In 1866
he bestowed the generic name HaUphilm upon the species Gill
a few months before had called Phoca pealei. This being merely
Pe.ile's Halichcenis atitarcticm, and the same as Gray's Halicyou
richardsi, th<3 latter had now in use at the same time three ge-
neric names for the single species Phoca vitulina, namely, Callo-
cephalus, Halicyon, and Haliphilus !

Pusa, proposed by Scopoli in 1777 as the generic name of a
Seal previously figured aud described by Miiller, is perhaps not
without objections, although Scopoli's sole reference being to
Miiller, the species intended is fixed beyond question, notwith
standing that his diagnosis is a piu-e absurdity. MuUer's figure
was copied from a plate published twelve years before by Ilout-
tj II, which latter was a copy of a figure published by Albinus
iu 1756. Albinus's better plate and description were evidently
based on an adult femnle Phoca fcetida. The name Pusa was
overlooked or ignored till Gill in 1872 revived it as a substitute
for Halichmrus.*

PHOCA (PHOCA) VITULINA, LinnS.

Harbor Seal.

Phoca Gommunia, Linn6, Mua. Ad. Fred, i, 1754, 5.

Phooa vitulina, Linn6, Syst. Nat., 1758, i, 38; ibid., 1766, i, 56; Fann. Sneo.,
1761, 2.— MOllek, Zool. Dan. Prod., 1776, 1.— Schreber, Sauget., lit,
[1776 f] 333, pi. lxxxiT( figure from Buffon). — Erxlebbn, Syat. Reg.
Anim., 1777, 583. — Fabricios, Faim. Grnenl., 1780, 9 ; Skriv. Naturh.-
Selsk., ii, 1791, 98.— Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 63.— Kerr, Anim.
King., 1792, 123.— Edmonston, View of Zetland, ii, 1809, 20'2.— G.

* For a detailed history of Paan, and a full transcript of Scopoli's diag-
nosis, see infra under genua Haliohcerm.

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660 PHOCA VITULINA HAliBOR SEAL.

CcviER, Ann. Mus. (I'llist. Nat. Paris, xvii, 1811, 377 (physical and
intellectual faculties).— De.smarrst, Ncniv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., xxv,
1B17, 583, pi. xliv, tig. 3; Mam., 1820,ai4.— Duvernoy, Mi^m. Mim.
d'Hist. Nat. Paris, ix, IHiJ'i, 49, K)") (anatomy).— ScoRESBY, Voy. to
Greenl., 1~23, 41(5. — E. SAniNE, Parry's Ist Voy., Supj)!., 1824, cxci.—
Harlan, Faun. Amiii., 1825, 107.— Godman, Am. Nat. Hist., i, I'^'.iii,
311.— F. CuviER, Diet. dcsSci. Nat., xxxix, 182G, .543.— Schinz, Nm-
nrg. u. Abild. dov Siiuget., 1827, UK, pi. Ixiv ; Syn(>i». Mam., i, 1-44,
480,— Fleming, Hist. Brit, Anim., 1828, 17.— Fischer, Syn. Mam..
182'.), 236.— Owen, Proc. Com. Zool. Sop. Lotid., i, 1831, 151 (anat-
omy).— Gray, GritHth's Cnv. An. King., v, 1837, 17ti.— Bell, Brit.
Quad., 1837, 203, ii<;g. (skull and animal) ; ibid., 2ded., 1874,240.—

NiLSSON, "Vet. Akad. Haudl., 1837, ; 111. Fiy. till Skand. Faun.

ii, 1840, liiift 20;" Arch, fiir Naturg., 1H41, 310; Skaml. Faun.,
Dagg'lj-, 1847. 276.- Macgillivray, Brit. Quad., 1838, 190, jil.
xviii. — Ball, Trans. Roy. Irish Acad., xviii, 1839, pi. iv, tigg, 11-13.
pU. V, vi; Sketches of Brit. Seals, 1839, pi. viii, tfgg. 23-25 (animal),
pi. ix, tigg. 2i)-32 (anatomy). — Hamilton, Aniphib. Cam., 1839, 127,
pU. ii-iv, vi. — Richardson, Zool. Beochey's Voy., 1839, (;(noLth\ve»t
coast of North America). — Blainville, Ostdog., Phoca, 1840-1851,
pi. ii (skeleton), pl.v (skull), pi. ix (dentition). — .Jukes, Exenrs. iu
Newfoundland, i, 1842, 309.— Thompson, Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1842,
38; ibid.. Append., 185;i, 13 (Tiake Champlain). — Wagner, Schie-
ber's Siluget., vii, 184(), 2(),pl.84. — "Gai iard, Voy. en Islande et au
Groiinl., 1851, Atlas, pi. xi, tigg. 3-5." — ' KOrner, Skand. Daggdj.,
1855, pi. xi, fig. 1."— Giebel, Siluget., 18.T), 136.— Blasius, Naturg.
Wirb. Deutschl., i, 1857, 248, tigg. 136,137 (skull).- Gunn, ZoCl..-
gist, 1864, 9277, 9.3,59.— " Holmgren, Skand. Daggdj., 1865,213."-
Glix, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 186(5, 12. — Packard, Proc, Bost. Soc. Nat.
Hist,, X, 1866, 270 (Labrador). — Lloyd, Game Birds and Wild Fowl
of Sweden and Norway, 1867, 381, colored piate. — Allen, Bull. .Miis.
Comp. Zool., i,1869, 193 (Massachusetts); ibid., ii, 1870, S5 (coiii-
parison with Otariidae). — Reeks, Zoologist, 1871, 2541 (Newfounil-
land). — CORDEAUX, Zoologist, 1872, 3203 (Lincolnshire coast, Eng-
land). — Elliott, Cond. of Affairs in Alaska, 1875, 121. — Clakk,
Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1874, 556 (Vancouver's Island and Califor-
nia, etc.). — CORNALIA, i,62 (Mediterranean). — Lilljuborg, Fauna
ofver Sveriges och Norges Ryggrads., 1874, (572. — Collet, Beiiuerk-
ninger til Norges Pattedyrfauna, 1876, r>6. — Van Beneden, Ann. ilu
Mus. Roy. d'Hist. Nat. du Belgique, i, 1877, 19 (geographical distri-
bution, with chart). — Rink, Danish Greenland, its People and its
Products, 1877, 123, 430.— Alston, Faun. Scotl., Mam., 1880, 13.

Cdttoot^halus vitiiUnua, F. CuviER, Diet. Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 540. —
Gray, " Zool. Erebus and Terror, 1844, 3 ; " Cat. Osteol. Spec. Brit.
Mu8., 1847, 32; Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, 21, fig. 7; Cat. S.'.als
and Whales, 1866, 20, fig. 7 ; Zoologist, 1872, 3333, 3335 (Brit. IhI.);
Hand-List Seals, 1874, 2, pi. i.— Brown, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud.,
1868, 340, 411 ; Man. Nat. Hist., etc., GreenI,, 1875, Mam., 41.-
Malm, Goteborgs och Bohusltins Fauna Ryggradsdjuren, 1877, 144.

Pkoea variegata, Nilsson, Skand. Faun., i, 1820, ',^9.

I *

Sl'NONYMY,

561

•' Phoon acnpulwola, Thiknkmann, Rtiisen vou Nord. Europa, etc., i, 1824, 59,

pi. V (ad. male)" (apiid Wagnor, Blaaius and others; referred to

Halirhcerun {ivypm by Gray).
"J'hooa IHtoren, Thiknkmann, Reisen von Nord. Enropa, etc., i, 1824, 61, pi.

vi (male), pll.vii, viii (skulls)" {apud awitori var,).
! Pkova tij/r iia, , Lesson, Mau. , do Mam. , 1827, 206 (— ' ' Plioque tigr(5 " Krascli-

euuiuikow. Hist. Kamtscli.).
rhoca Unnwi, Lkssox, Diet, class. d'Hist. Nat., liii, 1828,414 (= P. vitulina,

Liuno).
IFhoca chnrm, Lks.son, Diet, class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 417.— FisCHER,

Syu. Mam., 1829, 241 (="Chieii de mer de D6troit de Behriug,"

Cboris, Voy. Pittoresq., pi. viii).
I'hmi ratt'imi, Pallas, Zool. Rosso-Asiat., i, 1831, 114 (at least in part).
Whom Javfihu, Pallas, Zool. P.osso-Asiat., i, 18'.il, li:?.
;CaUoc,'phnlua1nrfllia, Gray. Cat. Seals, IS.'iO, 24 (= P. largha, Pallas).
IPagomyxi largha, Gray. Cat. Seals and Whales, 18(56, 24 (same).
'.Phoca immmiilarin, Temminck, Faun. .Tapon., Mam. Mar., 1842, X(--? P.

lanjha, Pallas). — Waunek, Schreber's Siiuget., vii, 1846, 24 (same).

— VonSciirenck, Amur-Lande, i, 1859, 180 (same).— Middendorff,

Sibirish Rei.se, ii, Th. ii, 18."):^, 122 (same).
^Paaomi/Hl ninnmiilnris, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1864, HI (=Phoca

nummnlarin. Temminck).
Phiica coneolor, Dkkav, New York Zool., i, 1842, 53, pi. xviii, fig. 2.
Phoat jubata, Hutchi.nq, Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California,

189, fig.
HaJichdrus aniarcthiiM, Peale, Rep. U. S. Ex. Ex., viii (Mam. and Orn.)

1848, 30, pi. V, (animal) wood-cut (skull).
Lohodon cardnophafla, Cassin, Rep. U. S. Ex. Ex. {=:HaUohoerm antarotiewt,

Peale).
Hallphilits antarcticuM, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., xvii, 186(), 446 (=

Halielnrrna antarcticns, Peale).
HaUcfion nchardni. Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1864, 28 (Vancouver's

Island) ; Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 30, fig. 9 (sknll) ; Proc. Zool.

Soc. Lond., 1873, 779 (Japan) ; Hand-List Seals, 1874, 4. (SeeCLARK,

Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud, 1873, 556. )
Phoca peahi, Gill, Proc. Essex Inst, v, 186(i, 4, 13 (= Halivhwrus antarcticun,

Peale).— ScAMMON, Marine Mam., 1874, 164, pi. xxii, fig. 1 {='*Phoca

pealiij Gill)."
Halirfttm peahi. Gray, Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 2.
rhoca , Newberry, Pacif. R. R. Rep. Ex. and Surv., vi, pt. iv. No. 2,

1857, 51.— Cooper, Pacif. R. R. Rep. Ex. and Surv. , xii, pt. ii, 1860, 78.
UaUcyonf californiva, Gra\, Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 367 (= "Hair

Seal, Phoca jubata,^' of Hutching).
Phrafwtida, Bartlett, Proe. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1868, 402 (on the young at

birth; a malidentificaton — see Sclater, ibid., 1871, 701).
ntu/iis maris Oveani, Rondelkt, De Piscibus, 1554, 458, with fig. — Gesnbr,

Hist. Anim. de Pisci. et Aquat., 1558, 705, (fig.). — Aldrovandus,

D«^ Piscibus, 1738, 723.
" ViMiiH mannm, Olaus Magnus, Hist, de Gent. Sept. l.^.^.^, 701."
i'iiorn vuhjarh, .FoNSTON, Hist. Nat. de Piscibus et Cetis, 1649, 221, pi. iliv.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 -36

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5()2

PHOf'A VITl'LINA HARBOR SI^AL.

Phoca neu vHuIiih marlniis, Ray, Syii. Quad. 17i:J, l-'9. — IJui.s.soN, Reg. Aaim.,

17fiO, 102.
Phora. Woini, Mn.s. Worm., KI.'SS, 2H9.

Pliom dftitibun mtiinix tertix, LiNXi?:, " Syst. Nat., 3(j"; P^auna Suec, 1746, 4.
Phoca mcdiiv mannitudiniH, Stkli.kk, Nov. Coumi. I'ctrop., ii, 1751, 5J90.
^jmiylet, Egkdk, (iroiilaiuls Naturcl-Hist., 1741, pi. facing p. 4(i.
Bobbi, SwUntnd, PoNTOPPlDAX, "Norg. Nat. Hi.st., ii, 17;V2, 203, fig."; Xat.

Hist, von Norwegcn, ii, 17.'il{, 237.
Kaxfiuiiak, Cuanz, Hist, von Griiiil. (zwcitc Auti.) i, 1770, 1(53 (1st ed. 17(i.'),

not see* ) ; Hist, of Greenl., i, 17()7, 123.
Phoqnf dc notrv /ct'ati, HCKKON, Hist. Nat., xiii, 176;'), ;{33, 339, pi. xlv.
Fhoqiit coinmitne, Ulfkox, Hist. Nat., 8uppl., vi, 1782, 330, pi. xlvi.— G.

t'rviKi!, O.SS. Fos.s., iv, 1823, 278; v, 200.— F. Cuviek, Hist. Xat.

(It's Mam., livr. xli, 1824.
Seal, Pknxant, Brit. Zool., 17fM;, 34.
Common SmI, Pknnant, Syn. Quad., 1771, 339; Arctic Zool., 2ud ed. i, 1792,

17.5. — Pakson's, Phil. Trans., xlvii, 17.">3, 120, pi. vi.
Leopard Seal, .Soammox, 1. c.
Sal; So'lhuiid ; I.andnwl; Spraglcd Sa'l, Dtuntih.
Eniihbxjdl : Sprdrklig Skdl ; H'ikare Sjal, .Swedish.
Steeii- l\obbc, Norwegian.

Seehiiiid; (iemeiiie Seehiind ; (Ifjlt'ckte Sceliiind : Itobbr ; .S'ccAa/fr, German.
Phoque : I'ltoqiiv commimv ; f caii-marh : Loiii>-miii in ; Chien-mnrin ; French.
Seal; Common Seal • Harbor Seal ; L'iver Si I ; Jiay Seal ; Land Seal ; Freith-

water Sial ; Sea-Calf; Sea-Cat; Sea-f>oi/, English authors ;ind Eng-
lish local names.
Selchie; .ScWi (Scotland) ; ranr/fixh (Shetland); /.'flicH (Helirides).
Native Seal ; Hanger; Dotard, Newfoundlaiul sealers.

External Characters. — Color variable. Above, usuallv
yellowlsh-iuray, varied with irregular spots of dark brown oi
bla«;k ; beneath, yellowi.sh- white, usually with smaller spots ol
dark-browii. Sometimes iiuitbrm brownish-yellow above, and
somewhat paler behnv, entirely without spots ; or unitbrm dark
{•ray above, and pale yellowish- white beh)w, everywhere unspot-
ted. Is'ot unfrecpiently everywhere dark-brown or blackish,
varied with irregular streaks and small spots of yellowish-
brown; the head wholly blackish from the nose to beyontl tiie
eyes; the lips and around the eyes rusty-yellow. Length of
male, o to feet; of female, somewbat less. Young at birth
uniform soiled-white or yellowish- white, changing to darker
with the tirst moult.

The variations in color ai-e almost endless, ranging from uni-
form y«'llowish-brown to almost uniform dark-brown, and even
uearly black, with, between these extremes, almost every pos-
sible variatiou, from dark spotting ou a light ground to light

1 1

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KXTKRNAL ClIARAC IHIiS.

r)G3

spottiii;;' on ii dark jinmud. The marking's vary in size from
wry small spots to lari>t', irn^giilar i)atclies and streaks. Tlie
more common color is brownish-yellow, varied with spots and

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l»iit(li('s of darker, Imt not unfreqiiontly the general color is
'•lackish, more or h^ss varied with spots, i)atclies and streaks
ot lighter. Tiie lower surface is generally thiirkly marked with
small oval or roundish spots, smaller and less contliieid than

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PHOCA VITIJLIXA HAI?r,OR SEAL.

those of the upper surface. Specimens from Denmark and tho
Atlantic coast of Nortli America are indistinj^uishable from
those from Lower California, Washington Territory, and Alas-
lea. Sp(!ein?ens from the Pacific coast i)resent the same \vid«
range of color- variations, and precisely the same phases as those
from the shores of the Atlantic.

Captain Scammon gives the weight of two adult females from
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as .10 and •»<) ])onnds respectively.
Mr. ^lichael Carroll gives the weight of adults (sex not stated)
as 80 to 100 pounds. Mounted specimens, apparently adult,
vary in length froin three to tive feet. Scammon says that on
the Pacific coast it " never exceeds six feet in length," and givt s
the length of the two above-mentioned fenuiles as respectively
from "tip of nose to tip of tail" 3 feet S inches and 3 feet Id
inches. Mr. Paul Schumacher gives the length of a " fciiialc
Marbled Seal," sent to the Museum of Comjiarative Zoiilojiy
from Santa Barbara Island, California, as r» feet from tip of nose
totheeudof the lund flippers, which would make the length to the
end of the tail about 5 feet inches. Lilljeborg gives the total
length to the end of thehind flippers as ."• feet S inches (Swedish)
or 1740 mm. Bell says, " Length of adult from three to five
feet". Vuthors generally give the length as from 3 to (5 feet, f
find the length of an adult (disarticulated) skeleton to be about
4 feet, or 1225 mm., while Lilljeborg gives the length of the
skeleton as 5 feet 1 inch or 1530 mm. In the large series of
skins and skulls I have examined very few were marked for sex,
and I find nothing explicitly stated by authors in relation to
sexual difference in size.

Unlike the Phoca foetida., P. grapnlandica, and njost other Pho
cids of the northern waters, the first coat is shed before or soon
afterbirth, but as to the exact time at which it is cast authori
ties disagree. Mr. Bartlett, in describing a young Seal of this
species (wrongly identified at the time as J^hoca fcetida). born
in the Garden of tho London Zoological Society June S, ISCS.
says : " It was born near the edge of the water, and in a few
minutes after its birth, by rolling and turning about, was coin
pletely divested of the outer covering of ///rand Imir, which
formed a complete mat, upon which the young animal lay for
the hour or two after its birth ".*

(If

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS.

565

It its sometimos stati'd that the fotal coat is retained for four
or tive days after birth, but other writers afBrin thi't it is shed
at the time of birth. Mr. Kiimlieii, iu his MS. notes* on this
specit's, s.iys tliat the Esquimaux affirm that the '"yorufj remain
III tlie wliite coat but three or four days, dift'ering greatly in this
rt'spt'ct from Paf/omi/.s/tetiduN.'"

Distinctive CiiAiiACTEUs.—Tlie common Harbor Seal, the
l{iu}i<'d Seal, and the Harp Seal, during its earlier stages, are
not always certainly distinguishable bj coh)r, and are appai'-
t'litly not easy to determine by any othev external characters,
save one, that have yet been pointed out. The Kinged Seal
{Phoca /(vtuht) niu always be recognized by the length of the
tirst digit of the manns, which slightly exceeds all the others.
Wiien adult, and in tiie tiesh, they must each [u-esent well-
marked external ditterences, not only in color but in proportions
and form. P. /(etida is the snuillest of the three, while the
Harp Seal {P. (frwnhintlica) is the largest, and when adult, is
easily distinguished by cohu'atiim alone. P. vitnlina, judging
from the skeleton, is a c()mi>aratively robust form, with a large
liead, lu'oad nose, and rather short limbs. The others are more
slender, with a nairower and more jiointed nose, and a smaller
and more delicately shai)ed head. IJy the skull, or by any of
tilt! principal b(mes of the skeleton, particularly of the limbs,
they can be easily distinguished, as will be shown by the fol-
lowing rather extended osteological comparisons, with the ma-
terial for which I am fortunately well provided.

As is well known, /*. cituVma is easily distinguished from the
other species of Phoea above named by its heavy dentition,
tlip molars especially being very broad and thick, closely
m>\vde<l together and set obliquely in the Jaw, whereas in both
P.ficiida and P.grienlamlkn the teeth are very small, normally
implanted, and separated l)y well-marked diastema. They also

'Mr. LiKlwig Kiimlieu, naturaliat of the "Howfjate Polar Ex]n'(litioii"
(l'*77-'7f^), kiniUy placed at my service his report, while in iiiaiinscript, ou
tlip mammals collected and observed by him in and near Cnmberland Sound,
from which the extracts jjiven in the following pages as from Mr. Kumlien's
'MS. notes" were taken. A year later, and as these pages are passing
11»r<mj;h the press, his full report, has appeared as " Bulletin No. 15" of the
riiitcd States National Museum, under the title "Contributions to the
Natural History of Arctic America, made in connection with the Howgate
Polar Expedition, 1877-'7H. By Ludwig Kumlion. Naturalist of the Expedi-
tion," Washington: Government Printing Office. 1879. 8vo, pp. 179. The
account of the Seals occupies pp. .')5-64.

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PHOCA. Vi.iTI.INA — UAWHOR SHAI-.

have the cincfiiliuu smooth, while in /*. ritiilina it is luoic or
U'HS distinctly beaded (.sonu'tiines striated) on the anterior por-
tiou of tli.i inner side, especially in early life, ; 'id on tlie 'hiee
anterior teeth. In old aj^e. however, this leature often beeomt's
wholly obliterated. The obli(|ne position of the teeth in the
jaw evidently resnlts from their larye size, the sjtaee for tht'ir
reception beinj; too snort to permit of their standing end to end
in the usual manner. Th'.'ir larjfe size also ri'sults in, or neces-
sarily accompanies, a considerable modification of the whole
faeial jwrtion of the skidl, which is greatly thickened and
broadened, in comparison with the same part in the other abov*;-
mentioned species. Passing to the i>alatal region, P. ritulina
and P. /cetida present an essential agreement, the posterior
nares in both being rather abrni»tly narrowed posteriorly ; the
hiud border of the palatines is deeply hoUowed, and the narial
septum is imperfectly developed at its posterioi- bor<ler. In i*.
fcetidn it remains wludly unossilied btdiind the i)rdato-ma.\illary
suture, except the buttress-like extensions along the narial roof
and tioor, and ossification of the septum is carried but little
further in P. vituUna. In 1*. groenlaiuUra, ln)wever, the sei)tuui
is fully aud even heavi'y developed to the very end of the
squarely truncated hind border of the i)alatines, dividing verti-
cally the posterior narial opening, which is scarcely at all (con-
tracted, into two distinct passages. Its transverse breadtli is
nearly twice its vertical width, while in P. ritulina these dimen-
sions are nearly equal.

The auditory bullae diller considerably in form in each of the
three species here compared. In general form they have in
each the outlines of a nearly eciuilateral triangle, but the sides
are set in each at a different angle relatively to the transverse
axis of the skull. lu P.fcetida the anterior border is nearly
parallel with the plane of this axis ; in P. vituUna the two form au
acute angle, while in P. yroenlandim they form nearly a right
angle. The anterior face of the bullre is nearly plane in V,
fcetida, strongly hollowed in P. grcenlandica, and slightly so in P.
vitidina. In both P. /cetida and P. grainlaiuUca the lateral ex-
tension forming the lower border of the meatus auditoriiis is
depressed and swollen or rounded below, forming an abrupti^v
constricted neck to the bulla proper, but in P. mtulina it slopes
evenl.y rom the highest part of the bulla and terminates in a
uniformly tapering triangular point.

The facial portion of the skull, as already intimated, is broad

U i'

DISTlNCriVE CHARACTERS.

5«7

iuiil heavy in P. ritulina, to give room and support tor the
thick strori}^ teeth ; in P. J'wtidn it is short aud narrow, ami
iiiiitorinly tapering; in P. (fra;nlan(li<;a the mu/zle i« narrow,
rather lengthened and attenuated. The teeth of the molar
series in P. cituUna are relatively about two and a half to three
times larger than in either of the other speiiies.

In respect to other characters of the skull, the orbital fosssB
lire relatively larger in P.fcetida than in either of the others,
with the inner wall more deeply excavated, and the zygomatic
border rather angidar (sometimes very markedly so) instead of
regularly convex. P. vituiina differs still further in the greater
development and inward curvature of the malar process of tiie
iVKoniatie arch. Another striking difference is seen in the gen-
eral contour of the upper surfaee of the skull, which in P. ritnlina
is rather sharply convex, with (in old males) the ridges formed
for the attachment of the masseter muscles closely ai)proxi-
inated along the median line, or sometimes actually meetuig to
form a low, broad, incipient sagittal crest, while in both P.
(jrcenlmidica and P.fcetida the whole top of the skull is nearly
dat, and the ridges for the attachment of the masseter muscles
form a thickened line at the edge of the skull where the lateral
aud dorsal surfaces meet at a rather sharp angle.

Tlie lower jaw in P. vituiina is very heavy and short ; the
symphysis is very short, behiiul which the rami abruptly bow
outward and widely diverge ; the rami are very thick, with the
axis of expansion nearly vertical, and there is no inward cur-
vature of the inferior border. In P. grcenlandica the lower jaw
is very slender with a rather long symphysis ; the rami are very
thin and broad, the inferior borders of which curve inwar<l so
as to nearly or quite meet for one-third of the length of the jaw,
or nearly as far back aa the last molar, while the plane of verti-
cal expansion is very oblique. The lower jaw in P. fcetida quite
nearly resembles, in general form, that of P. grcenlandica. In
P. vituiina the vertical diameter of the ramus just behind the
lajsi molar is only about two and a half times greater than the
transverse is at the same poi'jt, while in P. grcenlandica it is
t'nlly four times greater. P. vituiina also differs from the others
by the abrupt angle formed by the ascending ramus.*

* As will be noticed later {infra, p. 573) the lower jaw in P. vituiina varies
greatly in form aii'l stoutness with ago, and probably also with sex. In the
foregoing comparison the lower jaw of a very old male P. vituXina has been
compared with others corresponding in age and sex of P. gramlandioa and

P-Mida.

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668

PnOCA VITITMNA — ITARnOK SEAL.

Witliont ffoinpr into a dctiiilKl <'ompiiri.so!i of tlio bones of the
general Nkelcton, a few jminta may be briefly n(»tice<l. The
Bcapnia has nearly the same {jeneral ontrne in both P. ritu-
Una and P. ftrfida, bnt (lifters widely from that of P. grcrnlan-
dica, mainly throuj^h the greiit development of the jMJSterior
npper ])ortio!i of the blade, which is {greatest in P. rHuUna. fn
other words tlies<'apnla in P. (fr<Tnlnndica\n\i^sH "si('kle-slia])t'»l''
than in the others owinj; to the fjreater «levelopment of the prc-
Hcapnlar portion and the less development of the post-s< a|niliir
part. Ill P.fwfidn the infra-acromial ])ortion is mnch elonjjatod,
.so that althonfjh the scapnla is mneh smaller than in P. rituUna,
its leiifjth is greater. In P. ffptifJa the len};th to the breadth*
is as I to O.H47 ; in /'. ritulinn, as 1 to LIT*.'); in P. (frfenlanriica
as 1 to 0.90S. The width of tlu^ ])ost-seapnlar fossa to the whole
breadth is, in P./aefnln, as 0.577 to 1 ; in P. rlfitlina as OfM to
1 ; i'.i P. fircenhndiea as ().(U{4 to I.

The bones of both the fore and the hind limbs vary considera-
bly in size and form with each s})ecies, bnt only the difference
in the relative lenp;th of the several sejrments of the limb, com
pared with its whole length, will be here noted. Fn both foro
and hind limbs the second sejfment is relatively mnch shorter
in P. vituHna than in either P./nlUla or P. grcenlandica ; in P.
grcenlandica the pes is relatively much lengthened while the
maniis is of the same length as in P. rituHna. The proportion-
ate length of the femur to the tibia varies as follows: in P.fae-
tida the femur to the tibia is as 1 to 2; in P. vituUna as 1 to 1.8;
in P. groenland'ca as 1 to 2.3, The proportionsite length of the
femur to the pea is as 1 to 2.7 in P.fcetido, 1 to 2.4 in P. ritvlina,
and 1 to 2.9 in P. groBnlandicn ; of the femur to the whole limb,
respectively, 1 to 5.7 ; 1 to 4.3 ; 1 to 6,2. This difference is mainly
due to two elements of variation, — the shortness of the tibia in
P. ritulina and the great length of the pes in P. grcenhndim.
The ratio of the pes to the whole liud), however, is nearly con-
stant, being as follows: in P. fcetida, 1 to 2.14; in P. rituUnn, 1
to 2.16 ; in P. grcenlandim, 1 to 2.13.

P. vittdina presents another noteworthy point of difference
from its allies in the relative shortness of the pelvic bones, which
is directly proportionate to that of the tibia and radius, or second
limb segments. In both P. vitulina and P. groenlundica the length

* The supra-pcav alar epiphysis is iu each caee omitted from the compart-
MO, and only the suapulae of adults of comparable ages are employed.

♦^^.lijjfe

DISTINCTIVi: CHARACTERS.

509

of th(» pclviN is procisrly tliat of the tihiii, Immiijt respectivoly
2W mill, iiiid 2rt'> iiiiii. /*. /(viuht i)ri'.s('nts a different ratio,
due not to the shortuoss of tin' ]M'lvis so iiiiKrli as to tlic };ri>at
l('iij,'tii of tlic tibia, the tibia iiu*avsnriii{j 100 nun. and the pelvis
170 nun. .

Not only is the (h'utition exeeptionally heavy in P. ritiilina,
but tlie wlioh' skull is poinlerous, in strikinj;' ctnitrast with the
li;ilit tliiu skull of either of the other si)e(!ies. in other words,
/'. rititlhia is a h'njJmuU'd, short-bodied, and short-limbed spe-jl
cics. While the linear <liinensions of old male skulls fully equal
or somewhat exceed the same measurements of equally old
male skulls of P. yrcenlandka, the length of the limbs, and also
tlic entire skeleton, is much less, as shown by the following
measurements : •

Phocii vituliuat

T'liiicii jxrienlttDdicat
Phoca fmtldaj

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['A s'i

* Including scapula.

t Adult male.

« Adult female.

^m^

The fore limb, as well as the total length of the animal, is
even actually shorter than in P./cetiila, although the latter is a
much smaller animal. The ratio of the length of the skull to
the length of the whole skeleton in the three species iu ques-
tion is as follows: in Phoca vitullna, as 1 to 5.G; in Phoca green-
kiufica, as 1 to 8; in Phoca foetida, as 1 to 8.0. Measurements
(iu millimeters) of the principal parts of the skeletons of these
three species are presented in the following table, from which
it will be seen that the shortness of the caudal vertebra; in
Phoca v^tuUna is also a noteworthy point. This is due in part

' The largest ekiiU of P. intulina in a Heriea of ten measures 223 mm. in
length and 144 mm. in extreme breadth, while the largest skull of P. green-
kndira in a series of twelve measures 228 mm. in length and l'X\ mm. in
brpa<lth. No other in the series, however, exceeds a length of 220 mm. or
a breadth of 128 mm., old skuUa of P. vituHna averaging the longer, with
the breadth very much greater.

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670

PHOCA VITULINA— HAKHOR SEAL.

to the Hiuall size of thetie vertebrie, but in part to their reduced
number.*

UeanitrtiMnUof ths principal parti of the »kel«toH in Phooa mtiilina, Phova ijrom-

landioa,and Phooa fcBtida.

•The vertebral formwltB of the five species of northern Phocids, of wbieh
I have before me several complete skeletons of each, are as follows :

Species.

Phooa vituUna

Phooa fxtida

Phoca pxBnlandloa . .
Erignathus barbatus
Cyatophora oristata.

Cervical

Dc .""aI

Lumbar

Sacral

Caudal

vertebra.

vertebrw.

vertebriB

vertBbra;

The number of saoral and caudal vertebrse, especially the latter, may be
subject to individual variation, as Qerrard (Cat. Bones of Mam. in U.it.
Mus., 1862, p. 143) gives .3 sacral and 12 caudal for P. vituUna. Lilljeliorg
also gives only 3, but adds that a very old skeleton has 4. In each of the
four skeletons of this species which 1 have examined 4 vertebra} are firmly
anchylosed to form the sacrum ; in three of these the caudal series is imI>e^
feet. Gterrard gives also only :' sacral for Erignathus barbatus (Ibid., p. 145),
while in two skeletons I And 4 in each.

Lilljeborg gives the length of the tail in Phooa vituUna at 69 mm. and ia
Phooa fcetida, male, 150 mm., female, 144.

tin two very old skeletons of Phooa grcmlandioa I find the Hacrnm to con-
sist of ouly three anchylosed vertebra. In both the other species the sft>
orum consists of four anchylosed vertebne.

ih.

1Vt\

INDIVFDI'AI. AND SKXUAI. VARIATION.

571

[n n?sj)e<!t to otlu'r foiitiiros, it may l>t^ a«ld<i(l that the volative
length (>(■ the (list and neeond phahmges of tho thumb in P.
cUuliua atitl /*. (frcenlandica is reversed. Whih» the U'ligth of
the whoh! difjit in nearly the same in the two, the phalanges
notably vary, the, tlrs* phalanx being short and the second long
in P. rilulina, while in P. /)• ^nlandka the first is long and the
scroud short. The rolati.^>- a iigthof the digits of the manus in
nearly the same in both, P. fcpfUla, as alrea<ly stated, being
easily distinguished from either by its having the first digit
decidedly the longest and the others successively shorter.

Individual and Sexual Variation. — The wide range of
color-variation has been alrea«ly uot«d in the general descrip-
tion of the ext(?rnal characters, and this appears to be in great
measure independent of either sex or age. After allowing for
the thickening of the bones and the development of rugosities
for the attJichment of muscles, there still remains a <'ousiderable
range of variation in the skull and other l)ones that nuiy be con-
sidered as purely individual. The variations in the skull are
shown to some extent by the sulyoined table of measurements,
'i)nt unfortunately very few of the skrdls I have examined have
been marked for sex. Those known to be those of aged males
are noticeably the lai'gest and heaviest, and the most roughened
by tuberosities and incipient crests. The hirgest and heaviest
of all is a vfiry old male skull from Santa Barbara Island, Cali-
t'ornia, but this is nearly paralleled by another from the coast of
Massachusetts, also that of a very old male. In adult skulls
ranging in length from 210 ram. to 223 mm., the greatest width
varies from 124 mm. to 144 mm., with corresponding variations
in the dimensions of special parts. The nasal bones vary in both
length and width fully twenty-flve per cent, of their mean di-
mensions. There is an equally great amount of variation in the
mdth of the muzzle, and nearly as great iu the bones of the pal-
atal region. The form and size of the narial openings are espe-
cially subject to variation, as shown in the subjoined table.

In both Phoeafcetida and Phoca groenlandioa the femile skull
is much smaller, lighter, and weaker in structure than the male
skull, and I believe that corresponding sexual differences in the
skull obtain in Phoca vituUna, if indeed they are not even still
more strongly marked. Among old skulls two well-mark i
forms occur, differing iu the one being much less massive,
smaller, and every way slighter than the other, with the facial
portion of the skull narrower and the teeth smaller, the i>wer

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572

PHOCA VITULINA — HARBOR SEAL.

jaw vory much weaker and narvower, and the rami mucli less
bowed outward, scarcely more so than in P. gnitnlandica. Fn
this slighter form the teeth are so lauch smaller that occasion
ally they are placed (in the upper jaw especially) end to end in
stead of beinji; set obliquely, and even sometimes slightly spaced.
AltLcuyii the skulls are uumarked as to sex, I believe the slighter
skulls to be those of females.

The sexual <litierences in size and cranial characters in this,
the common Seal of oui' temperate American and European wa-
ters, appear to still remain inadequately investigated, and se
ries of sexed examples seem to be still desiderata in our best
collections. The only reference to the subject tliat 1 reeall arc
the following incidental observations by Mr. -Fohn W. Clark, who.
in discussing the assumed distinctive characters of Dr. Gray's
Ilalicyoti richarthi, says : ''The thickening of the lower jaw may
be a sexual distinction. A skull, unquestionably of a n>ale, pos-
sesses it in a marked degree, while that of a female of appar-
ently about the same age, is slender."*

^[y attention has been forciblj' drawn to this matter by a skull
(Xo. {)783, Xat. Mus.) from Plover Bay (Siberian coast of Belir
ing's Straits), v.iiich 1 at first referred unhesitatingly to Plinca
ritiditta, when examined in connection with a large series from
both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of America, Irat later, when
compared again with a smaller series, 1 thought it might repre
sent a form closely allied to, but still specifically distint^t from,
r. rititUna — probably the so-called P/<ocfi '■hnnHmularffi^\ On
collating it again with the full series at first examined it seenicfl
undoubtedly to be only an old female of P. ritidina. Aside from
the general slighter and more delicate structure of the skull, the
most notable difterences are the smaller, normally implanted, und
even slightly spaced molar teeth, the narrowness of the facial
portion of the skull, and the corresponding naiTowness of tho
lower jaw and absence of the abrupt outwar<l curvaaire of the
rami at the last molar. In general form the lower jaw is nmcli
like that of P. ffroenlandica, oxcei)t that the vertical width of tho
ramus is much less, and the plane of its vertical expansion not
ijearly so oblique. Other skulls, which are undoubtedly those
of P. vituUna, so closely resemble this that it is impossible to
regard it as otherwise than an exceptionally attenuated female
skull of P. vHuJina, One or two -others in the series, also pre
sumed to be female, have the teeth small and implanted in a

*Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1873, p. 557.

INDIVIDUAL AND SEXUAL VARIATION.

573

straif^ht liue, while in still others the anterior teeth are so im-
planted, only the posterior two of th(^ series being more or less
oblifjue.

The variations atteudiuy increase of age are chiefly the grad-
ual thickeniny of all parts of the bony framework of the sknll, and
in the males the development of all the processes for the attach-
ment of nmscles, of slight rugosities, an incipient sagittal crest,
luid a more abrupt o itward curvature of the mandibular rami. 1 1
is also noteworthy that the teeth are frequently less <;rowded in
the jaw and less oblique in position in the adult and old-age
stages than during the earlier periods of development. It would
seem hardly necessary to note the varying position with age of
the ridges bounding the temporal nmscles, since such variation
is usually seen in mammals which have these ridges well marked,
were it not that a diftereuce iu the position of the temporal
liuges has been cited by Dr. Gray as a character distinctive of
his so-called '•'■Hallcyon richardsV ascompai'ed with Phoca vitu-
Una.* Iu very young .j uinmls the brain-case is smooth, showing
no trace of the temporal ridges ; later thej* are slightly marked
and widely diverge ; as the age of the animal increases these
ridges become stronger and less diAcrgent, and iu very aged ex-
amples nearly or wholly meet along the median liue of the skull,
forming a low, broad crest, slightly divided along the middle by
a shallow furrow, which may or may not widcL^ posteriorly into
a small flat triangular space. +

* Haud-List of JSeals, titc, 1874, p. 5.

t Fur a^lditioual remarks on indivicVaal variation in the characters of the
Hkull see Clark, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1873, pp. 556, 557.

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574

PHOCA VITULIXA HARHOR SEAL.

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ISi

GENERAL FIISTORY AND SYNONYMY.

675

(rENEBA L HiSTORY AND SYNONYMY. — The commoii Seal is
rncntionod in the earliest works on natural history, having been
(h'scribed and rudely figured by various writers as early as the
middle of the sixteenth century, as well as during the seven-
teenth (ientury. Even down to the time of Linn6 it was the only
species recognized; or, more correctly, all the species known
were usually confounded as one sp<;cies, supposed to be the same
as the common Seal of the European coasts. Consequently
almost down to the beginning of the present century the "com-
mon Seal" was gent^rally supposed to inhabit nearly all the
seas of the globe;, Bufifon, Pennant, Schreber, and others refer-
ring to it as an inhabitant of the Southern Ilemisphere. Linn6
distinguished only a single species, even in the later editions
of his "Systema Naturse." As is well known, the smaller
species of Seal are with difficulty distinguishable by external
characters, particularly during their younger stages. Few,
however, are so •". . . ble in color as the i)resent, an<l none has
so \vi«le II gi^ogra al lange. It is hence not suri)rising that
its varying phases should liavi; been made the basis of numer-
ous nominal species. • As shown by the above table of sy.i-
onyuiy, the species was first introduced into systematic liter-
ature by Linn6 in 1754, under the name Phoca communis. He
later changed its name to Phoca vHulina, which specific desig-
nation it lias since generally retained. Although the name
ritulitia was, without doubt, based primarily on the aninml
coniinoiily designated by that name, it originally covered ref-
Hcnces toother species, but its limitation t) the species now
miller e«)nsiderati(m has been so long currently accepted that
only needless confusion would result from any hair-splitting
device by means of which some later and more strictly appli-
oiible name might be substituted. To Fabricius is due the credit
of first clearly discriminating the various species of Seals inhab-
iting the Arctic waters, and by him, in his classic memoir on
the Seals of Greenland,* the present species was first described
in detail, and its early literary history clearly set forth. Pen-
nant, Schreber, Erxleben, and Gmelin, it is true, had already
rt'cognized other species, based, however, mainly on Fabricius's
'iirlier work, "Fauna Grcenlandica," and on Miiller's "Prodro-
nnis ". The latter, so far as the Seals are concerned, rests also on
i'iibiicius's manuscript notes published by Miiller. Later, as al-

' I <l((')rlijr Bo8kiv«ilNe over <l«i GruulandHko Sasle. Skriv. at' Nuturbistoriu-
S»lskiil..'t, Istc Bind, Istc TIcCto, 1790, pp. 70-ir)7; '2ih't Hefte, 1791, pp.

:;i-i7o.

! "' ■

1 ; ; ']

ff--

1. '! ■'

lis r

676

PHOCA VITULINA — UAKBOR SEAL.

ready indicated, nuiuerous writers have contributed toitsliistory.

The fii'Mt synonym of note was published by Nilsson in
1820, who renamed the species cariegata, but the name n<ner
came into {jfeneral use, and was soon after abandoned by Nils-
son himself, who later adopted vituUna. Thienenmnn, in 1824,
described the species as Phom, littorea, and also in the same
work gave the name Fhoca ttcopulicolu to an animal referred by
some writers to Plioca vituUna and by others to Haliclurnis
grypus.* Lesson has furnished his usual tpiota of synonyms
by giving to Linne's Fhoca rituUna the miuw- Phoca liniuei, and
by bestowing the names tigrina and t7<o/'/.si on thccommou spot-
ted Seal of the X(uth Pacific, the lirst being based on tiie
Phoqiw tlgtr oi Krascheuninikow from Kamtschatka, and the
other on Choris's tigure of his CVtien ^/ewier of liehring's Straits,
neither of which can be positively <letermincd, but uuiy be re-
ferred with little <loubt to the present s}>e<',ies.

The Phoca can'uui of I'allas is generally ctniceded to be a syn-
onym of Phoca vituUna. The same autluu's Phoca largha, aj)-
plied to a Kamtschatkau Seal, has been the source of moie
trouble, it being too inadequately descrilied to admit of positive
determination. Temminck believed it to be identical with a
Seal from Japan, and renamed it Phoca nummular w. In his re-
marks on the Seals of this region he says : "Le troisieme rhocjue
des parages septentrionauxdel'ocean paciflque nous est connii
d'apr^s trois jeiuies indi\'itlus et d'apres un nombre 6gal ile
peaux incompletes d'individus adultes, tous rapportes du -bi-
pou par M. M. de Siebold et Biirger. C'est evidemuient le deii-
xi^me Phoque de Steller, Descr. du Camtsch. p. 107, et l'esi)ece
dout Pallas fait mention en traitant du Phoque comnnin, 1. (^
[Zool. Kosso-Asiat.] p. 117, nota 2; puis le Phoque, flgurt'^ sans
le moindre detail descriptif, dans le voyage de Choris, PI. H,
sous le non> <le Phoque du detroit de Behring ; peut-£'tre con-
vient-il egalemeut de rapprocher de cette esp^ce inedite le
Phoca largha de Pallas, ibid. j). ll.'i, n". 43. Quoi qu'il en soit,
nous avons cru devoir conf6rer j\ ce Phoque le nom qu'il porte,
suivant Pallas, 1. c. p. 117, chez les llusses, savoir celni de
Phoque nummulaire, Phoca nummularis." There bciiiff
no evidence to tne contrary, it may be assumed, as most subse-
quent writers have assumed, that Temminck's Phoca nummii-

* Thii'iH'iuaiiii's work, " NatiirliistoriMcho RoirnTkiinjjcn gpsammell uiit
eii;'»r Reiw im Nonlen von Ktiroita, vorziiylich in Island in d. Jahni 1820
bis 1821," I have Imcn unable, tosoe. Gi«bel and Blasins refer /'. ncopnlicula
to P. vifuUiia, while Gray ansigns it to /T. grypus.

GKXERAL HISTORY AND SYNONYMY.

577

hiris and I'alliis's Vhoca hirf/lHt nvo tlic siuno. Toinininck lias
iiivi'ii a detailed dcsiuiptioii of tlic six skins above in«'ntione(l
;is received IVoui .Ia])an, and also of fraj^nienrs of the skidl re-
moved IVoiii tlie skins of the younj; in<lividuals. Lie notes
I'Siteeially tlie \vi(U' rany;e of color-variation presented by his
skins, eacli of wiiich ditfers considerably from all of the others,
!lie v.iriations bein<i' jii'catt'st in tlie adnit e.\ani|)les. lie j^ives
tlu' length of the larji'est adidt si>ecinien as abnnt live feet, and
iliat of the yonny as two and a half to three feet. Ilede-
scrilu's one skin as liavinj-' exactly the niarkinj;'.. rejtresented iu
Ciioiis's tij>nre, an<l says it has a dose resenddaiK'O to certain
viU'ii'tiesof the KMnjjed S<'al. The coloration of these sjieciniens,
IIS described, i)res(uits nothin}^ incompatible with their refer-
ence to either Phoca /(ictida or Phoca ritHlina, both of which
species oc(!ur in the region in qnestion.

The fragments of the skulls are not described in detail, l>ut
lie says they serve to show that the skull of his Phoca nnmmu-
htris greatly resembles that of the " Phoqne j\ croissant , notam-
inent i)ar la configuration de la region interorbitaire, qui est,
jtar devant, plus large que dans le crane du Phoqne annele.
(pliant au sjsteme dentaire," he continues, "il n'offre pas la
iiioindre disparitti de celui du Phoque il croissant etdu Phoqne
annele." He states his con(!lusion as follows : " Ce Phoque est
on (juehiue sorte intermddiaire entre le Phoque i\ croissant
(fhoca oceanica) [=Phoea (jrcenlandica, auct.] et le Phoque
iinnelle, (Phoca hispida, Schreber, Siiugth., Ill, p. 312, n". 6,
Tab. 80 ; Phoca foetida, Midler, Prodr., p. 8 ; Phoca annellata,
Nilsson, Skand. Fauna, I, p. 302) -, car il offre beaucoup d'ana-
logie avec le i)remier par la configuration de son crane, uotam-
uient par celle de la region interorbitaire ainsi ])ar celle de ses
dents, tandis qu'il se rai)proche davantage du second par son
systeme de (joloratiou."*

Tenuninck's specimens have also passed uiuler the inspection
of Dr. Gray, who says: "This si^ecies [Gray's ^* Pagomys^
H«m»}»/rtrts," 1804, his " PagomyH f Lar(jha^\ 1800] is only kiu)wn
from some skins and three fragments of skulls in the Leyden
Mnseum. My excellent friend. Professor Schlegel, the ener-
getic Curator of the Leyden Museum, has most kindly sent to
me for examinati«)n and comparison the fragments of skull*
above referred to : they consist of the face-bone and the lower

*Fjinna Japnn., Mam. Mar., p. ;<.
Misc. Pub. No. 12 37

ill

578

PHOCA VITULINA HARIJOU SKAL.

jaws of throo spociniens ; tho most i)orfoct specimen lias pan
of the orbit and tlio iippci' ])art «>f tlu' bruiiicase attached to
it. They an^ all from very yoiiiij^' specimens, of nearly the
same age; and, unfortunately, tlic nu)st perfect one is without
the hinder juntion of the jialate, so that one cannot make sure
that it has tiic same form of jialatine .vf^ion that is found in
Pagomijs : hut tiie i>art of the side of the palate that is present,
when comi)ared with the sauu' part in Pagomys, h-ads one to
think it most likely to be of the same form as in that species.

''The jjeneral form and si/e of the face, and the foinx of
the teetli are those of a skull of Voijomys fui'ulux of the sanie
age. It only differs from the latter in the lower jaw beingrather
shorter and broader, in the j;rinders being larger, thicker, and
rather closer together, in the central lobe of the grinders being
considerably larger, thicker, and stronger, and in all the lobes of
the grinders being nmre acute. The lower margin of the lower
jaw isdihited in front, just as hi Pagomys fa'tidiis ; but the jaws
behin<l the dilatation diverge more from each other, leaving a
wider space between them at the hinder ])art. The form of the
hinder angle of the jaws is very similar in. the two species. The
oi'bit is rather smaller and more circular ; for in P. fatiduti it is
rather oblong, l»eing slightly longer than wide. The forehead ap-
pears, as far as one can judge by the fragments, to be tiatter antl
broader, and the nose rather shorter." Dr. Gray also adds, in his
diagnosis of the species: "The lower jaws short and broad;
the grinders thick, with a broad, thick central lobe, and nearly
side by side (in the sknlls of the young animals).'' He also
gives comparative measurements of a sknll of a young P. feetidus
and of P. nummularis, but with a good series of young skulls
of the former, from the fcetal stage upward, I fail to fully under-
stand his measurements.

"• The Phoca nummularis,^^ Dr. Gray continues, "has been con-
sidered to be identical with Phocn Largha of Pallas, from the
east shore of Kamtschatka, the Phoca Chorisii of Lesson, and
the Phoque tigre of Kraschennenikow (which has been named
Phoca tignna by Lesson), on the strength of their coming from
nearly the same district ; but I am not aware that specimens of
any of the latter species exist to verity the union and determine
what are the spwoies described under these names."*

Although neither Temminck nor Gray makes any reference

•Proo. ZoJil. Soc. Lond., 18«>4, pp. M, \\2 ; Cat. Soals and Wliales, !«*)C,pp.
24, 25. Sco al8() Gray's "Haud-List of Seals," etc., 1874, p. 6.

OKNEHAL HISTORY AND SYNONYMY.

679

I : J

to Phom ritiilina in hisc'Oin]>arisni)s of Vhoca uummularix with
otluT species, llu' distinctive cliuiacteis <;iveii, so tar as tliey
relate to the skull, |)oiiit <leci<le(ll.v toward /*. riliilin<(, es])eeially
as respects the dentition, the width n{' the facial re^iion. etc. The
ditfei'cnces in the lower Jaw, asconipared with that of I'.J'afidd
show its closer similarity to that of /'. ritidina. and the larger,
lliicker, and nunc closely set teeth, with their hnjicr and more
acute cusps are also dil1erenc«'s that j»oint in the same direction.
It is to be noted, however, that neitlier of these writers alhuU's
to the mode of imjdantation of the teeth, but hadtliey been set
<)hli<|uely as is Kxualli/ (not always) the ease in /'. rttidina, it is
hardly to be supposed that Gray would have failed to so state.
As already noted, in /'. rihiliiia the si/«' of the teeth, their mode
(if insertion, and the width of the antericn' or facial portion of
the skull are subject to (considerable variation, the teeth bein^'
sometimes set end to end in a straight line, and even with sli}»ht
spaces between them. Since, however, they are commonly more
<»i>li(|nely and more closely set in youn^t' skulls than in adnlt
ones, it seems hardly probable that three yuan};' sknils of this
siiecies would by chance be found to apee in having the teeth in-
sorted in a straifiiit line, if, indeed, they were all sufficiently in-
tact to show the dentition. The skull from IMover Bay, Behriuff's
Straits (Xo. (>783, Nat, Mus.), already described {nntea, p. oTL'),
seems to aoree very closely with the characters given by Gray
for Temminck's Phoca nummularis {='■'■ PagomyHi larfjha^^ Gray.
I'^Jt)), yet I And in -a large series of skulls (more than twenty
have been examined) of Phoca vitulina a complete gradation
between this extremely attenuated example and the very thick,
heavy skulls of the oldest males.

While T do not deem it improbable, in view of all the facts of
the case, that a species distinct from Phoca vitulina but of the
same general type of structure, though slenderer, may exist in
the North Pacific, and which may be referable to Temminck's
/'. nummularis, I feel disposed to leave the question open an«l
tor the present provisionally consider P. nummularis as a pos-
sible, if not a pi'obable, synonym of P. vitulina.

riie Phoca concolor of DeKay, unquestionably based on the
li;iht phase of the connnon Harbor Seal of our eastern coast,
has been referred by nearly all European writers, often with
expressions of doubt but frequently with entire ]>ositiveness, to
Phoca /(jetiila, or the Ringed Seal, in consequence of its light
silvery-gray color.

580

I'HOCA vniLINA IIARI'.OR SKAL.

A ciiiious (iiistiikr iiiiid*' by I'ciilc in liis (sii]>|»i'('ss(m1) icport
on tln' Mimimiils ainl IJirds of tlic I'liitcd Slates Ivxploiiii^i lv\-

FKi. 14. — "Halicluprns aiitarctii'UN". H«alt;-— Phiica vitiiliiia, ^ natural sizi'.

pcditioii under Coniniodoiv Wilkes lias jdayed an important
role in the teelinieal history of the si>e«.*ies. A specimen (skin

Fio. 4r>. — " HaliclinTus aiitaicticus", IVale^I'hoca vitulina, 1 natural >izo.

and skull,* still extant in the National Museum) vas deserilied
uiuler the name Jf<iUcha:n(s antarcticus, with the rennirk, "Tb's

*Tliis Hkull (No. iJ'JJ^, Nat. Mas.) is represented in Figs. 44-47, fimr-
seventlis natural hI/c.

(;ENEKAL IIISTOUV AM) SYNONYMY,

581

sjM'cies inliiilMts the Antarctic; Sea. Tlic spcciiiu'n was obtained
on the Idtli of Marcli at Drsolation Island. It appears from
tin' teeth to be an adnlt, ainl is the most jK-rfect specinu'n
I'l'onjuiit Innne by th«' expedition." Notwithstanding; this ex-
]»heit stateineiit of locality and date of <'apture, it is undonbt-
I'dly erroneons. Dr. Cill, in lS(i(>, Ijist called attention to the
probable erroi', and says, ••The '■U<tlirli(iru.s(ntt(it'cticun'' ni' I'eah',
very erroneously ideal ilied with LdIkxIou c(iy<hu>})h(Uia by Dr.
,1. K. dray, is a typical sjtecies of I'liorti, but apjx'ars to be
i(lenti<'al with a species o(!cnrrin^' alonj;' the California and
Oi't'jion coasts, and consequently there must be sonu' error as
to its original habitat in the Antaretit! «eas. I am happy t«) add

Vui. K). — " lliiliclmriis itiitiiroticus", i'eale=Pliocii vitnlina, - utituiid sizi;.

Uiat ^[r. Peak' himself now doubts the correctness of the labels
"HI the faith of which he gave its habitat, and as a change of
name is desii-able, I woidd propose that of /'. Pw///."* Having
li;i(l ojjpctrtunity of studying the type of the spt^cies, and of com-
paring it with ,i good series of skulls and skins of the c()mm(Ui
species of Plioca of the I'acitic coast of the Ignited States, 1
!i.i\>' not the slightest doubt as to the correctness of Dr. Gill's
iiiicrpi'eiation of the case.

I'.oth in l.sr)0 and in 180(5 Dr. J. E. Gray included Peale's II.
(iHtarciictis among the synonyms of Lobodon rarcinophaga, with

* I'loc. Essex lust., vol. v, Irilkj, p. 4,iootuote.

'■ I

pi-

582

IMKMA VITILINA FIAKHOU SEAL.

which, of ('()ijrs«', it has vi'iy nMiiote atllnitifs. ft secins, how-
ever, that he was subsequently not fully satisfied with this alloea-

FUi. 47. — "IlalichaTiis antarcticuH", P('iilp=rIMw)<'a vitulina, '- natural

l/c.

tion of the speeies for he says later in the year last nuMitioned,
"On rereadinjj I'eale's description, I think that it is very prob-
ably a new {jenus, for he says it has six cuttinj; teeth in tlie
upper jaw, and that the four jmsterior molar teeth in both jaws
are double-roote«l, their crowns niany-lobe«l, the cutting teeth
short, siuii)le and curved ; the whiskers tlattened, waved on the
edges. To the animal so characterized the generic name Ilali-
philus may he given."* Still later, on the basis of Dr. (iill's
determination of Peale's species, as ])reviously noted. Dr. (iniy
transferred it to his genus JIaUcyon, and a«lopted for it the name
Halicyon penleiA Cassin, in 1858, also referred Peale's JJali-
cha-rus antarcticus to Lobodon carcinophaffa, doubtless following
Dr. Gray.

In 18()4, Dr. Gray described a Seal from a skull from VaiH^ou-
ver'ii Island and a skeleton from Fraser's River, which he referred
not only to a new si)ecie8 but to a new genus, naming it '•^Ha-
licyon HchardV \ The validity of the species seems to have
been first called in question by Mr. J. W. Clark in 1873, when
he compared Dr. Gray's type specimen with a skull from Sail
Francisco, and with others from Xewfoundland, and also with
a series of skulls of Phoca vihdina from the English coast. He

•Ann. an«l Ma^. Nat. Hist., xvii, 186(5, p. 446.

tSiippl. (.'at. Seals and Whales, 1871, p. 2.
. t The species was dedicated by Dr. Gray to " Captain Richard [kge Rich-
ards], tho Hydrograjthcr of the Admiralty," and ten years later Dr. Sclater
notes the fact that the Tianie should be consequently richardai, — Proc, Xotil-
Soc. Land., IVf'A, p. {j5(j, footnote.

GKNEUAL HISTORY AND SYNONYMY.

583

iiot«'8 a (ionsitlerablc amount of iiidividiuil variation in different
skullH of this si)ecies, and finds that the characters given by
Dr. (Iray for his Ifalicifon richdnlsi do not hohl, and adds, "I
am thorefon^ disjiosed, so far as present evidence goes, to con-

Fig. 4*^. — "Hnlieyon richanlsi", Gray=Phoca vitiilina.*

sidor the so-called Halieyon richanlsi simply a synonym of
Vhoea vitulina^W Dr. Gray, however, in his "Hand- List of
Seals" (1874), still retained the species, referring to it three
specimens (two skulls and a skeleton), from, respectively, Era-
ser's River, Vancouver's Island, and Japan, and stating that
the skin was still unknown. lie alludes to Mr. Clark's i)aper,
and calls attention to several points wherein he believes his
Halieyon richardsi ditt'ers from Phoca vituHna, and adds that
" though the skulls have some similarity, still there may be a
great difference in the external appearance of the animals." As
regards this point, it has been my good fortune to have access
to a considerable series of bcth skins and skulls, and I am un-
able to appreciate any well-nuirked features in either wherein
the so-called Halieyon riehardni differs from the common Phoca
niulina of the North Atlantic. 1 have had, moreover, specimens
from the vicinity of the original localities whence the species
was described, as well as from points on the Pacific coast as
reiuote from each other as the 8anta Barbara Islands and
Alaska.

* From an electrotype of Gray's original figure in Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
18()4, p. 28. Gray's figure in his "Catalogue of Seals and Whales" (p. 28),
is apparently from the same.

tl'roc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1873, p. 656. ■

iii

« ¥

•I-

^1 \

■| ' 'ii

584

PHOCA VITULINA IIAUnoK SKAL.

Still unotliur Hviiunyin, lor \vlii<tli wtt iuivc also to thank Dr.
(rray, ivinaius to 1m' coiisidcird, naiiirly, his "7/fj//c»/o«? cnli-
J'oniioi."' This is based simply on "The Hair S«'al [Phova jn-
butu)^" of llutchin^'s "Scu-nrsof Wonilrr aii(H'iiriosity in Cali-
fornia" (p. IH!>), and is dosciilM'd l»y Dr. (J ray as follows: "A
seal without ears, wi'h lar;;*', pale rinjis, which arc more or less
c(»idhient. Iidiah. California."* lie (piotcs parts ot' llntchin<^'*s
description, and adds, •' It has no atllnity to the Phnvn juhatm){
the Systematic Catalojjne." The extent of llutchin};'s scMcntitic
attainments, so iur as the present matter is coniierneil, may be
jndjjedfrom the italicised portions of the following : "This seal,
with \vhi(5h XW count of Cidifornia aboundH, is by no means rare,
as ahuoHt all the coantn in high southern and northern lotuilitien
abonn'' with it."

In recapitulation of the forejjoing, it may be noted that of the
fourteen distin<;t synonyms here (ronsidered, three (niriefiato,
liiinwi, canina) are due to the intentional renaminji' of liinne's
Phoca ritiilina; that three others (/<V/r/<uj, chorisi, cali/oniica)
are based on the vague «lescriptions of travi^llers or unscientitif
writers; that two {Lohodon cnreinojdiafia, Phovn Jiibnia) are the
result of malidentifi(!ations; and that an erroneous label <»f lo
eality gave ris(! to one of the erroneous id«'ntitications and led
to the introdu(!tion of one generic and two additional specific aji
])ellations. The four remaining synonyms {littorea,8copulii'<>li(,
c(ntc(dor^rirh((rdsi) have the palliating circumstances of h)cality
and scantiness of material in their favor.

(iKOGKAPiiiCAL DiSTKiiH^TioN. — The Ilarbor Seal appears
to have formerly been nmeh more numerous on portions of our
eastern coast than it is at present. I- r. DeKay, writing in l<S4i.',
states that tlu^ "Common Seal, or Sea Dog," is "now compara
tively rare in oiu- [New York] waters," though " formerly very
abundant." He adds, "A certain reef of rocks in the harbor of
New York is calle«l Robin's reef, from the numerous seals wliieli
were accustomed to resort there ; robin or robyn being the niiiiie
in Dutch for Seal. At some seasons, even at the present day,
they are very numerous, particularly about the Execution rocks
in the Sound; but their visits appear to be very capricious."
He further alludes to their capture lu^irly every year in tlie
Passaic Ki\cr, in Xew Jersey, and states that a Seal was taken in
a seine in the Chesapeake Bay, near Elko, Maryland, in August.
1824, supposed by Dr. Mitchill, who saw it, to be of this spc

Cat. Seals and Whales, 186G, p. 3C/.

OKOOltAlMIICAL DI.STKIIIUTION.

585

cios.* Altliouyli stl'l tc'casioiijilly ai>|»'ariiij:-oii tliii const of the
Atliniti(! Stall's as lai .^ jiUliward as North ('ai'oliiia,t it is of
probably only aiuidental occurnMu;*' south of New Jersey, uud
rare south of Massa<*husetts.

In n'S|»'«'t to its occurrence on the Xew .lersey const. Dr. 0.
(". Abltott, tlu', well-known naturalist of Trejiton, X. .1., kiiuUy
writes lue, in auswi^r to my iu(|uiries on this point, as follows:
" In ji'oiug over my note-l)0oks, I find 1 have there recorded the
occurren(!e of seals ( I'linca vituliHu) at Trenton, N. J., as follows :
December, 18(51 ; January, 1H<{4 ; December, 18<HJ: February,
1870; and December, 1877. in these Ave instances a sinjfle
specimen was killed on the ledge of rocks crossing the river
here and forming the rapids. In December, 18G1, three were
seen, and two in February, 1870. A week later one was cap-
tured <h)wn the riveiv near liristol, IJucks County, Pennsylvania.
My impression is that in severe winters they are really much
more abundant in the D<^laware IMver than is supjjosed. Con-
sidering how snudl a chance there is of their being seen when
the river is choked with ice, I am disposed to believe that an
occasional pair or more (!ome up the river, even as high as
Trenton, the head of ti<le-water, and one hundred and thirty-
eight miles from the ocean.

'•On examination of old local histories, I find reference to the
seah' as not nn<;omnion along our coast, and as quite frequently
wandering up our rivers in winter. I can find no newspaper
references to the occurrence of seals later than February or
t'arlier than December, but as historical references to climate,
us well as the memory of aged men still living, show conclu-
.Hi\ ely tliat our winters are now much milder than they were
e\('U tifty years ago, it is probable that seals did come up the
rivi-r earlier in past years.

•' In conversation with an old fisherman, now seventy-six
years old, who has always lived at Trenton, and has been a

* Now York ZotUDfjy, part i, 1842, pp. 54, 55.

♦A recent reconl of its capture in North Carolina is the following, the i
ret'tience, I think, nnqucf/ionably relating to the present species:

'• f*ouTHEUN Rangk OF THE Sbal. — The Wilmington, N. C, Star of Feb-
ruiiiy 28th, mentions the capture, in New River, Onslow County, of a large
foiuiile spottotl seal, measuring about 7 feet in length, and weighing 250
pounds. This is an interesting note. The species i.iust probably have been
Till loiiunon harbor seal {Phoca vitulina). The same newspaper says one
^v.is reported near Beaufort some time ago."— fW. E, U. Scott,] "Country,"
vol. i, No. 21, p. 292, March IG, 1878.

i;.i^

I !i'

' ! I

r i I

s. . «| iJ I

Mil

r)8()

PHOCA VITIILINA HARHOR SKAL.

;^«»od obHoiver, I l«arri that every winter, years ago, it was ex-
|)e(!t«'(l that one or more, seals wouhl be killed ; ami that about
IHM), two were killed in Mar<!h, whi(!h it wassui)posed had ac-
coiiipaiiied a school of herrinj;' np the river.

''In my investi;,"»tions in local archicolofjy I have found, iu
s»im«^ of the fresli-wat<'rshell-heai)s, or rath<'r camp-fire and lisli-
infjf-villaf;e .sites along the river, fragnu^nts of bones which were
at the time identilied as those of seals. T did not preserve them
;is I had no kno\vIedg(^ of their being of interest. They were
associated with Ixuies of deer, bear, »Ok,and large wading birds,
iiiid then gave meth<> imin-ession, whic^li sr.bse<inent in(piiry lia.s
st lengthened, that the s(;al, liket many of our larg*^ maiuiiinls,
had disai)peared gradindly, as the country became more densely
settled, an<l that in pre-l"iUropean times it was <;oMunon, at cer-
tain seasons, both on the (joast and inland."*

In later coiinuunications (dated .laiiuary 25 and March lit),
1S7'.>) iieciuilosedtouje ne\vspap(U'slij)s and notes resjieciting tiio
capt"reof eight specimens in New .Jersey, mostly near Trenton,
during the winter of IH78-'7!).

On the coast of Massachusetts they oc(!ur in consideraltlc
nund)ers about the month of tlu^ Ipswich liiver, where I have
sometimes observed half a score in sight at once. They arc also
to be met with about the islands in Boston harbor, ami aloii;;
th(^ eastern shore of (!a])e Cod. I'ajjtain N. E. Atwood states
that they are nowaiul tluMi secMiat Provincetown, and that iu a,
shallow bay west of Kainsford Island "many hundreds" may
be seen at uny time in sunuiuir on ale«lgoof rocks that becomes
e.\i)os(!d at low water.t

Further northward they become more numerous, particularly
on the <;oast of Maine and the shores of the (lulf of Saint Law-
reiu;e, Newfoundhuul and Labrador, ami are also common on
the shores of Davis's Strait and in (Jreenland, where, says Dr.
Itink, "it occurs here ami there throughout thcx coast," and is
likewise to be nu't with at all seasons of the year. Mr. Kumlicu
says it is one of the " rarer species" in the (Cumberland waters,
but its exact northern limit I have not seen stated.

On the European <!oasts it is said to occur occasionally in the
Me«literranean, and to \h\ not rare on the coast of Spain. It is
more fre<pient on the <!oasts of France and the British Islands,
and thence northward along the Scandinavian peniue^ula is the

• Lt'tter (liitod Trenton, N. J., Dec. 2(i, 1878.
tStt) Bull. MnH. Couip. Zoul., vol. i, p. 193.

■11 f,-'l

fjF,o(;KAPni<'Ar. ihstkiimtion.

587

coimiKnicHt spocioH of tlu' fainily. It also (extends iiortliward
and oa.stward aloiij;- the Arctii*, coast of Europe, but late ex-
plorers of the Sj)itzlK rj^en iiud .lau Mayen Islaiids (h) 7iot enu-
merate it iiiuon<f the spe<ries there met Avith. I\lahuj;ren states
tlislinetly that it is not found there,* imd it is not mentioned Ity
Von lleujiiin nor by the other Germiin natui-alists wholiave re-
cently visited these ishin«ls. Fi-oni its littoral habits its absence
lliere Mii^i'ht be natui'iilly (^x]>e<*ted. It is also said by some
writers to oct'ur in the IMaek and (.'as[nan Seas, and in Lake
lliiikal, but llie statement is seiioiisly oju'U to doubt, as will l)e
<lio\vn later in eonneetion with the history of the Kin^ied Seal.

On the Pa<*itic coast of North Anu'ricra itoccursfrom Southern
('iiiifoiMiia northward to I5eliriuj;'s Strait, where; it seems t(»beau
abinMlant spe<-ies. I hav<' examincMl spttcimens from tiie Santa
l!iirl)ara Islands, and vaiious internu'diat(^ponits to Alaska, and
troMi IMov<'r Hay, on the eastern (!oast of Siberia. The extent
(tf its raufje on the Asiatic, coast has not been ascertained. If
it is th<^ species referre<l to by I 'alias under tin; name Phoca
(■(iiiina, ami by Tenuninck, Von Schrenck, and other German
.vriters umler the name I'hoca nnmmularis, as seems probable,
it occurs in .lapan an«l alouff the Amoor coast of the Ochots
Sea. Von Schrenck spijaks of it, on tlu^ authority of the natives,
as entering? the Amoor Uiver.t The late Dr. Gray referred a
specimen from .Iai»an to his '■'■Ualwyon rirhardsi,''^ which, as al-
ready shown, is nu'rely a synonym of Phoc/i vUulina. It thus
iloubtless ranjjes southward alonj^ the Asiatic coast to points
nearly corresponding in latitude with its southern limit of dis-
frihution on the Anu'rican side of the I'acilic.

Tin; Harbor Seal not only frequents the coast of the North
Atlantic; and the North Pacific, and some »f the larger interior
seas, but ascends all the larger rivers, often to a considerable
distance above tide-water, ft even i)a8ses up the Saint Law-
mice to the Great I^akes, and has been taken in Lake Chani-
l»lain. DeKay states, on the authority of a Canadian news-
l>ai)er, that a Seal (in all probability of this species) was taken
in Lake Ontario near Cape Vincent (Jelierson County, New
Vork) about 1824, and adds that the same pai>er says tliat In-
tlian traders report the previous occurrence of Seals in the same
lake, though such instances are mre.:|: Thompson gives two iu-

* Wit'gui. Arch, iilr Natnrg. 1H64, p. 84. ~

t Rjiison ini Amoor- Lande, Bd. i, p. 180.
i Now York Zoiilogy, pt. i, 1842, p. 55.

iilM

Pill

I I

588

PHOCA VITULINA HARBOK SEAL.

, I >

5 I ' 1 !4

]i 1

!U; : 'I

stiuict's of jrs capture in Lake Ohaniplain ; one of the specimens
he himself examined, and has pubHshed a careful description
of it, taken from the animal Itefore it was skinned.*

They are also known to asccMd the (Jolumbia River as far as
the Dalles (above the Cascades, antl about two hundred iiiilcs
from tiie sea), as well as the smaller rivers of the I'acitic coast,
nearly to their sources. Mr. Brown states that "Dog River, a
tributary of the Columbia, takes its name from a dofj-like ani-
mal, probablj' a Seal, being seen in the lake whence the stream
rises." t

Hahits. — The Harbor Seal is the only species of the family
known to be at all common on any part of the eastern (Miast of
the United States. Although it has been taken as far south as
North ( 'aroliua, it is found to be of very rare or accidental occur-
rence south of New Jersey. Respecting its history here, little
has been reconled beyond the fact of its presence. Captain
Scannnon has given a quite satisfactory account of its habits
and distribution as observed by him on the I'acilic coast of the
United States, but under the sui>position that it was a species
distinct from the well-known Phoca vHulina of the North At-
lantic. Owing to its rather soutlieily distribution, as comi)are(l
with its more (exclusively boreal athnes, its biography has been
many times written in greater or less detail. Fabricius, as
early as 1701, devoted not less than twenty pages to its his-
tory, based in part on his acquaintance with it in Greenland,

* His record of the capture of these examples is as follows:

"While sevcnil persons \ver»! skating ujum the ice on Lake Clianiplaiu, a
little south of Burlington, in February, IHIO, they discovered a living Seal
in a wild state which ba<l found its way through a crack and was crawling
upon the ice. They took off their skates, with which they attacked and
killed it, and then drew it to the shore. It is said to have been 4| feet long.
It must have reached our lake by way of the Saijit Lawrence and Riche-
lieu. . . ."—Xat. and Ciril Hint, of I'ermont, 1842, p. .".f.

"Another Seal was killed upon the ice between Burlington and Port Kent
on the 2M of Februaiy, 1846. Mr. Tabor, of Keeseville, and Messrs Morse
anil l-'ield, of Peru, were crossing over in sleighs when they discovered it
crawling upon the ice, and, attacking it with the butt end of their wliiiw.
they succeeded in killing it and brought it on shore at Burlington, where it
was ])urchase«l by Morton Cole, Es(i., andi)resented to the University of Ver-
mont, where its skin and skeleton are now preserved. , . . At the time
the above-mentioned Seal wastak' n, the lake, with the exception of a few
cracks, was entirely covei-cd with i<!e." — Ibid., ^ipjyend., 1853, p. 13.

tProc. Zool. See. Lond., 18G8, p. 412, footnote.

HABITS.

589

and jmrtly on tlio writiuf^.s of preceding' authors;* and much
iiioio ivcontly oxteuiUMl accounts of it have Ikm'U given by
Nilsson and Lilljcborg, but unfortunately for Enjilish readers
ilic first of these histories is written in Danisli and the other
iu Swedish. It has, however, been noticed (|uit<' fidly by IjcII,
Miic^iiiUvray, and other IJintisli authors, while lessei- and more
tVajinientary accounts of it are abundant. On the New Kug-
liuid <'oast, as elsewhere, it is chietly observed about rocky
islands and shor 's, at the mouths of rivers and in sheltered
hays, where it is always an object of interest. Although rang-
ing far into the Arctic regions, it is everywhere said to be a
sedentary or nou-inigratory species, being resident throughout
the year at all points of its extende<l habitat. Unlike most of
the other species, it is siricitly confined to the .shores, never re-
sorting to the ioetloes, and is conse<piently never met with far
out at sea, nor does it habitually associate with other species.
On the coast of Newfoundland, where it is more abuiulant and
better known than at more southerly points, it is said to bring
forth its young during the last two weeks of Afay and the early
part of .Fune, resorting for this purpose to the rocky points and
outlying ledges along the shore. It is said to be very common
along the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and of Newfound-
land in summer, or during the period when the shores are free
from ic(^ but in winter leaves the ice-bound coast for the re-
moter islands in tlu' open sea. It is at all times watchful, and
takes great care to keep out of reach of guns. Still, nuuiy are
suiprised while basking on the rocks, and fall victims to the
seal hunters, while considerable numbers of the young are cap-
tured in the seal-nets. They are described as very sagacious,
and as i)ossessing great parental affection. Mr. Carroll states
that when an old one is found on the rocks with its young it
nill seize the latter and convey it in its mouth so quickly to the
water that there is not time to shoot it ; or, if the young one
k' too large to be thus removed, it will entice it upon its back
and ])lunge with it into the sea. The same writer informs us
that this species is a great annoyance to the salmon-flshers,
hohlly taking the salmon from one end of the net while the
fisherman is working at the other end. It is also troublesome
in other ways, since whenever the old ones get entangled in

'FiiliriciiiH appears to have exhaustively presented its literary history,
hisrti'frenccH to previous authors, in his table of synonymy, occupyiug
nearly four pages.

'"A:

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11
ii

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' ,<'!

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I-

590

PHOCA VITULINA — HARBOU SEAL.

the strong seal-nets they are able to cut themselves free, a feat
it is said no other Seal known in Newfoundland will do.

This si)ecies is known to the inhabitants of Newfoundland as
the "Native Seal," in consequence of its beinji' the only species
found there tlie whole year. The younjj are there also called
"Kanyers," and wlun two or three years old, — at which -ijie tlu'v
are believed to brinji' forth their first younj>', — receive the nauie
of " J)otards." Here, as well as in Greenland, the skins of this
species are more valued than those of ai.j other si)ecies, owirij,'
to their beavitifully variej^ated niarkinys. and are especially val
ued for ccvciinfj trunks and the manufactures of coats, caps,
and {I'loves.* Mr. Brown informs us that the natives of thi'
eastern coast of Greenland prize them hiy:hly " as material for
the women's breeches," and adds' "that no more acceptable
present can be given to a Greenland «lamse^ than a skin of
the * Kassiiiiak,' as tliis si)ecies is there called." The (heeu
landers also consider its tiesli as "the most palatable of all
< seal-beef '".t

According to Mr. Reeks, the period of gestation is about nine
months, the union of the sexes occurring, according to the testi
piony of the Newfoundlanders, in September, f Oidy rarely does
the female give birth to more than a single young. This agrees
with what is stated by Bell and other English authors respect-
ing its season of procreation.

Respecting its general history, I find the following from the
pen of Mr. John Cordeaux, who, in waiting of this species, as
observed by him in British waters, says : " The Seal {Phoca vitu-
Una) is not uncommon on that part of the Lincolnshire coast ad-
joining the Wash. This immense estuary, lying between Lin-
colnshire and Norfolk, is in great part occupied with large and
dangerous sand-banks, intersected by deep but narrow chan-
nels. At ebb the sands are uncovered ; and at these times, ou
hot days, numbers of Seals may be found basking and sunninjr
themselves on the hot sands, or rolling and wallowing in tlu'
shallow water along the bank. Sometimes a herd of flftccu <»i
twenty of these interesting creatures will collect on some favorite
sand-spit ; their chief haunts are the Long-sand, near the centre
of the Wash; the Knock, along the Lincoln coast; and the
Dog'shead sand, near the entrance to Boston Deeps. In the

•Carroll, Seal and Horring Fisheries of Newfonndland, 1873, pp. 10, 11.

tProc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, pp. 413, 413.

t Beeks (Henry), Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vi, 1871, p. 2541.

HABITS.

591

flr.st week olMiily, when .sjiilinj; down tlie I)('ei)s jiloiij;' tlie cdjiO
of the Knock, we saw sovcnil Seals; some on the bank: others
wilh their hodies bent like a bow, the head and hind i'eet only
(till of till' water. They varied ;;reatly in si/e. also in color,
Inrdly any two bein,n niaiked alike; one had the head and face
dark colored, wearing' the color like a mask ; in others the ujiper
[larts were liji'ht j;ray ; others looked dark above and lijiht below,

and some dark altogether The female has one yonnjEf

one in the year; and as those banks nre covered at thtod, the
LMiit. when born, must make, an early a<;(iuaintance with the
water. In most of the Phocuhv the younj;' on«' is at lirst covered.
with a sort of wool, the second or hairy dress beinj; ^iiadually
iuquireil ; and until thi* is the case it does not j^o into the water.
This, however, does not a|(i)ear to be the case with the commou
Seal, for Mr. L. Jjloyd says (1 believe in his '(Jlame liinls and
Wild Fowl of Norway and Sweden,' but I have not the book to
I'ffer to) that the cub of the conunon species, whilst still in its
iiinther's wond), casts this wooly coveriiifj;; au<l when ushered
iutd the world has acquired its second or proper dress. * If this
is the ease, it fully accounts for the cub being able to bear iin-
lutrsion from the hour of its birth. The Seal, if lying undis-
turbed and at rest, can remain for hours without coming to the
surface." t

1 am informed by competent observers that on the coast of
Miiine they as8eud)le in a similar mauner on sand bars, but take
to tiie water before they can be closely approached.

Mr. Kundien (in his MS. notes) observes: "The so called
'Fresh- water Seal' of the whalemen is one of the rarer species
iu the waters of Cumberland Sound. They are mostly met with
far n\) in the fjords, and in the fresh water streams and ponds,
where they go alter salmon. They are rather difficult to cap-
ture, as at the season when they are commonly met with they
have so little blubber that they sink when shot. . . . The
atlult males often engage in severe combats with each other.
I have seen skins so scratched that they were nearly worthless.
Iu tiict, the Eskimo consider a 'Kassiarsoak' (a very large

'A statemont to tins effect is also made by Mr. Carroll, but Mr. Robert
liiowii iifflrnis, on tlu? authority of Captain McDonald, that in tlio Western
Isles of .Scotland the young an? "born pure white, with curly hair, like the
)iimif; of Piujomys J'wtidm, but within throe days of its birth begins to take
"'ik colons on the snout and tips of the (lippi-rs." — Proc. Zoiii. Soc. Lond.,
!t;. J,. 413.

•/Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vii, 1872, pp. :«03, 3204.

:.l

'liiil

I'!*

'it's

U 'i iii
f ' I I,

592

I'IKKA VITULIXA IIARliOK 8EAL.

\'U^

'Kiissifjiiik') ;is liavinji an almost wortlilcss skin, and seldom
iis(! it ('\c('Ht for tliciv skin tents. The skins of the .vounj;, on
the contrary, are a f>reat aeijuisition". He further states that
they do not make a.n excavation beneath the snow for the recep.
tion of the youn;;-, lik«' PItoni /<i'fi(l((, "hnt l>rin;i' f<ii'th later in
the season on the hare ice, fnlly exi)osed".

lender the name '• Leonard Seal,'' < 'ai)tain Scaminon lias j;i\cii
a very jjood account of tiie liahits of this species as obserxcil
by him on the Pacific coast of North AnnMJca. Jle speaks of
it as dis])layinji' no little sajjacity, and consideiable boldness,
althouji'h exc«'edin};ly wary, lie says it is '' found about out-
lyinji' rocks, islands, and ]K)ints, on sand-reefs made bare at low
tide, and is frecpiently met with in harbors amonji' shi]»]»inji',
and lip rivers more than a hundred miles from the sea. We
have often observed them,'' he continues, "close to the vessel
when under way, and likewise when at anchor, ap]K>arinj; to
einerfje deliberately from the depths below, sometimes only
showiufj; their hea<ls, at other times exposin;jf half of their bodies,
but the instant any move was made on board, they would van-
ish like an ai)j)arition under water, and frequently that would be
the last seen of them, or, if seen ajjain, they would be tar out
of jjrun-shot." They come ashore, ho obsj'rves, "more <lurin;j
windy weather than in calm, and in the nij^ht more than in the
day; and they have been observed to (jollect in the largest
herds njion the beaches and rocks, near the full and change of
the moon. They delijiht in baskinj;" in the warm sunli};ht, and
when no isolate<l rock or shore is at hand, they will craw! upon
any fragment of drift-wood that will lloat them. Although
jjregarious, they do not herd in such large numbers as do nearly
all others of the seal tribe : furthermore, they may be regarded
almost as mutes, in comparison with the noisy Sea Lions. It is
ver\ larely, however, any sound is uttered by them, but occa-
sionally a qui(!k bark or guttural whining, and sometimes a
peculiar bleating is heard when they are assembled together
about the period of bringing forth their young. At times, when
a number meet in the neighborhood of rocks or reefs distant
from the mainland, they become quite jdayful, and exhibit miuli
life in their gambols, leaping out of the water or circling around
upon the surface. . . . Its rapacity in pursuing and devour-
ing the smaller members of the piscatory tribes is quite eiiual,
in proi)ortion to its size, to that of the Orca. When grappling
with a lish too large to be swallowed whole, it will hold and

HABITS.

593

baiullc it between its fore flippers, and, with the united work
of its mouth . . . the wrigfjlhig prize is demolished and
devoured as quickly, and in much the same umnuer, as a squirrel
would eat a bur-covered nut. . . .

" Leopard Seals are very easily captured when on shore, as a
sinjrle blow with a club upon the head will dispatch them. The
Indians about Puget Sound take them in nets made of large
liump-line, using them in the same manner as seines, drawing
tliem around beaches when the rookery is on shore. They are
taken by the whites for their oil and skins, but the Indians and
£8<]uimaux make great account of them for food." He adds
that the natives of Pug^t Sound singe them before a fire until
the hair is consumed and the skin becomes crisp, when tbev
are cut up and cooked as best suits their taste. *

The apparent fondness of this animal, in common with other
species of the family, for nuisic, has been often noted. " During
a losidcnce of some years in one of the Hebrides," writes the
Rev. jMr. Dunbar, " I had many opportunities of witnessing this
peculiarity ; and, in fact, could call forth its numifestation at
l»k'asure. In walking along the shore in the calm of a summer
afternoon, a few notes from my flute would bring half a score of
tliein within a few yards of me ; and there they would swim about,
with their heads above water, like so many black dogs, evi-
dently delighted with the sounds. For half an hour, or, indeed,
tor any length of time I chose, I could fix them to the spot;
and \\hen X moved along the water edge, they would follow me
with eagerness, like the Dolphins, wlio, it is said, attended
Arion, as if anxious to prolong the enjoyment. I have fre-
quently witnessed the same effect when out on a boat excursion.
The sound of the flute, or of a common fife, blown by one of the
boatmen, was no sooner heard, than h.alf a dozen would start
up within a few yards, wheeling round us as long as the music
phiyed, and disappearing, one after another, when it ceased." t

Although, like other species of the family, evidently attracted
I'y musical sounds, it is perhaps questionable whether they are
not as much influenced by curiosity as by any real fondness
for nnisic. Any unusual sounds, or unusual movements of any
kind , serve to stron gly attract them . Th(} writer last quoted states
that when lie and his pupils were bathing in a small bay where
these Seals were abundant they would crowd around them in

*Mariuo Mam., pp. 105-167.
tMacgillivray's British Quad., pp. 204-205.

:Mi8c. Pub. No. 12 38

>' Flit »''*''}

^.!i

594

PIIOCA VITULINA — HARBOR SEAL.

I 'i

numbers, at a distance of a few yards, as though they fancied
they were the same species with themselves. '* The gambols in
the water," he writes, "of my playful companions, and their
noise and merriment, seemed, to our imagination, to excite
them, and to make them course round us with greater rai>i(lity
and animation." Mr. Bell also quotes Mr. Low as referring, in
his " Fauna Orcadensis," to their possession of a great deal <»f
curiosity. " If people are passing in boats, they often come
quite close up to the boat, an<l stare at them, following for a long
time together; if i)eople are speaking loud, they seem to won-
der what may be the matter. The church of Hoy, in Orkney, is
situated near a small sandy bay, miu'h frequented by these crea-
tures ; and I observed when the bell rang for divine service, all
the Seals within hearing swam directly for the shore, and kept
looking about them, as if surprised rather than frightened,
and in tliis manner continued to wonder, as long as the bell
rung."*

The Harbor Seal yields readily to domestication, and may be
easily taught a variety of tricks. In confinement it exhibits
great docility, and allows itself to be freely handled without
offering resistance or manifesting fear. A specimen exhibited
some years since in Boston, included, among its varied accom-
plishments, performances on the hand-organ. It is said to gen-
erally become greatly attached to its keeper, whom it will follow,
and whose call it readily obeys. Many accounts have been
published of its intelligence and docility in confinement, t
Captain Scammon refers to his having had several young ones
on ship-board, and says that " in every instance it was but a
few weeks before they would follow, if permitted, the one vbo
had especial charge of them, and when left solitary, they would
express discontent by a sort of mournful bleating." Of a
Leopard Seal, as he terms this species, kept at one time in Wood-
ward's Gardens, in San Francisco, Callfomia, he says: "Tliis
little favorite has been a resident of that popular and interest

"Bell's British Qua<l., let oil., pp. 265-266.

tDr. Edmonstoii seriously records the following: "The yonug cues an'
easily domesticated, and display a great deal of sagacity. One in particu-
lar became so tame that it lay along the fire among tin- dogs, bathed in tbt
sea, and returned to the house, but having found the way to the byres.
used to steal there unobserved and suck the cows. On this accoimt it was
discharged, and sent to its native element." — A Fieiv of the Ancient (i"i
Present State of the Zetland Islands, etc. Vol. ii, 1809, p. 293.

HABITS. 595

iug resort for over three years, and, although a female, as we
were informed, is lionored with tlie titU'*of 'Commodore'. The
animal generally makes its appearanee close at han<l whenever
within hearing, if called by name, and when its keeper appears
on the lawn, to feed the pelicans, black swans, and other
iKjuatic birds, which are its companions in the artificial pond,
the Commodore does not wait to be invited, but, knowing as
well as its keeper the meal-lM)nr, is on the watch, and the mo-
ment the food-bearer is seen, the little <;reature— which is not
(.ver four feet long— lifts itself out of the water over the ciu-b-
stones and waddles <iuick!y to its master's side, then holding
ujt its head, with mouth wide open, receives the choice njorsels
of tish which droj) from his hand."*

The food of this species consists largely of fish, but, like
otiier species, ;.t doubtless varies its fare with squids and
shrimps. That it aspires to more epicurean tastes is evidenced
by its occasional capture of sea-birds. This they ingeniously
accomplish by swimming beneath tliem as they rest upon the
water, and seizing them. An eye-witness of this pastime re-
lates an instance as observed by him on the Scottish coast.
"While seated on the bents," he writes, "watching a flock of
[Herring] Gulls that were Ashing in the sea near Donmouth,
I was startled by their Jerking high in the air, and screaming
in an unusual and excited manner. On no previous occasion
liave I observed such a sensation in a Gull-hood, not even when
a Black-head was being pursued, till he disgorged his newly-
swallowed flsh, by that bla<;k-leg, the Skua. The excitement
OS explained by a Seal [presumably Phoca vitulina, this being
the only species common at the locality in question] showing
above the water with a Herring Gull in his mouth ; on his
appearing the Gulls became ferocious, and struck furiously at
tlie Seal, who disappeared with the Gull in the water. The
Seal speedily reappeared, but on this occasion relinquished his
victim on the Gulls renewing their attack. The liberated Gull
was so disabled as to be unable to fly, but it had strength
euough to hold up its head as it drifted with the tide."+

They are evidently discriminaMng in their tastes, and not
loath to avail themselves of a fine salmon now and then not
of their own catching. Their habit of plundering the nets of
tli e^fishermen on the coast o f Newfoundland has been already

"Miuiiu; Miun., pp. 1CG-U)7.

t Zoologist, 5>(lscr., vol. vi, 1871, p. 2762.

1 ^ i;i

Il!;i;

i j

596

PIIOCA VITULINA — HARBOR SEAL.

alluded to, but this peculiarity is evidentl>'*not coufined to the
Newibundland ropresentativc of the 8i»ecies, as shown by the
following incident related by the writer last quoted. "On a
sunny noon in the autunui of 18G8," says this observer, " I ob-
served a Seal, not far from the same place, with a salmon in
his mouth, which he forced through the meshes of a stake net.
The struggling salmor, whoso head was in the jaws of the
Seal, struck the water violently with his tail, which gleamt'tl
like a lustre in the lessening ray. The Seal rose and sunk
alternately, keeping seaward to escape Eleys' cartridges from
the shore. When above the water ho shortened the silver bar»
which continued to lash his sides long after its thickest part
had disappeared, by rising to his perpendicular, as if to allow
the precious metal by its own weight to slip into his crucible.
The Seal evidently swallowed above, and masticated below,
water — the jirocess lasting about twelve mituites, during which
the Seal had travelled a full half-mile,"*

In their raids upon the nets of the flshermen they become
sometimes themselves the victims, being in this way frequently
taken along our own coast as well as elsewhere. They are,
however, at all times unweh;ome visitors. De Kay states that
formerly they were taken almost every year in the "fyke-nots"
in the Passaic River, greatly to the disgust of the tisheriiR'ii,
the Seals when captured making an obstinate resistance and
doing much injury to the nets. Their accidental capture in this
way often aftbrds a record of their presence at localities they
are not commonly supposed to frequent, as in the Chesapeake
Bay, and at even more southerly localities on the eastern coast
of the United States.

Owing to the difficulty of capturing this species, and its com-
paratively small numbers, it is of little commercial importance,
although the oil it yields is of excellent quality, and its skins
are of special value for articles of dress, and other purposes, in
consequence of their beautifully variegated tints. Though not
a few are taken in strong Seal-nets, they are usually captured
by means of the rifle or heavy sealing gun. On rare occasions
they are surprised on shore at so great a distance from water
that they are overtaken and killed by a blow on the head witb
a club. Like other species of the Sesil family, the Harbor Seal
is very tenacious of life, and must be struck in a vital part by

•W. Craibe Angus, ZocSlogist, 2d sen, vol. vi, 1871, pp.2762, 2763.

\imyM

PnOCA FCETIDA— RINGED S?:AL.

597

oitlior ball or heavy sliot, in order to kill it on the spot. Says ]Mr.
KcelvH, " I liji ve Iwen often amused at jjublished accounts of Seals
shot in the Thames or elsewhere, but which 'sank immediately'.
What Seal or other aniphibi(ms animal Avould not do so if
'tickled' with the fjreater ]mrt of, perhaps, an ounce of No. o
sliotf ' lie adds tiiat it is only in the sprinj^ of the year that
this Seal will "float" when killed in the water, but says that he
lias never seen a Seal "so poor, which, if kille«l dead on the spot,
would not have floated from five to ten seconds," or long enough
to {five "ample time for ix)wingf alongside," supiwsing the ani-
mal to have been killed by shot, and the boat to contain "two
hands".* The oil of this species, according to the same writer,
soils in Newfoundland for fifty to seventy-five cents a gallon,
while the skins are worth one dollar each. Mr. Carroll gives the
weightof the skin and blubber of afuU-grov n individual as rang-
ing from eighty to one hundred pounds, while that of a young
one averages, v ten weeks old, thirty to thirty-five pounds.
The flesh of the young, the same writer quaintly says, is " as
pleasant to the taste as that of any description of salt-water
l)ird."t Its flesh, as already stated, is esteemed by the Green-
landers above that of any other species. Few statistics relat-
ing to the capture of this species are available, but the number
taken is small in comparison with the"catcli"of other species,
particularly of the liar}) or Greeidand Seal. Dr. Eiuk states
that only from one thousand to two thousand are annually taken
in Greenland, which is about one to two per cent, of the total
catch. They are hunted to a considerable extent, however,
wherever they occur in numbers.

The Harbor Seal received this name from its predih ition for
bays, inlets, estuaries, and fjords, from which habit i.t is also
often termed Bay Seal, and, on the Scandinavian coast, Fjord
Seal (Fjordskiil),! and also Kock Seal (Steen-Kobbe).

PHOCA (PUSA) FCETIDA, Fahricim.
Kinged Seal.

i'/iom, Albinus, Acad. Aiinot.. iii, 1756, cap. xv.

ydlKek, Chanz, Hist, vou GrnMil., i, 17(55, 1()4; ibid., Eiiglisli version, 1767,
124.

'Zoologist, 2d scr., vol. vi, 1871, p. 2541.
tScal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, p. 11.
fill Greenland, however, according to Dr. Kink, it is the PAoca/<B<>da that
receives this name.

lil

8' 'i —

1]
HI

I '

k
. T

i V

'i 1

f-il!

598

PlIOCA FCETIDA RINGED SEAL

Jliiiiijh Seal, Pennant, Syiiop. (iuud., 1771,341; Hist, tiuiul., 3d od., ii, 17!»3,
•J7H.

/>(-»• niiihr Serhund, SriiUKHKU, Siiii>;t., iii, [177(»?] 'M2, i>\. Ixxxvi.

Ihr (jrau, ScrhuiKl, Sc'llltKliKH, Siiiifrf., iii, [177(!?'| :<(iy.

rhvcdj'dliilii, Faiiiul'Hs, MiiiliT'H Zool. Dim. rrod., 177(1, vili (iu> dcHcrip-
tioii): rami. (iniMil.. IT^K, 13.— Dksmakkm', Miiiii., 18*^0, 'J-JO.—
• Klcii.vUDsu.N, I'air.v's -Jd Voy., Siippl., lH-jr>, 33'2. — HaKLan, Faim.

Aimr.. isj-., 11(1.— (i()i>.MA\, Am. Nat. Hist., i, 1H2(;, 34.'!.— .J. C.
K'oss. I'any's3d Voy.. App., 18:(!, I'Jl ; Kohs'h '^d Voy., App., 1H3.".,
xix.— KisciiKK, Syii. Mam., IH^'J, 377 (---.">77).— Okay, (JiilHlirs
Ciiv. All. Kiiij;., V, 1H'J7, 17H. — Hlasius, Nutiirj;. Siiu^^ct. Dcu'scli.,
1857, "ii'il, linf,'. 138, 131).— Kautlkit, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Loud., 1 <(W,
67. — Von Middkndouff, Silu-rischti Koine., iv, W)7, 'J34.— Lii.i,-
.IKDOH*!, Paiiua ofvcr Svt'iijjes «cli Norgi<8 Kyj^yrads., 1874, (IHv!.—
CoLLETT, Hema-rk. Norj^cH Piitttidyrf., 1876, 57, footuotc— Ii'iXK,
DuniHli GrfM'ulivnd, its IVoplc and its Products, 1877, 122, 430.

CallocephaliiH fwtidns, Ghay, Vili. Si-als Brit. Mus., 1850, 23; Proc. Z<ml.
Soc, Loud., 1862, 202 (young, born in confinement).

Pagomys fwtidiiH, Guay, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1864, 31; Cat. Seals and
Whales, 18(M), 23; Zoologist, 1872, 3333, 3335 (Uritish Islands);
Haii<l-List Seals, 1874, 6, pi. iii (skull). — Kank, Grinnoll Exped,,
1854, — .— Giij., Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 12. -Brown, t^roc. Zeul.
Soc. Loud., 18(58, 340, 416; Man. Nat. Hist., etc., Greenland, 1H7.'),
Manu, 43. — Van Benkden, Ann. du Mns. Roy. d'Hist. Nat. du Bel-
gique, i, 1877, 18 (geographical distribution, with chart). — Ki'M-
LiEN, Bull. \J. S. Nat. Mus., No. 15, 1879, 55 (habits and (!xternal
characters). — " Mai.mgken, 5fvora, 1863, 827 ; Bihaug Svenska Exp.,
1864, 5"; S(!hwed. Exp. nach Spitz., 1861, 1864, 1868, Passar<,'e's
Genuan trau.sl., 1861*, 78, 180.

Phoca (Pagomys) fatida, Vox Hkugun, Roise luich dein Nordpolarmecr, iii,
1874, 48 ; ibid., i, l.'')4, 207, 220, 228.

Phoca hinpida, Sew -"'kk. Silugt., iii, [1776?] 312, pi. Ixxxvi ("Der raidio
Seohund'' t).— Euxleuen, Syst. Keg. Anini., 1777, 58!».—

Gmet.t .,t.^ i^ 1778, G4. — Fahriciu.s, Skriv. af Nat. Selsk., ii,

IV" ^.ii{, Auini. King., 1792, 125. — Dksmakest, Nouv. Diet.

d ..., XXV, 1817, 587. — " Mei.ciiiou, Danske Stats och Norges,

Ibo , M." — Hamilton, Amphib. Cam. ,9 166, pi. viii (from F.

Cuvier). — Gai.Maud, Voy. en Island, etc., Atlas, 1851, pi. x, rigg. 1,
2 (skeleton). — Mai.M(}«en, Ofv. af Kongl. Vctensk.-Akad. Fiirli.
Sto.ck., 1863, 143; Arch, fiir Naturg., 1864, 82.— " HoLMOnEX,
.Skand. Du'ggdj., 1865, 215, fig." — Flower, Proc. ZoJU. Soc. Lond.,
1871, 5W5 (coast of Norfolk, Engl. ; synonymy). — Turner, Journ.
Anat. and Phys., iv, 1870, 260; Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinluirg, 1861), 70
(fossil, brick clays, Scotland).— Bell, Hist. Brit. Quad., 2d cd.,
1874, 247, ligg. animal and skull.— Alston, Fauna of Scotland,
Mam., 1880, 14.

Callocephalus hinpidiis, F. Cuvier, M^m. du Mus., xi, 1824, 189, pi. xii
(skull); Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 547.— Lesson, Man. de
Mam., 1827, 198.— Gray, Cat. Seals Br. Mus., 1850, 23.

BIBLIOGUAPHY.

599

rhocuvituUnn, a, Ekxi.khkn, 8yHt. l{»'j{. Aniin., 1777,587.

I'hoca ritulina, /J, hotnicn, Gmklin, Syst. Nat., i, I7~8, 03.

Fhoca aniieUatii, Nu.sson, "Skaiid. Faun., i, 1920, UCiJ; ninmin. flg. till
Skantl. I'iiuii., 'iOnlc liiilY, 1H40, pi. xxxviii"; Skun. Fauua.,
Diijjy'lJ., 1847, a8:»; Arch, llli- Niiturjr., 1841, 312.— "TiuknemanN,
Kci.sc ill) Nordon Kiir(ii)a, t'tc, i, I8"i4, 83, pi. ix (atl. feiiialo), pi. x
(yomiK), pi. xi (sluill), ))1. xii (dij^cHtivc orj^aii.s)." — ScuiNZ, Naturg.
u. Abild.dcr SiiiiK<"tli., 18"«i7, l(i7, pi. Ixiv. — Uai.i,, Skotcbes of Irish
Seals, tig. 3(5 (.skidl, IVoiii Thifueinaiui). — SciiiNZ, Synop. Mum., i,
1844, 482.— Waun'I'.u, Siip|d. Schrcbor's SiliiKt., vii, 1840, 29, pi.
84 A.— GaimaiiI), V(ty. en iHlaud, etc., Atlas, Maui., 18.')1, pi, xi, fig.
7 (dentition).— Gikhki., .Siiuget., 18.').'), 137.— Radde, Keisen im SU-
den voni Ost-Sibericn, i, 18(12, 2y(), pi. xiii (aidinal, nkull, denti-
tion, hones of limits; Lake Baikal). — Kaiiscii, 1 lomschuck's Areh.
Skand. Beitriige /,ur Naturgs., ii. 1850, p. 32(i (Lake Ladoga).

"CaJloce2)haliiH aniivUatus, RI'ppei., Vorzeichnoss, 1(57." — "Gray,Zo61. Erebus
aud Terror, 3".

CiiUocephaluH discolor, F. CuviEU, Mdm. du Mus., xi, 1824, 186 ; Diet. Scl.
Nat., xxxix, 182G, 545.— Lehsox, Man. de Mam., 1827, 198.

I'lioca (Uxcolor, Fisciiek, Syu. Mam., 1829,237, 375 [=575].— GrA-Y, Grif-
fith's Cuv. An. King., v, 1827, 177.

I'hoca frederiei, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 416 (:v=7'. dis-
color, F. Cuviar),

I'hoca achreberi, Lessox, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 414 (=/*. his-
pida, Sehrebor ; P. fwiida, Fabricins ; P. annellata, Nilsson).

I'hoca communis var. octonotata, Kutorga, Bull. Soc. Imp. des Nat. de
Mosc., 1839, 189, pi. xiii, fig. 1 (animal); pi. xiv, figg. 1-3 (muzzle
and mystaeial bristle) ; pi. xv, figg. 1, 2, 5 (bones of forearm and
hand); pi. xvi, figg. 1-4 (skull); pi. xviii, fig. 1 (skull).

Phooa communis var. undulata, Kutorga, Bull. Soc. Imp. des Nat. de ^loso.,
1839, 191, pi. xiii, fig. 2 (animal); pi. xiv, figg. 4-6 (muzzle, etc.);
pi. XV, figg. 3, 4 (bones of fore limb) ; pi. xvii (skull) ; pi. xviii,
fig. 2 (skull).

"Phoca dimidiata, Sciilv- el, Mus. Leyd." {upud Gray),

Calhcephalus dimidiatus, Gray, Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, 24.

('allooephalus f dimidiatiis, Gray, Cat. Seals ami vV hales, 1860, 22.

Phoque marbre, F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. des Mam., livr. ix, 1819 (coast of
Franco, — accidental).

Seal shot near the Orkney Islands, HOME, Phil. Trans., 1822, pi. xxviii (skull).

? Fossil Seal, Thompson, Joum. Anat, and Phys,, xiii, 1879, 318 (fossil, Scot-
land).

Fiordscel, Fadricius, 1. c. .

Stink-Bobbe, von Middendorfp, 1. c.

Xatsek or Fjord Seal, Rink, 1. e.

"Netsick, adults generally; Ttzak, adult males; Neisiavi.^, yomig after
shedding till one year old ; Ibeen, young in the white coat, Cum-
berland Eskimo " (Kumlien).

GraSjal; Gra-Wikare Skdl; BingladSkUl; FikaresjUl, Ftfca/aZ, Swedish.

Steenkobbe, Norwegian.

Der (jeringelte Seehund; Der rauhe Seehund, German.

:!1

'!%■.

(I hi

600

PHOCA FCETLDA — RINGED SEAL.

,! ■!(

)',ji;is. li •

;;;;!;• |

iiliiS ■• '•

Nerpa, Russian.

Jiingid Seal ; Marbled Seal ; Floe Bat, English.

"Pickaninny Pussy, young, pigeon-English of tho whalers" (KUMLIEN).

i Bodach, Hebridian.

External Characters. — Adult, generally blackish-bro\ni
above; darkest on the back, lighter on the sides, with large
oval, whitish spots; beneath nearly uniform yollowish-wliite ;
nose and ring round the eye usuallj' black; niystacial bristles
and claws dusky or blackish ; pelage rather harsh. Length of
the adult male, 5 to feet; female smaller.

The i.ewly-born young are usually white or yellowish-white ;
the pelage soft and woolly. At the age of about four weeks
this gradually gives place to the coarser, more rigid pelage of
the adult, and the color changes to dusky marked sparsely
•• "th small blackish spots. Yearlings are often yellowish-
\ nite ; dusky along the middle of the back, with here and there
small spots of blackish.

There is a wide range of individual variation in color, in the
newly-born young as well as in the adults, as the following re-
marks will show.

Three adult specimens from Disco Island, Greenland, pre-
sent the following variations in color: In Fo. 8699 (Nat. Mas.)
the general color above is yellowish- white, irregularly mottled
on the back with oblong spots and streaks of dusky or bluish-
black; whole lower parts uniform yellowish-v.hite. In No.
8700 (Nat. Mus.) the dorsal surface is every where marbled with
light spots having dark centres. There are also i)atches of
dark brown of very irregular outline. The dark-centred light
rings are much more distinct than in No. 8699. No. 8698 is
yellowish-white marbled with dark brown, the latter tint form-
ing chains of dark-centred light spots. The front part of the
head is blackish ; the lower parts are uniform yellowish-whito.
Several yearling specimens, from Cumberland Sound, collected
by Mr. Ludwig Kumlien, are whitish or yellowish-white, with
small dusky or blackish spots.

Wagner has described a specimen from Labrador as having
the back blackish-brown, with a greenish-gray shimmer, and
marked with spots of yellowish of varying size, some of them
occurring singly, and others joluf in pairs into 8-shaped ligures;
on the sides they form ^roups of rings, rather symmetrically
arranged on the two sides of the body ; lower surface pale yel-
low, with a tinge of olive. A younger specimen, also from

KXTERNAL CI I ARACTJ:R8.

GOl

Labrador, is doscribed as dnllor in color, more grayish, and
with coal-black niarkinj^s.*

Ivutorga's ^'ariety octouotuta is described as bla«;kish, darkest
along the back, with Avhitish spots mostly 7-.-shai)ed ; lower sur-

!,l < P " I '/uWl VL.'tMHlV' '

lipii

face lighter than the upper; the pelage composed of rather
soft, fine hair. The same author's variety, itnditlatn. is de-
scribed as blackish-brown, lighter l)elow and darkest along the

Schreber's Siiuyt., Th. vii, p. 'M.

' •!!

602

PHOCA FCETIDA — RINGED SEAL.

back, the spots silvery-white, of irregular shape, ami rarely in
the Ibriii of rinf>s. *

Xilsson has distiiiguished a black, a white, and a brownish-
gray color-variety. The iirst is described as dark brownish-
black, blacker above and more grayish-brown below, marked
(everywhere witli pale streaks, which sometimes form small
whitish oval rings; head and neck with single small whitish
spots; nose ami eye-rings uniform black; limbs uniform
brownish-black. The white variety is described as uniform
soiled-white, slightly darker on the mi<ldle of the back. The
brown variety is said to be uniform brownish-gray ; paler below.

Mr. Kumlien states that the new-born young are also " very
^'ariable in color ; some are i)ure white ; others white tm the
lower parts, but more or less dusky on the back; others again
are fine straw-yellow, with the same dusky variation as in the
white ones. The yellow is also variable in the intensity of the
shade. Karely sonie are found that are <iuite dusky all over,
especially on the head and back ; these are generally small and
scrawny. The hair," he adds, "'is also «piite as variable in
texture as in color. In some it is tine, long, and woolly (mostly
in the pure white examples) ; in others it is straight or wavy,
while some have short and (piite hispid hair."

There appears to be also a quite wide range of variation in
size ; at least the statements of authoi"s indicate that such is
the case. It seems probable that in some instances measure-
ments given as those of the adult were really taken from ex
amples not full-grown. Nilsson, in 1837, gave the length of the
species as about 3 feet, and later (1847) as 3 to 4 feet. Fa-
bricius says it rarely exceeds 4J feet in length. Wagner refers
to a Labrador specimen as being 4 feet 2 inches long. Capt. .1.
C Ross states that the average length, from the nose to the
end of the tail, of twenty specimens measured by him, was .m
inches, or 4 feet 7 inches, the hind Hipper extending 9 inches
beyond the body, thus giving an extreme length of 5 feet 4
inches. lie gives the average weight of these same specumeuH
as 199 pounds, and the circumference immediately behind the
fore rti])pers as 49.7 inches, t Dr. Kink, however, gives the
tiverage weight o*" "oven specimens, "perhaps somewhat below
the middle size," as only 84 pounds, f Lilljeborg and ]Mulm-
gren record much larger dimensions. The former gives the

* Bull. Soc. Imp. <U s Niit. do Moscou, 1839, pp. 189, 191.
t Ross's Secoml Voyage, Apj)., p. xx.
t Danish (.{repiiland, etc., p. 12S.

INDIVIDUAL AND SEXUAL VARIATION.

603

length of the male, from the nose to the end of the tail, as 5
feet 2 inches, or 1,500 mm., and from the nose to the en<l of
the hind flippers as 5 feet 7 inches, or 1,710 mm. The same
uimensions of the female ho gives as, respectively, 4 feet d
inches ( 1,380 mm.) and 4 feet 9 inches (1,170 mm.).* ^lahngren
states that the hirgest fnll-grown individuals he had seen
(in the Gulf of Bothnia) attained a length of 5.^ Swedish
feet from the nose to the euil of the tail, and measured nearly
(» feet to the end of the hind flippers, lie further states that
»yld or full-grown specimens are rarely taken, and that the meas-
urements usually given are those of specimens one or two
years old. He further observes, "Sogar in den finnischeu
Lan«lseen Ladoga und Pyhiifelka soil die ganze Liinge der
alten Individuen uach der Aussage erfahrener Manner beinahe
einer Klafter, d. h. sechs Fuss betragen. Doch in diesen Seen
wird diese Kobbe gewohnlich im zweiten und dritten Jahre,
selteu erwachsen, geschossen. Dasselbe ist nach Fabricius
audi Grouland der Fall ; ich vermuthe daher, dass dies die
Ursache ist, wesshalb die LaiUge des Thieres zu klein angege-
ben ist, da sie wahrscheinlich nach den ein- oder zweijahrigen
Individuen, die man am gewohidichsten erhiilt, bestinnnt
worden ist."t It is certainly evident that the specimens de-
scribed by Nilssou and Wagner were young. Lilljeborg and
Malmgreu are the only authors who have apparently tramiued,
or at least described, full-grown specimens.

Mr. Kumlien states that the young are about two feet long
when born, and t igh from 4 to GA pounds, and that they aver-
age 30 inches in length (varying from 23 to 36 inches).

Individual Variation and Variation >s dependent upon
Age and Sex. — The Einged Seai, like the Uarbor Seal, varies
greatly in color, irrespective t)f sex and age, both in respect to
the grouml color and the markings, as has been already shown
in the description of the external ciiaracters. Like nearly all
the Phocids, the young when born are covered with a white or
yellowish-white coat of rather soft, woolly hair, which is
changed in about four weeks for the sparser, harsher, and
darker livery of the adults. The younger animals, however,
are grayish or yellowish brown, darker along the middle of the
back, and marked irregularly with snmll dusky spots, the mar-

* Fauna Ofvor Sverigos och Norges, i, pp. 683, (W4.
t ArcbLv fUr Naturg., 18(54, pp. 83, 84,

• I'

. li'l

•i'. 1

,1 ! %

604

PHOCA FffiTIDA RINGED SEAL.

bled coloring usually characterizing the adults not being at-
tained till the second or third year. The sexes vary in size, as
already noted, the female being considerably the smaller. This
dift'erenco of size is well ahowni in the measurements of the
skulls given below. Aside from the skull of the female beiiigf
smaller than that of the male, its sti'ucture is weaker, the sur-
face less roughened for the attachment of muscles, the muzzle
narrower, the teeth smaller, and the lower jaw much slenderer.
In the series of skulls collected by Mr. Kumlien, which were
carefully marked for sex, the old males have an average length
of about 180 nnn., and an average breadth of about 115 mm.,
while the same dimensions in the old females are respectively
1G8 mm. and 108 mm.

In general, skulls of the Sf ^ sex and of corresponding ages
vary considerably in details of structure and proportion, but
the only purely individual variations worthy of special com-
ment are exhibited in the teeth, which are surprisingly variable
in respect to size, and in the number and shape of the acces-
sory cusps. That these variations are not due to age and the
accidents of attrition is shown by the fact that they are as well
marked when the teeth first cut the gum as at later stages.
The last upper molar is especially variable in size aiul in the
prominence of the cusps, the accessory cusps being sometimes
well developed and again almost wholly obsolete. The last upi^er
molar has usually only two points, the posterior of which is
small, but there is occasionally another still smaller on the an
tericr inner border of the tooth. Generally the other upper
molars have eaeh three cusps, of which the anterior is the
smallest, and frequently is wholly obsolete on the second molar
when the third, fourth, and fifth molars are each 3-pointed.
Frequentlj', however all the upper molars, except the first, are
4-pointed, while in a nearly equal percentage of the skulls ex-
amined the molars are all only 2-pointed, or all, except the
third, which may be 3-pointed. Sometimes the third or fourth
upper molar is 3-pointed, while the others are 2-pointed. In
one skull all are 3-pointed, inclnding even the first.

The lower molars are less subject to variation in respect to
the number of points, they being almost invariably 4-pointeil,
except the first, which is usually 3-pointed. The chief varia
tion I have noticed is that the fifth is sometimes only 3-pointed,
like the first, \\hile the first is sometimes 4-pointed, like the
others. The size and shape of the cusps vary greatly, being

INDIVIDUAL AND SEXUAL VARIATION.

605

sometimes thick and short aud again slender and very long
These variations are all as strongly marked in the young killed
a few c' lys after birth as in the adult, showing that the varia-
tion in the number and shape of the cusps is not due to pecu-
liarities of wearing. In the 3-pointed teeth two accessory cusps
are developed behind the principal one, while in teeth with four
points there is also a small accessory cusp in front of the prin-
cipal one. In one instance a first lower molar has two minute
points placed in front of the principal one, there being a
(purely supernumerary) cusp on the outer anterior border of
the tooth. In the males the teeth average (in linear dimen-
sions) about one-eighth larger than in the females; but the size
varies so much in individuals of the same sex that the teeth
are as large in some females as in some males.

i.l

i - ■

ills!

i\'i

,> i

l-»tr1

606

PnOCA FOETIDA — RINGED SEAL.

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COMPARISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES.

607

Differential Characters. — In color the Kin}?ed Seal is
not easily (listinjiiiishablc from certain i)liases of the Harbor
Seal, but it (lifters from it in its general form, which is much
.slenderer, with lonj-er limbs and tail, narrower head, and more
])ointed nose. The Kinjicd Seal may, however, be distin-
'fiiishetl externallv from both the Harbor an<l the Greenland
Seals by the form of the manws, in which the drst difi'it is the
loiifjest, the others successively slij;htl3' decreasing. The cra-
nial characters, and especially the dentition, differ too widely
from those of the Harbor Seal to (iven requin? a comparison in
tlie present connection, as do also most of the principal bones
(tf the skeleton (see aniea, ])p. .lOo-aTl).

The Kinged Seal ditiers externally from the Greenland Seal
in its smaller size and in the very different <;oloration of the
adults of the two species. AV'hen in the " white coat," and in
the earlier spotted stages, coloration often fails to be diagnostic,
but they nuiy be distinguished by the character of the nianus
already gi.'en. The dentition of these two species, allowing for
tbe ditlerence in size, is (piite similar, although the teeth are
relatively (as well as absolutely) larger in Phoca (jroenlandica.
In the general form of the skidl there is also a close resem-
blance, although the facial portion is rather more attenuated in
V. firanlandiea. The form of the imlatal region, however, is
\\i(U'ly different in the two, the broad sliallow posterior nares,
c()ini>letely divided into two separate passages by a bony sep-
tum, and the squarely truncate, instead of deeply emarginate,
liosterior border of the palatine bones serving at a glance to
distinguish 7*. f/rcenlandica.

The relationshi]) of Phoca fcetida to the Baikal and Caspian
Seals (Phoca sibirica and P. caspica) is apparently much closer
than to any other. The earlier waiters, however, as Erxleben,
Gnielin, and P.allas, associated them with Phoca rituUna, they
t'orniing respectively Erxleben's varieties ,3 and y of this spe-
cies, and Gmelin's varieties sibirica and caspica. The Caspian
'Seal was tirst recognized as a distinct 8pe«;ies by Nilsson in
bS.'57, and called by him Phoca caspica. Later its specific dis-
tinctness was admitted by Gray (1844), Wagner (IS4<J), and
Ka<l(le (18(52). Nilsson was also the first to make known the
t'iut of its nuich closer resemblance to Phoca fcetida. (= P. an-
itelhta, Nilss.) than to Phoca vittilina.* Wagner arrived at the

'Alter detailing its charactors, lie remarks, ".leder siolit elii, dn.ss dicso
loriu <ler Ph. anndlaia viol niilu'r sti'ht, alsdcr I'h. vitnUna. Doili bildet .sie
oliiif iijk'ii Zweifol ciiio von er«tt'rer bcstinmitvcrschii'dciic Art : sic i.st viol

II ili! ' !

1)1

608

PHOCA FCETIDA — RINGED SEAL.

,1 t:

Ht-/'

same conclusion, aflirmiug most emphatically that the Caspian
Seal was iu no way closely related to Phoca vitulina, but f.AUid
its nearest affine iu Fhoca faitida.* The distinctive characters
claime<l by these authors for the Ca8i)iau Seal, as compared
with Phoca /wtula, are largta- size, smaller and more widely sep-
arated teetn, greater convexity of the cranium, longer, stitter,
and more numerous niystacial bristles, and a somewhat differ-
ent pattern of coloration. The differences claimed l)y Nilsson
and Wagner were confirmed by Kaddet in 1802, who gave a
detailed comparison of the cranial characters of Phoca canpica
with those of Phoca fatida. Yet, in face of all this testimony,
we find Mr. Andrew Murray, sis late as 18GG,f afiirmiug that the
Caspian Seal "is Phoca vitulina," and that the Baikal Seal
is nothing but Phoca foetida.^ It appears, however, that the

grosser, anders geflirUt, hat viol starktTes Uurthaar, ahstoheudere iiiul klci-
iiere Ziibne, nnd deu Zwisclieiibalkcn nacli hiiiteii zii abgeruudet, wodurih
eiue ruudlicht' Uebn^augKlliielio zwiscbeu Stirii und Scbb'it'engrubeontsteht,
wo sic'b bci Ph. anncUata stotti eino scbarfo Kanti; fiiulet." — Wiegmann'n
Arch, fiir Xatitry,, 1841, p. :J14.

* On tbis point be says, " Aucb aus iiieiner Vergleicbnug {j;obt es bcrvor,
dass Phoca caxpica keineswcgs niit der Ph. vitulina, sondcin nnr lait der
Ph. anneUata, iu niicbsto Bezicbnng tretcii kanu. Als Untersirbicde tiiide
ich, das8 die Ringelzcicbnung bed Ph. canpica niiudcr ausgebiblet; ist datur
sind die Bartscbnurrcn wcit zablicicbtT, biuger mid steifer, <lio Kralliti
scbwilfbor nnd nicbt koblscbwarz wio bei Ph. annellata, sonderu bellbiauu
mit ".t'lsslichcn Spitzen. . . ." — iS(7ice&er'« SrtMjf//!., Tbeil vii, p. 35.

tRidsen im Sixden voni Ost-Sibiricns, vol. 1, pp. 29G-304.

tGeograph. Distr. Mam., p. 12().

^ It is perhaps not Strang;: tbat Mr. Murray sbould bave referred the Seal
of Lake Baikal to Phoca fwtida, esjiecially inasuuieb as Raddo had aflinned
the two to be identical after having compared specimens, but his strange
perversion of the record in the case of the Caspian Seal deserves a passing
notice. Ho says: "The species in the Caspian [Sea] (Phoca caapica) is de-
scribed as very nejirly allied to our common Phoca vitulina, and that in Lake
Baikal as equally close to Phoca fwtida (Ph. annellata, Nilss.), a species
found in the North Atlantic ; and but for their geograidiieal position, im
one would think of separating them from these species. In fact, the one i>
the PiiocA VITULINA, and the other the Phoca F(Etii)a. Nilsson and Gray
no doubt both consider them distinct, but I do not apprehend that either of
them does so from actual observation [Nilsson characterized Phoca caspica
from specimens!], and it is scarcely possible to doubt that fhe peculiarity
of the locality must have h.ad some inlluence <ni their niiiidH. On the other
hand, Pallas, Gmelin, Fischer, [these authors referred both to Phoca vituliM
as varieties of that species !] and Radde, regard them as belonging to the
two species they resemble, and Radde's \iersonal experiences ntust outweigh
any foregone conclusion arrived at by others who have not had the advan-
tage of seeing the animals themselves." — Geogr. Distr. Mam., p. 126. That

COMPARISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES.

609

(';isi>iiin Still* is (listiiij-uislied not only by well-inarked exter-
nal aiul (iiiinial eliaracters but by certain .sironyly-inarked pe-
culiarities of habits, coupled with which are to be considered
its lony-continued {;eog:rai>hi(;al isolation and otherwise excep-
tional conditions of envirounient.

liiidde'H vi<3\vH arc iniHreprosented is (^vi(lent from tlic following: " Phoca
nminvn," says Kiuldo, "steht in diesor HiiiHiclit [i. <:, iillfjeint'inen Shadol-
I'l'ini], won') icli den t-inzi^cii nur vorlifi^ondcii Scliiidi'l als tyiiiMcLfn be-
tiacteii diirf, imbed ingt dt-r I'lioca annMata niihtT als dcr fj;cnu'iuiMi Robbe"
{lichen imSiitl. vom OHt-SibirivnH, \, p. '■iQ7); and throughout liisarticlo takes
pains to show how wid(! arc tlic ditl'tTcnces between Phoca caspica and Phoca
vUiiUnal

• PHOCA (PUSA) CASPICA, Nihaon.
I'asplan 8eal.

Dfr Seehund, S. G. Gmemn, llcisn (hircb Uuasl.. iii, 1770, 246.

Der caspUche Seehund, StiluKiiBli, Siiugth., iii, [1770 (] 310.

Phiiea vituUna, y, Eltxi.lciiEN, SyHt. Ue}.'. Auiin., 1777, 588.

Phoca vHulina, i, eagpiea, (Jmei.iv, Sj.st. Nat., i. 1788, C4.— Ki;Rn, Anim. King., 1702, 124.

I'linca caspica, Nilkson, "K. Vet. Akml. lluiidljir. Stockholm, 1837, — "; Arcb. fur Natnrg.,
1841, 313.— ScilI.NZ, Syiiop. Mam., i, 1844, 481.— Wauner, Scbreber's Saugtb., vii,
184(1, 33.— It.uniE, Itfi.srii im Slid, vom Ost-Sibivicna, i, 1802, 297-302 (passim).

('(illocephaluii raspicns, (rii.w, "Zoiil. KrobuH and Torior, 1844, 3"; Cat. Seals Brit. Mna.,
1850, 24.

(\dlunephaliu\ caapiciu,i}HAV, Cat. Seals anil WbaU's, 18(i6, 22.

Phnca canina [var. caapica], Pallas, Zoog. Kosso-Asiat., i, 1831, 110, nota 1 (in part onl.v).

Tho history of the Caspian Se.al, in relation to its literature anil syn-
onymy, is brietly as follows: It appears to have been first described in 1770
liy S. (!. Gnu'lin in the narrative of hi.s travels in Russia. It was first intro-
iliKtd into systematic zoology by Schreber, about six year.s later, but only
under a vernacular name. Sclireber's account of tho animal was wholly com-
piled from Gmelin. Erxleben, in 1777, recognized it as a variety of Phoca
ritiiHiia, without, however, naming it, his citations embracing Gmelin and
Schreber, as above. J. F. Gmelin, in 1788, referred it also to Phoca vituliiia,
111 which he made it a variety, bestowing ui)on it the name cai*pica. The next
ivfi'venre to it of importance is made l)y Nilsson, who, in 1K$7. dissevered it
• Mtirely from Phoca rittilina, claimed its sjteciflc distinctness, and showed its
(loser relationship to P. fcetida than to P. \-itulina. Its 8nbs<;qnent history
lias already been amply detailed. Respecting the habits of the Caspian
i^i 111, Sehultz writes a** follows :

"These Seals gather in large herd.s, and, plunging continually into the
filter, ( iiase scaly fish, of which they eat only the breast, leaving the re-
niiiiiider of the body, with the entrails, to the sea-birds, which are constantly
boviring above them. Endowed with a very acute sense of smell, the Seals
at tiiiifs escape the vigilance of their enemies, the fishermen, with the excep-

Misc. Pub. No. 12 39

I ,

. ( i

t'f

i 111

';i

GIO

I'lIOCA Id'/riDA lilNOKI) HEAL.

TIr" l)iiikul lvn\ wiis siwciliciilly <listiii}iuislio(l imicli later, it
liaviii}; been rel'encd cvi'ii l>y K'luhle, as lati^ as IS)}!', to I'ltocn
((Hinllotd {=/uti(l<i). Altli(»ii;ili it was reeo^i'iiized varietally I),\
Erxlebeii ami (liuelin a century ago, ami the <|iiestioii of itsspe-
eilie tlisliiu'lness laised l)y \iIsson in ISIJT, it was lirst foi-nially
se|)arat«'<l as a species by Dybowski in IST.'J,* under the naiiii'
riioca IxiifdlcitNiN. Fioni three years' observaficui of the livinj;
animal, and from study of the skulls of young and lull-grown
animals, he reached the con<-lusion that tla> ISaikal Seal should
not bo referred to "/'Aom (iiiitcllatd,'" it being easy to distinguish
from it at all stages, Dybowski has given excellent ligures of
the skull, and detailed descriptions of its cranial and eNternal
flmrat!ters, and of its habits, but, unfortunately, makes no <'(mii-
l)arative references to any other species, nor does ho state ex-
plicitly in what its distinctive specillc characters consist. His
very detailed table of measui'ements, and <'xcellent ligures of
the skull, however, when comi)are<l with Pltoca Jatidtt, leave no
reason to doubt the si)ecilic distinctness of the Uaikal Seal from
that species. The skull of the Baikal Seal is especially remaika-
ble for its attenuation, and particularly lor the length and nar-
rowness of tlu^ facial ]»ortion. Kven the brain-ciise is narrow,
for while its length is the saino as in average skulls of P./aiido,
its width is less. The orbital fossa' are disi)roi)ortionately largo,
whenco results a great lateral ex])ansion of the rather slender
zygonuitic arches, so that the breadth of the skull at the orbits
is considerably greater than at the mastoid i)rocesses(as 10(1 to
87), instead of these two dimensions being alxmt equal, as in /'.
fwUda. Dybowski gives the average length of two adult skulls

lion, however, of tlic young, whitli, iiiexitt'iionct'd as they are, follow tlie
lishiiig-boats for long distances, and seem to take special i)leasur«' in lieariiif;
the liMhernien whistle or sing It is an interesting sjjectaele to see the youiij;
Seals lying on their back, sleepingpeaeealily while being roekeil by the waves,
and throwing np from time to lime small Jets of water by breathing.''*

It further appears from the author's d 'tailed aceoinit of Seal-hunting in tin'
Caspian Sea (see antea, pp. r>l-t-r)17) that these animals are preeuniieiitlv
gregarious, and I'csort, at certain seasons, to favorite localities on the slimv
in imnuMi.so herds, to bask in the sun. The pairing season occurs about tin'
beginning of .January, and tlio young are brought forth on the ice. I"
habits the Caspian Seal thus dili'ers notably from the Kinged Seal, wliitli
uever resorts to the laud in vast luu'ds.
" Ab translated in Rep. IT. S. Com. Fish and Fisheries, pt. iii, 1873-4 and 1874-5, pp. 02, »X

* Arehiv fiir Anatomic, Physiologic uud WeissenschaftUchoMcdiciu, .lalii-
gang 1873, ])p. 10'J-l'«i5, i)l. ii, iii.

COMPARISON WITH AIJ.ir.D SPKCIES.

. 02, 'i'i-

tlic sumo diinon.sioiiM in oxcoptionally larjic old iiiiilc skulKs of P.
fotUUx to be l.S() iiiiii. ami 115 iiiiii. The width at the mastoid
]»ro('«'ss('s in the Uaikal Heal, however, is only 100 mm.,* against
11- mm. in I\f<vtUln. A very strongly marlved diUcreni^e is ob-
servable in tin' relative len;ith\)f' the liU'.ial portion of the skull
ill liie two speeies, this beinj;' \('ry much nariowt'r and lonj^er
ill \\w IJaikal Seal than in the other, this, of course, involvinji'
a (tones) xmdin;;" narrowness of tlu^ nasal bones and the palatal
it'jiion. Tile vei-tii^al liei<;ht of the slcnll is also much less than
ill I'./irtitht. Without fi'oinji' further into <letails, it may be suf-
llcieiit to state that the skull of the IJaikal Seal is <'hara<'teri/,ed
hy jureat attenuation in every part, with j::rcat expansion of the
dibits. In (h'litition and in tlie }j;eneral form of the palatal re-
jiion there is a close a;;reement with the Hinyed Seal, the IJaikal
Seal beinji', in a word, a slemler form of the Phoa( futida tyj»e.

It also dirters notably in cohnation, beiny; appai'cntly never
spotted. Accordinjif to Dr. Dybowski, the adults are silvery-
brown ("silberbrauidich") above, and dinjiy silvery-brown
("schmutzij'' si'.berbriiun") below; in the younj^er animals the
silver-brown color has a whitish lustre ; in the newly-boni young
tile tliick, long wool-hair is silvery-white. The length of the
full-grown animal is given as l,;iOOnnn.

While it is ])retty clear that the Caspian Seal and the JJaikal
Seal are both speciti(!ally distinct from the Kinged Seal, and
that neither of them has any near relationship to Phoca vituUna^
the jioints of difference between the two first-named are not so
evident. In coloration the Caspian Seal a]>pears to not differ
l^roatly from the Ringed Seal; both consequently differ sim-
ilarly in color from the Baikal Seal, namely, in being spotted,
while the latter is concolor. On the other hand, the Caspian
and IJaikal Seals agree in being considerably larger than the
Kinged Seal, an ' in the skull being narrower in i)roportion to
its length, with the upper surface more convex. The Baikal
Seal, however, ajjpears to be distinguished by the greater atten-
uation of the facial region coupled with a much greater expan-
sion of the zygomatic arches.

The i)eculiar features of coloration presented by the Baikal
Seal have been given with uniformity since the time of Steller,t
who first made them known. Schreber's short description,

* Estiuiiitetl tVoui D.vbowski'8 ligure.

t Boscliieibiu ; vou doui Luucle Kamtscbatka, 1774, i>. 108.

•m'

,¥h'] '

612

PHOCA rtETIKA — UlNGEU SEAL.

as 102 mm., an<l tlicir avori»j;o broadth as 118 nun., wliicli I fin<l
founded on tliat of Stollor, Is as follows: " lOr ist t'infaihi;;,
sill)erw('iss vom Ilarrcn, no {^ross alsdcrjjfi'niciin'." lie fiirtlicr
says: "Man findct iliin in di'U bcidcn sibiris(!lu'n Landsccn
Baikal iind Oron. die woit von <lein Ocean t'litfcrnt sind and
niit denisclbcn dnrcli keinoin Fluss (Icnicinscliaft liaben." Oli
er voni deni invrneincn wesontlich vcrschieden sci. ist inir uiclit
bekanut."*

Nilssou refers to a specamen supposed to have come from Lake
Baikal as beiny* "Braun^rau eiufarbig mit lliisserer Fiirbunji' an
deu uutern Korpertheilen". Uad«le says its color is "sehiiu
grau (fast stalilgrau)" on the back, beconnng lif^hter on the
sides, and yellowish-gray beueath.t

""Stcllor, a. o. ."

* Siiugtb., iii, ;U0, — Tho above in Schrebcr's account in full.

-fr

t PHOCA (PUSA) SIBIRTCA, Allen ex GwMn.
Cslkal Neal.

The Seal [of Lake Baikal], Bell, Travels from St. Poterab. in Kussia to diverse parts of

Asia, "i, 1708, 201"; ilml., 1, 1788, 320.
DievirleSorte Scelnmdc, Stellkii, Bosclireibuiii; vdii dcm Laudo Kamtscbatka, 1774, 108.
Der gibirinche ^Vc/nmd, ScilUKliKii, Siiugtli., iii 1 177(1?] 310 (ca; Stellcr).
Phoca vituliiui, ft, Euxi.KiiKX, SvHt. Jic;;. Auiin.. 1777, ."iKS {ex Stulli-r et Sdirober).
Phoea rituUna. y, sibirica, Gmki.ix, Syst Xat., i, 1788, 04.— Kkuh, Anini. King., 1702, 124.
{ Phoca anncllata,'iin.H80S, Arcli. I'iir Naturg., 1841, .'il2 (in ])art).
Phoca anncUata, liAriDE, Ilt'iscn 'm SUd. vom Ost-Sibirieus, i, 1802, 290 (in jiart, — only the

Baikal HptTimra).
Phoca baicalennis, Dvdowbki, Arcb. fiir Anat. u. Phys., 1873, 109, pll. ii, iii (skulls of adult

and young).

TliiH species was apparently firot mentioned by Bell (as above cited),
in 17(W, wbo refers to its babits, but gives no account of its cbaractera. It
was quite fully described by S teller in 1774, and was first formally intro-
duced into systematic zoology by Scbrebec about two years later, whose
account is based wholly on Steller's. It was cited as a variety of Phoca vltu-
Una by Erxleben iti 1777, and named as a variety of that species by Gnioliu
in 1788. Nilsson described a skin and an imperfect skull under Phoca annel-
lata in 1837, but thought it might prove to bo a distinct species, and, more-
over, was not certain whether or not his specimen came from Lake Baikal.
Radde, tbo first naturalist after Steller who described the Baikal Seal,
from an authentic specimen, referred it unhesitatingly to Phoca anncUata
(^^fwtida). The single skull on which his observations were based lie
etat^id to bo that of a female about three or four years old, but his figures
of it show it to have been much younger, the principal sutures being rep-
resented as unobliterated. He found it to be considerably smaller than

COMrAIlISON WITH ALLIED SPECIES.

613

From a ii;vo'f!;r,\i>\mn\ staiul-poiiit there m no it priori roiisou
for their i<h>iitity, they occupyiii}; entirely distiiiet (Irainiigo
basins, whieh have had no conneetioii .since comparatively re-
mote j,'eolofjical times. Their {jfeographical position, indeed,
considered in relation to tho, present di«tribntion of their
nearest allies, as well as to their peculiar environment, is one
of the most interestiiiff facts in their history. The Baikal Seal
is ail iidiabitaiit of a fresh water lake, while the waters where
tiie other finds a home are only to a slijjht degree salt. Neither
of these remote interior seas has had any recent coiniection
with the Polar Seas, where alone the nearest allines of these
Seals are now found. If their oceanic connection was south-
ward (as was most likely that of the Caspian Sea), at the renjote

( ithcr of lii.s skulls of Pkova fivtida, Itut its small sizo is oxpluinablo on the
Hioiiiid of its iininatiirity. llo himself states that his speeimeu of the
Hiiikal Sral welched in the llesh only "HJPud" (12G pounds), while the
\v(ii;ht of the Baikal Seal, as he says he was informed by the Seal-hunters,
raiifffs from " 8 zu 10 Pn(i"('-i88 to liliO pounds). Radde's evidently erro-
neous estimate of the uge of his specimen is pointedly uoticed by Dr. Dy-
bdwski, who, in ri-ferrinj; to the faet of yoitng Seals being often nnstakeu
I'oi old ones, adds, " wio es G. Radde gethan hat, dcr eiu 7-8 monatliches
jiiuj^es Thier fiir eiu ^-4 jiihriges ausgiebt."*

Ill 187:i Dybowski described the species with admirable fullness, iucUaling
its ixtt^rnal and cranial characters, giving ligures of an adult and a young
skull, together with a detailed account of its external characters, of not
only the adult but young of various ages. He, moreover, was the first to
posit ively claim its specitie distiuctnes.s, and it is an open (luestiou Avhether
bis name bcicalcnmt ought not to supersede Gmelin's long previously imposed
imiiic Hihirica.

A((!ording to Dybowski, these Seals are pretty common in Lake Baikal,
but there is rarely opportunity for observing them in summer. The native
liuuters informed hiui that they are often seen and shot in the mouths of
J«l\' and August ou the rocky southwest shore, by lying in wait for them
Inlund rocks. It is during these months that the rutting time occurs, and
the young are born in January and February, so that consequently the
period of gravidity must bo reduced to about six or seven months. The
young are said to depend for sustenance exclusively upon the mother's milk
for about four months. The lake becomes closed with ice in January, and
from that time till the middle of May — a period of about four months — the
•Seals remain wholly under the ice, but have their breathing-holes through
which they obtain air. About the end of March or beginning of April, af-
ter the deep snows have become melted by the sun, the liunters seek out
tliesc breathing-holes by means of dogs especially trained for the purpose,
ami capture the Seals iu nets placed in tlie breathing-holes. — Arch, fiir Anat
« PhijH., 1873, pp. 121-l!iJ5. — See further Bell's account oftheir capture about
tbe middle of the last century, already cited {anted, p. 612).

* Arch, fiir Anat. u. Phys., 1873, p. 122.

ItlLh

:\:i

I, J

i'A

•A

•614

PIIOCA FCETIDA RINGED SEAL

time when tliCiSe basins formed a part of the jzreat Tertiary sea,
of \vhi(!h the Mediterranean and conneeted interior waters are
now the greatlj' dinnnished renniants, whence came the stock
from whicli these two allied species of Seal are the descen<lants ?
Are we to look for an ancestor in I'liocn fafula, or in some allied
extinct species, from which came not only these species bntalso
their present northern ally i As shown by the researches of Van
Beneden, Seals were abnndantin the Pliocene seas of Southern
EuroiJe, and amonj;' then) were forms more or less nearly re-
lated to each of the existinjjf tyjies, his genus Phoeanella beiiij;
the early representative of the modern Phocafutula.

(rEOGiiAPHicAL DTSTiiiBt^rioN. — Altlioufjli the Ringed Seal is
a well-known iidiabitant of the Arctic Seas, of both hemispheres,
the southern limit of its distribution cannot be given with cer-
taint}'. Wagner* records si)ecinjens from Labradoi", which is the
most southern i)ointon the eastern coast of North America from
which it seems tolnive been reported. It is not enumerated by
Jukes or Carroll as among the species hunted by the Newfound-
land sealers,t nor is it mentioned by Gilpin| as occurring in Nova
Scotia. Its occasional presence here and in the Gulf of Saint
Lawrence is doubtless to be expecteil. Further northward, and
especially along the shores of Davis's Straits and Greeidand,
its abundance is well attested. It has also been found as iux
north as explorers have penetrated, having been met with by
Parry as high as latitude 82° 40'. J. C. Koss states that it is

*Scbreber'n Saugt., vii, 1840, \k M.

tPr»tess(ir Jukes Hays four species are known on the coast of Newibnnil-
laud, namely, the "Bay Seal" {Phoca vitiiUnn), the Harp Seal (Phocn yneii-
landica), the Hooded Seal {Cystophorn crklafa), an<l the "Square Flipper"
(probably HiiIivhoruH gri/pus). The tirst ho did not see on the ice anionj; the
Seals pursued by the sealers. The second is the one that forms Ihe principal
object of the chase. Tbt; third seems not to be numerous, but occurs ociii-
sioually out on the ice-Uoes with the Harp Seals. The fpurth is referred to
as very rare, and aa IxMnjj; larger th.nn the Hooded Seal. Not one was heard
of or .seen that season H<^ su])i)oses it may be the Phoca barhata. — l-Jsmr-
sioiiH in Nnrfouiidlnnd, vol. i, i)p. ;U)8-;5l5j.

Carroll states that the species of Seal that are taken on the coast of Ne\v-
fimndland are the " Srpiare Flipper Seal " (probably HaHehwntB (jrypua), tlif
'■Hood Seal" {CijHlopliora crhlala), the " Harp Seal " ( Phocayrwiilandica), iiml
the " Dotard " or "Native Seal " {Phoca vitulimt). — Smland Herring Finheric
of Newfoundland, \><!',\, j). 10.

tThe species given l)y Gilpin as found on the coast of NovaSccjtia are tin'
Harbor Seal (I'hoca vitiilina), the Harp Seal {Phoca grwnlandica), the Gray
Seal {HalichwrnH grupun), and the Hooded Seal {Cystophoru cristata).

t ml

it ■

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

G15

coiriiHon on both sides of thelstlmiusof IJootlua, where it forms
the chief nieans of subsistenee to the inhiibitants durinjj eight or
nine mouths of the year.* It is common in Iceland, and Mahn-
yren and V^on Ileuglin state it to be numerous at Si)itzbergeu.
The last-named author gives it as abundant in summer in the
Stor-Fjord and its branches, m llinlopen Strait, ami in the
bays of the northwest coast of Spitzbergen, o<!curring in great
herds as well as singly, in the open water along the shores and
in the oi>enings in the icefloes. He states that it i also numer-
ous about Nova Zembla, where great munbers are killed for
their skins and fat.t It is a common species on the coast of
Finland, and further eastward along the Arcth; coast of Europe
and doubtless also of Western Asia.f It is also a common in-
habitant of the Gulf of Bothnia and neighboring waters, and
also of the Ladoga and other interior seas of Finland. It is
said by Blasius to extend southward along the coast of Midd.le
Europe to North Germany, Ireland, and the British Channel.
Professor Flower has recorded its capture on the coast of Nor-
wich, England, and it undoubtedly occurs at the Orkneys and
the Hebrides, where it is supposed to be rejjresented bj' the
s]tecies known there as " Bodach" or " Old Alan ". A specimen
was also taken many years since on the coast of France, but here,
as on the shores of the larger British Islands, it can occur as
merely a rare straggler.§ Its fossil remains ha> e been reported

'Rosh'h Sec. Vo.v., App., IH^.'), p. xix.

tReiHC micli <Uaii Noidjtolaniieer, Tli. iii, i>. 50.

tlu ail account i)t' Professor Nonloiiskjold's late Arctic voyage, pulilislicd
in •■Nature" (vol. xxi, p. 40, Nov. 13, 1870), it is stated that Phoca falida
"was caught in great nunibei-s, and along with fish and various vegetables
forms the main food of the natives" at Cape Serdze (about 120 miles from
Bcliriiig's Straits), the ]»oint where the "Vega" wintered, this and the Polar
Hi ar being the only marine mammals seen.

vN Uesiiecting the southern limit of the habitat of this species in Europe,
Piofcssor Flower has the following: " Nilsson speaks of it as being found
oil all the Scandinavian coasts, and as having been met with as far south
as the Ch.annel, on the strength of specimens in the Paris Museum from that
locality ; but he was unable to liud any proofs of its having been met with
oil tin coast of England. Nor have I been able toiliscover any positive evi-
ilt'iicf that it can, at the jtresent day, be reckoned a British sp'^cics, altlnuigh
there is little doubt that it must occasionally visit our shores, where its
oicurrenco woiihl be easily overlooked." — /Voc. Xoiil. Soc. Lond., 1871, p. .'ilO.

('"llett, contrary to the testimony of Nilsson, excludes it from tlu^ main-
iimlian fauna of Norway, and states that he does not kiio\ an autheutic
iiwtanco of its capture on the Norwegian coast. — IkmwrknMgvr lit Xorges
I'uttcdyrfauna, 1870, p. rtl, footnote 2.

i'l

li I

t K

616

PIIOCA FCETIDA RINOKl) SKAf.

by Profossor Turner aslijiviiifj boon found in tlio brick clays of
iScotlaiid. It iip]>oars also to bo a common sju'cies in the Xortli
PaciHc, there beinj:: specimens in tlie Xational Museum, unques-
tionably of this species, from the coast of Alaska, and from
Plover P>ay, on the Siberian sid<^ of Behring's Strait. Its
southern limit of distribution alonj; the shores of the North
Pacific, on either the American or the Asiatic side, cannot at
present be {iiven. Judging; from its known distribution in
other j)ortions of the Arcti<! waters, there is no reason to infer
its absence from the northern shores of Eastern Asia and West-
ern I^orth America.

(rENEUAL HISTORY AND NoMENCLATUBE. — The earliest
notioM of this species in systemati*; works are based on the brief
a<'couiit jifiven by (Jranz in 17<Jr», but there appear to be still
earlier references to it by Scandinavian writers. As, however,
they involve no questions of synonymy, and may in part relate
to the (ii-ay Seal (Mali cheer uh (/rypus), they call for no special re-
mark in the present connection. The "Gril.Sial" of Linnes
"Fauna Suecica" (1747), however, wasreferrtid by Otto Faliri-
cius, in 171)1, to Pkoca /a'fula, hut recent writers, notably Linje-
borg, have assigned it to Ilalichderus f/rypm, but Linne's a(!couiit
seems to be too vague to be ])ositively identified, although it
later became tlu^ basis of (xmelin's I'hoca eitulina hotniea.

As already noticed, the early teciinical history of the species
is based on the brief notice of it ])ublishedin 17().") by the Dan-
ish missionary, (Jranz, who, in his "Historie von (Jronland," re-
ferred to it under its native or Eskimo name Keitsel: He says
it is not very ditterent from the Attarsoak (Phova (fro^nlandiea
of systenmtists) "in size or color, only that the hair is a little
browner or a pale wnite, nor does it lie smooth, but rough,
bristly, and intermixed like pig's hair."* Pennant, in 177 J, in
his " Synopsis of (Quadrupeds," called it the Itongh Seal, aru
paraphrased Cranz's description, adding theieto the conj«(!
ture : " Perhaps what our Xeicfnundland Seal-hunters (!all ISqioire
rhii)per''\ In 177<} it was enumerated in the introduction to Miil
ler's "Zoologijc Danica* Prodronuus" (p. viii), in a list of Green
land animals supplied by Otto Fabricius after the nuiin body of
the work had been i)rinted, wlu^re it first receives a systennitic
nauie, being there called Plioca/hiida. No (ies(!ription is given,
but its supposed Icelandic and Greenlandic names arc appended,
namely, " I . Ufnelr. Gr. KciUck., KeitHilek,^'' but unfortunately the

•English edition, 17(57, vol. i, pp. 124, 125.

(iKNKRAF. HISTORY AM) NOMKXCLATURE.

()17

Seal ciillp<l llt-Selnr by tlio Tcelandcrs juoves to ho ll((l!rltu:rus
l/rypun. It thus Ijiipju'iis tliat the first teitliuical name of the
speeies, as well as some of its earliest veriia(!ular names, lelates
in part to the Gray Seal. At about the same time (<r/:>rtainly
not earlier) it was described byj^ehrel)er in the third part of his
•• Siiufithiere" as l)errauheS*'ehund,his(leseription beinjjf based
«'ntir«'ly on Cranx/s and Pennant's. No Laiin name is f^iven in
the t<^xt, but on the i)late appears the name Pkoai liinpithi. The
<iate of the i)nbli('ati()n of the fascicridus eontainintr Sclin^ber's
(h\s('ri])t'on and fijiure cannot be delinitely determined, but (;on-
tcr.iporary evidence indic-ates that it nuist have appeared during
the year 177«;,* as it is cited by ICrxleben in a work publislied
the followiuf; year. wh(> ado])ts I'hoea hisphla for tiie name of
the species. Ibit Krxh'ben's first reference is to tlie " Loufjf-
necked Seal'' of Parsons, whose diajiuosis of which Erxleben
cites in full. Tiie Lonji-necked Seal, however, is some indeter-
minable speeies of Otary. l>ut all of Erxleben's other refer-
ences, with one exce])tion (for here "lltselr"is aj»ain (Mted),
are pertinent, and hisdia<inosisisevi«lently based on the Neitsek
of Craiiz,

Three years later (1780), Fabricins, in his " Fauna Gnenland-
icii," gave the first adequate description of the species, uiuler
the name Fhocafaiida^iuuX «pu)ted Phoca /</.vy;<V/« as a synonym.
Eleven years later (17JH), in his celebrated memoir on the Green-
land Seals, he reverts to the name /(/.s7)*V/«,concedinf;' it priority,
l>ut on what ground is not ai)parent. The case is thus a i;"cullar
one, and has already received attention at the hands of numer-
ous writers, the matter having been quite recently very fully
discussed by Professor Flower, t Although Flower favors the
a(h)ption of hispida, he admits that " There is Jiothing either in
Schreber's description or figure to identify the sjjecies ; and it
has since been thought (as by A. Wagner in Ins continuation
of Schreber's work, 184<>) [*J to refer to a totally distinct animal,
viz, Halk'ha'rus (jrypm.'''' He says, further, "Although it may
still be a matter of opinion which of these names ought to be

*Tli<' (latf on tli;- titlf-paK«' of tlio " Drifter Tlicil" Ih 177H; t!i« two pre-
< iiliiifj parts an? both dated 177."). The Seals occupy the first pages of the
tliinl )»art.

t I'ror. Zdfil. Soc. Lond., 1871, pp. 507-510.

[ * Gray, apparently iollowiug Wagner, referrsd, botli in 1850 and in ISGkS,
Sdii'tbcr's I'hoca hinpida to IlaHohanis grynus, wliile at the same time ho ro-
li'ircd I^eswm's Phoca Hchreheri, avowedly = Phoca hinpida Sclirobor, tohisCa/-
li>fil)haliin/wfidiiH\'\

<!i

618

PHOCA rCETIDA RINGED SEAL.

adopted, it appears to me that, on the whoU', i)referen(!e sliouhl
be },'iven to hispida, on account of ])riority ; for althoiif^h the
earliest descriptions under this name arc very niea<;re and in
aci'urate, they are avowedly founded on tln^ NeiUek o( Craiiz,
theapi>ellation l>y which this Seal is known to the (rreenlanders
to this day, according to Mr. K. lirown,* and are therefore in-
tended for this species, and esj)ecially because Fabricius, in
1700 1 1701], detinitely adoi>ted the name, withdrawing that of
ffetida. I am further strengthened in this ojunion," he con-
tinues, "by finding that those eminent Danish naturalists Steen-
strupt and Keinhardtf both use Jmpida when sjieaking of this.
Seal." As regards use, although good authorities have adopted
hispida, by far the greater number of writers, inchuling equidly
eminent authorities, among them Iiillje1>org and Collett among
recent Scandinavian writers, adopt /a7/V/rf. The question is cit-
tainly pretty evenly balanced. (Irauting, however, that the in-
troduction of the two names was practically simultaneous, and
that/«'^«Vi«, as lirst given, was unaccompanied by a description,
while hkpida had this backing, it is admitted that neither the
description nor the tigure is of any value in determining what
species was intended, and that the (Ireenland Uiime Neitsek is
the only clew to what was meant. Just this clew, backed by tlie
best authority — Fabricius himself — we have also in the case of
fcetida, while the tlrst real descrij)tion (in "Fauna (Jnenlaud-
i(ta," 1780) of the species was given under this name, and eleven
years before the sj)ecies was recognizably des(!ribed un<lei- tiie
name hlspidu (by Fabricius in 1701). Fabricius gave as his
reasons for withdrawing the mime fa'tida and adopting lii.^pidn
that the latter was not only an appropriate name but also the
oldest, although he ascribes the name Impkla to Erxlebeu. It
would seem, however, that he really adopted the name from Pen-
nant, considering Pennant's name " Rough Seal" a strict equiv:
lent of Phoca his2)ida.^ The name fatida ai)pears certainly o
be most characteristic.

* " 'On tilt! Seals of Greunlaud,' P. Z. S., Ifj68, p. 414."

t" 'MelketiindsiPttct hos Remniesifh'u, Svaitsidcn, og rjordsielen (Phoca
barhata, O. Fabr., I'li. gronlandiva, O. Fabr.. og Ph. hinpida, Sclir.),' \"u\.
Medd. f. d. Natiirh. Forcniiig. 18()0. Kjobh. 18til, s. '2'yWHM."

{ " ' Om KlapniydstMiH ul<WUe Norgts og dt'iis Mclketandsict,' Naturh. Fortii.
Vidensk. McdcU'lolser, 18»4."

•^ As being of inttiCHt in this connection I submit the following reudcriii};
of Fabiicius's opening paiagiii])!! of his history (if f'u IMoitlsii-l : "This, mxt
to the niaek-side, is the species which is most numerously met with in Grii'-.i-
laud. 1 give to it the Danish name Fiordsiel, be( auKc it Keeps mostly in 'ln'

iJSttJt - 4

'Xu^i^.

IIABITS, PRODUCTS, AND Tlrt: CHASE.

619

AiiotluT name of considerable i>ioiiiinencc in connection with
this species is anncllata of Nilsson, proposed by him in 1820 for
Scandinavian rei)n'sentatives of tlie species, becanse he did
not feel sure of their identity with Greenland exanii)les. This
name was adopted later by \uirious writers for a species sup-
]»osed to be distinct from the Phoai fat Ida of Greenland, notably
anion}; whom are Wa};iier and Kadde, while (ri«'bel held both
fu'tUhi and hispida as synonyms of aniicUaUtl

The name discolor, introduced in 1824 by F. Citvier as that of
a new species, was later abandoned by its author, and never ob-
tained currency except with a few comitilers. Lesson, in 1828,
characteristically changed it to frederici, and at tlu' same time
renanu'd Schreber's hispida, (salliu}; if schrehcri.

IlAiJiTS, PiioDUCTS, AND IItnting. — The Jiinf;ed Seal is
prei'Uiinently boreal, its home beinj; almost exclusively the icy
seas of the Arctic Kegions. Its favorite resorts are said to be
retired bays and fjords, in which it remains so long as they are
liUed with tirm ice; when this breaks up they betake them-
selves to the Hoes, where they bring forth their young. It is
t'ss«Mitially a littoral, or rather glacial species, being seldom
met with in the open sea. From its abundance in its chosen
haunts it is a specie!- ^ell known to Arctic voyagers, and fre-
(luent reference is made to it in most of the narratives of
Arctic Explorations. These notices are, however, mostly inci-
•lental and fragmentary, no one having given a detailed and
connected histor of the species. 1 am, therefore, gratitied to
he able to jiresent, in addition to excerpts from various morfe
or less well-known sources, much fresh infornmtion kindly fur-

tjDids iiiul ran'ly {jocs out toscii. In my Faniia GronlaiMlica I oallort it Phoca
fiilnht Ix'caii.so it has a .stronj^«ir stink than the olhcr Hpi-cics. It '.vas jii'.'-
viimsly nu'utionc'd unch'i- this name, tirst in my rpport (jtiotcd in Miillt-r'H
pKulronins (Znoi. Dan. I'rodr., p. viii). It was then lojiardcdas a new h])v-
<'i«'s, aw I found it not in Linn(> ; h»' cilhordid not rccojcnizt' it or did noi dis-
iiii;iuish it from the conunon Seal {I'hixa rifiiliiia). tor at iriost ht' only r<'-
jiaitlcd it as a variety of this vunh-r the name (Irii-Sjiil (Faun. Suee., p. 2,
iimU'r Spec. 4). But I'einiant, however, {jave it as a distinct species, with
the name Koufih Seal (Syn. Qua(h'., ]». :?41, n. 201); afterwards Schreljcr
1 alh'd it Der raidie .Seeliund (Siiu};th. III. Th. p. :?l'i), and Krxleben I'hoca
liixpidd (Syst. Refjn. Anini. ]». ."i80), whieli name (imelin (Syst. Nat.. i», <)4)
lias retained. Tiiis name is suitable and a very <.;ood one for this sjteeies
im account of it« hair, and, although this is also found in tJie Klapmyib^en
t I'hoca leuninu, Linnd), so are some other characters; wherefore I <lo not now
licsjfate topreler the name liispUla hvihivj'uiida, esi)ecially as it is the oldcHt,
allliou;;h the stench i.-i so ciniracteristic." — Skrirtcr af Xaturliistorie-Sels-
I'llnil, Iste Hind, -'dvt Hefte, 1791, pp. 74, 7.').

0-, f ' -!

li 'if

;('
'iU

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Hi*i

;•

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■'"'

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620

PlIOCA FQ^TIDA — UINGLD SE-.U,.

uishod me by Mr. Liidwijjf Kiimlim, naturalist of the recent
nowpite Polar Expedition. His observations, ni.'ule eliielly
dnriiiji several months spent in Cumberlaud Sound,* are sub-
stantially as follows:

"This Seal is very common in all the fjords and bays, from
Hudson's Straits, northward, alonj;' (Jund)erland Island, to the
extreme head of Cumberland Sound ; on all the outer islands
about Cape Mercy, and on the vest coast of Davis Straits.
1 !' iVe seen skins from Lake Kennedy that I could not distin-
}i..ish from those found in Cund)erhind Sound. This Seal was
never noticed mon^ than a few miles from land ; was not met
with in the pack-iee, nor on theCJreenland coast, except far up
the fjords. This was in .Fuly and August; but 1 am informed
that they become more common toward autunui, and are found
in considerable numbers some distance from laud; they are

less common here, however, than on the west coast

In the Cundjerland waters they are resident and do not migrate
at all unless nuich distuvbetl, and then they merely seek a more
se(;luded locality. On the (}reenlahd coast they appear to mi-
grate up the ice-fjords in summer but to be more generally dis-
tributed at other seasons.

'* The Xetsick, as this sj>ecies is called by the Cumberland Es-
kimo, shows a decided predilection for the quiet, still bays and
fjords, seldom venturing far from land. They are the only Seal
caught through the ice in winter, and are conse(iuently the
chief and almost sole d(!pendence of the Eskimo for foo«l, fuel,
light, and clothing. The skins of the adults are made into
summer clothing, while the young are in great denmn<l for un
der garments and for trousers. Children often have entire suUs
made of the skins of the young in the white coat. Such cloth-
ing looks very beautiful when new, but they are new but for a
few days, and after this they are repulsive enough. The fe-
males were found enceinte in the latter part of October, and a
foetus nearly ready for birth was taken from the uterus Jan-
uary 16. It was 2 feet from the end of the nose to the end of
the hind flippers. It was so doubled in il.;i uterus, however, as
to occupy a space hardly a foot in length ; the hind tlippers
were turned forward on the tibia^, ; the fore flippers hugged the

* What Mr. Kuinlioii's opitortuuitits were i'or (lie Mtiuly of Ibis Hpmi; s
lUiiy l)c iiilencd iioin the fact that among th<^ spoils hroiight with him mi
hi.s ii'tiini ai(! .skulls, .slcin.s, ami skeletons, r.ingin<; from tbo foetal to the
adult stag<', to the number of about fifty specimens.

HABITS, PRODUCTS, AND THE CHASE.

621

sitU's. iiiid the licatl was bent over on the neck and inclined to
one sitle.

'' In a larji'e fjord, known as the jrreater Kinjiwak, the tide
inns so swiftly at oni' locality that it nevei- freezes for a space
varyinj;' from ten to one hiyidicd acres; hen^ the Xetsfli'k
;iatliei' in c()nsideral>le ininibers all winter, and it is a favorito
resort lor such Kskiiuo as are fortunate enouyh to jtossess a
;,'un. llein.u' but a fe\, niih's from our wintei- harbor, almost
daily excursions to these tide rifts were mad(^ by our Kskjiuo
hunters. After the 1st of March very tew pre^iiiant females
were killed at this ]»lace, tlu'y having' by this time chosen the
localities for haviuj-' their younp,. Those killed after this date
were all adult 'Tijuak,' (U' old stinkinj;' males.

''It was interestinjjc to observe that the youiif? — yearlinjis
;ind some two-year-olds, and such as ha«l not yet arrived .at
maturity — were seldom if ever killed in this open water, but
lived in .olonies by themselves. When an Eskimo finds a
number of atluks (breathing-holes) near together he always
marks the i)lace by raising little mounds of snow near the
holes, for he knows that here is a colony of young aninnils,
which have better skins and me.i ^ than the old ones, and are,
moreover, much easier to cai)ture. 1 have counte«l nearly sev-
enty of these atlnks on a space of two acres.

" When a i)regnant female has chosen the i)lace where she is
to have h(»r young she makes an excavation irom six to ten feet
in length under the snow, and from three to live feet wide, the
height varying with the thickness of the snow covering; the
atluk is at one extremity of this excavation, and in such a po-
sitiou that it is always a readj channel of retreat in case of
danger.

•'The first young were found in the Cumberland waters
<lnring the iirst days of March ; still, I have taken a tVetus
tVom the mother in the middle of April. The most profitable
time fiH' hunting the young Seal is during the month of April.
After this »late they have shed so nnich that the skins are
nearly worthless till the hispid hair has got to be of the proper
length, when they are considere<l as the, i)rime article and sec-
ond oidy to the young of CaUoeephnlm riinlinus in (juality.

"The first young one that had begun to shed was taken
April 1'). I have seen exami>les that were nearly or <inite des-
titute of the white coat, but still not having the next coat in
sight. Such specimens were found to have a very fine coat of

m':n

622

I'lIOCA FCETIDA RIN(ii:D SKAL.

;ii ii:

>)i\

' /i

v.".

i-rii

i !.

the lU'W liair, but so short as not to be i»er(!eptible exceptor!
ch>se examiiiatioii, yet sliowiny the exact location and distribu-
tion of the dark and liyht niarkin{,'s; the skin at this time is
very black and often much scratched, probably by the mother
in trying to make tlu' young one shift fjr itself.

" I often examined the stomachs of yo nij^- ones, as well as of
adults^ but till after they had begun shedding the white coat,
and weie in all inobabillty twenty-five to thirty days old, I
found nothing but the mother's milk. After they begin to shift
for th inselves their food, for a time .at least, consists of 0am-
mari of dirt'erent species.

"Before the young begin to she«l the white coat they are
from 23 to 30 inches from the nose to end of tlippers; the aver-
age the season through, from a good series of nu^asurements, was
about 30 inches

"They weigh at birth from four to six and one-half pounds,
but the yotuig grow at an astounding rate, becoming exceed-
ingly fat in a few days. The blubber on the young a few days
old is almost white and thickly interspersed with blood-ves-
sels; it is not lit to burn.

"There is usiuilly but one young at a birth, still twins are
not of rare occurrence, and one instance came under my ob-
servation where there were triplets, l>ut they were small, and
two of them would probably not have lived had tlu y been born.

" The season for hunting the young at latitude 07° north be-
gins about the middle of March and continues untnl the latter
part of April. The lirst two weeks of April are the most pro-
ductive, as later the hair is apt to be very loose, and many
even have large bare patches on them. When the season fairly
opens the liskimo hunter leaves the winter encampment with
his family and dog team for some favorite resort of this Seal ;
he soon constructs his snow hut and is as well settled as if it had
been his habitation for years ; for the Seals he catches bring
him and his family food and fuel, and snow to melt for water
is always plenty, so that his wants are easily supplied, and he
is contented and happy.

" The manner of hunting the young Seal is to allow a dog to
run on ahead of the hunter, but having a strong Seal-skin line
about his neck, which the Eskimo does not let go of. The dog
scents the Seal in its excavation, which could not have been de-
tected from the outside by the eye, and the hunter by a vigor-
ous jump breaks down the cover before the young Seal cau

HAKITS, PUODrCTS, AND THE CHASE.

023

rc'ucli its iitliik, iiiul if he bo succx'ssful enough to cut ott' its
iptroat it becoiiM's iui easy prey; otherwise he irui.st use his
seal inji-l look very quickly oi' his ;;iinie is ;;oue. It souietiiues
hapi>ens that tlie liunter is uufortuuate eiiouf"!! to juuip the
snow <h)wn direetly over tlie lK)k', when he gets a pretty thor-
oujiii wetting. The women often take part in tliis kind of seal-
in;;' and become quite expert. The chihh'cn begin when they
are four or five years ohl; the teeth and llijtpers of their tirst
catch are saved as a troi>hy and worn about the Uttle fellow's
neck ; this they think will give him good luck when he begins
the next year.

"'There exists a considerable spirit of rivalry among the
mothers as to whose otlsi)ring has done the best, size, etc., con-
sidered ; this runs to such a high pitch that I have known some
mothers to eatcli the 8eal and then let the child kill it, so as to
swell the number of his captures.

"Some of the Eskimo hunters, belonging to the 'Florence,'
brought as many as seventy at one load. They were kept
frozen, and we almost lived on the meat during the season, and
learned to like it vciry much.

" Some of the Hispid Seals pup on the ice, without any cov-
ering at all ; six instances of this nature came under my obser-
vation, and they were all young animals. The young exposed
in this manner almost always become the prey of foxes and
ravens before they are old enough to take care of themselves.

"As the season advances and the young begin to shed their
coats the roof of their igloo is often, or perhaps always, broken
down, and the mother and young can be seen on sunny days
basking in the w;'rm sunshine beside their atluk. The mother
will take to the water when the hunter has approached within
{iunshot, and leave the young one to shift for itself, which gen-
erally ends in its staring leisurely at the hunter till suddenly it
finds a hook in its side. A stout Seal-skin line is then made
fast to its hind flippers and it is let into the atluk ; it of course
makes desperate efforts to free itself and is very apt to attract
the attention of the mother, if she is anywhere in the vicinity.
The Eskimo (jarefully watches the movements of the young one,
and as soon as the mother is observed, begins to haul in on the
line ; the old one follows nearer and nearer to the surface, till,
at last, she crosses the hole at the proper depth and the deadly
harpoon is planted in her body and she is quickly drawn out.
If the mother has seen the hunter approaching the atluk, how-
ever, she will not even show herself.

i '.I

f 1" I

;> i"

624

I'lKX'A F(I;T11»A l»'INGi:i) HEAI..

" I have never known ol' an instance where tlie.y have at-
tempted to defend their olVsprin;; 1Voin man. 1 once .saw a
raven trvin},' t() kill a .voun^,' Seal, whiU( the mothei' was makinj;
IVantiu but very awkward attemitts to catcii the bird in her
month.

'' Wlien the yonn;;' tirst assume the coat of the adults (about
the time the ice bej>ins to h)osen) tlu'y seem jwssessed of a vast
anuHuit of curio.sity, and wliih' swimmin;^' near the land, as
they abuost always do, can be lured within j;unshot by whist-
lin}4' or sin^iny'. They would often i)lay about the schooner^
divin;^ underneath and comiii}? uj) on tlu; opposite side, ai)par-
ently enjoyinj;' it huj^ely. They <lelij;ht to swim amonj;" the
pieces of tloatinj^ ice in the quiet bays. The yonn;^' and year-
lings of this species are often found together in small bands.

" The adult fenuiles will averajie four feet and a half to tlun
end of the flippers. Such specimens are |)i"i>ably from four to
seven years old. The nudes are a little laryi i . There is great
variatitui in the skulls, but the sexes can readily be distinguished
by the skull alone, the males having a longer ami narrowet
liead, with the ridges more pronunent.

"It is only the adidt males (called ' Tigah\' = Stinker, by the
Eskimo) that emit the horribly disagreeable, all-j)ermeating,
ever-penetrating odor that has suggested its specific name.
It is so strong that one can snuill an Eskimo some distance
when he has been partaking of the flesh ; they say it is mort;
uourishing than the flesh of the females, and that a person can
eudure great fatigue after eating it. If one of these Tigak
comes in contact with any other Seal meat it will become so
tainted as to be repulsive to an educated palate; even the
atluk of the Tigak can be detected by its odor, [*]

"The food of the adults consists largely of diflereut species
of crustaceans, and during winter esjjecially they subsist to a

[*Re8i)ecting llie footirt odor emitted by this siH'cies, Dr. Rink observes
as follows :

" It derives its seieutitic uame from tlie nauseous smell iieeuliar to cfrtain
older individuals, especially those captured in the interior ice-fjords, which
are also on an average perhaps twice as larye as those generally occurring
off the outer shores. When brought into a hut aiul cut up on its lloor, such
a seal emits a smell resembling something between that of assafcetida and
onions, almost insupportable to strangers. This peculiarity is not noHco-
able in the younger specimens or those of a smaller size, such as are gen-
erally caught, and at all events the smell does not detract from the utility
of the flesh over the whole of Greenland." — Danish Greenlafid, its Feople
and its Products, p. 123.] '

IIAIHTS, PRODUCTS, AND THE CHASE.

625

('on.si<lerable extent 111)011 fish. I have found in thorn the re-
mains of Cottm Hcot'pius, C. ffrwnlandicus, Oadm ngce (com-
monly), and Liparis viiUiaris. During the tinu' the iulults are
sheddiufi', ami for nearly a nu)nth previouvS, 1 couhl detect
iiothinj; but a few pebbles in their stomachs; they become poor
at this time, and will sink when shot in the water.

"The milk is thick and rich, and is sonmtimea eaten by the
natives. The excrement looks like pale, thickly clotted blood.

"Albinos are sometimes found, of which the Eskimo tell mar-
velous stories, one beinj,' that when they rise to breathe in their
iitluks they come stern lirst, and in fact they think such ani-
iiiiils have their breathinj; api)aratus on the posterior eiul of the
body. 1 imaj^iue this orif;inated from a native once harpooning
an albino in itsatluk and hnding his harpoon fastened in one
(if the hind ili])pers. A hairless variety of tliis Seal is some-
times cauglit, which the Eskimo call O/iifoo/i. I have seen one
such skin; it had a few line curly hairs scattered over it, but
tiicy were different in texture from the ordinary hair. 1 do not
know if the s])ecimen otherwise <litfered from the ordinary Seal.

" Toward sjiring, wluMi the sun is shining brightly, these
Seals can be seen in alldireeiions basking on the ice. Although
to all appearance asleej*, they manage to wake up regularly
every few minutes to make sure that there is no danger about.

"At this se;'son it is a favorite method of the Eskimo to
hunt them by crawling Hat on his belly toward the Seal, and,
when (liscovered, to imitate the movements of the animal, and
to advance only when the Seal looks in the opposite direction;
in this manner they often apj)roach so close as to be able to
luish them away from their atluks.

'• This Seal is of some commercial importance, the Scotch
whalers often buying from the natives durhig the winter a thou-
sand skins. These are brought with the blubber, and often cost
the purchaser not over three to seven cents apiece, and this
mostly in tobacco, trinkets, or ship-stores. To encourage them
to jnocure more skins, they are furnished with a cheap breech-
loading gun and a few hundred cartridges, which they soon
waste, and then their guns are of course worthless. At the rate
both young and adults are slaughtered at the present day, they
will soon become; so scarce that there will not be enough to sup-
lily tiie wants of the natives."*

"Copied, with sliglit verbal changes, from Mr. Kiimlien's MS. notes, since
iMililishud in " Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus.," No. 15, pp. 55-61.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 40

I' ' .:

I'm 'i'r

i. > 1

62G

PHOCA FCETIDA RINGED SKAI..

In iulditioii to "^he account of the Uouj^li or Kiny:o(l Seal given
by Mr. Kiiinlien — wliicli is by far the most important .single coa-
tributioii to its history, T have met with — I quote tlie following.
Mr. Kobert Brown, ii his account of the Mammals of trreenland,
says: "They delight to live in retired bays in tlie neighbor-
hood of the ice of the coasts, and seldom frequent the ojicn
sea. In the Greenland and Spitzbergen Seas they chiefly live
upon ihe floes in retired situations at a considerable distance
from the margin of the ice. Dr. Wallace observed them for a
considerable time in the months of June and July, between N.
lat. 7(Jo and 77^, in possession of a large tloe, part of which was
formed of bay ice, where they had their 'blow-holes' {theatliil;
of the Danes) ; his ship lay ice-bound for nearly three weeks,
at about three miles from this large tloe, und hence he had con-
siderable opportunity of observing them. They passed the
greater portion of their time apparently asleep beside their
holes ; and he never saw them all at one time olf the ice, unless
alarmed by parties from the ship or by the Polar Bear. When
the ice slackened away and the sheets of open water formed
around the ships, the Seals used to swim near them ; and occa-
sionally at these times a few were killed. In the water they are
very cautious, swimming near the hunter, gazing on him us if
with feelings of curiosity and wonder ; but on the ice beside
their blow-hole it is almost impossible for the hunter to ap-
proach them, so much are they on the alert and so easily
alarmed. In Davis's Strait it especially feeds about the base
of icebergs and up the ice-fjords. The great ice-fjord of Jak-
obshavn is a favorite haunt of theirs; the reason for this pre-
dilection is apparently that their food is found in such localities
in greater abundance. The bergs, even when aground, hsive a
slight motion, stirring up from the bottom the Crustacea and
other animals on which the Seals feed; the native, knowing
this, frequently endangers his life by venturing too near the
iceberg, whicli not unfrequently topples over upon the eager
Seal-hunter." *

Dr. Kane thus describes their behavior when basking on the
ice. Writing under date of May 20 he says:

" The seal are out upon the ice, one of the most certain signs
of summer. T'^ey are few in number, and very cautious. We
notice that they invariably select an open floe for their bole,

* Brown, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1868, pp. 414, 415; Man. Nat. Hist,
Geo!., etc., of Greenhand, Mammals, pp. 44, 45.

1IAIUT8, PRODUCTS, AND THE CHASE.

627

4iinl that they nevor leave it more than a few loii^tlis. Their
alertnesH i.s probably due to their viffilant enemy, the bear.
.... The llrst act of a seal, after emerjjiug, i.s a careful
survey of his limited horizon. For this })urpose he rises oji his
lore tlipjjers, and stretehes his n/'ck in a manner almost dojj-
like. Tliis maneuver, even durin;;' apparently complete silence,
i.s repeate<l every few minutes. i\v. \\v\t commences with his
liiiid or horizontal llii)])erH and tail a most singular movement,
allicil to sweepinj>', brushinf;' nervously as ii' either torubsomo-
tliiufi' iVom himself or from benciith him. Then comes a com-
plete series of attitudes, stretchiu};, collapsinfj, curlinj;', v.'a{:f-
li\U}£', then a luxurious, baskin}>' rest, with his face toward the
sun and his tail to his hole. Presently he waddles olf about
two of his own awkward len};ths from his retreat, and begins
to roll over and over, pawing in the m(>st ludi»u'ous manner into
the empty air, stretching and rubbing his glossy hide like a
horse. He then recommences his vigil, basking in the sun
with uneasy alertness for hours. At the slightest advance up
;joes the pryin"g head. One searching glance, and, wheeling on
his tail as on a pivot, he is at his hole, and descends head fore-
most."*

Dr. Ricliardson describes this si)ecies as being less cautious
and less active than the Harbor Seal, observing that it is
"easily surprised either on land or water, and is moreover a sol-
itary and lazy animal, being wont to lie basking in the sun in
lilace of hunting after its })rey, and thus being often found lean
from want of nourishment."! They appear, however, to behave
quite diflerently under different circumstances ; at least the ac-
counts of authors on these points are more or less at variance.
Thus Captain J. C. Ross states : " In the month of May, the
Kough Seal, with its young, lie basking in the sun close to
lioles in the ice, and are at that time very difficult to approach ;
but ihe natives imitate both their cry and action so exactly as
to deceive the animals until they get sufficiently near to strike
them with their spear. Fabricius says it is the most heed-
less of all the Seals, as well on the ice as in the watei*. From
our experience we would certaiidy give them a very different
character, for none of our sportsmen were ever able to get suf-
ficiently near to shoot them. The natives of Boothia say they

»Griimell Exp., 1854, pp. ;J75, 370.
t Parry's Second Voyage, App,, p. 333.

i4:

628

PHOCA IHETIDA RINGED SEAL.

■ a

tire not in their prime nntil the third year, and we never heard
them coniphiin of the offensive smell, whi(5h their more fastidi-
ous brethren in Greenhnid are said to dislike so extremely."*

Malmgren states that even the young, when lying on the ice,
are extremely difficult to kill, for they go immediately into the
water on the first view of the hunter, while, on the contrary,,
he observes, the young of the Gray Seal {Halichccrus gnjpus)
has such a terror of the water while it wears its woolly coat
that it scrambles out on to the ice as soon as it is thrown into
the water, t

The habits of the Kinged Seal, as observed in European
waters, seem to agree with what has alreatly been related re-
spe(!ting their life-history in Davis's Strait and Cumberland
Sound. ]\Ialmgren, *br example, states that the females bring
forth thciir young on the western coast of Finland on the ice
near the edge of great openings between the 24th of February
and the 25th of ^larch, or at the time given by Fabricius and
later writers for the same event on the coast of Greenland, and
in no respect does their mode of life appear to differ in the icy
seas about Spitzbergen from what has alreadj' been related.

Tlie Eingcd Seal is of far less commercial value than the
llarp 'eal, but in this respect may be considered as holdin;;
the second rank among the uorrhern Phocids. Brown states
that "it is chiefly looked upon and taken as a curiosity by tlu'
wlialers, who consider it of very little conuuercial importance
and call it 'Floe-rat.'" Von Heuglin, however, states that
niiny thousands are annually taken by the sealers for tiieir
skir.s arid fat, in the vicinity of Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen.
It is of the greatest importance, however, to the Esquimaux
and other northern tribes, by v/hom they are captured for food
and clothing. Mr. Brown inff .rms us that it forms, during the
latter x>art of sunnaer and autumn, " the principal article of
food in tin; Danish settlements, and on it the writer cf tiiese
n^ tes and his companions dined many a time ; we even learned
to like it and to become quite epicurean conn'^isseurs in all the
<iui.!itic», titbits, and dishes of the well-beloved Xeitsik! The
skin," he continues, " forms the chief material of clothing in
North Greenland. All of the •>' m i \oi dress in Neitsik breeches
and jumpers; and we snjourn(._.i from a far country soon en-

* Ross's '2d Voy., Apj)., p. xx.
t Arch, fiir Naturg., i8C4, p. 83.

HABITS, PRODUCTS, AND THK CHASE.

029

cased ourselves in the somewhat hispid but most comfortable
uotber garments. It is only high <'ignitaries like ' Ilerr Inspek-
tor' that can aftbrd such e\travaj,ance .is a Kassigiak (Callo-
cepltaluH vitulinitu) wardrobe ! The Ai"(5tic belles monopolize them
all." * llink states that the nuiiiJ[)or annually cai)tured in South
Greenland has been calculated at 51,000. t Cai)t. J. C. Ross
states that the Escjuimaux wholly depejul upon it for their
winter fjod, and Von Schrenck alludes to the great importance
of thif animal to the natives of Amoor Land.

Although the methods of capture employed by the Eskimo
have already been to some extent described, I transcribe the fol-
lowing from Captain lloss, who says: "... when all
other animals have retired to a more tem})erate climate tLo
Seal is sought by the Es(]uimaux, whose dogs are trained to
hunt over the extensive floes of level ice, and to scent out the
concealed breathing-holes of the Eough Seal. So soon as one
is discovered, a snow wall is built around it, to protect the
huntsman from the bitterness of the passing breeze ; where,
with his spear uplifted, he will sit for hours until his victiia
rises to breathe, and falls an easy sacrifice to his unerring aim.
hi tais manner a party of thirty hunters killed 150 of these
animals during the first two months they remained in our
neighborhood ; tlu; fishery for ten or twelve miles around was
then completely exhausted; so they broke uj) into various
smaller parties and dispersed ii various directions." f

Dr. Rink states that the Netsek is " stationary throughout the
coast" of Danish Greenland. -'Only stray individuals of this
species", he observes, "emigrate to the main drift-ice of Baf-
flu's Bay in July, and return to the coast when the first bay-ice
y forming in Septembei, or occasionally appearing wheuever
the weather has been stormy. But the chief stock, whose favor-
ite haunts, as haa been described, are ice fjords, does not seem
to leave the coast at all. It is almost exclu ■'. vely this seal that
is captured as 'utok' and by means of the ice-nets." §

*ri(i(;. Zoiil. Soc Loud,, 1868, p. 417 ; Na^. Hist., Geo!., etc., Greenland,
Mum., ]>. 45.
tDiniisli Gn^tuhuul, etc, p. 123.
tRo.ss'.s 2tl Voy., App., p. xix.
i Diiuisli Greenland, etc., p. 123.

If !

( !

til

1 {■

630

PlIOCA GRCENLANDICA HARP SEAL.

PHOCA (PAGOPHILTTS) GRCENLANDICA, Fabridus.

Harp Seal.

Phoca urnnlaiuUra, Faiuuch's, MUIUt's Zool. Dan. Troil., 177(), viii; Fauna
(Jva'iil., 17H0, 11; Skriv. Nat. S.'lsk., i, 1790, H7, pi. xii, lijj. 1
(skull).— EiiXUCiiKN, S.VMt. Keg. Aniiii., 1777, .W-.— (i.MKUN, Sy.st.
\at., i, 17^*1. (14.— Kkiu!, Aiiiin. King., 179:2, l'J5.— 8haw. (icn.
Z(m;1.. i, l!-:00, 2(52.— Desmakest, Nonv. Diet. Sc Nat., xxv, 1.-'17,
.".7(;; Mam., 18'iO, 'M'>, S7G.— "Nils.son, Skand. Faun., i. If'JK, :?T0;
Kongl. Vet. Akad. Handl., Stockholm, 18^57,—"; Arch, tlir Na-
turg., 1841, 314; Skand. Faun. Dilggdj., 1047, ;288,— '<Tiiii:xi.:maxn,
Rem' ini Norden von Europa," etc., i, 1824, 104, pi. xiv (ad. male),
pi. XV (ad. female), pi. xvi (male of two years), pi. xvii (iiialf of
one year), pi. xviii (young eight days old), pi. xix (skull), jil. xx
(digestive organs), pi. xxi (attitude in swimming). — Riciiaudsox,
Parry's 2d Voy., Suppl., 1825, 3:56.— Haki.an, Faun. Auier., 1825,
109.— GoDMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., i, 1826, 343.— Gray, Griffith's An.
King., V, 1827, 177, pis. xci, xcii.— J. C. Ross, Parry's 3d Voy.,
1828, 191; Ross's 2d Voy., Append., 1835, xx.— Fischer, Synop.
Mam., 1829, 238, 57(j.— Bell, Brit. Quad., 1837, 269; ibid., 2d ed,,
1874, 252, ligg., animal and skull. — Macgillivray, Brit. Quad.,
1838, 209, pi. xix. — Hamilton, Amphib. Camiv., 1839, 1,^6, pi.
viii. — Blainville, 0.st6og., Phoca, 1840-1851, pi. v (skull), pi. ix
(dentition). — Jukes, Fxcurs. in Newfoundland, i, 1842, 309.—
SCHINZ, Synop. Mam., i, 1844, 482. — Wagner, Schreher'sSiiugt., vii,
1846, 21, pi. Ixxxv A.— Gierel, Saugeth., 18,55. 130.— Blasii's, Na-
turgs. Wirbel. Deutschl., i, 18,57, 255, tigg. 140, 141. — Nordmanx,
Vit. Medd. Naturh. Forening, 1860 (1801), 25.— Malmgren, Ofv.
af Kongl. Vet. Akad. Fiirhl., Stockholm, 1863, 139; Arch, fur
Naturg., 1864, 78.— Von Middendorfk, Sibirische Reise, iv, Tli.
2, 1867, 934.— Flower, .lourn. Anat. and Phys., iii, 1868, 27ii,
tig. 3 (niilk-dentiti(ni).— Quennerstedt, Kougl. Sveus. Vetensk.
Akad. Handl,, vii. No. 3, 1868, 12, pi. i, tig. 1.—" Kinberg, Ofv. af
Kongl. Vet. Akad. Forhl., .Stockholm, 1869, 13," (fossil, Swcdcn),-
MURiK, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Lirnd., 1870, 604, pl.xxxii (attitudes ami
terrestrial locomotion). — Von Heuglin, I'etermaini'sGeogr. !.Iltth.,
1872, 30. — Lilljerorg, Fauna iifver Svcrigcs och Norges Ryggrads-
jur., 1874, 690.— Turner, .Jouni. Anat. and Phys., ix, 1874, ICf
(Brii. Isl.).— COLLETT, Bema-rk. Norges Pattedyrf., 1876, ,58.— EiXK,
Danish Greenland, its Peojtle and its Products, 1877, 124, 4;!0,—
Dawson, Cana<l. Nat., 2d ser., viii, 1877, 340 (fossil, Postplioi't'iir
clays, nca/ Ottawa, Canada).-i-AL8T0N, Faun. Scotland, Maui.,
1880, 14.

CallocephaliiH .jrmnlandicux, F. CuviER, Mem. du Mus., xi, 1824, 186, pi. xii,
Hg. 2 ; Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 546. — Lesson, ^tan. de Mam,,
1827, 197.

t. I

lilHLIOGRAPHY.

631

Pagophilus granlandirus, Gray, Cat. St-als Brit. Mns., 1850, 25, iig. 8; Cat.
SealH iuid Whiilfs, IHOii, ^H, li<r. y; Zoolojjjist, 1H72, ;{:m, 3:536
(Brilisli Coast, accidcutal); IlaiKl-List of Seals, IST-l, (i, pi, iv. —
Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 186(), 1'2.— Pack.mid, Proc. Best. Soc.
Nat. Hist., X, 18()(), *J71.— Bhown, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1HG8,
340, 41t;.— Rkkks, Zoiiloijist^ 1871, 2541.— Vax Bknkden, Aun. du
Mils. roy. d'llist. Nut. du Belj^icpie, i, 1877, 20 (geogr. distr.). —
Malm, GJitcborgs ocli Boliiisliins Fiiiiiia Kyggradsjuren, 1877, 144.
Phoca n'arnniunus) (jranUiudka, Vox Hkuglix, Reiaenuach dom Nordpolar-
wwx'T, iii, lf^74, 51.

Plioca i/rwiilandkv var. iiiiini, Kk.ub, Anim. King., 1792, 125.

Phoca oveanica, Li'.rr.tiiix, Act. .Vcad. Petrop., i, 1777 (1778), 295, pll. vii,
viii. — Di;sAL\ijKST, Mam., 1820, 242, 275. — Fischer, Synop. Maiu.,
1829, 238.— Ma MIL ION, Anipliih. Carniv., 1839. 102, pi. viii*.

Callocephahm ocmniciin, Lessox, Man. do Mam., 1827, 196.

•'Phoca HemiliDiarin, Boddakut, Klcn. Anim., 1785, 170."

Phoca alhkauda, Desmakest, Maunn., Snppl., 1822, 839 (locality unknown).

Phoca lagura, G. Cuviek, Oss. foss., 3d ed., v, 1825, 206 (young, "Terra
Ncuvo").— Fisc'iiEK, Synop. Mam., 1829,238 (same).— Blainville,
Osidogr., Phoca, 1840-1851, pi. ix (dentition).— ScHlNZ, Synop.
Mam., i, 1844, 483. — Gaimard, Voy. cu Islaude, Atlas, 1851, i)l. xi,
fig. 6 (.skull).

Callocej)hah:': lagura, F. Clvier, Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 546, —
Gray, Griffith's An. King., v, 1827, 177.

PluMM miilleri, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 413.

Phoca deamaresH, Lessox, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 416 (=:P.
albicaudu, Desm.).

Phooa pilayi, Lessox, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 416 (=P. lagura.
G. Cnv.).

Ph^ca dor8ata, Palla.'*, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat., i, 1831, 112.

? Phoca albini, Alexandra, Mem. Acad. Torino, ii, 1850, 141, pi. i-iv
(skeleton).

Phoca annellata, Gaimard, Voy. eu Islande, Atlas, 1851, pi. xi, tig. 9.

Swart-sUde, Egede, Det ganile Gr^nlands nyo Perliistratiou, 1741, 46, lag.

Blackmde Seal, Ellis, Voy. to Hudson's Bay, 1748, plate facing p. 134.

Attaraoak, Craxz, Hist, von Gronl., i, 1765, 163.

Vadeselur, Olafsex, Ueise dnreh Island, i, 283, ii, 42.

Schiiar::KnUye Seehund, Schreber, Siiugt., iii, 310.

Harp Sml, Pexnaxt, Syn. Quad., 1771, 342; ibid., 1793, ii, 279, pi. xcix.

I'hoque a croissant, BuFFOX, Hist. Nat., Suppl., vi, 1782, 325.

Harp Seal, Saxby, Zoologist, 1864, 9099 (Shetland).— Carroll, Seal and
Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, 15.

Voiinlanditjdl, Swedish.

(IriiiilandaiU. Sitlryg, Svarlside, Norwegian.

Smrtside, Danish.

Crriinlands-Rohhe, Sattel-Rohhv, Gronlandiache Seehund, German.

Phoque a croisHont, French.

Harp Seal, Greenland Seal, Saddleback, Whilecoata (young), Ei.'glish.

Jiioluk, Cumberland Eskimo (Kumuex).

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632

I'HOCA (iUtKNl.A.v iCA HAKl' SHAL.

F'^XTKUXAL ClIARACTEKS. — Adlllt Mdlc. — (IciHTill color
wliitisii or ycllowisli-wliite, nose iiiid Iioiul to licliiiid tlio eyes
black ; chin and throat usnally with black s[)()ts. A broad,
biiiatc si)ot of black on the sides, extendin}^" IVcmm the shoulders
nearly to the tail, j;enerally broadest anteriorly where the two
bands unite on the nu'diau line; narrower, and sonietiines in-
terrupted, posteriorly, but usually aj^ain meetinyon the hinder
portion of the ba(!k, thus foi'nun«;' an ellipsoidal lifiuiv. Thesis
black bands usually be{>iu over or a little anterior to the shoul-
ders, and extend backward to the end of the tail. There are
also j'cnerally irregular spots of black on the hind lind)s.
Length about 5 to aA feet, rarely, it is said, attaining the length
of (J feet.

Adult Female. — Similar in general color to the male, but with
the black markings indistitict or wholly absent. Size about
one-fourth less.

Young. — The new-born young are white or yellowish-white,
sometimes j)ale golden, the pelage soft and woolly. This, after
a few weeks, gives i^lace to the coarser, harsher pelage of the
adult, and the coh r becomes pale-gray, darker on the head and
lighter below, often with small, dusky spots on the dorsal sur-
face. In the second and third years the general color remains
the same, but the spots become larger and darker. In the fourth
year, in the males, the spots are still larger, and begin to coii-
lesce; the head becomes black, and the saddle-shaped mark on
the sides begins to be clearly distinguishable, but the mature
pattern of coloration is said to be not fully deve]oi)ed till the
fifth year.

Few Seals* vary so much in color with age as the Harp Seal.
This was long since mentioned by Oranz, who says : "All Seals
vary annually their colour till they are full grown, but no sort so
much as this [the Attarsocik]^ and the Greenlanders vary its
name according to its age. They call tLef<Btus iblaii; in this state
these ar<; white and woolly, whereas the other sorts are smooth
arul coloured. In the 1st year 'tis called AttaraJ:, and 'tis a
cre;!in-(!olour. In the 2d year Attcitsiak, then 'tis gray. In
the .')d AfileJdol; ])aiuted. In the 4th MilaMolc, and in the
5th year Attarsoah: Then it wears its half-moon, the signal of
maturity."'!

Fabricius states that it is called during the first year Atdiak,

* Proliiiltly piinillcl viiriiitions dccni' in llinfv'io})Uo<afaxviala.
t Hist, of Greenland, Englished., vol. i, 1707, p. I'^l.

KXTKUNAL ('IIARAt'TEUS.

CuV,\

and later in the same sunnncr (after the hrst moult), Ataitsiol;
by which name it is also called durin<,Mhe lirst winter; the sec-
ond year it is called J'loh'tltsiak ; the third y(>ar Af/Mtok or
Afjieltioigoah; and in the winter Aylelii/tsial-; the fourth year it

"iii;:;!|i!R"-.ii,

fl..:iij!iiii!li||.

''■•\.ilM;!ii:'l'Vl:i!i!

|-;'l!i!|

-m

, l,iiH'||ii nuni I'l-i^''

111*'"

icraiiis tlie same name A<ik'1nl\, also varied to AfflcktorsoaK; but
ititci' the fourth moult takes the name MiUalioh. Later it is
'■ailed AtHraodli*

liri

• Skrivter iif Xatiirli.-SclHkabct. IJiiid i, Hrf).' 1, 1790, i.).. '(•,2-;i|.

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634

PIIOCA GUa:NLANI)ICA HARP SEAL.

Dr. Riiik .slivtes that iit i\w i)ro.seiit day tlio Greeiilanders, as
woU as tlie Europeans, divicU^ the "Saddle-backs" into t'onr or
llvr difl'erent <;lass(.'s according;' to their aj^'e, but that in faniihiir
hmf^uajj^ethey only distinguish by different names thi^ full-fi,ro\vn
animals from the halt-^rown ones, the latter beinjf called " lUue-

. " *

sides

The young', when first born, are called by the Newfoundland
Sealers "White-Coats"; later, duriny the first moult, "Jla^ycd-
.Fackets"; when they have attained the black crescentict marks
they are termed "Harps", or "Sadlers", and also "IJreedin;;
Harps"; the yearlings and two year-olds are called " Vonnj;-
Harps "or " Turn inj«- Harps", and also "IJedliuieis" (or "Bel-
lamers", also spelled " Hedlamers"). The older and some recent
writers state that the mature pattern of coloration is not at-
tained till the fifth year, while Jukes, Brown, Carroll, and others
state that it is acquired in the third or fourth year. There is
also a diversity of statement respectiuj; the sexual differences
of color in the adults, some writers affirmin^j: that the sexes an*
alike, while others state that the female is without the harp-
mark, or has the dark markings of the male only faintly indi-
cated. Mr. Carroll says : " The reason why they are called harjy
seals, or 'sadlers,' is, the male seal, as wt^ll as the female, has
a dark stripe on each side from the shoulders to the tail, leaving
a muddy white stripe down the back. The male harp seal is
very black about the head as well as under the throat. . . .
The female harp is of a rusty gray about the head and wliite,
under the throat." Both Jukes and Reeks, however, refer to
the absence of the harp-mark in the female.

Mr. lirown, in his account of the Seals of Greenland, has given
a very full account of the changes of color resulting from age
and sex, and, in default of a suflicient series of specimens, and
of personal experience, I transcribe his observations, as present-
ing the most explicit and detailed statement avaihible. He
says:

"It seems to be almost unknown to most writers on this group
that the male and female of the Saddleback are of different
colours ; this, however, has long been known to the Seal-hunters.
Male. — The length of the male Saddleback rarely reaches (5 feet,
and the most (!omnion length is 5 feet, whili^ the female, in gen
eral, rarely attains that length. The colour of the male is of a
tawny grey, of a lighter or darker shade in diit'erent individuals,

* Danish (irccnluiul, its People audits Products, p. 124.

EXTERNAL CHARACTERS. 635

on a slightly straw-coloui'od or tawiiy-yc^lowisli ground, having
sonu'tinies a tendency to a reddish-brown tint, wliich latter colour
is often seen in both males and fenndes, bnt especially in tho
latter, in oval spots on the dorsal aspect. The i)ectoral and
abdominal regions have a (lingy or tarnished silvery hue, and
are not white, as geniM'ally described. But the chief character-
istic, at least that which has attracted the most notice, so mm'h.
as to have been the reason for giving it several names, from
the peculiar appearance it was thought to present {e. g. ' Harp
Seal,' ' Sjuldleback,' &c.), is the dark marking or band on its
dorsal and lateral aspects. This ' saddle-shaped ' band commences
at the root of the neck posteriorly, and curves downwards and
bacjkwards at each side superior to the anterior llippers, reaches
downwards to the abdominal region, whence it curves back-
wards anteriorly to the posterior flippers, where it gradually dis-
appears, reaching further in some individuals than in others. In
some this band is broader than in others and more clearly im-
pressed, while in many the markings only present an approxi-
mation, in the form of an aggregation of spots more or less
isolated. The grey colour verges into a darker hue, almost a
black tint, on the muzzle and flippers; but I have never seen it
white on the forehead as mentioned by Fabricius. The muzzle
is more prominent than in any other northern Seal.

'"'■Female. — The female is very difterent in appearance from the
male ; she is not nearly so large, rarely reaching 5 feet in length,
and when fully mature her colour is a dull white or yellowish
straw-colour, of a tawny hue on the back, but similar to the m^ < e
on the pectoral and abdominal regions, only, perhaps, somewhat
lighter. In some females I have seen the colour totally differ-
ent ; it i^resented a bluish or dark-grey appearance on the back,^
with peculiar oval markings of a dark colour, apparently im-
pressed on a yellowish or reddish-brown ground. These spots
are more or less numerous in difterent individuals. Some Seal-
hunters are inclined to think this a difterent species of Seal
from the Saddleback, because the appearance of the skin is
ofteji so very difterent and extremely beautiful when taken out
of the water, yet as the females are always found among the
immense flocks of the Saddleback, and as hardly two of the
latter females are iilike, bnt varying in all stages to the mature
female, and on account of there being no uiales to mate with
them, I am incli'.ied to believe with Dr. Wallace that these are
only younijer female Sad<llebach;s. The nnizzle and ttip])ers of

636

PHOCA GRCENLANDICA IIAliP SKAL.

Ctitii

i.l

( "

ill i

the i'cinale present the same (lark-clieHtiiut appearance as in the
mule."

In respect to the color of the yoniifj, and to changes of color
with a};e, he observes : " (a) Thecolour alter birth is a pure woolly
white, which ^radmilly assumes a beautiful yellowish tint when
conti'asted with the stainless i)urity of the Ai'ctic snow ; they are
then calletl by the sealers 'white-coats,' or ' whirey-coats'; and
they retain this colour until they are able to take to the water
(when about 14 or 120 days old)." At this time the color ''(/J)
. begins to change to that of a dark speckled an<l then
spotted hue ; these are denominated ' hares ' by the sealers. (;')
This colour gradually changes to a dark bluish <!olour on the
back, V, hile on the breast and belly it is of a <lark silvery hue.
Young Seals retain this ai)pearance throughout the summer and
are termed ' Bluebacks ' by the sealers of Spitzbergen, ' Aglektok '
by the Greecilanders, Blaa-siden by the Danes. (')) The next
stage is called Millaktok by the Greenlanders. The Seal is
then approaching to its mature coat, getting more s[)otted, &c.,
and the saddle-shape band begins to form, (s) The last stage
(in the male to which these changes refer) is the assumption of
'he halfmoon-shaped mark on either side, or the 'saddle' as it
is called by the northern sealers.

" I consider that about three years are sufiQcient to complete
these changes. This is also the opinion held in Newfoundland,
though the Greenland people consider that live years are nec-
essary. I wish, however, to say that these changes do not pro-
ceed so regularly as is usually described, some of them not last-
ing a year, others longer, while, again, several of the changes
are gone through in one year ; in fact, the coats are always
gradually changing, though some of the more prominent ()nes
may be retained a longer and others a shorter time. It would
require a very careful and extended study of this animal to decide
on this point, which, owing to their migrations, it is impossible
to give. After all, these changes and their rai)idity vary accord-
ing to the season and the individual, and really will not admit
of other than a general description."*

]Jr. Kink gives the weight of a full-grown Saddleback of me-
dium size as 353 pounds, the skin and blubber weighing 110
pounds, the blubber alone in winter ajnpniiting to 80 i)ounds,

' Proc. Zoiil. Soc. T.onil., IHIiH, pj). 417-4^0 ; Man. Nut. Hist., Gool. iiiid Ph.VH.
of Grtcnlaiul, t'tc, 1875, Mam., jip. 4.')-4'J. — C'oniyiiio alse von llciiylin. Kt^iseii
uacb dem Nonlpolainicer, «itc., 1874, pp. ^>'.i-M.

SEXUAL AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION.

6a7

wliilo in Rummer it is s(;aic<?ly 24 i)oniuls. Carroll, however,
pfives a mneh larjjer weifflit. He states that " when th«\v are in
lull flesh the weight of a male JIarp Seal varies from 700 to SOO
pounds," and that "when prime" the skin and fat alone will
weifjh 200 jKmnds, and the same parts of a female 125 poimds.
lie jifives the weif^ht of a Ilai-j) Seal when horn as to 8 i)ounds,
a<!cordin}^ to the aj^e of the mother. At fifteen days old he says
the "skin an<l fat will weifjfh 40 to 45 pounds," and the carcass,
after the fat is taken otf", about 15 pounds. When thirty d.aj's
old the weight of the skin and fat he says is only 30 pounds,
and at nine jnonthsold not more than 40 ])ounds, but at twelve
ujonths is 90 pounds ; the young Seals, as stated by other ob-
servers, losing nnich of their fat on being left by their mothers
to secure their own food, although the general size continues
slowly to increase.

Sexual and Individual Varia tion, and Variations de-
pendent UPON AoE. — The variations in size and color dejtend-
ent upon sex and age having been already noted, little remains
to be said in the ])resent connection beyond a brief reference to
the skull. Here the age and sexual variations ajjpear to be
stri(!tly parallel with those alreadj' described in Phocafceiida.
The purely individual variation is also similar in (sharacter,
except, so far as can be judged from the snmll series of skulls
before mc, the variations in the teeth are less marked. The
subjoined table of measurements of skulls indicates the range
of variation in size and other features. None of the skulls are
])ositively marked for sex, but there seems to be little difficulty
in distinguishing the sex by the smaller size, weaker structure,
narrower muzzle, and the much weaker dentition in what may
be doubtless safely assumed to be the female, sin{!e very old
skulls, strictly comparable as respects age, vary in just these
points. Female skulls appear to rarely exceed, or even quite
attain, a length of 200 mm., while old males range from about
210 mm. to 228 mm.

638

PHOCA GRCENLANDICA — HARP SEAL.

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GENEUAF- HIHTOUY AND NOMENCLATUKK.

639

Geneual IlrsToitY AND NoMENCLATUiiE. — Tlio Harp 80ill,
like Mie Crested !S«'al, presents eliiirsjeters, at least in the male
sex, that readily attract the attention of even the casnal ob-
ser\er — the one by its "saddle" or "harp-mark" of black on a
li^iht fii'onnd, the other by its inllatable hood. Aecordinjily both
Avere mentione<l by various eii4ly writers, bnt notably by Ejifedt;,
Ellis, and ( 'ran/, and the indications they j;ave of their existence
enter into the technical history of the species, ibrminj^' as they
do tlu' basis of the first systensatie names. Krxleben described
the species in 1777, nnder the nanie Phoca jirdcnlandiea, his «le-
scription beiny; foundi'd mainly on information i>revioiisly made
public by Cranz. Fabricius, however, had alrea«ly ilesij^nated
the species by this name the [)revions yeai", but the only clue
he furnished to the species meant consists merely in his citing
its I<!elandic aii<l Greenlandic names. In 177<S Lepechin de-
scribed and flgured the si)ecies under the name Phoca oceanica^
between which and grocidamUea there is thus almost a question
of priority.* Althoufjh Fabricius in 1700 <'orrectly referred Le-
pechin's species to P/toca grcenlandica, it has since frequently iig-
ured in the works of compilers as a distinct species, although
his ligures and description t clearly indicate its relationshii).

Boddaert, in 1785, added another synonym by renaming the
spe(Mes fiemilunaris, while Desmarest, in 182L^, described what
is believed to have been a young individual of this species
under the name Phoca albicauda. G. Cuvier, in 1825, also de-
scribed a young specimen as Phoca layura, this name having
for a time considerable currency as that of a veritable species.
Lesson, in 1828, made here his usual contribution of synonyms
by deliberately changing names jjreviously given for those that
better suited his fancy, at his hands the Phoca grcenlandica of
authors becoming Phoca miilleri, and the two nominal species
previousi.y mentioned as based on young specimens becoming
respectively Phoca desmaresti and Phoca pilayi. In 1831 the
species was again intentionally renamed dorsata by Pallas, \siio
(juotes as synonyms of dorsata both Phoca grcenlandica and

*Lopecliin is usually (luotod at 1777, but his paper .appears not to have
been published till the following year, thus giving Erxlebcn's name one
year's priority, and Fabricius's two.

tLepechiu gave the incisive formula as ^, — "In maxilla superior! inci-
soresIV"; "in maxilla inferiori incisores modo lY." As suggested by Fa-
bricius nearly .. ?entui'y ago, in the lirst case "IV" is evidejitly a lapsus
lor YI. (See Fabricius, Skrivter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet, Bd. i, Hf. 1,
IT'JO, p. <»7, footnote. ■)

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PHOCA GRCENLANDICA — HARP SEAL.

Phoca oceanica. Gaimard, in 1851, simply throufjh malideiitifi-
catiou, referred examples of the present species to Phoca annel-
lata.

Of the nine synonyms of this species one is nearly contem-
poraneous with the tenable name, and under the circumstances
of its occurrence was unavoidable; live are due to deliberate,
intentional, and needless change of names; two are based ou
immature examples, and one is the result of malidentiflcation.

Geographical Distribution.— Although the Hari> Seal
has a circumpolar distribution, it appears not to advance so far
northward as the Ringed Seal or the Bearded Seal ; yet the icy
seas of the North are preeminently its home. It is not found
on the Atlantic coast of North America in any numbers south
of Newfoundland. A few are taken at the JVIagdalen Islands,
and while on their way to the Grand Banks some must pass
very near the Nova Scotia coast. Dr. Gilpin, however, includes
it only provisionally among the Seals that \'isit the shores of tluit
Province. It doubtless occasionally wanders, like the Crested
Seal, to points far south of its usual range, as I find a skeleton
of this species in the collection of the Museum of Comparative
Zoology, bearing the legend "Nahant, Mass., L. Agassiz". I
have at times felt doubtful about the correctness of the as
signed locality, as this seems to be the only proof of tlie oc-
currence of this species ou the Massachusetts coast. I have,
however, recently been informed by Dr. C. C. Abbott, of New
Jersey, that a Seal, described to him as being about six feet
long, white, with a broad black band along each side of the
back, was taken near Trenton, in that State, during the winter
of 1878-79. This description can of course refer to no other
species than Phoca grcenlandica, and as it comes from a wholly
trustworthy source it seems to substantiate the occasional oc-
currence of this species as far south as New Jersey. Von Heug-
lin gives it as ranging "in den amerikanischen Meeren siid-
warts bis New York,"* but I know not on what authority.

The Harp Seals are well known to be periodically exceed-
ingly ab'indaut along the shores of Newfoundland, where, dur-
ing spring, hundreds of thousands are annually killed. In
their r.iigrations they pass along the coast of Labrador, and
appear with regularity twice a year off the coast of Southern
Greenland. Capt. J. C. Koss states that in Baffin's Bay they

* Keiscn nacli dom Norili>olarni»H'r, j). ')().

MIGRATIONS AND BREEDING STATIONS.

641

keep mostly "to the loose floating floes whicli constitute what
is termed by the whale fishers 'the middle ice' of Bafiin's Bay
and Davis Straits." He says he never met with them in any
part of Prince Regent's Inlet, but states that they are reported
by the natives to be very numerous on the west side of the
Isthmus of Boothia, but that they are not seen on the east
side.* They are well-known visitors to the shores of Iceland,
and swarm in the icy seas about Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen.
They also occur about Nova Zembla, and Payer refers to their
abundance at Franz Josef Laud.t They occur in the Kara
Sea, and along the Arctic coast of Europe. Malmgren, Lillje-
l)org, and CoUett state that it is of regular occurrence on the
coast of Finmark, where it occurs in small numbers from Oc-
tober and November till February. Although reported by Bell
and others as having been taken in the Severn, and by Saxby|
as observed at Baltasound, Shetland, the capture of a speci-
men in 3Forecombe Bay, England, reported by Turner § in 1874,
Mr. E. R. Alston says is " the first British specimen that has
been properly identified." ||

The distribution of this species in the North Pacific is not
well known. Pallas (under the name Pfioca dorsata) records
it from Kamtschatka, where its occurrence is also affirmed by
Steller. Temminck mentions having examined three skins ob-
tained at Sitka, but adds that it was not observed by " l.es voy-
ageurs neerlandais " in Japan. In the collections in the National
Museum from the North Pacific this species is unrepresented,
the species thus far received from there being the following
four, namely : Phoca vituUna, Phocafoetida, Erignathm barbatus,
and Histrioplwca fascista.

Migrations and Breeding Stations. — The Saddleback,
although found at one season or another throughout a wide
extent of the Arctic seas, appears to be nowhere resident

* Ross'b Secuud Voyage, App., p. xxi.

tNew Lands within the Arctic Circle, 1877, p. 266.

tMr. Henry L. Saxby, writiuguuderdateofBaltasouri'l, She Jand, March
14, 1864, say8, "Several Harp Seals are now to be seen in the deep shel-
tered voo at Baltasound. This species can scarcely be considered very rare
here, but it is said to occur in bad weather, and certainly the present visit
fonas no exception to the rule, the wind having for some days been blow-
ing heavily from N. E., accompanied by sleet and snow." — ZoSlogUt, vol.
xxii, 1864, p. 9090.

Mourn. Anat. and Phys., vol. Ix, 1874, p. 168.

II Zoul. Rec, 1874, p. 10; Fauna of Scotland, Mam., 1880, p. 14.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 41

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642

PHOCA GRCENLANDICA — HARP SEAL.

the whole year. It< very extended periodical migrations re-
late apparently to the selection of suitable conditions for the
l)roduction of its young, and occur with gieat regularity.
Where it spends portions of the year is not weTl known, while,
on the other hand, it may be found with the utmost certainty
at particular localities during the breeding season. Its most
noted breeding stations are the ice-floes to the eastward of
Newfoundland, and in the vicinity of Jan Mayen, at which lo-
calities they appear early in spring in immense herds.

The Seals seen about the shores of Greenland in autumn and
early winter are supposed by most writers to pass the breeding
season in the seas to the eastward of Jan Mayen, but doubt-
less a very large proportion of the Seals of Hudson's Straits
{»nd neighboring waters to the northward, if not also of Baf-
fin's Bay, really move southward along the Labrador coast to
the Newfoundland waters, since herds of migrating Seals are
regularly observed in autumn to pass in this direction ; besides,
it is hard to conceive of any other origin for the immense num-
bers that resort to the ice-floes oft' the coast of Southern Lab-
rador and Newfoundland to bring forth their young.

As has been long well known, the Greenland Seal visits the
shores of Greenland both in fall and spring. Dr. Rink states
that "It appears regularly along the southern part of the
coast in September, travelling in herds tiom south to north, be-
tween the islands, and at times resorting to the tjords

In October and November the catch is most ])lentiful ; theu it
decreases in December, grows scarce in January, and becomes
almost extinct in February." * Mr. Kundien states that they
" disappear from the Cumberland waters when the ice makes,''
returning a;>ain in spring with the appearance of open water.

Their passage southward along the Labra<lor coast occurs
before the ice forms, and during this journey they are said to
"hug the shore" and ireely enter the gulfs and bays. They
appear first in small detachments of half a dozen to a score or
more of individuals ; these are soon followed by larger com-
panies, which increase in frequency and numbers; in a few
days they form one continuous procession, filling the sea as far
as the eye can reach. Floating with the Arctic current, their
progress is extremely rapid, and in one short week the whole
multitude has passed. Arriving at the Straits of Belleisle, the
great body are deflected eastward, but many enter tho Straits

'Danish Greenland, etc., p. 124.

MIGRATIONS AND BREEDING STATIONS.

643

and pass round to the southward of Newfoundland - some,
however, spend the winter in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence,
where they bring forth their young on the ice in spring. But
the great mass continue onward along the eastern coast of New-
foundland as far as Baccalieu^Island, at the entrance of Trinity
Bay, where they leave the shore for the Grand Banks, at which
they arrive about the end of December. Here they rest for a
mouth, and then turn again northward to seek the ice-floes for
breeding stations. Slowly onward they struggle against the
strong current that aided them so much in their southward
journey, till they reach the great ice-fields, stretching from the
Labrador sLore f ^r eastward, — a broad continent of icc. By
the end of Febru rry the breeding-sites have been chosen, and I
the young are born shortly after (generally between the 5th j
and 10th of March). Many of the younger Seals (yearlings 1
and two-year-olds), however, still remain on the southern banks. \
By the end of April the newly-born Seals are strong enough to
secure their own food, and in May the numberless multitude
resume their northward route, keeping far out at sea to avoid
rUe strong current that courses along the coast. In May they
begin to again arrive on the coast of Southern Greenland, and
later visit the more northern shores.

The Seals that resort in such great numbers to the ice-floes
east and north of Jan Mayen in spring are believed to come
mainly from Greenland, but doubtless a large part really come
from the eastward and northward. Lindeman, speaking of
their dispersion after the breeding season, says : " By the end
of June they start on their homeward journey to the north and
east, the young following ; they pass from one outlying point
of ice to another, where they lie to rest. In a single instance
they were followed all the way to Spitzbergen, and were here
also observ^ed to still pursue an easterly direction. Whither
they go and where they keep themselves till the next spring is
certainly a worthy subject of investigation."*

As a^. >ady stated in the general account of Seal-hunting
{anted,, pp. 496 et seq.), the Harp Seals assemble early in spiing
iu countless numbers in the vicinity of " the dreary island of Jan
Mayen", the ice floes a little to the eastward and northward of
which form their great central rendezvous during the breeding
season, and consequently the scene of the grand annual Sea,!
slaughter in the Arctic seas. Their principal breeding-resort

* Fetermann's Geograpb. Mittbeil., Ergunzungs Heft Nr. 26, 1869, p. -.

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644

PHOCA GRCENLANDICA — ^HARP SEAL,

appears to be a small circular area., having a breadth of about
four hundred miles, within which Jan Mayen Island occupies a
nearly central point. They are not, however, equally numer-
ous throughout even this limited district, but are most densely
massed between the 72d and 73d degrees of north latitude,
on or near the 7th meridian east of Greenwich. The exact
point, however, varies in different years, in accordance with
the varying position of the ice-fields, which is influenced by
the prevailing winds and the character of the season. Thus,
according to Dr. Wallace, as quoted by Mr. Brown, they were
found in 1859 "in considerable numbers not far from Iceland,
the most northerly point of which is in N. lafc. 66° 44' ; this
leads me to remark," Mr. Brown continues, "that the Seals
are often divided into several bodies or flocks, and may be at
a considerable distance from each other, although it is most
common to find these smaller flocks on the skirts or at no great
distance from the main body." Where the Seals that here con-
gregate in such numbers during the breeding season spend the
rest of the year is not well known. Says the writer last quoted,
"After the young have begun to take the water in the Spitz-
bergen sea, they gradually direct their course to the outside
streams, where they are often taken in considerable numbers
on warm sunny days. When able to provide for themselves,
the females gradually leave them and join the males in the
north, where they are hunted by the sealers in the months of
May and June ; and it is especially during the latter month
that the females are seen to have joined the males ; for at the
'old sealing' (as this is called), in May, it has often been re-
marked that few or no males are seen in company with the
females. Later in the year, in July, there are seen, between the
parallels of 76° and 77° N., these flocks of Seals, termed by
Scoresby ' Seal's weddings'; and I have found that they were
composed of the old males aud females and the bluebacka [year-
lings and two-year-olds], which must have followed the old ones
in the north and formed a junction with them some time in
June. There is another opinion, that the old females remain
and bring their young with them north ; but all our facts are
against such a theory ( Wallace).

"These migrations may vary with the temperature of the sea-
son, and are influenced by it ; it is possible that iu the Spitz-
bergeu sea as the winter approaches they keep in advance of
it and retreat southward to the limit of the perpetual ice, off

Il>'l.
>?i!

MIGRATIONS AND BREEDING STATIONS.

645

the coast of GreeulaDd, somewhere near Iceland, where they
spend the winter. We are, however, at a loss regarding the
winter habits of these Seals in that region ; here no one winters,
and there are no inhabitants to note their migrations and ways
of life. Different is it, however, on the Greenland shores of
Davis's Strait, where in the Danish settlements the Seals form,
both with the whites and Eskimo, the staple article of food and
commerce, and accoruingly their habits and arrival are well
known and eagerly watched. The Atarsodkj as it is commonly
called by the Eskimo, the 'Svartsidede Saelhund' (Black-sided
Sealhound) of the Danes, is the most common Seal in all South
Greenland. It is t liually by this Seal that the Eskimo lives,
and the ' Kongl-Gronlandske Handel' makes its commerce.
In South Greenland when the Seal generally is talked of, or a
good or bad year spoken about, everybody thinks of this Seal ;
on the other hand, in North Greenland, Pagomys foetidus and
Callocephakis vitulimis are the most common. These last two
species arc the only Seals which can be properly said to have
the tr home in Greeidand, affecting ice-fjords and rarely going
far from the coast. This is not the case with P. grcenlandicus ; at
certain times of the ^sear they completely leave the coast; there-
fore the Seal-hunting in South Greenland is more dependent
upon contingencies than in North Greenland. This Seal arrives
regularly in September in companies travelling from the south
to north, keeping among the islands ; occasionally at this time
individuals detach themselves from the drove and go up the
inlets. . . ."*

Both Dr. Eink and Mr. Brown believe that it is very improb-
able that the Seals of South Greenland visit Jan Mayen in the
breeding season, deeming it more likely that they resort for
this purpose to the southern ice-floes off the Labrador coast.
"As to their whereabouts during their absence," however, ob-
serves the former, " we are somewhat at a loss for perfect infor-
mation. There can bo no doubt that in spring they retreat to
the icefields of the ocean for the purpose of producing their
young. It seems most unlikely that the seals from the west
coast should have such breeding places to the east of Green-
land in the Spitzbergen sea, which would require the whole
stock of them to round Cape Farewell at least twice a year.
But, considering that just opposite to the west coast extensive

* Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, pp. 421, 4vJ,}; Man. Nat. Hist.
laiul, Mam., pp. 51, 52.

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646

PHOCA GLOSWLANDICA HARP SEAL.

masses of dritt-ice from Baffin's Bay are moving southward
throughout the greater part of tlie year, nothing seems more
reasonable to believe than that the seals, having gone their
usual beat along the west coast of (Ireenland put to sea in
various latitudes ; after which, on crossing Davis Strjiit, they
almost every where will meet with tlie drift-ice, which they will
then follow on its course southward, and on returning they will
make the coast of Greenland at some more southerly point,
begin their usual migration, and so on."* Mr. Brown, however,
adds: "Every one knows when it commences its migration
from the south to the north, but nobody knows where the Seal
goes to when it disappears off' the coast. Between the time
they leave the coast in the spring and return in the summer they
beget their young; and this seems to be accomplished on the
pack-ice a great distance from land, viz, in the Si)itzber;,'en sea.
It is at this period that the seal-ships come after them. . . ."

From what has been already stated respecting their pas-
sage southward at the beginning of winter along the Labrador
coast and the shores of Newfoundland to the Grand Banks,
their subsequent movement northward at the beginning of
spring to the ice-floes to bring forth their young, and their
later migration northward, it seems safe to assume that the
Greenland division of these Seals resort mainly in winter to the
open waters of the Grand Banks, southeast of Newfoundland,
and that after the breeding season they return northward to
the Greenland coast; furthermore that the great herds that
congregate about Jan Mayen belong mainly to the Arctic waters
of the Spitzbergen sea, migrating northward and southward,
and more or less westward, with the changes of the season and
the position of the ice-flelds, and that piobably none of the
Seals of Baffin's Bay and adjoining waters migrate to the Jan
Mayen seas.

As already stated the Harp Seals visit the southern coast of
Greenland in May, and appear on the more northern coast in
June. "Having visited," says Rink, "the fjords in numerous
herds, they again disappear in July and return in September, t
Consequently this seal deserts the coast twice a year, and as
regularly returns to it in due season, always first making its

* Danish Greenland, etc., 1877, p. 12r).

tMr. Brown says, "This Seal leaves the vicinity of .Jakobshavn ice-fjonl
about the middle of .Jnly or beginning of August, and comes back in Oc-
tober very fat. In August and September there are none on that part of
the coast."

HABITS.

647

appejirance iu the southern, and somewhat later in the north-
ex'n regions." Why they leave the Greenland coast iu August
and again visit it iu September, and there remain for several
months before departing for the south, and where they go dur-
ing their absence, are quest^ions for which there is as yet no
satisfactory answer. It has, however, by some been supposed
to relate to the pairing season, which occurs iu August, the
females on their return iu September being found to be with
young. Mr. Kumlieu states that "a few schools were noticed
at dittbrent times during September, 1877, and October, 1878,
from the islands of the Labrador coasf: to Cumberland, at times
a couj^iderable distance from laud. It hence seems probable
that many pass this portion of the year at points far to the
southward of Greenland."

Habits. — The Harp Seal is remarkable alike for its abun-
dance and its pelagic and roving habits. Eminently gregarious
at all seasons, and doubtless outnumbering all the other species
together, it forms the chief basis of the great sealing industry
of the northern seas. It is, however, as already shown, no-
where a pern;anent resident, and during its periodical journey-
ings traverses a wide breadth of latitude. Although often met
with far out at sea, it is never seen far from the floating ice-
fields, it generally keeping near the edges of the drifting ice.
It appears never to resort to the shores and to be seldom met
with on the firm ice. This is doubtless due to the fact that,
unlike the Ringed and the Bearded Seals, it never forms foi*
itself an atluJc or breathing-hole through the ice, aud conse-
quently is obliged to keep near the large openings formed by
winds or ocean currents. It is generally regarded as less saga-
cious than most other species, and as submitting, without show
of resistance, to the attacks of the sealers.

About the beginning of March they assemble at their favorite
breeding stations, selecting for this purpose immense ice-fields
far from land. Their best known breeding-grounds are the ice-
packs off the eastern coast of Newfoundland, and about the
island of Jan Mayen. A few are said to breed on the floating
ice in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and there are doubtless nu-
merous small outlying colonies in various parts of the North At-
lantic and Arctic waters. Mr. Carroll states that off the New-
foundland coast the young are chiefly born between the 5th
aud 10th of March, or about a week earlier than is the case

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648

PHOCA GROSNLANDICA HARP SEAL.

with the Hooded Seal or the "Square- flipper" (probably Hail-
ccehrufi grypus). According to Lindeman, the young are boni
much later at the Jan Mayen breeding grounds, or not till the
23d or 24th of March, the "whelping-time" (as this period is
termed in sealing parlance) lasting till about the 5th of April.
Only rarely does the female bring forth more than a single
young one at a birth. The period of gestation is supposed to
be about nine months. If left undisturbed the females are
said to suckle the young about fifteen to eighteen days, when
the young are so far developed thu t they are able to take to the
water and seek their own nourishment. At this time they be-
gin to shed their white woolly coat, and take on the harsher,
grayer pelage that succeeds the foetal dress.

According to Mr. Carroll, the old "Breeding Harps'' are the
first to leave the fishing-ground for the purpose of "whelping.''
In selecting their breeding stations they endeavor to go as far
north aS they can advance with safety, or until they meet the
heavy northern ice, for they know that the more northern the
station the more safety there is for the young from the wash of
southern storms. Yet, in spite of their delicate instincts, and
notwithstanding their great cautiousness, says Lindeman, "it
still sometimes happens that heavy northeast storms drive the
whole area chosen into the open sea, and the immense mass of
young Seals become unfortunately destroyed. I saw many in-
teresting examples," ho adds, " of how courageously the mother
worked under such an accident in order to bring her young again
upon the firm ice, either by trying to swim with it between her
fore flippers or by driving it before her and tossing it forward
with her nose." Carroll states that all kinds of Seals found about
Newfoundland " will at all times endeavor to whelj) as near the
shore as possible, because instinct teaches them that the nearer
the rocks the shallower the water, so that when they abandon
their young ones the little creatures will see the bottom so us
to enable them to procure their food. When young Seals are
whelped near the shore," however, he continues, "and a heavy
sea comes on, thousands of them are ground to pieces with the
sea against the rocks. I have frequently watched the old
female harps bolt up through the ice in a heavy sea and drag
their young ones oil' the ice into the water out of danger.
Again, when the ice begins to raft where young Seals are,
thousands upon thousands of them are also chopped into piece-
meal."

HABITS.

649

The females take up their stations on the ice very near to
each other, the young being thus sometimes born not more than
three feet apart ; they also all bring forth their young at very
nearly the same time. The males accompany the females to
the breeding stations, and remain in the vicinity, yet rarely
upon the ice, congregating mostly in the open pools between
the ice floes. The mothers leave their young on the ice, to tish
in the neighborhood for their own subsistence, but frequently
return to the young to suckle them. The young increase rap-
idly in size, and when three weeks old are said to be nearlj-
half as large as the old ones. At this time they are the fattest
and are considered to be in best condition for killing. Later
the fat diminishes although the general bulk continues to in-
crease. Ii undisturbed the old Seals will i*emain amongst the
ice at the breeding-grounds till after the moult, whict occurs
late in the spring, for the purpose of rubbing off the old hair
against the ice.

The annual moulting-time, or "skin-sickness" {^^ Hautkrank-
heW), as the Germans expressively term it, is evidently a period
of great discomfort, and occurs within four or Ave weeks after
the birth of the young. During this time they rapidly lose
their fat, and become more watchful and restless. As Mr. Car-
roll puts it, about the middle of April the oid Seals, and the
yearlings and two-year olds, " mount the ice to scrub them-
selves". If the day be warm, he adds, "the skin on the back
is sure to be sunburnt, so much so, that you can tear it off with
your fingers; they will remain on the ice to be killed when
once they get sunburnt rather than go in the water. When
they do get in the water they will cry with pain and sometimes
mount the ice again."

For breeding stations the Seals select "sheet-ice", in which,
says Mr. Carroll, they keep holes open through which they may
get to their young. A rim soon forms around these holes
caused by the freezing of the water forced up by the Seals in
passing through them, but they are sure to keep one side of the
bole on a level with the water, the side they use in going up
and down. They assemble in such numbers that the cry of the
vast number of the old and young may be heard to the distance
of several miles, particularly if the ear be applied to the ice.
The same author states that at the Newfoundland breeding-
grounds no wind will break up the "whelping ice" equal to a
strong southeast wind ; no matter how deep the northern ba.vs

I::

I'lii

650

PHOCA ORCENLANDICA — HARP SEAL.

may be, such wind will be sure to break up the ice. It is well
understood, he adds, that the "whereabouts" of the young
Seals depends " on wind and tide ".

Mr. Carroll ascribes great sagacity to thy Seals in discerning
the character of the weather when they are in danger of being
"embayed". "They are sure to swarm out," he says, "at least
two and sometimes three days before the wind blows in on the
land ; they also know when a lake of water is in the sheet or
drift some hundred miles more or less from where they are by
the reflection of the light through the ice [\\. . . . When Seals
get embayed and jire kept there some number of days and vnn-
not get into the water owing to the ice being jammed, they
begin to travel out in a direct line for the wa ^r. Supposing
the water to be fifty miles from them, they know well by scent
where it is, for you will see them stretch out their necks and
sniff; should the ice part in any direction from them they will
at once turn round and avail themselves of it. Much depends
upon the character of the ice they have to travel on as to their
rate of ^peed ; they travel principally by night. I have killed
them with the hair and skin worn off the fore flippers and
bleeding." The same writer states that in cool nights Seals
will travel at an average rate of one mile per hour. Their
speed depends much, however, upon the character of the ice,
on level ice an old Seal being able to outstrip a smart runner
in a distance of sixty yards. They move laboriously, by lifting
themselves oft" the ice on their fore flippers and drawing up the
hind part of the body, resulting in a " sidelong loping gallop."
In travelling they sometimes become overheated, in which case
the hair becomes loosened and the skin worthless.*

The young Seals are said not to voluntarily enter the yater
until at least twelve days old, and that they require four or
five days' practice before they acquire sufiicient strength and
proficiency in swimming to enable them to take care of them-
selves. After they take to the water they congregate by them-
selves, and when they mount the ice assemble in quite compact
herds.

Professor Jukes refers to a young one that was taken alive
on board his ship as fonning a very gentle and interesting pet.
"He lay very quiet on deck, opening and closing his curious
nostrils, . . and occasionally lifting his fine dark lustrous
eyes as if with wonder at the strange scenes around him." His
* The Seal and Herring Fislieries of Newfoundland, 1873, pp. 24, 25.

^bM

ENEMIES.

651

short thick fur being dry and clean, gave him a very warm and
comforfAble appearance. On being patted on the head he drew
it in till his face was peri)endicnlar to his body, knitted his
brow and closed his eyes and nostrils, thereby assuming a very
comical expression of countenance. Although he was fierce
when teased, and attempted to bite and scratch, he immediately
became quiet on being stroked or patted. They are doubtless
easily tamed, and might be made very interesting pets. lu the
present instance the poor brute was cruelly teased by dogs and
men till he became exhausted, and Professor Jukes passed his
knife into his heart to end his misery.*

The Harp Seals are stated to swim with great rapidity, pro-
pelling themselves with their powerful h' id -flippers, one writer
estimating their speed when "bolting" under the ice as "at
least ohe hundred miles per hour," and observes that as they
pass beneath you you " will observe only a blue shade," even
if the water is perfectly clear. Their favorite position when
swimming, as aftirmed by numerous observers, is on the back
or side, in which position they also sleep in the water.

Their so. d and gregarious instincts seem to be manifested
on all occasions ; they not only 'nigrate in dense herds, and
assemble on the ice in compact bodies, but are rarely met with
singly, though occasionally in small groups. As noted on pre-
ceding;; pages, immense herds sometimes fill the sea as far as
the 'jye can reach, or thickly cover the ice over areas of many
square miles in extent.

■;•■■- • - :^j

Enemies. — Aside from their destruction by man, and not
unfrequently by the elements, they find a formidable enemy in
the sword-flsh, and are extensively preyed upon by sharks.
Mr. Carroll, my chief authority on this point, says that when
the Seals ai e floating about on single " pans," he has seen sword-
flsh, sharks, and other kinds ^^ fish, taking them off. The
sword-fish, he says, will get on one side of the pan and press it
down to such an angle "that the Seal must slip ott' among
them and be torn to pieces". The Seals appear to have a great
terror of these remorseless enemies, for the same authority adds,
"I have been on pans of ice when seals mounted the ice to
avoid the sword-flsh and sharks, and obliged to fire at the mon-
sters to keep them oft". A seal will shake with fear, and should
a man be on the pan when sword fish and sharks are after them,

* Excnrn. in Newfoundland, vol. i, pp. 283,284.

ill'

*1^

I. If:

■ ;: Si

'li

652

PHOCA GRCENLANDICA — HARP SEAL.

they will nin between a man's legs for protection ".* Doubtless
manj' young Seals not only become the prey of these creatures,
but also of the rapacious Orea, so well known to prey upon the
young of the Fur Seals.

Food. — Like all the Phocids, the Harp Seal is well known to
subsist chiefly upon fish, but also in part upon Crustaceans
and Mollusks. White-fish and the cod seem to form their chief
food off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, and from
the abundance of the Seals the quantity they consume must be
immense. It has even been supposed that the small catch of
codfish about the island of Newfoundland is due to the great
destruction of these fishes by the Seals, several millions of the
latter, it is estimated, spending several months of each year in
the vicinity of this island. Allowing only one fish a day to
each Seal during the time they stay about the island would re-
quire the annual destruction of several million quintals of these
fishes. In their southward migration in autumn along tho
coast of Labrador, they are said to follow the schools of white-
fish, on which to a large extent thej' are also known to feed.
They also follow them into all the bays along the coast in
spring. "As long as white-fish are in with the land," says Mr.
Carroll, "so sure will seals of every description be there".
That they also prey upon the codfish is well proven by Seals
being 1 illed with these fish in their mouths, as well as by find-
ing t'lc^m on the ice to which the Seals have carried them, Mr.
Carroll believes- that the greater the increase of Seals on the
Newfoundland coast the more will the codfish decrease on the
same coast. The scarcity of the one thus seems to imply the
abundance of the other, so that an abundance of Seals along a
coast where cod-fishing is prosecuted is not altogether an un-
mixed good. . > , ,

Hunting and Products. — As so large a part of what has
been already said in the general account of the Seal-fishery of
the North Atlantic and Arctic wateis necessarily relates to the
present species, it is scarcely requisite in the present connec-
tion to more than recall the leading points of the subject, with
the addition of a few details not previously given. As already
stated, the sealing-grounds par excellence are the ice-floes oft* the
eastern coast of Newfoundland and around Jan Mayen Island,

*Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, p. 26.

HUNTING AND PRODUCTS.

653

where the present species forms almost the sole object of pur-
suit. The sealing season lasts for only a few weeks during
spring; the enterprise* gives employment during this time to
hundreds of vessels and thousands of men, the average annual
catch falling little short of a million Seals, valued at about
three million of dollars. While the pursuit is mainly carried
on in vessels, sailing chiefly from English, German, and Nor-
wegian ports, or from those of Newfoundland and the other
British Provinces, many are caught along the shores of the
countries periodically visited by these animals, as those of
South Greenland, Southern Labrador, Newfoundland, and the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The pursuit with vessels, and the va-
rious incidents connected therewith, have already been detailed,
and sufficient allusions have perhaps also already been made
to the Greeidand method of Seal-hunting {antea, pp. 522-545).
In consequence of the gregarious habits of the species, and
the foct that one-half to two-thirds of those taken are young
ones that are not old enough to make any effectual attempt to
escape, the success of a sealing voyage depends ^''Imost wholly
upon the mere matter of luck in discovering the herds. While
the old Seals are mostly shot, the young ave killed with clubs.
In respect to the ease and facility with which they are cap-
tured it may be noted that it is not at all unusual, in the height
of the season, for the crew of a single small vessel to kill and
take on board from five hundred to a thousand in a day. Mr.
Brown states: "In 18G6 the steamer Camperdown obtained
the enormous number of 22,000 Seals in nine days," or an aver-
age of 2,500 per day. " It is nothing uncommon," he adds,
" for a ship's crew to club or shoot, in one day, as many as from
500 to 800 old Seals, with 2,000 young ones".t Such slaughter
is necessarily attended with more or less barbarity, but this
seems to be sometimes carried to a needless extreme. The
Seals are very tenacious of life, and, in the haste of killing,
many are left for a long time half dead, or are even flayed
alive. Jukes states that even the young are " sometimes bar-
barously skinned alive, the body writhing in blood after being
stripped of its skin," and they have even been seen to swim
away in that state, as when the first blow fails to kill the Seal
their hard-hearted murderers " cannot stop to give them a sec-
ond". 'How is it," he adds, "one can steel one's mind to look

* For statistics of the Seal-lishery, see antetl, pp. 497-502.
tMan. Nat. Hist., Geol., etc., Grceulaud, Maui., p. 67, footnote.*

'^v-i?

654

GENUS ERIGNATHUS.

on that which to read of, or even think of afterwards, makes
one shudder? In the bustle, hurry, iind excitement, these
things pass as a matter of course, and as if necessary ; but they
are most horrible, and will not admit of an attempt at pallia-
tion."* Scoresbyt and other writers refer to similar heartless
proceedings, — as though the necessary suffering attending such
a sacrifi(je of unresisting creatures were not in itself bad
enough without the infliction of such needless cruelty. The
young Seals not only do not attempt any resistance, but are
said to make no effort to move when approached, quietly suf-
fering themselves to be knocked on the head with a club. The
old Seals are more wary, and are generally killed with fire-
arms. Scoresby relates that "When the Seals are observed
to be making their escape into the water before the boats reach
the ice, the sailors give a long-continued shout, on which their
victims are deluded by the amazement a sound so unusual
produces and frequently delay their retreat until arrested by
the blows of their enemies ". f

The annual catch of Harp Seals in Greenland is stated by
Eink to be 17,500 full-grown " Saddle-backs" and 15,500 "Blue-
sides", or 33,000 in all. The catch from the Newfoundland
ports alone often reaches 500,000, and in the Jan Mayen seas
often exceeds 300,000, so that the total annual catch of this
species alone doubtless ranges from 800,000 to 900,000.

The commercial products are the oil — used in the lubrication
of machinery, in tanning leather, and in miners' lamps — and
the skins, which are employed for the manufacture of vaiious
kinds of leather and articles of clothing. The skins are said
to be mostly sold to English manufacturers, who employ them
in the preparation of a superior article of "patent" or lacquered
leather. The flesh is esteemed by the Greenlanders as superior
to that of their favorite NeiUek {Phoca fcetida).

Genus ERIGNATHUS, Gill.

Phoca, Gray, " Zool. Erebus and Terror, 1814 "; Cat, Seals Brit. Mus., 1850,
27, not of Linn^. Type, Phoca barhata, Fabricius.

Erignathus, Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 9. Type, Phoca 6u iata.

Miizzle broad, forehead high, convex; small supraorbital
processes. Dental formula as in Phoca; teeth small, molars

• Excurs. in Newfoundland, vol. i, p. 290.
tHist. of the Arct. Reg., vol. i, p. 510.
tlbid., vol. i, p. 5ia.

., J?

ERIGNATHUS BARBATUS — BEARDED SEAL.

655

spaced, slightly imi)lanted, early becoming defective by attri-
tion ; partly deciduous in old age. Palatal area broad, ellipti-
cal, deeply euiargiuate posteriorly ; uarial septum incomplete.
Lower jaw short, small, the rami outwardly convex. Scapula
with no acromion process. Iliac crests not abruptly everted
and produced. Middle digits of the mauus longest. ]Mamm£E 4.
In respect to the general form of the skull, Erignathus differs
from Phoca in the great height of the skull at the anterior border
of the frontals. It differs also in the great breadth, arched form,
and elliptical outline of the palate, and in the great depth of
the narial fossai. Although its single species is still commonly
placed in the genus Phoca, other osteological characters, espe-
cially the absence of the acromion process of the scapula and
the slight eversiou of the iliac border of the pelvis, seem to
warrant its separation. Although the animal attains to a large
size, the teeth are weak, aid in young specimens, or before
they have become modified by r,ttrition, are not longer antero-
posteriorly, though rather thicker, than in Phoca fcetida, and
are consequen :ly several times smaller than in Phoca vitulina.
The first, second, and fifth upper molars are 2-pointed, only the
posterior accessory cufep being developed ; the third and fourth
are 3-poiuted, also without an anterior cusp. All the lower
molars are 3-pointed, there being an accessorj^ cusp both in
front of and behind the principal cusp. Quite early in life the
teeth become much worn, and in old age the crowns of the three
middle molars become often wholly worn away, leaving only
the fangs, and even these sometimes in part disappear. Mr.
Kumlien states that '4n many adults the teeth can almost
be plucked out with the fingers," so slight is their attachment.

ERIGNATHUS BARBATUS {Fabricius) Gill.

Bearded Seal.

Phoca harbata, Fabricius, MUUer's Zool. Dau. Prod., 1776, -viii; Fauna
Groenl., 1780, 15 ; Skriv. Nat. Selsk., i, 1790, 139, pi. xiii, fig. 3.—
Ebxleben, Syst. Reg. Anim., 1777, 590.— Gmeun, Syst. Nat., i, 1788,
65.— Kerb, An, King., 1792, 126,— Suaw, Gen. Zool., i, 1800.— J,
Ross, Ross's Ist Voy., App., 1819, xli.— Desmarest, Mam., 1820,
246, 378.— "NIL880N, Skand. Faun., 1, 1820, 374 ; K. Vet. Akad.
Handl., Stockholm, 1837, — " ; Wiegmann's Arch. fiirNaturg., 1841,
317; Skand. Faiuui Diiggdj,, 1847,294. — " Thienemann, Raise im
Nordeu von Enropa, etc. , i, 1824, 23, pi. i (ad. female), p?. ii (male of two
years), pi. iii (male of one year), pi. iv (skulls)." — Richardson,
Parry's 2d Voy., Suppl., 1825, 335.— Harlai , Faun. Amer., 1825, 111.

!' I",

656

ERIGNATHUS BARBATUS — BEARDED SEAL.

— GODMAN, Aiucr. Nat. Hist.., i, 1826, 34ii.— Ghay, Grhiith's Auiiii.
Kiug.,v, 1827, 178; "Zool. Erebus and Terror"; Cat. Seals Brit. Mus,,
1850, 27, fig. 9 ; Cat. Seals and Whales, 180(5, 31, iig. 10 ; Suppl. Cat.
Seals aud Whales, 1871, 3; Hand-List Seals, 1874, 8, pi. v. — Fis-
cher, Syn. Mam., 1829, 240. — J. C.Ross, Ross's 2d Voy., App., 1835,
xxi. — Bell, Brit. Quad., 18:J7, 275, fig. of skull (in part only).—
Macgiluvray, Brit. Quad., 1838, 212 (in part only).— Hamilton,
Amphib. Carn., 1839, 145, pi. "3" — i. o. 5 (in part only); not the
British references, nor the young specimen in Edinb. Mus., apvd
Brown, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1868, 419. — Blainville, Ostdogr., Phoca,
1840-1851, pi. ix.— Temminck, Faun. Japon., Mam. Marius, 184'J,
8 (Japan -f Jukes, Excurs. in Newfoundland, i, 1842, 312.— Wag-
NEB, Schreber's Siiugth., vii, 1842, 18.— Schinz, Synop. Mam., i, 1844,
481. — Von Middendorff, Sibir. Reise, ii, 2, 1853, 122.— Giebel,
Siiugeth., 1855, 134.— Von Schkenck, Amur-Lande, i, 1859, 181.—
Malmgren, Ofv. af Kongl. Vet. Akad. Stockh., 1863, 135; Arch.fiir
Naturg., 1864, 74.— Steenstrup, Vid. Medd. f. d. Naturh. Forening,
1864 (1805), 209.— Collett, Bemserk. til Norges Pattedyrf., 1876,
58. — Von Middendorff, Sibirisch" Reise,. iv, Th. 2, 1807, 934.—
Lloyd, Game Birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden and Norway, 1867,
408, pi., animal.— QuENNERSTEDT, Ivongl. Sveus. Vetensk. Akad.
Handl., vii, No. 3, 1868, 10.— Brow ., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868,
340, 424; Man. Nat. Hist., Geol., etc., 'reenland. Mam., 1875, 53. —
ToRELLand Nordenskjold, Swedischi a Exp. nach Spitz, u. Biireu
Eiland, etc. (Genu. ed. ) 1869, 78 (plate roiiresenting a group on the
ice). — LiLLJEBORG, Fauna ofver Svoriges och Norges Ryggradsdjur,
1, 1874, 697. — Rink, Danish Greenland, its People and its Products,
1877, 126, 430.— Van Beneden, Ann. du Mus. roy. d'Hist. Nat. du
Belgique, i, 1877, 20 (geogr. distr.). — Kumlien, Bull. U. S. Nat.
Mus., No. 15, 1879, 61.

Callocephahtabarbatus, F. Cuvier, M^m. An Mus., xi, 1824, 184, pi. xii, fig.
4 ; Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 547.— Lesson, Man. de Mara.,
1827, 198.

Phoca (Callocephalua) barbata, Von Heuglin, Reisen nach dem Nordpolar-
ineer, etc., iii, 1874, 56.

Erignathua baibatus, Giix, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 12.— ? Packard, Proc.
Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., x, 1806, 271.

Phoca leporina, Lepechin, Act. Acad. Petrop., i, 1777, 204, pU. viii, ix.—
Fabricius, Skriv. Nat. Selsk., i, 2, 1791, 108.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., i,
1800, 258.— Desmarest, Nouv. Diet. Sci. Nat., xxv, 1817, 581 ; Mam.,
1820, 243, 374.— Fischer, Synop. Mam., 1829, 237.— Hamilton,
Amphib. Caruiv., 1839, 170, pi. ix.

Cillocephalua leporinus, F. Cuvier, Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 545.

Phoca lepechini, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiti, 1828, 415 (= i'/ioca
leponua, Lepechin).

Phoca paraonsi, Lesson, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 414 (== Long-
bodied Seal, Parsons).

Phoca albigena, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat., i, 1631, 109.

Phoca nautioa, Palt.as, Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat., i, 1831, 108.

Phoca naurica, Gray, Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 3 (="/'Aoconaurtca
[lege nautica] et Phoca albigena, Pallas").

EXTERNAL CHARACTERS.

657

Phooa, Vituluamarinua, or Sea CaJ/, Parsons, Phil. Trans., xlii, 1742-3(1744),

383, pi. i.
Lachtdk, Steller, Nov. Comm. Acad. Petrop., ii, 1751, 290.
Long-hodied Seal, Parsons, Phil. Trans., xlvii, 1751-SJ (1753), 121.
Vkauk, Cranz, Hist, von Groonl., 1765.
Leporine Seal, Pennant, Syn. Quad., ii, 1793, '^77.
llemmeawUn, Fabricius, 1791, 1. c.
Oo-sook, Greeulanders.
Ogjook, Cumberland Esquimaux (Kumlien).
Laohtak or Laktak, Kamtschatkans.
Storkobbe, Blaakobbe, Havert, Norwegian (VON Heuulin).
Hafertrakdl, Storsjal, Swedish.
Bartrobbe, Bartige Seehund, German.

t Square fipper and Square flipper, of Newfoundland Sealers.
Ground Seal, Spitzbergen Sealers (Brown).
Bearded Seal, Great Seal, English authors.

External Characters. — Above gray, darker along the
middle of the back, the color varying in different individuals.
A specimen from Disco Bay, Greenland (Nat. Mus., No. 8697),
i.s gray, varied with black, but without distinct marks or spots.
Wagner describes a specimen from Labrador as clear gray
above, marbled with large indistinct yellowish spots, among
them one on the back of the head more pronounced j sides and
whole lower side of the body soiled white. No dark stripe
along the back and head. Nilsson describes the color as being
a pale gray above, still paler on the sides, and on the belly
white ; head and neck above, blackish, with a narrow band of
the same color along the back. Macgillivray describes a Green-
land specimen as having "the fore part of the head brown, the
top light yellowish-gray ; the hind neck and an obscurely de-
fined space along the back, including the tail, dull brown, the
rest dull yellowish-gray". Mr. Kumlien, who has had the op-
jjortunity of seeing many specimens in the Arctic regions, says
the color is variable, the yellowish-brown being "more or less
clouded with lighter or darker markings, irregularly dispersed".
The length of adult males is usually given as "about ten feet";
females, rather smaller. I find the total length of an adult fe-
male skeleton to be 7 feet 2 inches (2195 mm.).

The young are described as being covered with long, soft,
dark gray wool, which, in about two weeks after ^irth, is re-
placed by a coat of shorter, more rigid, bluish-gray hair. Nils-
son described a specimen supposed to be foetal as covered with
dark gray wool, which is darker on the posterior part of the
Misc. Pu^. No. 12 42

1 • • 1

1 :;:;.!

|i;H
I'iiill

t !

658 ERIGNATHUS PARBATUS BEARDED SEAL.

back and hind feet,* while Lepechin comparod the woolly coat
of the young (his Phocn leporina) to that of Lepus rariabilis.
]\Ii'. Knmlicn thus describes a foetal specimen taken April 28,
1878, near Middliojuacktwack Islands: "Color, uniform grizzly
mouse color, with a tinge of olive-gray. Muzzle, crown, and
irregular patches on the back and fore flippers, white. From
the nose to the eyes a black line, with anotlicr crossing the
head behind the eyes, the two forming a perfect cross. Nails,
horn-blue, tipped with white. Iris, dark brown. Nose, black.
Muzzle, wide, lips full and fleshy, giving the animal a bull-dog
exi)ression. Body, long and slender. Beard, pellucid, abuii
dant, white, stout, the bristles becoming shorter toward the nos
trils. Hind flippers, large and heavy, looking disproportionate
to the size of the body. Hair, rather short, but fine and some-
what woolly, interspersed with another kind, stift' and of a
steel-blue color, which I take to be the second coat. The Es
kimo are firm in the belief that the Ogjook sheds its first coat
within the uterus of the mother. In this case there was cer-
tainly an abundauc*^ of loose hair in tht^ uterus, but the si)eci
men had been dragged some miles in its envelope over rougli
ice, besides having been krj)t three or four days in an Eskimo
igloo among a heap of garbage, so that it is not to be wondered
at that the hair was loose.

"There was little blubber on the specimen, and this was
thickly interspersed with blood-vessels.

"The specimen measured as follows:

Feet, inches.

Extreme length 4 7

Leu gth of head S-'-^

Width of mnzzl- 4.5

From end of nose to eye 3.2

Distance between ej'es 3. 5

Length of fore flipper (to end of nails) 7. 15

Width of fore flipper 4. 3

Length of hind flipper 1

Greatest expanse of hind flipper 1 1.5"t

Skull and Skeleton. — The principal distinctive osteolog-
ical features of the Bearded Seal having already been given in
connection with the generic diagnosis, little is called for in the
present connection, since n detailed account of its osteology
does not fall within the scope of the i)reseut history of the species.

• Archiv. fUr Naturg., 1841, p. 317.
t MS. notes.

SKULL AND SKELETON.

659

It may be i tated, however, in general terms, that the skeleton
indicates a general robustness of form, coi'relating witli the
ratJier broad thick head. The relative length of the diliereut
limb-segments and vertebral regions is about as in Phoca groen-
lanfKca, excei)t that the caudal series of vertebrae is much
shorter. The bulk of the entire animal, however, nuist be (ion-
siderably greater than in P. grcenlandica. The scapula is long
and narrow, the proscapular and i)ostscapular fossfc about
ecpial, the latter not greatly produced at its i)osterior upper
border, as in Phoca vitnlina and P. foetUla. Aside from the
absence of the acromion process, it thus dift'ers in its nar-
row elongated form, and especially in the unusual length of
the shaft, from that of eitlier of the three above-named species.
P. (/ramlandica preser^ts the opposite extreme, the scapula of
which is broad and short.

The exceptional features of the skull are the small size of the
orbital fossae, the rather small size of the auditory buUai, and
the large size of the nasal passages. The general form of the
lower jaw is much as in P. vittiUna, especially resembling it iu
the lateral convexity of the rami, and in the form of the con-
dylar portion, and in the abruptness of the angle. It is, how-
ever, small and weak for the size of the skull, and especially so
for the size of the animal.* Perhaps its most striking feature
consists in the large process on the hind border just below the.
condyle, which is twisted over toward the inner edge of th(!
jaw, and has its axis of development in that direction or trans-
verse to the longitudinal axis of the jaw.

In comparison with the skeleton in the above-named species
of Phoca, the bones of the Bearded Seal are light and porous
(less so, however, than in the Cystophorince) ; the tuberosities
are all rather weakly developed, with a less tendency to anchy-
losis. To this general laxness of ossification may perhaps be
attributed the slight development and consequent lack of ab-
rupt eversion of iliac crests of the pelvis already noted. The
subjoined table of linear measurements of the principal bones
of the skeleton is taken from that of a quite old female from
Cumberland Gulf, collected by Mr. Kumlieu.

* I find that tho lower jaw of a very old male P. vituUna just fits an adult
female skull of Erigitathua bariatut, except that the latter is slightly longer.

.1'

i :; : 'ill

1 m

' i.^

/■

.['I

660

ERIGNATHUS DARBATUS BEARDED SEAL.

MeanurenwUa of the principal parts cf tte skeleton in Erignathuv barbatua

(9 ad.).

aoc.

Length of tbe sknll '230

Length of the cervical vertebra) 250

Length of the dorsal vertebrae 800

Length of the lumbar vertebrse 390

Length of the sacral vertebra 175

Length of the caudal vertebrae 350

Length of the scapula ^ 'ilO

Length of the humenia IG2

Length of the radius 140

Length of the manus. 185

Length of the pelvis 320

Length of the femur 153

Length of the tibia 810

Length of the pes 380

Length of the whole skeleton 2195

Length of the fore limb (exclusive of scapula) 487

Length of the hind limb 843

The series of skulls of this species shows that the female is
rather smaller than the malo, with a rather weaker osseous
structure. While old males have rudinieii tary but quite stron gly
marked anteorbital processes, equally old female skulls some-
times show not the slightest trace of them. The largest male
skulls do not exceed a length of 260 mm., while one marked
as female attains nearly 240 mm. The Bearded Seal, although
often stated to be the largest Phocid of the northern seas, has
the skull much smaller than either Halichoerua grypua or Cysto-
phora cristata, while the skeleton of the latter indicates an an-
imal of much greater bulk. Adult female skulls of the Bearded
Seal, in fact, scarcely exceed in linear dimensions very large
old male skulls of Fhoca vitulina.

MEASUKEMENTS 0)^ THE SKULL.

661

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662

ERIONATHUS BARBATUS BEARDED SEAL.

General History and Nomenclature.— The early his-
tory of the Bearded Seal is peculiarly involved, owiiijif in part
to the vagueness of the early references. The first notice of
the species that can be fixed with any degree of certainty is
Dr. James Parsons's account, published in 1744, of the ^^Phoca,
Vitulus marinus, or Sea-Calf, shewed at ChariiigCross, in Feb.^
1742-3 ", * which, if any reliance can be placed on the figure, —
declared by Dr. Parsons to be drawn from life and to have been
pronounced by all who saw it to be an excellent likeness, — and
the characters given in the text, must be unquestionably the
present species. Dr. Parsons says it was a female, and very
young, "though Seven Feet and half in Length, having scarcely
any Teeth, and having Four Holes regularly placed about the
navel, as appears by the Figure, which in time become PapillaJ^
The figure shows the middle finger of the fore-flipper to be the
longest, the others regularly decreasing v.i length on each side,
while the hind-flippers terminate squarely, with all the digits
of nearly equal size. As this is the only species of Seal found
in the northern seas which lias four mammie, and the flippers
of the form here indicated, the identity of the species seems
beyond question. The size, moreover, corresponds with that
of old females of the present species. Its " having scarcely any
Teeth" is another strong point in favor of its being the Bearded
Seal, since it is well known that in old, or even middle-aged,
examples of this species the molar t«ieth are so much worn
down that only the fangs of the greater part of the molars
remain, and even these may be in part lacking, while on the
other hand no other Seal of this size could show this feature,
either from immaturity or attrition due to old age. The
identity of Parsons's Long-bodied Sealt with the Bearded Seal
{Phoca barbata, auct.) was almost universally conceded till
1837, when, from an examination of what was supposed to be
Dr. Parsons's original specimen, Messrs. Bell and Ball declared
it to be Halichcerus grypus. Mr. B#ll says, " For many years
there has been deposited in the British Museum a large speci-
men of Seal, which has always been considered as the Phoca
barbata. It was previously in the possession of Mr. Donovan,

• PhU. Trans, for the year 1742-1743 (1744), p. 383, pi. i.

t It Bliould be Htated that this n.-ime was first used by Dr. Parsons for this
Seal in a subsequent reference to the same specimen published in 1753 (Phil.
Trans., vol, xlvii, p. 121), in which the habitat is given as the coast of
Cornwall and tho Isle of Wight.

GENERAL H18T0RY AND NOMENCLATURE.

663

who, I am int'oriiit><l, .stated it to bo the identical specimen do-
scribed under the name of ' Long-bodied Seal' by Mr. Parsons,
in the forty-seventli vohime of the IMiilosoidticnl Transactions.
It has been upon his authority only that Ph. barbata has been
catalogued a>< British, and it now proves to be the same species
as that lately found on the southern coast of Ireland by Mr.
Ball, the Phoca G typhus of I'abricius, Ilalkharm yrisem of
llornschuch and Nilsson. It was by the exhibition of crania
of this spe(!ies by ]Mr. Ball at the late meeting of the British
Association, that Professor Nilsson, who was present, was able
to identify it ; and a subsequent examination of the specimen in
the British Museum led that gentleman to the conclusion that
this also is identical with the former."* Mr. Ball says, "On ex-
amining the remains of Donovan's Ph.barbata, now in the British
Museum, 1 recognized in it an ill-put-up specimen of cmr Hali-
ehceruH; and I presume the stufl'er has endeavored t'> make the
specimen correspond with the description of Ph. barbata by
unduly plumping up the snout and shortening the thumbs,
which are evidently pushed in by the wires intended to sup-
port the paws."t Since these announcements the Long-bodied
Seal of Parsons has generally been referred to HaUchwrus
grypua, or only doubtfully assigned a place among the synonyms
of the Bearded Seal. Inasmuch as the Long-bodied Seal of
Parsons forms an important element in the ground-work on
which the name Phoca barbata reposes, a further inquiry into
the question here at issue may be in place.

First, it may be noted, that the identity of Donovan's speci-
men \j[ith that described by Parsons rests on hearsay testimony,
namely, a report that he said it was the same. J Without cast-
ing any implication of doubt upon the correct specific determi-
nation of Donovan's specimen, as above detailed, it may be
observed further that the characters given by Parsons apply to
the Bearded Seal and to no other, and, furthermore, that Par-
. sons does not state whether or not his specimen was preserved,
nor does he in the original account say where it was captured.
In his second notice he gives its habitat as the " Coast of Coru-

* History of Britisli Quadrupeds, etc., 1837, pp. ^78, 279.

t Ibfd., p. 28L

t Ball sLates elsewhere that Donovan's Phoca barhata ^' seems to be the
individual described by Parsons as the long-bodied seal, and it appears to
have been on the authority of this speciniim that Phoca barbata has occu-
pie I a place in the British Fauna." — Trans. Roy. Irish Acad., vol. xviii, pt.
1, pp. 90, S>1, in a paper read "12th December, 18^6".

664

ERIONATHUH BARHATUS — BEARDED SEAL.

wrtll and the Lsle of White" {lege Wight?). In view of the
admitted uncertainty an to wlietlier Donovan's Hpecimen was
the one described by Parsons, and tlie agreement of Parsons's
account and figure (the best figure of any Seal published up to
that date), there seems to be no adequate reason for referring
Parsons's Long-bodied Seal to any other than the Bearded
Seal, with which for three-fourths of a century it was currently
associated.

Another early, and in some respects important account of
this species, appears to have been given by Cneitf (see anteh,
p. .'530), under the name Ord Skwl (or " graue Seekalb" as termed
in the German translation of his paper, which is here used).
Althoujrh (^neitt's (or Kneitf, in the German orthography) Grfl,
Sktel is I'er 'red by liilljeborg and others to Halichcerus grypits,
its breeding habits seem to forbid its reference to that species,
it being said to bring forth its young about the end of February
on the ice remote from the land, while Halichcerus grypus has
its young in the autumn, for which purpose it resorts to the land,
selecting us its breeding haunts rockj' shores and small rocky
islets. The general habits of the species also better accord
with those of the Bearded Seal, especially its forming an atluk
or breathing-hole through the ice, like Phoca foetida, these two
species being the only ones found in the northern seas w'uich
have that habit. That it is not Phocafatida is indicated by its
size, which is said to be a full " Klafter " (about OJ feet) long,
and by his comp.arison of it with the Harbor Seal (" Wikare" or
" Meerbusenkalb" = iVjoca vitulina), from which it appears that
the latter is only about half the size of the former.* As respects
the color, he says the Gray Sea-Calves are mostly dark gray ;
many are yellowish; but they are very rarely marked with
black and white spots. There is here a closer agreement with
the Bearded than with the Gray Seal. There consequently
seems to be no reason whj' Cneiflf's GrS, Ska^l should not be
referred to the Bearded Seal, and very strong reasons against
its reference to Halichcerus grypusA

To resume the early I'nstory of the subject, the next notice
of the Bearded Seel appears to be Steller's reference, in 1751,

• He gives the weight of the grane Seekalb as "18 Lisspfuud", and that
of the Wikare as "10 Lisspfund ".

t At p. 531, in the account of Cneiii"'8 liistory of sealing in the Gulf of
Bothnia, I gave the species as probably Haliehtenu grypua, in deference to
eminent authority.

.\ ¥

GENERAL HISTORY AND NOMENCLATURE.

665

to 11 larjifti Seal occurrinjjf in the North rac-iflc, " qiuc luugnirudiuu
Taiirutu Hupcrat'^, and which ho Hay.s tho Kamtschatdalos
called "Lachtak". lie Hpcaks of it as beinj^ the largest of the
Seals of those 'vaters. It later formed the "P/ioca maxima,
Steller" of authors, l; * Steller himself did not originate this
phraseology. It is ..'..-.v* the basis of the Plioca lachtak of Des-
marest. These references have been very generally identified
with the present species. Cranz, in 170;"), referred to it, but
without really describing it, under the name Uksuk. Yet the
little he had to say about it serves to render it certain that the
Uksuk is the Phoca harbata of the later systematic writers, it
being still known in Greenland under that name (now commonly
spelled "Oo-sook"), just as the Pacific representatives of the
species are still known under the native name Laktak.

Fabricius was the first to give it a systematic designation,
lie calling it, in 177G (in inedited notes in Milller's "Zoologicte
DanijB Prodromus"), Phoca harbata, but the name was unac-
companied by a description. He cites, however, its Icelandic
and Greeulandic names "Gramselr" and " Urksuk," by which
the species is still known in those countries. Four years later
(in his "Fauna Gricnlandica") he fully described the Urksuk
of Greenland under the name Phoca harbata, when the species
became first fairly characterized. In the meantime Erxleben
(in 1777) had adopted the name for a large species of Seal,
under which designation he cited not only the Uksuk of Cranz,
the Gramselr of Iceland, the Phoca harbata of MUUer's "Pro-
dronuis", and the Laktak of Kamtschatka, but also the Long-
bodied Seal of Parsons, together with the various names that
had been based upon these, either individually or collectively.
As he arranged his references chronologically, the first names
mentioned are the Long-bodied Seal of Parsons, and the Lach-
tak, or ^^ Phoca maxima''^ of Steller. His brief diagnosis is
evidently based on Cranz's account of the Uksuk.

The name harbata is usually ascribed toMiiller, 1770, in whose
work it first appeared, but rigid constructionists may claim that
date as untenable, since no description accompanied the name.
In this case it would fall to Erxleben, 1777, who gave of it a
brief technical description, and further established it bv a full
and correct citation of its synonymy.

Almost simultaneously with the appearance of Erxleben's
work the Kpecies was again indicated by Lepechin (in 1778),
under the name Phoca leporina, based on the young from the

'ft!

666

ERIGNATHUS BARHATUS — -BEARDED SEAL.

White Sea. Although he erroneously gave the incisj vq formula
as f, aud based his description and ligure on the young still in
the white pelage, there has been little doubt among modern
writers of its identity with the Phoca barbata. For many years,
Lowever, the Phoca leporina figured in the works of compilers
as a distinct species, and became thus a prominent synonym.
Lesson, in 1828, renamed it Phoca lepechini^ at the same time
naming the Long-bodied Seal of Parsons Phoca parsonsi.

In regard to its general history, it may be added that Fabri-
cius, in 1791, in his monograph of the Greenland Seals, devoted
twenty pages to an account of Phoca barbata, giving a careful
description of its external characters, with detailed measure-
ments, and thetirst (and a very good) figure of its skull. He
adopted for it the Danish vernacular name " Remmsa'l," identi-
fying with it Steller's Lacktak, the Icelandic names " Gramselur,"
"Grocnsclr," and "Kampselur," and the Greenlandic names
" Urksuk" and •' Uksuk," as well as the Phoca barbata of Miiller's
" Pi'odromus," of Erxleben, of the "Fauna Grwnlandica," and
of Gmelin, and also Parsons's Long-bodied Seal, and the subse-
quent accounts based ui)on it. The next original information
of special importance appears to have been furnished by Thiene-
maun, who, in 1824, in his account of the Seals of Iceland, de-
voted four plates to its illustration, figuring the adult female, a
two-year-old male, a yearling male, aud the skull.

In 1831 Pallas introduced two nominal species, referable here,
under the names PJtoca nautica and Phoca albiffena. With the
former he identified the Lacktak of Steller, while he made Le-
pechin's Phoca leporina a synonym of his Phoca aUtigena. These
names have been generally referred by subsequent writers,
either positively or with reservation, to Phoca barbata. Gray,
in 1871, separated the Bearded Seals of the North Pacific from
those of the North Atlantic as Phoca '■'■ naurica''^ {sic) apparently
wholly on the ground of locality, and referred to this Pallas's
Phoca nautica and Phoca albigena.

Among the more important recent contributors to the history
of the species are Malmgren, Von Heuglin, and Collett, the lat-
tiCr, especially, having given a very full account of its hp,bits
and distribution on the coast of Norway.

Geographical Distribution. — The present species is cir-
cumpolar and extremely boreal in its distribution, and appears
to be migratory only as it is forced southward in winter by the

,h! IM

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

667

extension of the unbroken ice-fields. Tlie southern limit of its
range along the Atlantic coast of North America is at present
indeterminable. Professor Jukes* gave it doubtfully in his list
of the Seals of Newfoundland, supposing it to be the Square
Flipper of sealers. Among the many examples of Seals 1 have
had opportunity of examining from Newfoundland, however,
I have never met with a specimen of the Bearded Seal. If the
Square Flipper of the Newfoundland sealers be really the
Bearded Seal, as seems probable, it must be, according to Car-
roll, of regular occurrence in small numbers about Newfound-
land.

Dr. Packar«it has attributed it to Labrador, where it un-
doubtedly occurs, but he gives it on the hypothetical ground
that " It is probably the species whic-i is called by the sealers
'Square Flipper,' " and says that adults will -'weigh 500 to GOO
pounds". Its occurrence in Labrador, however, is apparently
established by Wagner, who described a specimen, " das aus
Labrador herstammt".:j.

Although well known to visit the shores of Greenland, and
to range very far north, its limit in this direction still remains
undetermined. J. C. Ross states that it approaches the shores
of Boothia "only in the summer season," and that in winter it
seeks " those parts of the Arctic Ocean which are seldom, if
ever; frozen over for any length of time". § Dr. Rink says
that it occurs only in small numbers in Greenland, and chietiy
at the "northern and southern extremities of the coast." j| Mr.
Robert Brown's account of its distribution is as follows : "This
species has been so often confounded with the Grey Seal {R.
grypus) i nd the Saddleback (P. grcenluidiciis) in dif icnt stages
and coats, that it is really very difficult to arrive at anything
like a true knowledge of its distribution. . . . On the coast
of Danish Greenland it is principally caught in the district of
Julianshaab a little time before the Klapmyds [Cystophora cris-
fata]. It is not, however, confined to South Greenland, 'j'lt is
found at the head of Baffin's Bay and up the sounds of Lan-
caster, Eclipse, &c., branching off from the latter sea. The Seals
seen by the earlier navigators being nearly always referred in

" Excure. in Newfoundland, vol. i, p. 312.
tProc. Boston See. Nat. Hist., vol. x, p. 271.
' t Sclireber's Siiugthiere, Band vii, p. 20.

$ Ross's 2d Voy., App., p. xxi. . •

II Danish Greenland, etc., p. 120.

"^M

'ym

ii'

668

ERIGNATHUS BARBATUS — BEARDED SEAL.

their accounts to either Phoca rituUna or P. grcenJandicus, it is
impossible to trace its western range ; it is, however, much rarer
in the north than in the south of Davis's Strait. Accordingly
the natives of the ft imer region are obliged to buy the skin
from the natives of the more south of \8ic] settlements, as it is
of the u .most value to them. This Seal comes with the pack-
ice round Cape Farewell, and is only found on the coast in the
spring. Unlike the other Seals, it has no atluk, but depends
on broken places in the ice ; it is generally found among loose,
broken ice and breaking-up floes."*

Mr. Kumlien (MS. notes) says, " This Seal was flrst noticed a
little to the southward of Cape Chidlj', and thence northward to
oui winter harbor, in about hit. 67° N. According to the Eski-
mo, they are the most common about Cape Mercy, Nugumeute,
and the southern Cumberland waters, where they remain all the
year, if there iS open water. They remain in Cumberland Sound
only during the time when there is open water, as they have no
atluh. On the west coast of Davis Straits they are not rare,
but are said by whalemen to diminish in numbers above lat. I'P
N. They appear to be more common on the southern shores of
the west coast of Davis Straits than on the northern, so that the
natives go southward some distance to secure the skins. We
noticed them among the i)ack-ice in Davis Straits in July and
August. . . InCumberlandSoundthey begin working nortli
ward as fast as the floe edge of the ice breaks up, arriving in
the vicinity of Annanactook about the latter days of .Tune. In
autumn they move southward as fast as the ice makes across the
sound, always keeping in open water. They are seldom fouu<l
in the smaller fjords or bays, but delight in wide expanses of
water."

Respecting its southern limit on the coast of lilurope, there
appears to be no unquestionable record of its capture south of
the "North Sea", which locality is given by Gray for various
specimens in the British Museum. It was for many years su|>
posed to inhabit the Western Islands of Scotland, and to have
occurred at other localities in the British Islands, but on further
investigation the species proved to be the Gray Seal. It is
consequently omitted from the second edition of Bell's " His-
tory of British Quadrupeds". Dr. Gray, writing in 1872, said,
" I have never seen a specimen from the coast of Great Britain ;

* Proc. ZoOl. Soc. Lond., 1868, p. 4'i4; Mau. Nat. Hist., Geol., etc., Greeu-
lond, 1875, Mam., p. 54.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

669

probably Ealichcerus yrypuH was the species taken for it."* Its
occurrence in Iceland is well attested, and, according to Robert
CoUett, it is found in small numbers along all the rocky coasts
of Norway, from the fjords of Finmark down to latitude G2°,t
where it occurs all the year. He believes it to have been for-
merly much more numerous there than it is now. Malmgren
also gives it as a rare visitor to the coast of Finmark, and as oc-
curring only late in autumn or winter. He records the c{ii)ture
of one taken near Tromso about the end of October in 18G1.
It is stated to be rare about Jan Mayen,| but of frequent occur-
rence along the ice-fringed shores of West Spitzbergen, where,
according to von Heuglin, it is found from July to September,
while Malmgren believes it may winter there. Payer gives it
as abundant at Franz- Josef Land, where tt .o and the Harp Seal
were the or, pecies observed.§ It has been frequently re-
ported as oc». ing along the Arctic coast of Europe and Asia.
Von Middendorft' believes it is this species that the Samoiides
have reported as so abundant at the mouth of the Taimyr River,
and as found on the Taimyr Sea. It doubtless not only occurs
along the Chatanga to Chatangskij Pogost, but prooably
reaches the mouth of the Chata.||

In respect to its distribution in the Xorth Pacific, Temminck
states that its skins are carried to Japan as an article of com-
merce, and that he has seen an incomi)lete one brought from
that country by Siebold.^ He does not state, however, that it
inhabits the Japan coast, as some authors have apparently im-
plied. Wagner says, " Das Leidner Museum besitzt Felle von
Sitka, aber nicht von Japan."** It has not been reported, how-
ever, as found at the Fur Seal or Prybilow Islands. There are
several specimens in the National Museum collected at Plover
Bay, on the Siberian side of Behring's Straits.

Von Schrenck states, on the authority of the natives, that it
is common on the southern shore of the Ochots Sea, in the G ulf
of Tartary, in the "Amur-Limane," and even in the Amoor
River, but adds that the old animals only come into the mouth
of the river, while the younger ones go somewhat higher up.

* Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vii, p. 3336.

t BeiuiBrkninger til Norges Pattedyrfauna, 187(5, p. 58.

t German Arctic Expedition, 1869-70, p. 62.

J New Lands within the Arctic Circle, 1877, p. 266. ' *

II See von Heuglin, Reisen uach dem Nordpolarmeer, etc., p. 58.

1[ Fauna Japonica, Mam. Marin>:, p. 2.

** Schreber's Saugthiere, vii, p. 21.

'<M '•.

W '<

■;;'i

670

ERIGNATHU8 BABBATUS — BEARDED SEAL.

He often saw its skius iu Amoor Land, and says tbey are an
article of traffic among the natives as far south as Saghalien
Island. But he appears . to have seen only the skins in the
hands of the natives, and to give its distribution wholly on their
testimony. If the limits here assigned, and the locality of
Sitka, given by Wagner, be correct, it extends much farther
south, along the shores of the North Pacific, than it does on
the coast of Europe, but in each case its habitat is bounded by
about the same isotherm.

Habits, Produots, and Hunting. — This large Seal, the
largest Phocid of the northern seas, api)ears to be nowhere
abundant, and is usually described as rather solitary, avoiding
the company of other species, and as never occurring in large
herds like the Harp Seal. Of its habits, as observed on the
Atlantic; coast of North America, little has been recorded. If
the " Square Flipper" Seal of the Newfoundland sealers be this
species, of which Mr. (])arroll has given some account, it is of
not unfrequent occurrence off the shores of that island. From
the indications Mr. Carroll gives of its size, the form of the
hind flippers (from which it appears to derive its local name),
as well as the statement that it has four mammse, seems to indi-
cate that it can be no other than the present species. As, how
ever, the Gray Seal nearly approaches it in size, and is not
enumerated by Mr. Carroll nor Professor Jukes, and apparently
is not distinguished by the sealers (although it unquestionably
occurs in Newfoundland, as attested by specimens from there
in the National Museum), it seems questionable whether the
Gray and Bearded Seals are not confounded under the name
" Square Flipper ". Since Mr. Carroll's account, however, cor-
responds in general points so well with the Bearded Seal, I
venture to give it provisionally as a part of the history of the
species. His account iu substance is as follows : The Square
Flippers are the largest Seals that are killed on the coast of
Newfoundland. They never congregate with any other Seals,
and are very scarce, not more than one hundred being taken
each sealing voyage throughout the island. Persons who live
along the northern bays, and " follow the gun " during the winter
and spring, kill a few of them. Many are seen in the Straits of
Belleisle, as well as about Saint Paul's Island, in the Gulf of
Saint Lawrence. They have their young on the ice about the 20tU
of March. They are called Square Flippers because the flippers

HABITS, PRODUCTS, AND HUNTING.

671

are "square at the top [tip?], thus differing frcm all [other]
species of Seal tjiken on the coast of Newfoundland." They
are very quiet and very fond of their young of which they have
never more than one at a time. If seen on the ice they are
.sure to be killed. The skin and fat of a male Square Flipper,
when prime, will weigh " from 7 to 10 cwt.". When in full flesh
his weight varies " from 13 to 15 cwt "; the skin and fat of the
female when prime, weighs "from 1 to 5 cwt. " ; the skin and fat
of a young square flipper, when sixteen days old, will weigh
frcm 160 to 170 pounds. "The skin of the male and female
square flipper is of a cream color, the female has four teats (no
other seal known in Newfoundland has more than two). All
seals [sic] teats protrude about one inch outside the skin whilst
the young is sucking, after which they are drawn in, so as to
prevent injury whilst the old seal is crawling on ice or rocks.
The oil rendered out of square flij^pers [sic] fat, old and young,
■when prime, is considered as pure as the best young Harp oil.
Length of an old square flipper, from head to tail, 11 to 12 feet."*

Mr. Kumlien gives the following quite full account of its
habits, as observed by him in Cumberland Gulf:

"The Ogjook, as this Seal is termed by the Cumberland Es-
kimo, delights in basking upon pieces of floating ice, and gen-
erally keeps well out at sea. I have never seen any numbo^w
together, but almost always singly. The old males do not seem
to agree well, and often have severe battles on the ice-floes
when they meet. They use the fore flippers, instead of the teeth,
in fighting. . . .

"This seal has the habit of turning a summersault when about
to dive, especially when fired at; this peculiarity, which is
not shared by any other species that I have seen, is a charac-
teristic by which it may be distinguished at a considerable
distance. During May and June they crawl out upon an ice-
floe to bask and sleep ; at such times they are easily approached
by the Eskimo in their kyacks and killed. . . . They dive
to great depths after their food, which is almost entirely Crus-
tacea and moUusks, including clams of considerable size. . . .
In July, during the moulting time, their stomachs contained
nothing but stones, some of them nearly of a quarter-pound
weight. They seem to eat nothing during the entire time of
shedding — probably six weeks. Certain it is they lose all their

* TU(? Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundlaud, together with a con-
dtiUHed History of the Island, 1873, pp. 12, 13.

-im

ir^

i.|l

?8i

i''i?

lis ' 'J ^'s

'■"f ■'.

■inl

\ft^

III

--' "I'S

672

ERIGNATHIIS BARBATUS — BEAKDEl) SEAL.

blubber, and by the niiddlc of July have notUin{? but ' white-
horse', — a tough, white, somewhat cartilaginous substance, — in
phice of blubber. At this season they sink when shot. . . .
The young are born upon pieces of floating ice, without any
covering of snow. The season of procieation is during the fore
I)art of May. After the young haAC shed their first woolly
coat (which they do in a few days), they have a very beautiful
steel-blue hair, but generally so (;louded over with irregularly
dispersed patches of white that its beauty is spoiled. . . .

"The Ogjook is of great value to the Eskimo, who prize the
skins very highly. All their harnesses, sealing lines, etc., are
made from the raw skins ; besides this, they make the soles of
their boots, and sometimes other i)ortions of their dress, from
the skin. In such localities as the whalemen do not visit, ami
the natives are obliged to construct skin boats, this seal is in
great demand. It takes fifteen skins for an ominak or skin
boat, and these skins require renewing very often. The skin
of the back and belly dries unevenly, so the Eskimo skin the
animal along both sides and dry the skin of the upper and
lower parts separately.

"It is a prevalent belief among the whalemen that the livers
of Seals, and more especially those of this species, are poison
ous; but I am inclined to rate this as imaginative; we ate the
livers of all the species we procured without any bad effects." *

The Bearded Seal appears to be a well-known inhabitant of
the coast of Norway and of the Arctic islands north of Europe.
CoUett gives it as occurring in comparatively small numbers
along the Norwegian coast, from the fjords of Finmark south
ward to latitude 02°, throughout which range it appears to he.
resident the whole year. They make short journeys to the fish
ing-grounds, a few miles off the coast, but for the most part
are found constantly at nearly the same localities. They have,
however, their favorite breeding resorts, at which they assem
ble during the breeding season from a considerable area, dis-
persing again when the breeding time is over. One of thes(i
breeding-places, and believed to be the most southern one on
the Norwegian coast, is at the northwesternmost of the islets
of the Froyen group, off" Trondhjem Fjord, to which it is sup-
posed that nearly all of the individuals found south of latitude
64° resort in the breeding season. Mr. Collett states that the

* Copied frou) Mr. Kunilieu's MS. notes, vrith slight verbal changes ; siocu
published in Ball. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 15, pp. 61-63.

HABITS, PRODUCTS, AND HUNTING

673

species is strictly polygamous, the strongest males drivin/^
away the younger; yet the number of the females appears to
be not much greater than that of the males. He states that
one remarkable difference between the individuals found at the
southern breeding stations and those living farther north 'is
the different season at which the young are born. He says this
occurs in Norway in autumn. The Seals begin to gather at
the chosen breeding-place about the middle of September, and,
as a rule, the first young are born about the end of that month.*
Pairing takes place in the water very soon after the birth of i
the young, and before the old Seals depart from the breeding-
places, which latter event occurs about the end of October.
About half of them, however, remain near the outer rocks
during winter.f

According to von Heuglin, the female gives birth to her
single olFspring in February or March, but Malmgren states
that he took a ripe foetus from the mother as late as the Slst of
May, and Kumlien says the young are bom early in May. Fa-
bricius says late in April or early in May. Carroll, as already
noted, says the young are born late in March. As will be
noticed later, the exceptional record of an autumnal breeding-
season for this species given by CoUett, on the authority of a
correspondent, suggests the possibility that the species really
observed was Halichoents grypus or the Gray Seal.ij: The earlier
breeding-time given by Carroll, for Newfoundland, may be due
to the locality being so far south.

According to Malmgren, they do not frequent open water.
As long as the inlets and bays are closed with ice it kfeeps near
openings in the ice, through which it ascends to the surface to
rest, but when the fast ice breaks up it keeps among the float-
ing ice near the coast. It does not, however, follow the ice far
out to sea, but leaves it and seeks such shores as are skirted
with drifting ice. On the coast of Spitzbergen it is rarely met
with in summer, owing to the absence of ice, but as soon as the
ice again arrives, either from the south or the north, thej* ap-
pear in the bays in great numbers. In Northeast Land, where
the inlets are covered with ice till late in August, and where,
not far from the land, are many ice-floes, they are common the
whole summer. He states that during his stay in Hinlopen

* Seo next paragraph and infra, p. 706.

t Bemterkninger til Norges Pattedyrfauna, pp. 68-60.

X See infra, p. 706.
Misc. Pub. No. 12-

-43

*' 1 'ill

674

ERIGNATFIUS BARBATIS— BEARDED SEAL.

Straits sonic Wahus-lmi iters shot about sixty of them in the
cour.so of two or three days about the beginning of August,
and that his liar|)()oners often killed them.* Von Ileuglin also
refers to its partiality for the neigiiborhood of ice, and says
that on the (;oast of West Spitzbergen he saw it oidj' in the vi-
cinity of the ghieiers that reach the sea. Among the Thousand
Islands and in the Stor-Fjord he found it very common, but
always singly or in small companies, lie states, on the author-
ity of Sparer, that in Xova Zembla it rarely apjxiars on the
northern shore of the islands, but commonly visits South
Island. He says that, although he saw it there only rarely, it
nuist be sometimes very numerous, as in the course of three
days as many as tlnee hundred have been taken by the use of
three nets.t

31almgren states that the Bearded Seal is easily killed when
it is in the sea, as it is then not shy, but often comes so stupidly
and eagerlj' about the boat as to be very easily shot. When
lying on the ice he describes it as extremely watchful, so that
it is impossible to shoot it without using a shooting-screen, such
as the Greenlanders eniploy.f Mr, KundJen, however, states
that during May and June, when they crawl out upon an ice-
floe to bask and sleep, they are easily approached by the
Esquimaux of Cumberland Sound in their kyacks and killed.
It is reported to subsist ehietly upon hirge mollusks and crus-
taceans. jNIalmgrjiu records that in the stomachs of all he ex-
amined he found large species of Crangoti and Ilippolyte {€.
boreas, iiahhtca septemcarinata, Ilippolyte polaris, II. sowerhyi,
and //. bcrrealis)., and Anonyv ampulla in abundance; occasion-
allj' small fishes [Cottus triciispis, Reinh.), and many hundreds
of the opercula of species of Buccinum and Natica olausa, as
well as shells of a large LameUaria.%

All writers, from the time of Cranz to the latest observers,
testify to its imjiortance to the Esjpiimaux and other native
tribes of the shores it frequents. Its flesh or blubber is said to
be more delicate in taste than that of any other species, ami to
be esteemed as a luxury. Its chief value, however, consists in its
skin, which, from its great thickness, is, according to Dr. llink,
" the only one considered fit for making the hunting lines of the
kayakers." Von Schrenck speaks of its being used by the na-

~ Arch, filr Natnrg., 18G4, pp. 74-75.
t Roi.son nach dom Nordpolamiccr in dom Jtihruu 1870 und 1871, p. 57.
tArch. filrNaturg., 1864, p. 77. •
^ Ibid., p. 75.

GENUS HISTlilOPHOCA.

675

tivos of Amoor Land jin«l Saglialicn Island for the same pnr-
l)oses aH ]\Ir. Kuinlien notes in respect to tbe Esiiniinanx of
Cumberland Sound. Owing to its scarcity it has no great coni-
mereial iini)ortance, though sometimes taken by the sealers of
the Spit/bergcn sealing-grounds. llink states that the whole
annual catch of this species in Greenland hardly amounts to
1,000.

Genus ITISTRIOPnOCA, Gill.

HisMophoca, Gill, Am. Nat., vii, IH7:J, 179. (Type, " I'lioca fcsciata, Sliaw,
or /'. eqiieatris, PiilluH.'')

3-3.

1-1.

5-5

Cranial characters unknown. Incisors, .,".2; C, j-'-jj M., gfj
Incisors conical, cylintlriciil, directed slightly backward. Mo-
lars, except the tirst, 2-rooted, placed somewlu.o apart, with
simple crowns directed backward. Sexual dittereuces iii color
strongly marked. Males, <lark brown, varied with narrow
bands of white. Females, light brown, with the white bauds
obsolete.

Acconling to von Schrenck, on whose authority the above
characters are given, the molar teeth, except the first, are 2-rooted,
as in Phoca and Erignathiis, but the crowns resemble those of
the corresponding teeth in IlaUchwrus, being simple and slightly
curved backward. The middle molsirs (third and fourth) and
sometimes the others, both above and below, show a minute
point or accessory cusp at the base of the principal one, both
in front of it and behind it, but this is a variable feature, not
only as respects, the number of teeth thus furnished, but in
some specimens these minute accessory cusps may be wholly
lacking. As the characters of the skull have not been as yet
either figiu'ed or described, further comparison with other gen-
eric types becomes impracticable.

The genus Ristriophoca was proi)osed for the present species
by Dr. Gill in 1873, but has not been fully characterized. Dr.
Gill's diagnosis is as follows: " The structural (and -especially
dental) charactei'S of this species, according to Von Schrenck,
indicate a generic distinction frojn all the familiar forms of the
subfamily Phocinw. The molars, except the first, are two-rooted,
as in the typical Phocinw, but in external form are simply conic,
or have rudimentary cusps, thus resembling Hnlichcerus. This
genus may be called UistriophocaP Taking into account the
peculiar pattern of coloration, ar.d the conic, double-rooted

ill

676

HISTRi'JPHOCA FA8C1ATA — RIBBON SEAL.

molars, we seem to have a type generically distinct from the
ordinary Phocce, and in accordance with this view the genus
Histriophoca is here provioionally adopted for the Phoca fasciata
of the early systematic writers.

HISTRIOPHOCA FASCIATA {Zmm.), QUI.

Ribbon Seal.

Bubbon Seal, Pennant, Ilist. Quad., Ist ed., 1781, ii 523; 3d ed., ii, 1793,

276, fig. p. 2G5.
Phoca fasciata, Zimmermann, Googr. GohcIi., iii, 1783, 277 ( = "Rubbon

Seal," Pt'iiuant).— Kkiui, An. King., 1792, 127 (the HaiiuO.— Shaw,

Gen. Zoiil., i, 1800, 2.'')7 (="Rubbon Seal," Pennant).
Phoca (Otariaf) fanciata, Riciiahdson, Zoiil. Beechey's Voyage, 18X0, 6

(^"Ribbon Seal of Pennant, Arct. Zool., ii, 105").
Phoca equeafriii, Pallas, Zoog. RoHso-Asiat., i, 1831, 111. — VoN Schrenck,

Ainur-Laude, i, 18.')9, 182, pi. ix, tig. 1-3 (animal).
Histriophoca [fasciata^. Gill, Amer. Nat., vii, 1873, 179.
Histriophoca fasciata, Scammon, Marino Mam., 1874, 140, pi. xxii, fig. 1, 2

(animal, from von Sclirenck).
Pagophilusf equestris, Gray, Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 2 (in part;

includes Phoca annellata, Radde!).
Bubbon Seal, Pennant, I. c.
BibbonSeal of Alaska, Gill, 1. c.

External Characters. — Adult male. General color, dark
brown. A narrow yellowish-white band surrounds the neck
extending forward to the middle of the head above ; another
broader yellowish-white band encircles the hinder portion of
the body, from which a branch runs forward on each side to the
shoulder, the two branches becoming confluent on the median
line of the body below, but widely separated above. In other
words, the (1) front part of the head, the (2) hind limbs, and
the y sterior fourth of the body, the (3) top of the neck and
the whole anterior half of the back, as well as (4) the fore-
limbs and a considerable area at their point of insertion, are
dark brown ; these four regions being separated by bands of
yellowish-white, of variable breadth over different regions of
the body. The brown of the anterior part of the dorsal region
also extends laterally in the form of a narrow band around the
lower part of the neck, where it expands to form a small shield-
like spot on the breast. There are also very small spots of
brown on the posterior part of the abdominal region.

Adult female. — Uniform pale grayish-yellow or grayish-brown,
with the exception of an obscure narrow transverse whitish

EXTERNAL CHARACTERS.

677

baud across tlio lower portiou of the back. The extremities
and the back are darker, with a faint indication of the dark
*' saddle "-mark seen in the male.

Youmj. — The young of both sexes are said to resemble the
adult fenjale. *

"Von Schrenck's detailed description, on which tko foregoing is
maiuiy based, is subbtantially as follows : The dark-brown of
the head, in the male, is followed by a broad dusky yellowish-
gray neck-band, which on the middle line, both above and
below, passes i*orward, but on the sides has the convexity
pointing backward. Behind this light neck-band is a broad,
long saddle-shaped patch upon the back, which, on the middle
line, runs forward in a point, but which extends itself latemlly
ill two narrow bands meeting and expanding on the breast into
a pointed spot ; posteriorly the dark dorsal patch is also pro-
longed backward and laterally, but without meeting below.
Along the sides of this dorsal area runs a broad, curved, light,
soiled yellowish-gray band, Avith the convexity upward ; these
lateral light bands become deflected downward, both anteriorly
and posteriorly, and tbrm, by their union, a light band along
the belly. Within these light bands anteriorly, on each side,
is a large oval dark-brown spot, in which are inserted the an-
terior extremities. The light ventral area encloses posteriorly
two small oval dark-brown spots, and in front of these a third
narrower and larger. Behind the dark area on the back is a
very broad dorsal cross-band of light yellowish-gray, joining
the light bands on the side of the body. Behind this light
cross-band the whole posterior part of the body, as well as on
the tail and hind limbs, is blackish-brown. As a rule the
above-described dark and light color areas are very sharply
defined. Sometimes, however, there extends from the dark
areas a smaller spot more or less isolated. According to the
same writer the color varies considerably in different individ-
uals, one of those ho describes having the dark color of a dark
grayish-black, and the light markings whitish or straw-yellow.
He also states that in the figures given by Siemaschko the
light neck-band is deflected backward from the back of the
neck to the fore-limbs, leaving the whole breast of the same
dark-brown color as the head. Besides this the dark-brown
color of the back extends, both posteriorly and anteriorly, to
the lower sides of the body, occupying the whole of the ventral
surface, with the exception of two light bands which run cross-

:. ti.l

••fli

1 itli V

i'li'S

678

HISTItlOPHOCA FASCIATA — UIBBON HKAL.

wise around the bsiso of tluitintcrioroxtroniitioH, and a soparnio
lijjfht band that crosses the hinder part of tho body. In coii-
HiM|Ucnce of the wide (U'liartnre of the patt«'rn of (toktration in
Siemaschko's llfrure from his own exiinipkH, von Schrenek is left
in th>ubt as to wliether tlie lljjure is really a true copy from
nature.

The single specimen I have examined (Nat. Mus. No. 9311, Cape
liomnnzolf, W. II. Dsdl), a flat skin, lacking the tlippcrs and
the fa(!ial portion, agrees with von Schrenck's llji^ure in resjject
to the form and size of tlie neckband, but there is a far greater
prejionderance of light color, which occupies rather more than
half the entire surface. Oidy the jiosterior sixth of the body is
blacl^ and the dark area of the back is very much more re-
stricted, and differs somewhat in outline. In this specimen
the breadth of the dark dorsal portion occui)ies siiarcely more
than one-third of the whole width of the skin, the light portion
on either side nearly equalling it in brea«lth. It widens over
the neck and sends down a lateral branch on each side, the
two meeting on the breast. It is contracted over the shoulders,
behind which it again expands, and at its posterior border
sends down a very narrow branch from the right side to the
middle of the belly; its fellow on the oppo^I^e side is nearly
obsolete, forming merely a broken chain of small dusky spots.
There is hence in this example a wide departure from the speci-
mens described by von Schrenek, while the want of syuunetry
in the two posterior branches of the dorsal spot, and the rela-
tively nearly equal amount of light and dark color, lead one
to apprehend a much wider rangi of individual variation in
coloration than von Schrenek apparently suspected, and that
after all Siemaschko's figure merely repres'ents a variation in
the opposite direction from that here indicated, or an unusual
extension of the dark color at the expense of the lighter mark-

nigs.

Size. — Von Schrenek states that this animal is reported to
sometimes attain the length of 6^ feet. He gives the length
of a full-grown male as 5 feet OJ inches (1G8 J mm.), and that of a
full-grown female as 5 feet 3 inches (1600 mm.), based on Wosnes
senski's specimens obtained in Kamtschatka, which his hunters
informed him .vere not of the largest size. In other words, it
api^ears to be a Seal of the medium size, or about as large as
Phoca yrcenlandica.

■■■ I

>. » ;

OENEKAli HISTORY.

G79

General IIistory — The first account of the present species
was published by Pennant, under the name " Jtubbon Seal," in
the first (luailo "lition of his " IIistory of (Quadrupeds," in 1781
(vol. ii, J). 523). His short description, based wholly on infor-
mation and a drawinj^ furnished by Dr. Pallas, is as follows:
"kSeal with very short line glossy bristly hair, of an uniform
color, almost black ; marked alongf the sides, and towards the
hea<l and tail, with a stripe of a i)ale yellow color, exactly
resombliufj; a rubbon laid (m it by art ; words cannot sufficiently
convey the idea, the fV"ui is therefore en}j;raven on the title of
Division III, Pinnated (Quadrupeds, from a drawinjif communi-
cated to lue by Doctor Pallas, who received it from one of the
remotest Kuril islands.

"Its si/,e is unknown, for Doctor Pallas received only the
middle part, which had been cut out of a large skin, so that no
description can be given of head, fe(^t, or tail ; a shews the
part supposed to be next to the head ; b that to the tail."*

In Pennant's Arctic; Zoology (vol. i, 1793, p. 103) there is a
shorter but in some resi)e(;ts a njore detailed aud better account,
which I also transcribe. " Kubbon Seal. With very short bristly
hair, of an uniform glossy color, almost black : the whole back
and sides comprehended within a narrow regular stripe of pale
yellow.

" It is to Dr. Pallas I owe the knowledge of this species. He
received only part of the skin, which seemed to have been the
back and sides. The length was four feet, the breadth two feet
three ; so it nnist have belonged to a large species. It was
taken off the Kuril islands." ,

The markings as represented in Pennant's figure conespond
well with those of the animal figured by von Schrenck (pres-
ently to be noticed), except that the posterior transverse por-
tion of the baud is relatively narrower than in von Schreuck's
spechnen. • •

In 1783 Pennant's Kiibbon Seal was named Phocafasciata by
Zimmermann.t Shaw, without referring to Zimmermann, and
probably without knowing that he had named the specicij,
bestowed upon it the same name seventeen years later, X and
to him the name has been almost universally attributed. The
accounts of both these authors were based entirely upon the
description given by Pennant, as above quoted, and no further

* Here quoted from the third ed. of Hist. Quod., vol. ii, 179:5, p. 277.
t Geograi>)i. Geschict., iii, 277.
tGen. Zool., vol, i, 1800, p. 257.

! !.i1{'

: Mil

680

HISTRIOPHOCA FASCIATA — RIBBON SEAL.

information respectinf; the species appeared till Pallas in 1831*
redcscribed the species from the original fragment mentioned
by Pennant, and renamed it Phoca equestris. In the meantime
the species had been uniformly relegated by authors to the list
of doubtful or inadequately described species. Pallas cites
Pennant's Rubbou Seal as a synonym of his Phoca equestris, and
also refers in his description of it to Pennant's figure, but to
neither Zimmermann nor Shaw. He says it is rare in the
Ochots Sea, but is reported to be of frequent occurrence around
the Kurile Islands. His description t adds little of importance
to the information given by Pci. uant, and apparently relates
to the same specimen.

According to von Schrenck, Hni. Wosnessenski obtained,
during his residence in Kamtschatka, the first perfect speci-
mens, embracing the old and young of both sexes, thereby es-
tablishing beyond doubt the validity of the species; but this
valuable material remained uudescribed until the appearance
of von Schrenck's work on the Mammals of Amoor Land, in
1859.J Von Schrenck himself was so fortunate as to also ob-
tain skins of this animal during his journey in Amoor Land,
and to him we are indebted for the first detailed description of
the spe(;ies, accompanied by excellent colored figures of both
sexes.§ He, however, adopted Pallas's name Phoca equestris in
preference to the very appropriate name given half a century
before by Zimmermann, and somewhat later also by Shaw, for
wholly arbitrary reasons. ||

*Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat., vol. i, 1831, p. 111.

t His doscriptiou iu full is as follows : "MagnitucUne praccedontes aequasse
vel excessisso videbatur [henco about five feot four iucbes long from th?
nose to the tail, or rather more], pellis enim jiortioe solo dorso exsecta
quatnor fere dodrantum latitudinem ct sex ad septem dodrantum longitudi-
neni habebat. Color totius bmnneus, sen fuscus, cum brnnntu tinctura,
uniformis. Pili breves, laovigati, rigidi nt in Ph. canina {^Phoca vifulina).
Insula lata alba, ut amiciss, Fetirmnt delineavit, antioe angulo versus
cervicem coiiuns, por latera introrsum arcuata, postiee transversa tiabe
connexa, totura dorsi discura includit. — Optandum, lit liaec singularis
species perfoctius iunotcscat."

t Von Schrenck alludes to a very brief and unimportant reference to the
species by Siemaschko, in a work published iu the Russian language in 1851.

$ Reisen und Forschungen in Amur-Lande, i, 18">9, pp. 182-188, pi. ix.

II Ho appears not to have known of Zimmermann's refereuLe to the spt;-
cies, but speaks of Shaw's name as "eine Bezeichnung, die jedoch gegen-
wiirtig gegon den ubrsprlinglichen, vom Entdecker selbst stammendci luid
nur durch das vcrzogerte Erscheinen der Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica spiiter
bekannt gowordenen Namen I'h, eqiwutria zurlicktreten muss." — L. c, p. 182.

■I

TSki

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

681

< :'l

As von Schrenck figured only the external characters, we
have still to regret the absence of illustrations of the skull and
dentition.

Gray, in 1866,* referred, without question, Shaw's Phocafas-
data to Phoca foetida, and also, doubtfully, the Phoca equestris
of both Pallas and von Schrenck — a rather strange proceed-
ing, in view of von Schrenck's excellent description of the
species and striking figure. In 1871,t however, he raised it to
the rank of a species, under the name ^'- PagopMlusl equestrl8^\
referring to it, however, Kadde's Phoca annellata, an entirely
different animal.

The next reference to the species I am able to find is Dr.
Gill's account,! already cited, in which he mentions two skins
in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, collected by
Mr. Dall at Cape Eomanzoff, cites von Schrenck's account of
its dental and other characters, and i)roposcs for it the generic
name Histriophoca.

Captain Scammon's account of the species,§ published in
1874, completes, so far as known to me, the wi-itten history of
the species. Captain Scammon gives a figure of the animal,
apparently copied from von Schrenck's.

Geographical Distribution. — According to Pallas, the
present species occurs around the Kurile Islands and in the
Ochots Sea. Von Schrenck states that Hr. Wosnessenski ob-
tained specimens that were killed on the eastern coast of
Kamtschatka, and that he himself iw skins of examples killed
on the southern coast of the Ochots Sea, where, however, the
species seems to be of rare occurrence. He further states that
it occurs also in the Gulf of Tartary, between the island of
Saghalien and the mainland, but apparently not to the south-
ward of that island, the southern point of which (in latitude
46° N.) he believes to be the southern limit of its distribution.
Mr. Dall secured specimens taken at Cape Eomanzoff. Captain
Scammon states, "It is found upon the coast of Alaska, bor-
dering on Behring Sea, and the natives of Ounalaska recog-
nize it as an occasional visitor to the Aleutian Islands

The Eussian traders, who formerly visited Cape Eomanzoff,

•Cat. Seals and Whales, p. 23.
t Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, p. 2.
t Amer. Nat., vol. vii, 1873, pp. 178, 179.
( Marino Maiu., 1874, p. 140, pi. xxi.

■ m

682

GENUS HALICHCEUUS.

from St. Michael's, Norton Sound, frequently brought back the
skins of the male Histriophoca, which were used for covering
trunlvs and for other ornamental purposes." This writer also
states that he "observed a herd of Seals upon the beaches at
Point lleyes, California," in April, 1852, which, "without close
examination, answered to the description given by Gill " of the
present species. Probably, liowe.'cr, a "close examination"
would have shown them to be different, as no examples are yet
known from the Californian coast, and the locality is far beyond
the probable limits of its liabitat. Its known range may,
therefore, be given as Behring's Sea southward — on the Amer-
ican coast to the Aleutian Islands, and on the Asiatic coast
to the Iceland of Saghalien.

Habits. — Almost nothing appears to have been as yet
recorded respecting the habits of the Eibbon Seal. Von
Schrenck gives us no information of importance, and wo
search equally in vain for information elsewliere. AW of the
four specimens obtained by Wosnessenski were taken on the
eastern coast of Kamtschatka, at tlie mouth of the Kamt-
schatka Kiver, about the end of ^Nlarch. According to the re-
ports of hunters, it very rarely apijears at this locality so early
in the season, being not often met with there before the early
part of May. The natives use its skins, in common with those
of other species, for covering their snow-shoes.

Genus HALICIKERUS, Nilsson.

HuUchacrna, Nilsson, "Fatui. Skand., i, 1820, 377." Type, llalicharua grisem,

Nils8on=:P/i()Cfl //n/piw*, Fabricins.
Pma, Gill (ex "Scopoli, 1777 "), Joliuson's New Univ. Cycl., iii, 1877, 12v2G

(iKit PttSflf, Scopoli, which was based on Phoca fwlida).

Dental formula as in Phoca. Molars conical, as broad as long,
with very small accessory cusps when young, all single-rooted,
except the last lower and two last upper ones. Facial portion
of the skull greatly developed, forming nearly half the length
of the skull, and very broad — broader at the base of the zygo-
matic process of the maxillary than the brain-case. Interorbital
bridge thick, high; orbital fossa; large ; brain-case very smiill,
forming less than one-third of the length of the skull, instead
of nearly one-half, as in Phoca, Erignathits, Cystophora, etc.
Strongly developed sagittal and occipital crests in old age in
the males.

THE "GENUS PUSA" OP SCOPOLI.

683

HaUchcenis forms (except possibly Monachm) the most strongly
marked generic type among the Pboeinw, and in view of the
striking peculiarities of the skull it is not surprising that Dr. J.
E. Gray should have allotted it a subfamily (or "tribal") rank,*
but why he should have associated it with the Walrusses seems
hard to co iceive. While the dental formula is the same as in the
other genera of Phocinw, the teeth depart widely in their simple
conical cylindrical form from what is met with in the other genera,
as well as in being mostly single-rooted. Tlie proportions of
the skull are almost the reverse of what is met with in the other
genera. The preorbital portion forms nearly half the length of
the skull, and has a proportion.ally remarkable breadth, the
width of the skull at the base of the zygomatic process of
the maxillary considerably exceeding the greatest width of the
brain-case, instead of being only about half as wide, as is the
case in Phoca. The brain-case is <lisproportiona4^ely small, be-
ing scarcely longer than in Phoca ffroenlandica or P. vitulhia,
although the total length of the skull is one-third greater, while ^
the breadth of the brain-case is actually less ! The opening of
the anterior nares is simply immense, in comi)arison with any
other representative of tlie subfamily Phoeiiuv, being even larger
than in Cystophora, The interorbital region, correlatively with
the nasal passages, is also greatly thickened. In old age, at
least in the males, the sagittal crest is greatly developed (15 mm.
high in a specimen before me), as are also the occipital indges.
The postorbital region thus strikingly recalls the highly devel-
oped crests of the Otaries. In respect to the general skeleton
I am unable to speak, my material being limited to two skulls
and a few skins. .

ji : i;

(jrENERAL HISTORY AND DISCUSSION OF THE "GENUS

Pus A" OP ScoPOLi. — The genus Ilalicheerus, distinguished by
Nilsson in 1820, has been until recently without a synonym.
In 1S77, however, Dr. Gill revived the name Pusai of Scopoli,

'Snppl. Ciit. Seals and WhaloH, 1871, p. W.

t Conceniinjj; tht^ etymology, sif^iiififafloii, and oarly nsc of this sinjjnlar
word tlio loll()\vin<5 may be of interest. According to Honttnyn (Natnnr-
lyke Historie, etc., Deel i, Stale ii, 17G1, p. If)) ^nd Miillcr (Natursysteni,
Tlieil i, 1773, p. I'Ji)) Pum is simply tlio Greenlandic word for Seal. The
tirst nse of the word by European authors seems to have been by Andt^rson
(174()), and soon after L., Cranz, who, however, spoiled it I'ua, and gave it
as the Groeidaudic equivalent of the Latin Phoca (Historio von Gdoenl.,

684

GENUS HALICHOERUS.

1777,* supposing it to have been based on tlie Phoca grypus
of Fabricius. Dr. Gill does not appear to have anywhere given
reasons for this interpretation. In Johnson's "Cyclopedia," as
above cited, he simply calls the Gray Seal " Piisa {Haliehcerus)
grypus ^\ which is doubtless to be interpreted as Pusa {=IIaU-
choerun) grypus. xJr. Cones, however, has had occasion to con-
sider Pusa in relation to its use by Oken, in 1810, as a generic
designation for the Sea Otter. In referring to this point Dr. Cones
observes: "PMsa had, however, already been used by another
writer in connection with a genus of Seals now commonly
known as Halichoerus, but in such a peculiar way as to raise
one of those technical questions of synonymy which authors
interpret differently, in absence of fixed rule. Scopoli based
his Pusa upon a figure of Salomon [?c//ePhilipp Ludwig Statius]
Midler's, I'ecognizable with certiiinty as Halichoerus, and gave
characters utterly irreconcilable with those of this animal.
This is the whole case. Now it may be argued that there being
no such animal whatever as Scopoli says his Pitsa was, his name
drops out of the system, and Pusa of Oken, virtually an en-
tirely new term, is tenable for something else, namelj^ for the
Sea Otter. On the other hand, Scopoli's quotations show ex-

1765, p. 161). The same form of the word is used by Schreber (Siingth.,
Theil iii, p. 285). Erxleben (Syst. Reg. Auiin., 1777, p. 586) gives /'«rse ami
Kassigiak as the Greeulandic names of Phoca ritulhia. Fabricius, in 17U(l
(Skrivter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet, Bd. i, Hefte 1, 1790, p. 90 aud foot-
note 150), gives Piiirae in his text as one of the Greenlaudic names of flie
Harp Seal, and in a footnote gives a further account of the word. He
says : Pua, as written by Cranz, ami after him by Schreber, is erroneous,
this word meaning a hing. But Puac, or Pdese, as Professor Glahn (Anmjcr-
kninger til Cranzes Hist., p. 150) corrected it, is not wholly right. Like-
wise incorrect is Anderson's Pusa in his " Efterr. om Strut-Davis, ^ LV". It
is from hero that Scopoli learned the name Pusa as Ik; has used it for his
supposed new genus of animals, which, however, is nothing more than a
species of Seal (see Boschiift. Berl. Ges. Naturs., IV, B., p. 464).

It thus appears that the name Pusa, with its various orthographic forms,
was originally simply n generic term for Seals in general, the Greenlaudic
equivalent of the Latin Phoca, the English Seal, etc. In view of this is it
improbable that the pigeon-term ^' Pussy," said to be conmionly employed
by the northern sailors and sealers of various nationalities for j'oung Seals
in the white coat, may not be a corruption of the Greenlaudic Pusal

* See Johnson's New Universal Cyclopedia, vol. iii, 1877, p. 1226. He
also employed the name in the same sense in 1876 in his anonymous "List
of the Principal Useful or Injurious Mammals" of North America. For an
account of the last-named publication see ante&, p. 22.

THE "genus PUSA"

OF SCOPOLI.

685

actly what he meant, in spite of his inept diagnosis; his name
Ptisa therefore liolds, and cannot be subsequently used by
Oken in a different connection."*

An examination of the case, however, shows that Miiller's
plate is not " recofjjnizable with certainty" as that of any par-
ticuhir species of Seal. Scopoli's diagnosis is simply an ab-
surdity, as the subjoined transcript t sufficiently shows, his
reference to Miiller's description and plate affording the only
real basis lor his genus Ptisa. As already stated, the figure
cannot be i)ositively referred to any particular species of Seal.
The description given by Miillerf records few characters that
are not applicable to any species of Earless Seal. Those which
are not thus applicable appear to relate to Phoca grypm, Fa-
bricius, and I so at first interpreted the description, but later I
found it necessary to go further back in the history of the sub-
ject. The plates of Miiller's work, so far as the mammals are
concerned, pro\e on collation to be very close copies of those
given by Houttuyn (with the exception of three that appear to
be here for the first time published) twelve years earlier, if, in-
deed, some of them were not actually printed from the same
etchings. Miiller says (1. c, p. 201), " Der Professor Albinusiu
Leiden zergliederte den 24. Februar, 1748. in Gegenwart des
Ilerrn Houttuyns einen Seehund, welcher Tab. XI. fig. 0. ab-

* Fur-beariiig Animals, 1877, p. 3:J7.

t " PVSA. Scop. Pedes antici unguiciilati, postici eonnati in piniiam sex-
loltain, ad qiionim origincm snperne pxit pinna lanceolata, horizontalis.
Dcntes ineisores qiiatnor, canini supra sex, infra quatuor. Auricula) uul-
lio. Pili brcvea.

"Dcscriptioncni & iconom dedit CI. Mt^LLKUVS S. N. Tom. I. Tab. XI. fig.
G." — Inlrodrclio ad HiHioriam Xatvralem muleim Ccnira Lapidvm, Plantarrm, vt
Animalirm hactenvs detecta," etc., 1777, p. 490, genus 43:^. For this tran-
script I am indebted to Dr. Edward J. Nolan, secretary of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Pliiladi^lphia, the library of this Academy containing
the only copy of the work known to me as existing in this country. (Since
the above was written a copy of Scopoli's above-named work has been re-
ceived at the library of Harvard College.)

tDes Ritters Carl von Linnd Kouiglich Schwodischen Leibarztes, &c.,
•fee, vollstilndiges Natursystem nacli der zwiilften lateinischen Ausgabe
and nach Anleitung des hoUiindisciien Honttuynischen Werks mit einer
ausriihrlichen Erkliirung ausgefertiget %on Philipp Ludwig Statins Miiller
Prof, der Naturgeschichte zu Erlang und Mitglied der Rom. Kais. Akademie
der Naturforscher, «&c. Erster Theil. Von den siingonden Thieren. Mit 32
Kupfern. Ntirnbnrg, bey Gabriel Nicolaus Raspe, 1773. Eino andere Art
einos Seehundes, pp. 201, 20i, pi. xi, lig. G.

i . K

:i.

686

GENUS IIALICIIGERUS.

gcbildert ist." . . . KefeiTing now to Ilouttuyii,* we find this
statement: "i'^/V/. (>, [pi. xij is die van een Zee-IIond, welken de
Ilooffgeleerde lleer Aluinus, in 't Jaar 1748, «len24 February,
te Leiden, op de Vertoonplaats der Ontleedkunde, in niyn by-
zyn heeft laaten openen" (1. e., p. 1(J). Later (1. e., pp. 28, 29)
he {^ive.s a de.serii)tion of the speeinien here referred to as dis-
sected in his presence by Professor Albinus, where he says,
"De Ileer Albinus heeft in den Zeellond, hier voor in Fig. G
["pi. xi, tig. 0," ill the margin] afgebeeld, onder anderen, het
volgende oi)geineckt," citing at this point, in a footnote, "J.)t-
not. Acad. lAhr. Ill, Caj). XV." Before turning to Albinus's
account it may be well to state that Miiller's and Houttuyn's
l^lates here cited are identical, even to the notation, and that
Miiller's description is merely a slightly abridged translation of
Houttuyn's account.t

On referring to Albinus, we find not only a very full and
lucid account of the external and some other characters of the
specimen Houttuyn saw him dissect, but also the original of
both Houttuyn's and Miillei-'s ligures ! Albinus's figure ditt'ers
from the others only in being much more finely executed. But
besides the figure copied by Houttuyn, Albinus gives several
detail figures, wliich demonstrate that the specimen could not
have been JIalichcerus grypus. Albinus's description shows him
to have been not only one of the most accomplished anatomists

* Natuinlykc HiHtoric of uitvociigcs Bcschryviiif; dcr Dioren, Plauteu, eu
Miucniiiloii, Volgens liet Sameuatcl vau tleii HetT Liuiiiuiis. Mot naanwkeu-
rigo Afbeoldiiigcu. Eersto Duels, Tweedo Stnk. Vervolg der Zoogeude Die-
reu. T« Aiustcidani. By V. Houttuyn, M D CC LXI.

t Since writing tli(> abov(! I have met with a ret'erenco to Scopoli's Pusa
by Hcnnann, in liis (Elaborate account of the Monk Seal of the Meditei-
raii 111, in wliich he criticises severely Scspoli's absurd diagnosis, and sug-
gests exidanations of some of Scopoli's erroneous characters. As Hermann
(Beschilftigungen der Berlinischen Gesellschaft Naturlbrscheudcr Freunde,
4 Baud, 1779, p. 4G4, footnote) intimates, his " Pedes .... postici
counati in pinnam sexlobam" is based on a very stupid misunderstanding
of Miiller's figure, in which only the u])per edge of the left hind Hipper is
seen above the right one. Although the shading renders the figure per-
fectly intelligible, Scopoli evidently counted this upper edge of the left
hind flipper as the sixth lobo of a single appeudag«), the whole forming his
six-lobed " pinna ". If we m.ay suppose the transposition of two words
("incisores" and "canini") by typographical error in Scoiioli's dental for-
mula, the rendering would be correct, namely, Dentes canini quatuor, inci-
aorea supra sex, infra quatuor. But this wo fear is lenient judgment, al-
though it would seem that Scopoli must have known better than to delib-
erately ascribe ten caninea to any mammal.

'■'itr'i.

THE "genus PUSA" OF SCOPOLI.

687

of lii.s time, but .a well-trained observer ; his de.s.ription alone
would show beyond doubt that the species was not JIalivhcerufi.
Houttuyn's account seems to have been in part based on that
of Albinns, but includes statements that lead one to sujipo'^e it
may have been in ])art based on his own original notes. To
show that the si)ecies was not Halichdcriis grypus, but beyond
doubt Pliova /(jctida, I quote i)ortions of the descri])tion given
by Albiinis: * "Delecta ad me est phoca, capta in vicino mari,
[North Sea] longa pedes sex & dimidium, ab ore ad extremos
pedes postiores uscpie: ex (pio reliqnae dimensiones in figura
subjecta («) invenientur ; in quo forma bestiae cum cura expressa.
Tenter autem plenior, eo <piod gravida erat, embryonem con-
tinens longitudinis pedalis. . . . Labium superius ab utraque
parte nasi in magnum globum modice protuberans ; in quibus
pilorum species, similitudine felis, quadrupe«lnm(jue aliarum
multarum. . . . Latiores quam crassiores, ab utraque parte
plani, marginibus rotundis. Per margiiuim longitudinem veluti
serrati, eminentiis ovatis per siiuis lunatos distiuctis. Respond-
ent margines sibi iuvicem, sinus sinibus emineutiae eminentiis :
itaquetaiKjuam per intervallaconstricti,quadam nodorum inter-
mediis locis specie. A principio nuirgines recti. . . . Dentes
in maxilla superiore sex coutinui in parte priore, (luorum medii
quatuor minores. Inde, sed modico interjecto intervallo, quod
canini inferiores subeaut, canini, adunci, maximi omnium.
Post hos in lateribus maxillares ab utraque i)arte quinque,
parvi, veluti tricuspides, mucrone medio majore. Infra maxil-
laies totidem, & canini, sed primores tJiutummodo quatuor,
ostendentibus praesepiolis, e quibus excussi fuerant. . . .
In ventre post umbilicum mammarum notae geminae, foramina
referentes, extremi digiti auricularis capacia. . . . Pili,
(juibus corium tectum, breves, tenues, laeves, h capite direct!
ad caudam, pedesq;ie extremos. . . . Color lis ad fulvum
vergeus, maculis fusci^ toto corpore crobris. In ventre & pec-
tore color pallidior. Cauda & pedes postici toti fusci, sine
maculis, praeterquam ad digitorum exortum, ubi in exteriore
parte maculae fulvae, parvae, paucaeque. Fusci quoque pedes
antici, sed tamen oxtrinsecus aliquantum maculosiores. Omnes
ex interiore parte sine maculis fusci, pilis moUioribus.

* li. S. Albini Academicarum Aunotationum Liber Tortius. Continot aiia-
tomica, physioloKica, pathologica, zoographica. Leiclae. Apud J. & H.
Verbeek, Bibliopolas. cioiocci<vi [1756]. Caput XV. De jj/toca. Liber
iii, pp. 04-71.

I' !■

m >

.ill

688

GENUS HALICHOSRUS.

"Embryo masculu.s, pilosus quidem, sed tam subtiliter, ut
facile existimaretur dopili^. Color i)allidior, uec uisi in dorso
inaculosus. Jam specjtabilis mv .^tax, & superciliis rcspondeutes
sylvulae. Digiti pedum distincti. Ungues visendi ..."
(i. c, pp. G4-71).

The plate (pi. vi, Libr. iii) accompanying Albinus's memoir
gives (lig. 1) a side view of the animal; a half trout view (flg.
2) of the head, with the mouth wide-open, displaying the den-
tition ; a view (flg. 3) of the posterior end of the body from
below, showing the genital oi)eniug, the tail, and hind tiippers ;
a diagram (flg. 4) of the genito-anal oriflce ; a claw (fig. 5) of
one of the anterior digits, and (fig. 0) one of the mystacial
bristles of natural size. Even in the large figure the tricuspid
character of the molar teeth is seen, while in the enlarged view
of the head this is still more distinctly shown. In this the
five molars, both above and below, of the right side, are repre-
sented as small, distinctly three-pointed, the middle point the
longest, while the teeth are separated by slight intervals, the
dentition thus in every respect agreeing unmisttakably with
that of Phoca J'oetida. The large figure shows also the first
claw of the fore limb to be the largest, another distinctive char-
acter of Phoca foetida. It consequently follows that if Pusa is
tenable in a generic sense it must be held for Phoca fcetida, in
place of Pagumyn of nuu;h later date, by those who would, gen-
erically, separate Phoca fvetida from the other Seals. The con-
dition of the foetus also points to Phoca foetida, which has its
young earlj' in March.

Ilouttuyn's descri]>tion, and consequently Miiller's, to which
Scopoli refers, is merely a loose abridged version of that given
by Albinus, in which they omit to state that the length given
includes the outstretched Itind flippers. They also describe the
molar teeth simply as being pretty sharp ("de Kiezen zelfs
eenigermaate scherp," Uouttuyn ; "die Backenzahne ziemlich
scharf," Mdller), and speak of the f<Btus as being nearly naked
("en was nog byna kaal," Hoiittiiyn; " fast kahl," Miiller), but
in no other point is there any noteworthy discrepancy. Albi-
nus's account of the foetus shows it to h.ave been neaily mature,
and the date of the dissection being given by Houttuyn as the
24th of February, is, as silready noted, further proof that the
species was not Maliohoerus gryptin.

It is barely possible that the specimen figured and described
may have been Phoca groenlandica ; the large size alone favors

HALICIKERUS ORYPT'S — GRAY SEAL.

(189

this view, but if tlic iuiiiii.il were nieaaured uloii^ the <!urvjituie
of the body instead of in a .strai}>ht line between the two extreni
ities, the dimensions j;iven wonhl not be too lar;;e for a full-
jjrown female V.fwtUUi. The lij;ures sho\v it could not have
been Phoca ritiilina, while HaUcha'nis (/rypun is entirely out of
the question ; for the phrase " parvi, veluti tricuspides, mu-
crone medio major*^ " cannot be applied to the large, corneal,
single-pointed molars of Halichmrus, even if we had not the
figures to show the small size and tricuspid character of the
teeth.

:n':

HALICHGBKUS GEYPUS (.Fabridus) NiUson.
Gray Seal.

i Grd -'Ml, Linn6, Fauna Suecica, 1746, 4.— Cneiff, " Svonska Vid. Acad.
Haudl., xix. 1757, 171."

Ut-Selur, Wetrar-Selur, Olafsen, Reiso durcb Island, i, 1774, 260, 281.

Der Graue Seekalh, Kneiff, Abbandl. Kiingl. Seliwed. Akad. Wissen., xix,
1759, 171.

Phoca grypuH, Fabuicius, Skriv. af Naturh.-Sclsk., i, 2, 1791, 167, pi. xiii,
lig. 4 (skull). — Hallguimsson, Kr0yor'8 Naturh.-Tidsskrift, ii,
1838-'39, 91 (Iceland).

Halichcerus grypux, NiLssoN, "Konj^l. Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockholm. 1837,

»"; Arch, fiir Naturg., 1841, 318; "Ilium. Fig. till Skand. Faun.,

ii, 1H37, pi. xxxiv; text, 1840, i, 20"; Skand. Fauna, Daggdjuren,
1847, 299.— Wagner, Schrober's Siiugtb., vii, 1846, 12.— Schinz,
Synop, Mam., i, 1844, 483.— Grav, Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, 30,
fig. 10; Cat. St ala and Whales, 1866, 34, flg. — ; Zoologist, 1872,
3333, 3335; Hand-List of Seals, 1874, 9, fig. 4, pi. vii (skull, juv.).—
HoBNSCMi'CH and Schilling, Arch. furNaturg., 1851, 21. — Giebel,
Siiugeth., 1855, 133.— Blasius, Naturg. Sliugeth. Deutschl., 1857,
256, figg. 142-144.— NORDMANN, Vid. Medd. f. d.natur. Foren., 1860
(1861), 307.— Malmgren, Ofv. af Kongl. Vot. Akad. Stockh., 1863,
135; Arch, flir Naturg., 1864, 74.—" Holmgren, Skand. Daggdjuren,
1865, 220, fig."— Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 1866, 12.— Brown, Proc.
Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, 340, 426; Man. Nat. Hist., Geol., etc.. Green-
land. Mam., 1875, 54.— Turner, Journ. Anjit. and Phys., iv, 1870,
270 (coast of Scotland) ; ibid., vii, 1873, 273 (abnormal dentition) ;
Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb., xxvii, 275. — Litjjeborg, Fauna ofver
Sveriges och Norgos Ryggratlsjur, 1874, 709. — Van Beneden, Ann.
du Mus. d'Hist. Na-. du Bolgiqne, i, 1877, 18 (geogr. distr.).

Ptisa {Ilalichwriix) grtipus, Gill, Johnson's New Univ. Cvcl, iii, 1877, 1226.

Phooa gryphua, Lichtknstein, Abhand. d. Berlin Akad., 1822-23 ( 1825), Phys.
Kl., 1.— Fischer, Syn. Mam., 1829, 239.— Macgillivrav, Brit.
Quad., 1838, 214.— Blainvillb, Ostdogr., Phoca, 1840-1851, pi. ix
(dentition).

Misc. Pub. No. 12 44

690

IIALICHCERUS ORYPUS GUAY SEAL.

IlalivhuriiH t/rjuilutH, Wma. TriniH. Uoy. IiIhIi Aciul., xviii, IrttM, H<(, pi. i
(iiniitiiil, fciiiali' ami two yoiiML;). |il. ii (.skull, t'riiiuli<), pi. iii (lower
.jaw ami tn-tli).— HlM.i,, Brit. Quad., 1KI7, ',>7H (lijrjr. hUuII ami aiii-
mah; ilml., IH7I, 'JtW.— KKiNUAiuvr, Krv4yt'i'« Naturliist.-Ti'l.s.skr.,
iv, jr-j:!, :U;i; Isis, ls4r,. 7(»-.'.— Rkkks. Zodlofiist, HTl, 'iMD (New-
Itiiimllaiid). — (iitAY, Ann. and Maf,'. \a(. lli.sl., 4tli mT., ix, 1872,
',\2.i ((H'cnrifncr in IJril. Isl.)! i''id., xiv, H7I, Hi! (Cornwall). —
Mai.m, (!ot<'l(oij;s ocli Hohnsliins Fauna K'yj;j;r;iil>inrcn, IH77, 14.'>.

Jlolichii run tirix< iin, Nilnson, Skand. Faun., i, IH-JO, :{77. — lIoUNscin'cii, Isis,
l^'-M. -^lit.-Lrssox. Man. dc Mam., 1H-J7. '^'Ori.— IfAMii/rox, Amidiili.
L'ariiiv., IKi't, 171, pi. x.— Sr.uiY, Ann. Nat. Mist., vi, 1841, HVi
(I'arn Islands).

I'liixd hiiliiliiiriis, TiiiKNKMANN, " Rfisc in Xordcn Furopa's, 1, 18"24, 142."

I'hoid sri)i)iiHfi>lii, Ti\i\:sKM\ss, " Rcisc in Noi'di'ii Furopa's, i, 1824, 5!(, pi.
V (iidull malt')." (Iceland.)— FlscHKli, Syu. Mam., lS21t. 2117 (from
Thicncmann and Lt'sson).

VuH(tvvphi(UiH mviiiiHroliis, LoHson, iian. de Mam., 1820, IW) { = Phoca acopii-
Vicitla, 'riiit'iicmann).

Pliixii lliiiiiiiiiniini. Fi'SHon, Hict. clus.s. d'llist. Nat,, xiii, 1^28, 414 {=:Phora
snipiiliciild, 'riiicncmanu).

JIiilirlKiriiH mdcrorhn licit i(>i, Hoi!\scin;cii and .Scirit.MNG, Ardi. f'iir Natnr-
^a-sch., 18.-)I, 22.

HuUcharitH jiarlnirlujnihuH, lIouNsciiucH and Schilling, AitIi. fiir Natur-
gmli., 18.^)1, 22.

Phoca barhata, Fdmoxstoxk, Vi(>w of tlic Zotland Islands, ii, 1809, 21)4. —
Ski.hy, Zoiiloj;. .Journ., ii, 1826, 4().'>. — Fleming, Hist. Brit. Anim.,
1828, 18.— .Jenyn.s, Brit. Vt-rt., 1^3.'), 1(5.— Macgillivhay, Brit.
Quad., 1838, 212 (in part). — Ha.milton, Ampliib. Carflivoru, 183!»,
14.'), jd. "3", iv (in part only — the bioijraphical mattt'r nlatinj? to
British localitios).— Bi:ll, Hist. Brit. Quad., 1837, 274 (the Briti.sh
iTfcnMicfs only).

Seal from thv Smth Senn, Home, I'hil. Trans., 1822, pi. xxvii (skull).

Gray Sial, Kn<;Iish ; (Iraue Seclniiid, (Jcrman ; Gni Sifil, (iru shiil, .Swodish;
Kriimniii((ic de .s'«7, Danish ; Tapvaht, Hchridian ; llaaf-finh, Orca-
dian ; t'l-Heliir, frc/rrtr-SV/wr, Icelandic.

External Characters. — Color of tlie sultilLs .silver-gray,
sishgray, or (lusky-gray, with ob.s<!urely defined spotvS of dusky
or bliicki.sli, the general color varying in ditferent individuals
from nearly tuiiforin silvery, or yellowi.sh-white, to dusky or even
black, the lighter examples with or without blackish spots.
The young iire at first white or yellowish-white, but soou be-
come dingy -yellow, blotched irregularly with blackish-gray,
and later ac(iuire still darker tints. The pelage in the young
is soft and woolly, in the adults short and rigid and rather
sparse, the hairs llattened, adpressed, often recurved at the
tips. The mystacial bristles are abundant, large, stiff, flat-
tened, aiid waved or crenulated on both margins. Fore feet

EXTERNAL CHARACTERS.

691

with the first imd socoinl toi^s h)n};:est and snbeqnal ; liiiul feet
deeply I'luarginatt', tlie outer toes Ibrininfj long hippets; nails
of all tlu' <lijj;its well dev«'loped, but those of the fore feet nuieh
larj-fr than those of the hind feet. Lenjjth of Ihe adidt male
about S fcrt, rarely fe<>t; of the. adult female, about ('i\ to 7
feet. Females Hiuuller aud lighter colored than the males.

A specimen in the National Museum, probably an adult male,
from Sable Island, is silvery-gray, with spots of black aud
white, the latter confined mainly to the sides of the body and

6f)2

IIALICHCEKUB GUYriJS — (IRAY SEAL.

neck. A ft^inalo from Sealiind is wliiHsh-jyriiy, Avith larpo ob-
8cur« spots of darker and touches of dusky. Mr. Ball says
that the color varies jjreatly in tliti'erent individuals, and that
of the many specimens he liad seen he did not remend)er "that
any two were pre<!isely similar". He describes an adult female
as appeariniuf of a uniform silvery-jjray when seen from the
front, but whea viewed from the rear seemed of a sooty-brown
color, while the spots or blot(!hes were only <listin(5tly visibh»
from a side view. lie says, " The very young females are {gen-
erally of a dull yellowish white, with rather lonjf hair, wiiich
falls ott" in aoout six weeks after birth, and gives i)lace to a
shorter and more shining coat of a warm, dingy yellow, va
riously blotched with blackish gray; the whole becoming grad-
ually more dull, the blotching more indistinct, an<l a general
dark shade spreading on the back as the animals advance in
age." He describes a young male which " has long yellowish
hair slightly tinged with brownish black on the back ; is black
on the nose, chin, and cheeks, and on the palms f the fore-
feet."* He gives the length of a skeleton of "a very aged
female" as "seven feet two inches ".t Selby, who observed
the species at the Farn Islands, gives the length of the full-
grown male as eight feet and the color as dark gray, or nearly
black, and says the female is smaller and greenish-white,
sparsely spotted with darker ; the young as yellowish-white,
changing to gray at the first moult. | Hallgrimsson makes the
same observa " "s in relation to the Utselur of Iceland, which
he identifle' he Phoca grypus of Fabricius, stating that

the mal<^ ; only larger than the females, but are black-

ish-gr sometimes wholly black, while the females are

lightei jred ; and adds that the new-born young are covered
with a white woolly coat.§ Nilsson describes a younf female,
about four feet long, taken in August, as silver-gray marbled
or irregularly spotted above, on the sides and on the limbs
with black, most numerously on the sides and limbs; below
white, with scattered spots of black. .Another young female,
about three and a half feet long, killed in July, as pale ash-
gray above, varied with blackish or dusky si>ot8; the sides,
Ijjnbs, and under parts white. Another young female, about

* Trans. Key. Irish Acad., vol. xviii, 18:17, p. 90.
tlJeJl'8 Hist. Brit. Quad., IHIJT, p. 283.
f Ann. Nat. Hist., vol. vi, 1841, p. — .
} Isis, 1841, p. 291.

^'^.Ii'

KXTERNAL CHARACTERS.

693

four luul a liiilf t\'ot loiifj, kilk'd .Irly 20, was dark-gray above,
aloiifj the back >still «lark«'r or blackish-f;ray, and paler on the
Kides; back and sides with irrej,'uhir ipots of bhiek of various
«i/es; nose and limbs bro\vnish-}^ra>, unspotted.*

IO(bnonstonet ifives the weijfht of this seal as "45 stone of
14 ]iounds each" (= 0.'5() pounds), an«l its length as "10 to 12
feet."

Ski'ij.. — The two skulls before nio indicate great variations
resulting from age, (\specially in the thickening of the bones
and the development of heavy sagittal and occipital crests.
The ohl skull (No. 4717, Nat. iMus., Sable Isl., N. S.), is pre-
sumably that of a very old male, and dift'ers from any which I
have seen ligure<l in its larg(^ size and greatly produced crests.
The teeth in the young, es]»ecii.lly in the lower jaw, J have
slight but distinct accessory cusps, which beconu' wholly ob-
literated later in life. In the old skull already mentioned the
crowns are much worn, and the roots are verj' thick and strong.
The strongly marked distinctive features of the skull have
already been noticed {antm, p. 083). In all jivobability the sex-
ual ditierences are strongly marked, especially in weaker struc-
ture and slighter crests in the female. § To judge by Ball's fig-
ure (1. c, pi. ii) of the skull said to be that of a very aged female,
they may be wholly lacking. I subjoin the following measure-
ments of the two above-mentioned skulls:

•Apiul Wagner, Schrebcr'N Siiugthiere, Band vii, 1846, pp. 15, 16.

tA view of the ancient and present state of the Zetland Islands, etc., vol.
ii, 1809, p. 294.

t See Ball, Trane, ioy. Irish Acad., xviii, pi. iii.

$ I regret especially in this connection my inability to consult Homschuch
and Schilling's " Kurzo Notizen liber die in der Ostsce Yorkommenden Aiten
der Gattung Haliohoerus, Nilsson." Greilswald, 1850.

■ i, ,

ciM

694

HALICH(ERUS GRYPUS — GRAY SEAL.

•ii«f jQiliOi JO qiSnai

■aeeo-ntBiq jo ippiM jsajBOJO

I ^

t- l>

iH N

•oswo-niBjq ,}0 qjSnai

•QBiinq jCjo^ipnn ^8 Ui^is J<» 'iHSjotl 'isoinasQ

■Xl3Hj3AeaiM^ 'aajiin jou9;nu jo q^peojg;

•j£nB0ii)a9A 'S9JBa ,ioi.i9:)av jo q'^poajg

'^{saiaAsniM:; 'eajea jou9)80(I jo q uoiq
•^n^3i!)i.)A 'saJBU Joi.i9^8od JO qjpna.ig;

•^n^ijqio.ia^ni nnis JO q^psajq ;sBOi

I
I

'sanfnBO :jb umis jo qjpBaag;

•ajn^ns i^jBinxtini-ojnojj ^b q^peajq 'sonoq ibbb^

•il.iopajttB qjp«9jq 'sauoq jbbbjj^

•qiSn9i '89noq it sbu

•aBnT^*"" JO pna ao}i9^Bod pt u.o\Sai xBjBisd jo q^pi^iv.

■QJIliXBta JO j9pjoq jBioaAiB JO q'jSna'x

•jinmBq pio3^a9jd
JO pn9 o^ oin^ns jSaenT^^ni-anqBd tnojj 90tre}8t(j

'8B99oid p{onaiS
o^ ajin^onua^ni jo aSpa .Toua:)a8 tnojj aonwjsiQ;

'Bniio!(tpnB 8n!)Bani
oj ssin^Btoia'^ai jo a3p9 jo;ia^irB tno^ aanc^^efQ

'jQIotn 'imi JO 93p9 jdpa;q
o^ fflnT^BtDja^^in JO aSpa joua^iro vaoxf aanv^eiQ

'tpinraq pioS^eid jo
pii9 o^ esinx^ci'O^i'! i^ 93pa jopa^nn mo,^ aanv^etQ

■■aqoiB 0\%vvao9&z 'ya q^pvaaq :^8a:(«aj{)

■fiaeeeoojd p{0}SBui pi q:;,pBajg:

•qiSnai

S ^

•X9g

•jeqrann anSoio^u^

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

695

Geographical Distribution.— The Gray Seal appears to
be not only oue of the least abundant of the northern Phocids,
but also to be restricted to a rather narrow ranj^e. It is wholly
confined to the North Atlantic, and evci« here is found only
within comparatively narrow limits. On the American coasti
it occurs as far southward as Sable Island, Nova Scotia, wherel
its presence is attested by specimens in the National Museum,
collected there by Mr. P. S. Dodd. This, however, is the south-
ernmost point at which it is known to occur. Mr. Reeks says,
^'It is comparatively rare in the Straits of Labrador and Belle
Isle, although very few seasons pass without a few bein{^ ca])-
tured either on the ice or in the ' seal frames.'"* Beyond this
point to the northward it has been recorded by Mr. Brown as
probably occurring on the coast of Greenland. He says, " In
1861, a little south of Disco Island, we killed a Seal the skull
of which proved it to be of this species ; and again this sum-
mer [18G7J I saw a number of skins in Egedesminde and other
settlements about Disco Bay, which appeared to be of this spe-
cies. Though the natives do not seem to have any name for it,
the Danish traders with whom I talked were of opinion that
the Oraskdly with which they were acquainted as an inhabitant
of the Cattegat, occasionally visited south and the more south-
erly northern portions of Greenland with the herds of Atah
(P. groenlandicm). The skull to which I refer, though carefully
examined at the time, was afterwards accidentally destroyed
by a young Polar Bear which formed one of our ship's com-
pany on that northern voyage; therefore, though perfectly con-
vinced of its being entitled to be classed as a member of the
Greenland fauna, I am not in a position to assert this with
more confidence than as being a very strong probability. It
should be carefully looked for among the herds of P. grcen-
landicus when they arrive on the coast." t It is not, however,
given by Dr. Einic as an inhabitant of Greenland, nor was it
obtained by Mr. Kumlien during his recent sojourn in Cum-
berland Sound. I find, in short, no evidence of its occurrence
on the North American or Greenland coasts other than that
already given. Its occurrence in Iceland, however, is abun-
dantly substantiated, and it is also rather common along the
shores of Northe "n Europe. Nilssou states tha : it has been

* Zoologist, 2d set., vol. vi, 1871, p. 2549.

tProc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1858, p. 427; Man. Nat. Hist. Greenland, etc.,
1875, Mammals, p. 55'.

11=

(! " 'v

696

HALICHCERUS GRYPUS — GRAY SEAL.

long known to inhabit all the seas that border Scandinavia, in
the East Sea as well as in the Sound, in the Cattegat, and in
the North Sea; the same statement being also made by Blasius
and other later authorities. Collett gives it as found spar-
ingly along the whole coast of Norway, from latitude 58° to
70°. It is not mentioned by von Heuglin as an inhabitant of
Spitzbergen, .Fan Mayen, and Nova Zembla, while Malmgren
distinctly states that it does not reacli Siutzbergen. Ue says
there is some reason to believe it occurs in small numbers on
the coast of Finmark, where it was observed by Lilljeborg (at
Tromso) in 1848.

Mr. Ball and otiiers are authority for its common occurrence
on the southern coast of Ireland, and it has for a long time
been known as an inhabitant of the Orkneys, the northern coast
of Scotland, the Hebrides, and the F.arn Islands. Gray states
that it has been found in various parts of the Irish Sea and St.
George's Channel ; that he has heard of it in tbe Isle of Man,
and believes that it occurs as far south as Lauil's End and the
Scilly Isles.* He also states that there is little doubt of its
presence on the north coast of Cornwall, and that he had been
informed that many Seals of very large size haunt the caverns
on the coast of Plymouth.t Bellf refers to its capture in the
Isle of Wight, and says living specimens have been received
by the Zoological Society from the coast of Wales.

To summarize the foregoing, it may be stated that the Gray
Seal ranges from Nova Scotia and the British Islands north-
ward to Greenland and Finmark, but is absent from the islands
of the Arctic Ocean.

General History and Nomencl attire. — The earliest
notice of the Gray Seal that requires attention in the present
connection, if not the earliest that can bo with certainty identi-
fied, was gi V en by Cueiff in his account of the Seal fishery of the
Gulf of Bothnia, published about the middle of the last century.§
On this account '*'>> based " Der graue Seehund" of Schreber.

*Anu. tuul Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., vol. ix, 1872, p. 322.

t Ibid., vol. xiv, 1874, p. 90.

t Hist. Brit. Quad., 1874, p. 265.

^ Boricht vom Seekiilberfango iu Ostbothuien. Vom Provinoialschaflfner,
Hemi Johann David Kvieiff eiugegeben. < Der Konigl. Schwediscben Aka-
domie tier Wisaeuchaften, Abhaudlungeu, etc., auf das Jahr 17B7. Ans dem
Schwediscben iiborsetzt, von Abraham Gotthelf Kiiftnor, Baud xix, 1759,
pp. 171-186. .

GENERAL HISTORY AND NOMENCLATURE.

697

The Gn\ Siul of Liuue's " Fauna Siiecica " also appears to relate
to the preseut species. Olafseu, in his " lleise (lurch Island,"
published in 1772, repeatedly refers to it under the names "Ut-
Selur" au<l " Wetrar-Selur", jfivinjf quite a full account of its
habits. Althouj^h he omits all mention of its size and external
characters, his description of its habits, particularly of its re-
sorting- to low islands and rocky shores in November, to bring
forth its younj;, seems to identify his Ut-Selur with the present
species. Furthermore, the Ut-Selur of the Icelanders has been
determined by Ilallgrimsson to be the Phocn grypm of Fabri-
cius, which the latter referred doubtfully to his Phoca hinpida.

Although Schreber's "Der grosse Seehund" is referred by
nearly all writers to the Bearded Seal, it is comimunded of two
species, the diagnosis being based on the " Utsuk" of Cranz, and
hence on the liearded Seal, while his account of its habits is
derived from Olafsen, and relates entirely to the Ut Selur of
that author, and consequently to Halichcerus grypus.

T!ie Gray Seal received its first systematic name at the hands
of Fabricius in 1791, who briefly referred to it under the name
Phoca gryptis,* and gave a good figure of its skull, t Fabri-
cius's name appears to have for a long time esco-ped the notice
of subsequent writers, it being conspicuously absts;t from the
works of compilers down to about 1835. In the meantime the
species was ^ain brought to light by Nilsson, who, in 1820, re-
named it Halichcerus grisem. Lesson, in 1827, also mentioned
it under this name, as did Fischer in 1829. Lichtenstein, in
1822, seems to be the first to recall ^ne Fabrician name, modi-
fled, however, to gryphus. Thieuemanu described the species iu
1824 as an inhabitant of Iceland, under the name Phoca hali-
chcerus, and at the same time added a nominal species based on
the young, which he designated as Phoca scopulicola. In 1850
Horuschaeh and Schilling, after an examination of a series of
fifty skulls collected in the East Sea, arrived at the conclusion

* By many writers, as shown in the above table of synonymy, this name
is rendered gryphus, but, as first pointed out by Nilsson in 1827, and since
restated by several German authors, the correct orthography is grypus, or
croolted-uoHed, the Danish name, as given by Fabricius, being " Krumsuude-
de Sicl. (See also on this point Lilljeborg, Fauna Sveriges och Norges, i,
1874, p. 711, footnote.)

t The original skull (lacking the lower jaw) figured by Fabricius is doubt-
icHS still extant in the Museum of Lund, for as late as 1841 Hallgrimsson
stated that through the kindness of Professor Reinbardt ho had had the op-
jiortuuity of comparing with it a skuII of the Ut-Selnr he obtained in Ice-
land.

€98

HALICHffiRUS GEYPUS— GRAY SEAL.

that the genus Halichcerns was there represented by three spe-
cies, they describing as new H. macrorhynchm and H. pachy-
rhynchus^ but these have not been accepted as valid by subse-
quent writers.*

As will be noticed later more in detail, the Gray and the
Bearded Seals have often been confounded, especially by Brit-
ish authors; consequently all the references to the Bearded
Seal as a British species really relate to Halichcerus grypusA

* I know of Homschuch and Schilling's brochure only through nitations by
authors. I quote the following abstract of the paper from Prof. Andreas
Wagners "Bericht Uber die Leis" .^/en in der Naturgeschichte der Sauge-
thiero wiihrend des J.ihres 185ii : "Ihre 3 Arten sind folgeude: \) H,
macrorhynch «m, dielang8clinauzig'jMeerrobbe(H. grypus s. griseus
Nilps.); Riicken aschgrau, ins Griinliche schiessend, schwach silberartig
schillernd und mit weuigen kleinen graubraunen Flockeu bestreut. Schiidel
in alien seinen Theilen s e h r gestreckt und sein oberer Umriss bildet eine
in der Mitte stark gesenkte Linie ; die Eckziihne stark. Obwohl
Zeichnnng nnd Farbe bedeutend variiren, so behalten sie docli iujnier einen
eigenthiiniliehen Typus, welches auch bei den folgenden Arten der Fall ist.
— 2) H. Grypus Fabr., diekrummnasigeMeerrobbe; Riikkeu weis-

grau,

stark ins Griinlichblaue zichendniitstarkemSilberschiller und vielen

grosseren und kleineren, unregelmiissigen, mehr oder minder ineinander ver-
fliessenden schwarzen Flecken. Schiidel kurz und ziemlich hocli, sein oberer
Umriss bildet eine bogenformige Linie; die Eckzhtine sind schwsicher
als bei der folgenden Art. — 3) H. pachyrhynchus, die dichschnauzige
Meerrobbe; Rilkken silberweiss, ins Griinlichblaugraue schiessend, gitin-
zend, 'vit i^leinen und miissig grossen, liiuglichen, schwarzbraunen, unregel-
miissigen Flecken, Schiidel ziemlich kurz, viel weniger gestreckt als bei
H. macrorhynchus, sein oberer Umriss bildet eine beinahe gerade,bis
zum Anfange der Nuaenbeine sich etwas erhebende, dann
sich stark senkeude Lin'e; die Ziihne starker als bei H. macrorhynchus." —
Troschel's Arch, fur Nc.urg., 1851, ii, p- 29.

t Mr. Selby admits that much of this confusion, at least so far as regards
the " Great Seal of the Farn Islands," is due to his erroneously referring it,
in 182(3, to the Phoca barhata, but to Mr. Selby is also due the credit of later (in
1841) making known the affinities of the "Great Seal" of the Farn Islands.
After alluding to the fact that the large Seal of the Northumberland coast
was referred to I'hoca barbaia by both Jenyns and Bell on his authority, and
stating the reasons that led to his erroneous determination, he says : " . . .
having requested the person who at present rents these [Farn] islands to
send me the heads of any Seals he might be fortunate enough to kill, at the
usual time of his visiting the island to which they reiire to calve, (which
they do about the 10th or 15th of November, ) I have had an opportunity of
examining three heads, which I received in a fresh state about six week»
ago, one being that of an adult female, the other two belonging to younger
animals, all of which upon examination proved to belong to Halichairus
griseus, agreeing in every essential character with Mr. Bell's description of
that animal, and with the drawings given me by Mr. Ball ; and as no other

HABITS.

699

Habits. — Bespecting the Gray Seal as an AmericaD animal
little or nothing seems to have been written. As an inhabitant of
Ireland, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the North and Baltic Seas,
and Iceland, its history is better known. As will be noticed
later, liowever, there ar^ discrepant accounts respecting im-
portant i)oint8. Hallgrimsson has given a very interesting
notice of these animals as observed in Iceland by A. Thorlacius,
a trustworthy merchant and experienced hunter, of Stikkjis-
holm, Iceland, whose letter about them, as given by Hallgrims-
son, may be rendered as follows :

"The Utsel is here very common in the Bredebugt, and
especially on the coast of Westland. When full-grown it is
four or five ells [8 to 10 feet] long ; the male is i)robably still
larger, and is always larger than the female. Its food consists
partly of various kinds of fishes, as haddock, flounders, cattish
{Cottus), etc., and partly of crustaceans and other lower animals,
as starfishes, etc., especially in winter, when the fishes mostly
seek the deep water. The animals here named I have myself
seen them eat, as they chance to bring them to the surface of
the water. Although this species of Seal occurs here in large
numbers, only a few fully grown ones are taken, because they
are not so easily killed here as the younger ones are, their strong
skulls being not easily penetrated by bullets, and there are also
very few expert marksmen here. Besides, they are very shy
and watchful. Three weeks before the beginning of winter*
[about October 1], the full-grown Utselur begin to come about
the rocks and islets near the land, where they bring forth their
young. They choose especially such rockr as are not covered
by the spring-tides, and ilso the lower islands that have not
too precipitous shores. Here the females have their young
about fourteen days before the commencement of winter [about
the second week of October]. The young ar« thickly covered

species of Seal has hitherto been recognized or met with by those who for a
long series of years have been in the habit of seeing and taking these animals
in this particular locality, I have now scarcely a doubt but that the whole of
tlie colony that has so long inhabited the Fam Islands belongs to this spe-
cies." — Ann. and Mag. Nat, Hist., vol. vi, 1841, p. 4()3.

A little earlier than this (in 1837) Mr. Ball determined the large Seal of
the Irish coast, till then also supposed to be Phoca barbata, to be Halichanis
grypus {Trans. Roy. Irish Acad., vol. xviii, 1837, pp. 89-98), since which time
Phoca barbata, auct., has generally been excluded from tlie British Fauna.

* Hallgrimssou says in a note of explanation, "According to the Iiehnidic
divitiiou of the year this falls between the 19th antl 2(5th «)f October."

700

HALICHCERUS ORYPUS — GRAY SEAL.

with soft, whitish-yellow woolly hair ; this it grsidually loses,
and does not enter the water till the moult is wholly completed,
at which time it is four or five weeks old. J)uring the time the
young are lying upon the dry land they do not leave their
places, but every tide their mothers crawl up to them to suckle
them. Sometimes the females leave their young so near the
sea that the waves reach them, and by the spring-tides they
ai'e swept along and carried helpless from one rock to another,
for while the milk-hair is worn the young Seal is able to swim
but little and is still less able to dive. In this condition it is
called by the Icelanders Sjovelkjingur (Sea-rover); such un-
fortunates are weak and emaciated, while those that have
remained undisturbed are fat and well con<litioned. These are
called Volselr. The young is fattest when it is 'half ready',
that is to say when it has lost the milk-hair from the head and
feet; but later it becomes poorer, because the mother then
allows it to get hungry, in order to induce it to leave its resting
place and go into the sea. This happens about the end of the
third week of winter (middle of November) or a little later ;
consequently the young are found to be best for killing when
three weeks old. The Utsel is blackish-gray ; some are entirely
pure black, especially the males; the females are somewhat
lighter. It has a long nose and a big head, which m the old
males appears as if it were angular. These have a fierce aspect
and are very irritable and quarrelsome. They often fight with
each other on the shore, and bite so powerfully that they retire
from the conflict bleeding and mangled. They are also danger-
ous to the men who hunt them on the shore if they approach
carelessly, which they therefore must always do from the side.

" Respecting the age to which this species of Seal attains I
can say nothing that can be positively relied upon ; yet they
apparently live to be very old. But I know with certainty that
the period of pregnancy continues for nine months."*

Mr. Selby has given a very interesting account of his obser-
vations on the Gray Seal as observed at the Farn Islands, t
based on his own frequent visits to these islands, and also on
" the long experience of a respectable indi\idual, now upwards

* Isin, 1841, pp. 291, 292, originally piihlished in Kn^yer's Naturhist.-
Tidsskril't, Band ii, Heft i, lf37, pp. 97, 98.

t ' ' Observations on the Great Seal of the Farn Islands, showing it to be the
Halkhosrus griseus, Nilss., and not the Plwca harbata." By P. J. Selby, Esq.,
F. L. S., &c., &c. <Annal8 and Magazine of Natural History, vol. vi,.
1841, pp. 4G2-4GG.

HABITS,

701

of eighty j'ears of age, who succeeded his father, and contin-
ued to rent these islands till within the last eight or ten years.
From his account," continues Mr. Selbj , " it appears that these
Seals were much more abundant some forty or fifty [now
eighty or ninety] years ago than they ,ire now, which l»ei)artly
attributes to the great destruction he iiimself committed among
them (having been a tirst-rate Seal-hunter), and to the annoy-
ance they have since been subjected to by the erection of the
present outer lighthouse, which is built ujion an island to
which they were in the habit of retiring to rest during the
recess of the tide.

"In the year 1772, this old gentleman informs me that he
killed seventy two young Seals, all of this species, and once
also killed fourteen old ones, in one day, ui)on the Crimston
Eock, the small island upon which they mostly calve, an event
that takes place, as I have previously observed, in the month
of November; and as the rutting season begins about the last
week in February or first week in March, it would appear that
the period of gestation of the Halichoerus griseus is about eight
and a half or nine months. The young when first calved are
nearly three feet in length, and grow very rapidly till they
quit the rock and are able to follow their dams to the water,
which is generally about a fortnight after birth ; when first
calved they are covered with a longish soft woolly hair, of a
yellowish white or cream-colour, which gives place before they
quit the rock to a shorter hair of a grisly hue. If an oppor-
tunity offers, the young are sometimes tethered by a rope and
kept upon the rock a week or two beyond the usual time, in
order to get them of as large a size and as fat as possible before
they are slaughtered ; but this must not be persisted in too long,
otherwise the dams are apt to forsake or refuse to suckle them
at the stated times of tide. The food of Halichcerus consists
entirely of fish, not restricted, it is supposed, to any particular
species, though they show a great predilection for the Cyclo-
stoma lumpus (Lump-sucker), particularly to the female, which
there goes by the name of the Rush. . . . They swim with
great strength and rapidity, and are frequently submerged for
two or three minutes, during which they make great progress,
and re-appear many gunshots distant from the place where they
went down, and they seem to delight and sport in the rapid
and heavy currents which exist among the Islands. They show
great curiosity in gazing at anything strange, and will remain

702

HALICHCERUS GRYPUS — GRAY SEAL.

Stationary for minutes together, with the head and neck out of
the water, staring at a boatman or any other object that at-
tracts their attention. This curiosity, in parts where they were
not often disturbed, procured me frequent shots with the rifle;
for wlien 1 observed them basking upon the rocks, twenty or
thirty in a lierd, during tlie ebb of tide, I used to land at some
distance and make all haste to the point where they were as-
sembled; and though 1 might not get within shot before they
took to the sea, 1 was sine of some of them re-aj)pearing quite
within distance after their tirst plunge into the water. In this
way I have killed several, but never had the good luck to se-
cure the carcass ; for even though some of them Hoated a short
time after death, which, however, is rarely the case, they were
certain to be swept away and buried in the heavy stream which
runs past the point I have mentioned, and where the Seals
were generally assembled, before the boat could come round
and reach them. ...

"The Great Seal seldom wanders to any great distance from
the Farn Islands, as it is only seen occasionally as far north as Ber-
wick Bay, and off Dunstanborough and Coquet Island to the
south. It also seems jealous of the presence of any other spe-
cies within its peculiar precincts, as the Common Seal, Phoca
vitMlina, is scarcely ever seen within its territory, though small
herds frequent the coast of the main land nearlj^ opposite, upon
the bar of Budle Bay, and at Holy Island."

Mr. James Wilson, in his "Notes regarding the distinctive
habits of the Scotch Phocae or Seals," as observed by him at
the Western Islands, says, on the authority of Mr. Archibald
M'Neill, "The largest of these .... is known by the na-
tive name of Tapvaist, and although it associates occasionally
with the other kinds, yet it differs in many respects in its hab-
its. I presume it to be the species usually designated by our
British writers as the Great Seal, or Phoca harhata.^' Although
it "is observed occasionally," he contiiuies, "on shore with indi-
Yiduals of other kinds, .... it may be characterized as
being of solitary habits, and as frequenting the most remote
and undisturbed situations. It is neither so lively nor so
watchful as the common seal, nor is it so easily alarmed. . . .
One of the most characteristic and distinctive traits in its his-
tory is derived from its period of production, viz. the end of
September or commencement of October, — while that of the
common seal is usually the beginning of June. . . . The

HABITS.

703

young of the Tapvaiat or great seal .... is invariably
wholped above water-mark, and, it is said, during spring tides.
They remain in a helpless condition on the rocks, for several
weeks, before they can swim, and during this time they cast
most of their long hair." *

A mu(;h earlier account, relating to this locality and species,
has been given by Martin in his "Description of the Western
Islands of Scotland," published in 1710. "On the western
coast of this island [Harris] lies the rock Eousmil, about a
quarter of a mile in circumference, and is still famous for the
yearly fishing of seals there, in the end of October. This rock

belongs to the farmers of the next adjacent lauds

These farmers man their boats with a competent number fit for
the business, and they always embark with a contrarj' wind,
for their security against being driven away by tlie ocean, and
likewise to prevent them from being discovered by the seals,
who are apt to smell the scent of them, and presently run to
sea. When this crew is quietly landed, they surround the
passes, and then the signal for the general attack is given from
the boat, and so they beat them down with big staves. The
seals at this onset make towards the sea with all speed, and
often force their passage over the necks of the stoutest assail-
ants, \t^ho aim always at the forehead of the seals, giving
many blows before they are killed; and if they are not hit
exactly on the front, they contract a lump on their forehead,
which makes them look very fierce ; t and if they get hold of
the staflt" with their teeth, they carry it along to sea with them.
Those that are in the boat shoot at them as they run to sea,
but few are catched that way. The natives told me that sev-
eral of the biggest seals lose their lives by endeavouring to save
their young ones, whom they tumble before them towards the
sea. I was told, also, that three hundred and twenty seals,
young and old, have been killed at one time in this place. The
reason for attacking them in October is, because in the begin-
ning of this month the seals bring fortli their young on the
ocean side ; but these on the east side, who are of lesser stature
[Phooa vitulina, probably], bring forth their young in the mid-
dle of June."t ., .

* Mag. Zool. and Botany, vol. i, 1837, pp. 540, 541.

t This seems to point to the Hooded Seal as being possibly involved in tbft
account here quoted, although it evidently relates mainly to the Gray Seal.
t Pinkerton's Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. ill, pp. 594, 595.

704

HALICH(ERU8 GRYPU8 — GRAY SEAL.

Tlie saino writer alludes aa follows to the uses and suppose ^
medicinal qualities of tlie llesb of these Seals :

"The natives [of the Iskuul of HairisJ salt the seals with
the ashes of burnt sea- ware, and say tlu'y are good food : the
vulf'sir eat them commonly in the spring-time, with a long
pointed stick instead of a fork, to i»revent the strong smell
which their hands would otherwise have for several hours after.
The tlesh and broth of fresh young seals is by experience known
to be pectoral; the meat is astringent, and used as an effectual
remedy against diarrhea and dysenteria: the liver of a seal
being dried an«l pulverised, and afterwards a little of it drunk
with milk, aiiuavitaj, or red wine, is also good against fluxes.
. . . The seal, though esteemed fit only for the vulgar, is also
eaten by persons of distinction, though under a different name,
to wit, ham: this I have been assured of by good hands, and
thus we see that the generality of men are as much led by
fancj'^ as judgment in their palates, as well as in other things.
The popish vulgar, in the islands to the southward froin . this,
eat these seals in Lent instead of tish."*

Edmonstone, in his account of the Zetland Isles (vol. ii, 1809,
p. 294), also refers at some length to this species under the
names Fhoca barbata and "Haaf Fish," stating, iimong other
things, that the "young are brought forth in the months of
September, October, and November."

The habits of the Gray Seal in the Gulf of Bothnia, where
it was formerly very abundant, appear to be very different from
what they are described to be at other localities, especially in
respect to the season of reproduction. Although I have met
no recent account of its habits as observed there, Lilljeborg
and other Scandinavian writers quote Cueiff's account of the
Gray Seal of the Baltic as referring without question to Hali-
alioerus grypus. The Gray Seal, according to* Cneift', was so
numerous about the middle of the last century as to occur in
herds of several hundreds, and was regularly hunted for its fat
and skins.t He describes it as somewhat migratory, leaving
the Baltic at the approach of winter for the more northerly

*Piukerton'8 Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. Hi, pp. 595,59(5.

tFor a full abstract of Cneiff's account of the Bothnian Seal-lishcry see
anted, pp. 530-534. As already stated {anted, p. (J64), there is reason to doubt
whether this account does not relate to Erignathua harhatxm rather than to
Halichwrus grypus, in respect to the season of giving birth to the young and
breeding habits, it agreeing with the former and no,i with the latter.

HABITS.

705

parts of the Bothnian Gulf. He says the female has its yonng
about the end of February on the ice^ but also says that they
breed on the rocks when there is opportunity. The younfi; does
not at lirst enter the water, unless forced into it by tlu^ break-
ing up of the ice, the female suckling it upon the ice. During the
first eight days after its birth it is wholly white, but after this
the hair begins to fall, lirst on the head and fore feet, which at
the end of fourteen days are blackish gray. As the Gray Seal
cannot conthnie under the ice in winter without frequently
coming to the surface for air, it has therein various small
breathing-holes, whi<!h are so small at the top that it can only
thrust its head through or even merely the nose, but they are
wider below and perfectly round, being easily made so by the
fore feet. They also have larger openings through which they
ascend to the surface to repose, or, during the breeding sea-
son, to suckle the young. When the ice breaks up, before the
young are strong enough to go south, as sometimes happens,
and while they are still congregated in large herds at the breed-
ing-places, they seek out the largest and soundest pieces of ice,
on which they and their young can remain in greatest safety.
At such times they all wish to get on the same piece, where
perchance there may not be room for all ; they therefore begin
to fight with each other, biting and bullying, so that after the
strife one maj' see large wounds on their bodies. It is worthy
of remark that the Gray Seals and the Wikare or Harbor Seals
do not associate together.

The Gray Seals, he continues,, begin to lose their old hair
about the 25th of March, which they rub off against the
ice. At about this time the old Gray Seals with their young,
which are no longer suckled, return to the East Sea. The Gray
Seals stav in winter in the Gulf of Bothnia, probably because
they find there thick ice which is not so liable to be broken up
by strong winds as in other seas ; consequently they can there
bring their young into the world with gTeater safety. The
only migration noticeable appears to support this opinion, for
it takes place as soon as the young are large enough to
obtain their own food. It is also noteworthy that the young
of the Graj'^ Seal know how to take a straight line for the Easfc
Sea, going so directly as to cross stony ground or a point of
laud, if it Mes in their way; consequently the return often costs
them thei; life. *

'Kunigl Schwed. Akad. derWiasen., xix Band, 1759, pp. 172-174.
Misc Pub. No. 12 45

700

lIALICIKEUr.S ORYPUS GRAY SKAL.

In many icsiMM^ts ('lu^ill's alKuccittMl aeconiit i«'(!alls tlir
lial»its of tlu> Itiii^MMl Seal, but liisdcst'iiptioii of it indicates its
\vt'i;;lit to be about twit'i^ tlir;t of the Wikare or Harbor Seal,
wliicln st'ciiisto i>r('<'hule the supposition of its beinf"' the Rinjjfed
Seal. Hesides this, the (hay Seal is well known to be an
abundant s|M'»'ies in the llaltie, where the liearded Seal, with
which Cneitrs account seeins in most particulars to a^ree, is not
reportetl t<) occur. The breediuj;' season is here distinctly
ttrtirmed to occur about tlu' end of February,* while in Iceland
aiul in the VV«'stern Islands of Scotland it occurs in October and
Novend)er. At the last-named localities the species resorts to
outlyin;4' rocks for its brcedin};-sites, while in the liothnianOulf
the y<mng are brought forth on the ice. The large herds here
met with, in contrast with the small parties seen elsewhere,
is also a notcnvorthy discrepancy uot easily explained.

With one ex<;ei»tion, this is the only Seal that i^* kiu>wn to bring
forth its young in the aiitnmn. Collett states that the Bearded
Seal breeds in October on the coast of Norway, and this again
is the only instance known to me of the Bearded Seal having
been reported as breeding at any other time than very early in
spring. Although both the G lay and the Bearded Seals have
about the same range on the Norwegian coast, it may seem
rash to question the report of so trustworthy a naturalist as
Mr. Collett, yet, if I rightly understand his remarks, his in-
formation touching this point is given at second hand, and it
therefore seems possible that his correspondent may have mis-
taken the Gray Seal for the Bearded Seal. If such be the case,
the breeding of the Gray Seal in the Bothnian Gulf in spring
may be regarded as exceptional in the history of the species,
while the reported breeding of the Bearded Seal in autumn
would be the result of a mali<lentiti cation of the species, t

* Liehtenstcin has described u yoniig example, still iu the white coat,
taken oil the Poiuiueruniau coa^it, March 28, 18;il, which seems to coulirui
Cijeilf' s account of the breeding of this species early iu spring. — AhliamU.
der Berlin Akad., 1822-23 (1825), p. 1.

flu order not to do Mr. Collett injustice I quote the following: After re-
ferring to what he believes to bo the southorninost breeding station of the
Bearded Seal on the coast of Norway, iiaiaely, on some rocky islets otl"
Troudlyom Fjord, he says: "Af do udf^rlige Meddclelser, som jog ofter-
haaudon har modtaget af disse 0ers Eier, Hr. Borthon, frewgaar dot. at
Phoca barbata i sit LovesiBt og Yuglcforholdo i ilert* vigtigo Honseonder skiller
0ig fi'a de af voro dvngo uordiske Sujlor, hvoroui vi have nogen Kundskab.

GENUS M0NACHU8.

707

Genus MONAOHUS, Fleming.

MoiKwhua, Fldmino, Pliil. Zool., ii, 1H'J2, 187.

Pilofjc [ I'ehuihiH], F. CuviKH, M.'in. du Miis., xi, 1824, 19:?, 19(5, pi. xiii.

Type, I'hocd fnoMrtc/iiM, lltTiiiaim.
PvlaijlHn, F. CrviKU. Diet. Sti. Nat., xxxix, liSvJC, :^:M.
Hvltophw'u, (iitAV, Ann. and Mikj^. Nut. IliMt., xiii, 1854, pi. xiii (young).

" Muzzle liitluT I'loiifjfatts broad, Imiry, with a slij;lit groove
between the iiostrihs; whiskers .small, quite smooth, thit, taper-
ing. Fore feet short ; lingers gradually shorter to the inner
one ; elaws a, flat, truncate. Hind feet hairy between the toes ;
claws very small ; hair short, adpressed, with very little or no
under-fur. Slcull depressed ; nose rather d«>pres8ed, rather elon-
gate, longer than the length of the zygomatic arch ; palate an-
gularly notched behind. Cutting-teeth J, large, notched within,
the middle upper nuich smaller, placed behind the intermediate

ones. Canines large, coincal, sharp-edged. Grinders ~g, large,
crowded, placed obliquely with regard to the central j latine
line; crown large, conical, with several small conic rhombic
tubercles. Lower jaw angulated in front below, with diverg-
ing branches, the lower edge of the branches rounded, simple.
The grinders, except the two first in both jaws, are implanted
by two roots ; their crown is short, compressed, conical, with a
cingillutn [dc] strongly developed on their inner side, and de-
veloping a small anterior and posterior accessory cusp ; the up-
per jaw is much less deep than in Halichcerus ; the canines are
relatively large, and the nasal bones are much shorter." — Gray.
The genus Monachus was placed by Gray, as late as 1866 and
previoUi3ly, in the subfamily StenorhynchincB. In 1871 be raised
it to the rank of a distinct " tribe" {Monachina) or subfamily.
The single species usually referred to it — the Mediterranean
Seal, Phoca monachus, Hermann — has even been placed by Wag-
ner, Giebel, and other German writers in the genus Leptonyx,

En af de niojrkeligste af disse Afvigolser er Tidspunktet for dens Yngletid.
Denno indtrajffer nemlig i Norgc cm Hasten, efterat Individerno i Midten af
Septomborbavo sanilot sig paa de bestonito Ynglepladso; umiddelbart deref-
ter foregaar Ungens Kaatning, i Regelen i den sidste Ugo af September." —
Bemcerkninger til Norges Fatiedyrfauva, 1876, p. 59. See also Lilljeborg's
" Fauna ofver Sveriges ocli Norges Ryggradsdjur," 1874, p. 702, where the
same is given in substance, and also Lilljeborg's note (note 2, p. 702) in ref-
erence to Fabriciua's and Malmgren's observations on the breeding season of
Phoca barhata,

,1.1

i !■■

3«*

708 MONACHUS? TEOPICALIS — WEST INDIAN SEAL.

nearly equivaleut to the subfamily Stenorhynchinw of Gray and
other recent writers. Gill, in 1866, transferred it to the Pho-
cincv. Its introduction into the North American fauna rests on
the provisional assignment of the Seal of the West Indian
waters to this genus.

MONAOHUS? TROPICALIS, Gray.

West Indian Seal.

Seal, Dampier, Voy. round tlio World, ii, 2, 3d ed., 1705, 23.
Cyatoplwra antiUarxim, Gray, Proc. Zocil. Soc. Lond., 1849, 93 (in part only).
Phoca tropicalis, Gray, Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, 28.
Monachus tropicalis, Gray, Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 20 ; Hand List of
Seals, 1874, 11.

tvilkiamts, GossE, Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica, 1851, 307.

Pedro Seal, GossE, 1. c. ; Jamaica Seal, Gray, 1. c.

Characters.* — Incisors |^; canines

lobed, conical, rugose at base. Soles and palms naked. Ante-
rior digits with well-developed nails ; posterior digits with the
nails rudimentary. Mystacial bristles long, flexible, smooth.
Color intense uniform black, or black varied with gray. Pelage
very short, stiflt", closely appressed. Length of adult male,
about ten feet.

Although the existence of Seals in the West Indian waters
has been known for two centuries, a most tantalizing uncer-
tainty still prevails in respect to their characters and aflflnities.
I had hoped to be able in the present connection to clear up
some of these doubts, but as my efforts to obtain specimens
have thus far proved fruitless, I have to content myself with
giving a transcript of what has already been written about
them, with such Ciitical remarks as the case suggests.

So far as known to me, Dampier was the first to record the
existence of Seals in the Caribbean Sea, but he gives no de-
scription of them, his reference consisting of an account of a
seaUng voyage made to the Alacrane Reef in 1675, and inci-
dents relating thereto. His account, however, shows that at
that time they were so abundant at that locality as to be sought
there for their oil, and where, in fact, for some years previously,
the sealing business had been an industry of considerable com-
mercial importance.

Dampiee's Account, 1675. — In describing the "Alacrane"

* Compiled from Hill and Gosse.

dampier's account.

709

Islands,* under the niarghuil date "^i7^. 1675," be says, "Here
are many Seals : they come up to sun themselves only on two
or three of the Islands, I don't know whether exactly of the
same kind with those in colder Climates, as I have noted in my
former Book, they always live where there is plenty of Fish.

" To the North of these Islands lyes a lOng ledge of Kocks,
bending like a Bow; it seems to be 10 or 12 Yards wide,
iind about 4 Leagues long, and 3 Leagues distant from the
Island. They are above Water, all joyning very close to one
another, except at one or two Places, where are small Passages
about nine or ten Yards wide; 'twas through one of these that
Providence directed us in the Night ; for the next Morning we
saw the Riff about half a Mile to the North of us, and right
against us was a small Gap by which we had come in hither,
but coming to view it more nearly with our Boat, we did not care
to venture out that way again. . . . There we Anchored
and lay three or four days, and visited most of them, and found
plenty of .such Creatures, as I have already described.

"Though here was great store of such good Food and we like
to want, yet we did neither salt any, nor spend of it fresh to
save our Stock. I found them all but one Man averse to it, but
I did heartily wish them of another mind, because I dreaded
wanting before the and of the Voyage; a hazard which we
needed not to run, there being such plenty of Fowls and Seals
(especially of the latter), that the Spaniards do often come
hither to make Oyl of their Fat ; upon which account it has
been visited by English-men from Jamaica, particularly by Capt.
Lonf/ : who, having the Command of a small Bark, came hither
purposely to make Seal Oyl, and anchored on the North side of
one of the sandy Islands, the most convenient Place, for his

design : Having got ashore his Cask to put his Oyl

in, and set up a Tent for lodging himself and his Goods, he
began to kill the Seal, and had not wrought above three or
four days before a fierce North-wind blew his Bark ashore. By
good fortune she was not damnified : but his Company being
but small, and so despairing of setting her afloat again, they

* "Tho AlacrancH arc 5 or C low sandy Islands, r, i g in the Lat. of about
23 d. North, and distant from the Coast of Jucatan about 25 Leagues ; tho
biggest is not above a Mile or two in Circuit. They are distant from one
aiiothor 2 or ',i Miles, not lying in a Line, but scattering here and there, with
good Channels of 20 or 30 Fathom Water, for a Ship to pass between." —
Dampier, Two J'oyagca to Campeachey, etc., in his Voyage roimd the World,
vol. ii, parts, 3d cd., 1705, p. 23. "

710 MONACHUSf TROPICALIS — WEST INDIAN SEAL.

fell to contriving- how to get away; a very ditficult task to
accomplish, for it was 24 or 25 Leagues to the nearest Place of
the Main, and above 100 Leagues to Trist, which was the next
English Settlement. But contrary to their expectation, in-
stead of that, Capt. Long bid them follow their Work of Seal-
killing arul making Oyl ; assuring them that he would under-
take at his own peril to carry them safe to Trist. Tliis though
it went niucli against the grain, yet at last he so far pievailled
by fair Words, that they were contented to go on with theii"
Seal Icilling, till they had filled all tlieir Cask." The narrative
conti. nes that by a to them lucky accident "two New-England
Ketches going down to Trlnt, ran on the backside of the Rifl",
where they struck on the Rocks, and were bulged". Captain
Long and his crew assisted them to unlade their goods and
bring them ashore, in requital for which thej' helped him to
launch his own vessel, "and lading his Oyl, and so they went
merrily away for Trist- Captain Uami)ier adds, " The whole
of this Relation I had from Captain Long himself." *

How long the capture of Seals for commercial purposes con-
tinued after this date, or whether it was ever carried on at
other points in these waters, I have no means of determining, t
Owing to the limited area to which they were restricted, and
consequently their necessarily small numbers, it is evident that
they could not long have survived in force under such vigorous
persecution.

Hill's and Gosse's Accounts, 1843, 1851. — A description
of this Seal (and the first one, so far as I can learn) was pub-
lished, according to Mr. Gosse, by Mr. Richard Hill, in the
"Jamaica Almanack for 1843." Mr. Gosse, in 1851, in hh
work entitled "A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica,'- repub-
lished Mr. Hill's account, and added thereto further remarks
on the species, based largely on information communicated by
Mr. Hill. As Mr. Hill's description is nearly inaccessible, while
Mr. Gosse's book is by no means easy of access, I here tran-
scribe the whole account as given at length by Mr. Gosse,
under the heading "The Pedro Seal": "Ir. the Jamaica Al-
manack for 1843, Mr. Hill pubUshed a Memoir on a Seal inhab-

' Mbid., pp. 25-28.

+ Olafseii, in his " Rtsisc (lurch Island," j). 284, refers to the Great Seal of
the Antilles, and cites '' Joh. Sam. Hallen's Natur-Geschichte der Thiere, p.
593 nud 581," as containing a further account. Hallen's work being inac-
cessible to mo, I am uuablo to state what information may be there found.

HILLS AND GOSSES ACCOUNTS.

711

iting the Pedro Kays, ii leef of rocks, lying" off the south coast
of Jamaica. As it appears to be a species uuknowii to natur-
alists, ami as the publication in wiiicli it was described had
only a transient ajul local interest, I transcribe the Memoir at
length, I'.dding to it such particulars of the natural history of
the aninuil as have since been communicated to me by my
friend.

" 'The differeiu!es which exist in the crania of the Fhocido),
and other discrepancies of structure which have been remarked
as disiinguishing the several genera into which the family is
divided, would appear to make the Seal from the Pedro Shoal
more allied to the Ph. vltul'ma of Linn. {Galocephalus, Fr. Cuv.)
than to any of which we have detailed accounts, although very
different from all.* The shoulders, legs, and thighs are con-
cealed within the body, and the haml is extremely flattened
and fln-like. The cranium is large, high, and convex : — there
are ten molar teeth, and two canines in the upper jaw, and the
same number in the lower; these, with /o«r incisors, above and
below, make in all thirty-two teeth. They are Jive-lohed and
conical, and they terminate in a base of extremely rough
enamel. The teeth are so disposed that when the mouth is
closed there is no interspace above or bcilow them, the points
of the upper teeth filling the depressed intervals of the lower
ones. Having no external auricjle, and ears witii foramina so
small as to be hardly perceptible, the species belongs to the
Inauricidata of Peron, or the earless division of Seals. The
nostrils are narrow fissures, which appear like two slits in the
nose, and are frequently and rapidly closed. The small orifices
of the ears are in a similar manner rapidly opened and shut.
The lips are full and fleshj', an<l covered with numerous strong
bristles, very flexible, of a black hue with transverse bars of
grey. The colour of the body is an intense and uniform black.
The hair is short and stiff", and extremely and curiously close.
The close bristly covering prevails everywhere except on the
palms of the flippers, which are bare. The fore paw has much
more the form of a foot than of a hand, the first finger answer-
ing to the thumb being the longest. There are nails only on

* "From Mr. Hill's (k'sciiptiou it appears to liavo the iucisors iiiul nail-
less liirul feet of Ste)iofh>inrhii>i, with the molars of Caloccjihaliig. The data
are perhaps not sutticient to warrant the formation of a new genns, hnt I
may he permitted to proposes the trivial name of ff ilkiatnw f(»r the species,
in hononr of George Wilkie, Es(i., to whose courtesy I am indehted for tlio
skin of an adult spe'-mcu, probably of the same kind, shot by himself."

712 MONACIIUS? TROPICALIS WEST INDIAN SEAL.

the fore paws, those of the hiucler being rudimentary. The
eyes are large, bhick, and full, and the irides crimson.

" ' When tlie specimen from which these notes were made
first arrived it was very lively, and so sensible to the slightest
touch, that however lightly the hand might be placed on the
fur, it felt the contact, and moved rapidly away, jerking the
whole body forwards. When left unmolested it was playful.
It ploughed the water with the nose, and snorted as it drew
the head out. It grunted like a pig, and barked, growled, and
snarled, like a dog. It was fond of turning ui)ou the back and
lying dozing. In this i)osture it slept and basked in the sun.
It refused all food, and lived four months without eating.
Symptoms of dulness only appeared in the last month, when it
was found to be labouring under jjome disease of the head;
and when it died it was discovered to have become totally
blind, the dark pupil of the eye having disappeared, together
with the crimson colour of the iris. It was surprisingly fat, not-
withstanding its long fast. The fat was four inches thick, and
yielded four gallons of oil. It was a male, but the organs of
generation were not externally perceptible. This organization
is accordant with the peculiarities of the Seal tribe : in the fe-
male the teats are concealed in the skin, and the lacteal fulness
swells with the rotundity of the body, so that the animal does
not sutt'er pain or inconvenience when crawling on land; and
the bitid termination of the tongue, another peculiarity, is an
adaptation which enables the young of the Phocidw to .seize
the ni[)ple under comparatively diificult circumstances, attend-
ant on lactation. The occipital aperture, which remains for a
long time unossifled in this tribe of animals, being still open,
though reduced to a very small orifice, — this Seal may be co •.-
sidered to ha\e been only Just full grown. The unworn sharp-
ness of the teeth in<licated the same fact.

" ' The measurements of this specimen were as follows :

Feet. Incbes.

Total hiiigth along the back from snout to til) of tail 4 2

From Hiiout to insertion of foro paw , 1 6

■ From insertion of fore paw to hind paw 2 10

Cirtiunforenco of body near fore paws • 3 2

Circumference at bind paws 1 6

Breatlth of back at foro paws 1

From one fore paw to the other, extended 2 6

Length of fore paw 10

Length of bind paw 11

hill's and gosse's accounts. 713

Feet. Inolies.

Breadth of head across oars, measured horizontally 7

Length of head 9

Breadth of nose 4 J

Length of tail 3

" ' The Kays frequented by these Seals are situated at about
a degree south from this Island, and form portions of an exten-
sive and dangerous line of rocks on a shoal about 100 miles
long, the two extremities of soundings touching nearly the 77th
and 79th meridians of VV. longitude. These banks rise pre-
cii)itously from the deep ocean, with reefs formed, like the usual
rocks in these seas, of coral, with an accumulation of shells
and calcareous sand. The depth of water varies from 7 to 17
fathoms. A scanty vegetation covers the principal group of
islands, which are what are properly called the Pedro Kays.
The detached islets about 90 miles a])art, known as the Port-
land and Rattlesnake Rocks, are nearly the eastern and west-
erii extremities of the bank. This shoal has always been vis-
ited as an excellent and inexhaustible fishing ground; and,
l)r()bably from the variety and abundance of its aquatic ani-
mals and mai lae productions, it received from the Spaniards
the name of Vivero, a word equally designating a warren or
fish-pond. The principal supply of turtles for the Kingston
IVIarket is erived from these shoals, and the rocks are numer-
ously tenanted by sea-birds.'

" In the spring of 1840 George Wilkie, Esq., paid a visit to
these Kays and succeeded in obtaining a larger specimen of the
Seal. Some notes with which he kindly furnished me, through
the medium of Mr. Hill, of the i)eculiarities of the ditt'erent
islets, depict natural difficulties in the access to Seal Kay, suffi-
cient to account for the meagreness of the information about
Seals, possessed by the host of egg-gatherers, who annually
resort to those rocks and shoals. Seal Kay lies about three
miles to leewanl of the principal group. It is about two acres
in extent, and rises to twenty feet in height, but is entirely
destitute of all terrestrial vegetation. Address, in landing,
requires to be combined with strength, hardihood, and perse-
verance; and frequently before a footing can be obtained, the
Seals, the objects of attrsictlon, have escaped to the waters, and
continue to avoid the shore as long as intruders remain upon
the island. ' When Mr. Wilkie's party first landed in their late
visit, they surprised some five Seals on shore. They immedi-
ately succeeded in heading a " Bull," or Male Seal, both big

|i-i-!

iU|l>'M

714 MONACHUS? TROPICALIS — WEST INDIAN SEAL.

and biiiiy, jukI killed him. He proved to be an aged patriarch,
with teeth nearly woi'n to the stumps, and a hide gashed and
seamed with scars, got in many a tierce tight ; — and about teu
feet in length.

"'In the scramble which the Seal makes to regain the water,
nothing is to be remarked but the violence and impatience
".' th which he Jerks his body forward; but when he plunges
1 1 jni the shore into the sea, it is no small treat to see the sud-
denness with which the uncouth animal, so unwieldy and help-
less on land, becomes gracefully alert in the ocean. The com-
mand with which he strikes through the water, the velocity
with which he cleaves the tiood, the ease with which he winds
the mazes of the rocks, and dashes forward into the hidden
recesses of the deep, are beautifully interesting in a (sreature
looking so essentially a quadruped. When the boat is atioat
again, the Seals come trooping out to reconnoitre. At a depth
of about three feet they paddle about, gazing up through the
clear liquid with an expression of countenance beaming with
curiosity and intelligence. They dodge around the boat, occa-
sionally ascending to the surface, to renew their inspirations of
air, and to look upon their island home, to asciertaiu whether
they may return thither and be at rest.

" 'A grown-up cub about four feet long had been taken by
the peojjle. One Seal was observed more persevering in her
watchfulness and assiiluity to regain the shore, than the rest.
This was <!onjectured to be the dam of the slaughtered young
one. The maternal instinct did not exhibit any stronger
emotion than this anxious vigilance. The young one was suffi-
ciently grown to be no longer dependent on the mother. Had
it been still sucking, there was enough to show that the parental
passion would have merged fearlessness into fury, and inquie-
tude for the safety of its yoiing, into unsparing vengeance for
its fate.

" 'Without doing more than referring to Weddell's observa-
tion, that the jaw of the Seals he describes was so powerful in
the agonies of death as to grind stones into powder, it seemed,
from the condition of the teeth of some eight that were taken
during the time Mr. Wilkie's party were on the Pedros, that
their strength is exercised in more laborious work than crush-
ing the bones of fishes. The opinion that the more experienced
tishermen expressed was, that they fed as generally on mollus-
cous animals as on tish, and that their teeth suffei'ed much wear

gray's accounts. 715

and tear in the work of breaking shells. Yet it is remarkable
that the contents of the stomachs of those killed gave them no
insiglit into the nature of their food: — they were invariably
empty.

" ' I must not omit to mention that our friends had one oppor-
tunity of closely observing the progression of the Seal when
ascending the beach. The advance was by zigzag movements.
It was evident that the ground was first gripped by one fore
flipper, then by the other, that the body advanced iirst to the
right, then to the left, as one or the other flii)per took its hold
of the eartli, and helped the body onward. They seemed to
delight in basking in the sun, and to huddle together, and
grunt out their pleasure in each others' company.'

"The skin of one of the specimens obtained in this expedi-
tion Mr. Wilkie kindly presented to me ; a courtesy the value
of which was enhanced by the fact of its being one of the chief
of the ophna spolia, a sort of trophy of his own exploits. It is
now in the British Museum. As the skull was not i)reserved,
the actual identity of the species with the smaller specimen,
described by Mr. Hill, cannot with certainity be established ;
and there seems a little discrepancj' in the proportions, as will
be seen by comparing the admeasurements of Mr. Hill's, already
given, with the following, which were taken from Mr. Wilkie's
specimen: —

Feet. Inches.

Leugtli from nose to tip of tail 6 6

Circmnforence at fore paws 3 4

Length of fore paw 11^

Length of hind paw lOJ

Lengthoftail 2

"The fur is of a nearly uniform dirty ash-gray, black at the
base, and gray at the tips of the hairs ; it is slightly mottled on
the belly ; it is very close and stiff, and not more than one-
fourth of an inch long. The vibrissw or whiskers are from an
inch to an inch and three-quarters long ; white, with one on
each side broM'n." *

Gray's Accounts, 1849-1874. — Mr. Gosse, as appears from
the foregoing, transmitted a specimen to the British Museum, —

* A Natnralist'a Sojourn in Jamaica. By Philip Henrj Gosse, A. L. S.,
&c. Assisted by Ricliard Hill, Esq., Cor. M. Z. S. Lond., Mem. Couro.
Roy. Soe. Agric. of Jamaica. London : Longman, Brown, Green, and
Longmans, 1851, pp. 107-114.

716 MONACIIUS? TROPICAUS — WEST INDIAN SEAL.

tbo skin last descTibed in tbe above transcript, and, so far as
Mr. Gosse's narrative goes to show, tlie only one he ever saw.
Br. Gray, liowever, in 1849, described another "skin and skull"
from "the West Indies", which he la; r stated were sent home
direct by Mr. (losse from Jamaica. Dr. Gray's description of
these specimens is as follows: "We have lately received from
the West Indies the skin and skull of a seal which evidently
belongs to the same genus as the crested seal of the northern
hemisphere. The skull, or rather the teeth, when compared
with those of the Greenland specimens, induce me to believe
that it is distinct from them. It chiefly diflie^s in the form of
the outer upper cutting teeth and canines. In all the speci-
mens, both old and young, from the North Sea, the outer upper
cutting t«eth and the canines are narrow and compressed. In
the W^est Indian skull, which is that of a very young specimen,
the outer upper cutting teeth and the canines are broad,
strongly keeled on each side and longitudinally plaited within.
In this skull the 4th grinder has only a single root, and the 5th
gi'iuder has two ; the crowns of the teeth are plaited and tuber-
cular like those of the North Sea specimens. The face is rather
broader than in a skull of the northern kind of nearly the same
size. This species may be called Cystophora antHlarum.

" We have received an imperfect skin of a seal from Jamaica,
which was brought home by Mr. Gosse. It is unfortunately
without any bones. The whiskers are short, thick, white,
cylindrical, regularly tapering, and without any appearaUvje of
a wave or twist. In this character it most agrees with Phoea
barbata." *

The following year he redescribed these specimens, claiming
Jamaica as the habitat of his Cystophora antillarum, and stat-
ing that the specimens on which it was based were from "Mr.
Gosse's collection", as follows:

"2. PHOCA TROPICALIS. JAMAICA SEAL.

"Grey-browu ; hair very short, strap-shaped, closely adpressed, black
with a slight grey tip; whiskers short, thick, cylindrical, regularly
tapering, without any appearance of w."vc or twist ; fingers gradually
shorter.

" Inhab. Jamaica.
• "a. Skin imperfect, without skull.

"Skin referred to in desciiption of Cystophora antillarum,Gf»'ay,

Proc. Zool. Soc, 1849, 93."t

•Proc. Zotil. Soc. Lond., 1849, p. 93.
tCat. Seals Brit. Mus!, 18G0, p. 28.

GRAY S ACCOUNTS.

717

"2. C'ysTOPHOUA ANTII.LAIM'M. WkST INDIAN IIOODED SEAL.

"Skull, lacti hroiul. Tho outer upi)c'r cutting teeth anil the canines

broad, .strouf^ly keeled on eueh wide and lougitudiually plaited Avithin.

Fur grey brown, lips and bcueatb yellow.

"Cystopliora antillaruni, Gray, Proc. ZoiiU Soc, 1849, 9.3.

" Inbab. West Indies.

"a. StuU'ed Hi)eciuu;n. West Indies, Jamaica. Mr. Gosse's collection.
"6. Skull of a very young speciiuen. Tbe face is broader than the
skull of C. vrhtata of tbfl same size. Tbe crowns of tho teeth are
plaited and tubercular. The 4th grinder has only a single root,
the oth has two. West Indies, Jauuiiea. Mr. Gosse's collection.
"Specimen described. Gray, Proc. Zoiil. Soc, 1849, 93."*

These descriptions were repeated, verbatim, by Gray in 18GG,
•in his " Catalogue of Seals and AVhales in the British Museum"
(pp. 20, 43), without additional remark, but in his account of
the genus Monachun (ibid., p. 18) he says : ''As the other sub-
tropical Seal, Phoca tropicalis (Gray, Cat. Seals B. M. 28), from
JauuiicK, described from mx imperfect skin without a skull, has
similar small smooth whiskers [as Monachus albiventer], it may
very probably, when its skull has been examined, be found to
belong to this genus, which will then prove to be a subtropical
form of the family."! It appears, however, that in the mean-
time a figure of the Cy&tophora antillarum had api)eared in an
"inedited" plate in the " Zoology of the Erebus and Terror," |
at least such is here so cited by Gray, but whether the skull or
the external characters are represented is not stated.

It will be noticed that in the above descriptions no measure-
ments are given, nor any indication of size, nor is the structure
of the hind feet referred to, not so much as to state whether
they are or are not provided with nails. The only further infor-
mation Dr. Gray has vouchsafed to us, based on his own obser-
vations, is contained in his " Hand List of Seals," etc., pub-
lished in 1874, where he says under Cystophora antillarum (p.
18): "Animal, stuffed, young male? 1005 a. Skull, young,

*Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, p. 38.

t These remarks appeared originally twelve years l)efore iu his description
of his genus Heliophoca (Proc. Zoiil. Soe. Lond., 1854, p. 44), and hence the
comparison of the whiskers wiis lirst made with his Heliophoca atlantica,
■which he later ( 186(5) referred to Monach us albiventer, Heliophoca was charac-
terized as having the " cutting teeth f ," but this seems to have been a typo-
graphical error for i, as with this correction the whole description of the
genus Heliophoca was in 1866 introduced under Monachus.

X On this, as on many other occasions, I have to lament the absence from
all the libraries of this vicinity of the part of this work treating of tho mam-
mals.

718 MONACHUS? TROPICALIS — WEST INDIAN SEAL.

broken. Muzzle rather dilated . . . This Hkiill is exeeed-
ni};lylike thatt)i" the yoiiiij"; (J. cristuta.''^ In 18(U}, under "Addi-
tions and Corre I ions" in his " Catalogue of Seals and Whales "
(j). 3(57), he cites for the tirst time " Hill's Jamaica Almanack,
1843", and adds as a synonym "The Pedro Seal (Phoca Wilki-
anus), OoHse, Nat Sojourn in Jamaica, 307, 308", aud quotes
the descriptions of specimens there given.

Gill on the West Indian Seals, 1860. — Dr. Gill in 1866
(but before he had seen Gray's "Catalogue of Seals and
Whales" of that date) thus referred to the West Indian Seals:
"The relations of the Jamaican Seal, rejoicing in the two names,

Phoca tropicaViH, Gray, and if ! Wilkianua, Gosse (1851), are

very uncertain. Mr. Gosse obtained a single skin. The exact
origin of the Cystophora antillarum was not mentioned in the
original description, and its West Indi.. habitat requires con-
firmation."* Dr. Gray,t a little later, in referring to Dr. Gill's
above-quoted remarks, reaffirmed that the specimens of both
his species were obtained in Jamaica by Mr. Gosse.

Analysis and Discussion of the foregoing. — From the
foregoing, — the only information at present accessible on the
subject, — what conclusions may be drawn respecting the num-
ber of species and affinities of the West Indian Seals? Are
there two species or one, aud what is their relationship ? In
the first place, it may be noted that Gray's Phoca tropicalis and
Gosse's Pedro Seal ( wilkianua), the latter named specific-
ally, but referred to no particular genus, are one and the same
thing, the former being based on Mr. Gosse's specimen. That
such a species exists is beyond question, while, as will be no-
ticed fully later, its generic affinities seem to be with Mona^shus,
to which genus Dr. Gray finally referred it. Secondly, it is to
be noted that the specimens made known by Hill and Gosse,
and all their observations respecting the Jamaican Seals, re-
late to this type, and in no way suggest the genus Cystophora.
In the third place, no one can doubt but that the specimens
on which Gray based his Gyatoplwra antillarum were correctly
referred to Cystophora. Every point of the description ren-
ders this evident, while Dr. Gray himself says, in his last ref-
erence to the species, twenty-five years after it was first de-
scribed, "This skull is exceedingly like that of the young C.

* Proc. Essex lustitute, vol. v, No. 1, April, 1866, p. 4, footaote,
t Aon. and Mag. Nat. Hist., zvii, 1866, p. 445.

im I Hjiviuvn. I

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION.

719

criHtata.^''* Filially, did tlio specimenH on wliich Cyntophora
antUlarum was based come from the West Indies? Dr. (Jray
says, in his first reference to tlu'iii in 1849, they were "lately
received from the West Indies." In the next paragraph he
says, "We have received an imperfect skin of a Seal from Ja-
maica, which was bronj>ht home by Mr. Gossc," certainly im-
plyin}^ that th'^ specimens mentioned jnst before were notfronj
Mr. Gosse, and probably not from Jamaica. On the other
hand, Mr. Gosse's acconnt of the Pedro Seal indicates that Mr.
Gosse himself never oven saw other specimens of this Seal
than the skin he sent to the British Museum, his whole account
of the species, aside from a description of this skin, being
avowedly given at second hand. Yet Dr. Gray the next year,
in redescribing these S])ecimen8, made the skin received from
Mr. Gosse the basis of his Phoca tropicalis, while the "skin and
skull" on which Cystophora antUlarum became now exclusively
based received a definite localitj' and history, namely, " West
Indies, Jamaica, Mr. Gosse's Collection." t It was a year later
when Mr. Gosse published his account of the Pedro Seal, and
if these specimens, alleged to have been received from Jamaica
through him, had related to the Pedro Seal, or to any other Ja-
maican Seal, it is probable that he would not have failed to refer
to ihem in treating of the Seals of Jamaica. Dr. Gray, how-
ever, doubtless firmly believed in their Jamaican origin, for he
not only gives for them the habitat and history above quoted
in all his subsequent notices of Cystophora antUlarum, but in
1866, in replying to Dr. Gill's remark that its West Indian hab-
itat required confirmation, says he (Gill) overlooked " the fact
that they were both [Phoca tropicalis and Cystophora antUla-
rum] collected in Jamaica and sent home direct from the island
by Mr. Gosse."!

In regard to the occurrence of the genus Cystophora in Ja-
maican waters, there are, in the present state of our knowledge
of the subject, only two alternatives, one of which implies the
acceptance of Gray's alleged origin of his specimens of C. an-
tUlarum as valid, while the other assumes an accidental error
of locality; since its presence or absence there, so far as we
now know, turns upon this point. In favor of the latter alter-
native is the pretty strong inference, derivable from the gen-

' • •Hand List of Seals, etc., 1674, p. 18. ~

t Cat. Seals, p. 38.
t Aim. and Mag. Nat. Hist., xvii, 7.866, p. 145. .. ;>-

111

720 MONACIIUS? TROriCALIS WF.ST INDIAN HEXL.

eral history of the case, that Mr. Gosso obtained or saw only a
single speeiinen of Seal in Januiiea, — namely, the skin forming
the basis of Gray's Phoca tropicalis.* Fnrtherinore, the gentis
Cysto2)hora, as now known, is a subarctic type, the occnrrenco
of wliieli within the tropics seems at lejist very improbable.
Agreeing, therefore, with Dr. Gill that the West Indian habitat
of Ci/Htophora antillarum even still "requires confirmation," I
can recognize in the present connection only a single 8i)ecies
of West Indian Seal, — namely Phoca tropkalis, Gray, 1850,=
Monachns tropicalis, Gr.iy, 1874.

Affinities of the Jamaican or Pedro Seal. — In respect
to the characters and affinities of the Jamaican Seal, we have
nothing of importance beyond the information furnished by

Messrs. Hill and Gosse. The incisive fornuila of Iff shows that
it is neither Cystophora nor Macrnrkinns, nor even a tyi)ical
member of the subfamily Phocincc. In this respect it agrees
with Monachus and with the Stenorhyncine Seals, with which
types it also agrees in the rudimentary condition of the nails
on the hind feet. It agrees with Monachus in the structure of

* After transmitting tbis article to the printer it seemed to mc desirable
to settle, if possible, tbe question of tbo West Indian origin of tbe specimens
on wbicb Dr. Gray based his CyHtopltora antiUarvm, and I accordingly ad-
dressed a letter of inquiry on tbo subject to Mr. I*. H. Gosse. He not only
promptly replied, but in a subsequent letter kindly gave me per.nission to
publish his letter, the greater part of which I hero transcribe :

"Sandhurst, Torquay. Jan. 18, 1880.

" My Dear Sir: In reply to your inquiry about West Indian Seals, I may
say, with certainty, (notwithstanding the length of time that has elapsed,)
that Dr. J. E. Gray was in error, in supposing that more than one species was
actually delivered to the Brit. Museum, from Jamaica, hy me. This was
the skin mentioned in my 'Nat. Soj. Jam.', p. 314

"The Seal of the Pedro Kays is certainly rot a Cystophora. I know noth-
ing of this ; nor of any other Seal from the Antilles than the species I b»vo
described in 'N. S. J.'

"Believe me, my dear sir, very truly yours,

"P. H. GOSSE."

This makes it evident that Dr. Gray was mistaken in his statement that
the 8X>ecimens of his Cystoplwra antillai-um were "collected in Jamaica and
sent home direct from the island by M". Gosse." I will now add that I be-
lieve it. safe to n.xor Cystophora antillanim to the well-known Cystophora
cristata, even Gray himself having stated that the young skull on which it
was mainly based "is exceedingly like that of tbe young C cristata," and
to assume that the supposition of its West Indian origin was wholly a mis-
take. « - ■

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

721

the mystacial bristles, aiul in the i)alinH bciiifc bare, in which
characters it (litters from any of tlio Stcnorhynchinw. It ap-
pears to differ from Monuchiis in no essential character, except
in the structure of the teeth, whiiih seem to agree better with
those of Lohodon. Mr. ilill describes the molars as "tive-
lobed and conical," and as " terminating in a base of extremely
rough enamel." In Monachun the molars are very thick, broad,
and conical, with a small accessory cusp before and behiiul
the principal one, and a roughened cingulum. As in all other
characters the agreement is closer with Monachus than with
s uy of the Antarctic genera, I accept provisionally Gray's refer-
ence of the species to MonavhuH, especially as Mr. Hill's descrip-
tion of the dentition is, on the whole, rather vague. Besides
this, Monavhus is the only subtropical genus of the family, uulesa
the Jamaican Seal prove to be a distinct generic type.

Geographical Distribution. — Respecting the present geo-
graphical distribution of the West Indian Seal, I am indebted for
valuable information to Mr. R. W. Kemp, who, under date of
"Key West, Fla., April 29, 1878," Avrote me as follows : "Some
two or three years ago there were two seen near Cape Florida.
It was supposed that they had strayed from some of the Bahama
Islands, as there are some few to be found in that vicinity. I
am informed by reliable parties that Seals are to be found in
great numbers at the Anina Islands, situated between the Isle
of Pines and Yucatan. One of my informants says that as he
was sailing about the islands fishing and wrecking, he and his
party discovered a number of Seals on one of them, and went
on shore to kill some, merely 'for fun'. On nearing the shore
the Seals all got into the water. They then hid themselves in
the shrubbery along the beach, and in about ten or fifteen min-
utes the Seals came on the beach again. The men, armed with
axes, sprang upon them, the Seals trying to get into the water
again. Two of them were killed, and another one, as one of
the men cac^e up to him, turned around and barked furiously
at him, which frightened the poor man so badly (he having
never seen one before, and knowing nothing of their habits)
that he almost fainted. The Seals are said to be very easily
killed or captured alive. They yield a great deal of oil.. The
skins are very large, but not easy to cure, on account of their
fatty substance." In a later letter he refers to their great raT-
Misc. Pub. No. 12 46

722 MONACHUSi TROPICALIS — WEST INDIAN SEAL.

ity on the Florida coast, There lie say.** they occur " only once
or twice in a lifetime'', but alludes to their comparative abun-
dance on the coast of Yucatan, and their occasional occurrence
at the Bahama Islands.

Mr. L. F. de Pourtales also informs me thr^t there is a rock
on Salt Key Bank, near the Bahamas, called "Dog Eock", pre-
sumably from its having been formerly frequented by the Seals.
Also, that his pilot, in l.SOS-OO, told him he had himself killed
Seals among the rocky islets of Salt Key Bank.

1 learn irom .Mr. S. \V. Garman, who accompanied Mr. Agas-
siz during his driuiging expe«lition in the Caribbean S<»a, in
the United States Coast Survey steamer "Blake,"' during the
winter of 1877-78, that the Seal of those waters is well known
to the wreckers and turtle-hunters of that region, and that
they often kill tl>em for their oil. He also informs me that
these animals had also been iiequeiitly seen and killed by
one of the officers of the " Blake," especially about the Isle of
Piney, south of Cuba, and at the Alacranes, where, as already
noted, Jiey occurred in such abumlance at the time of Dam-
pier's visit in 1(570 as to be extensively hunted for their oil.
They are also known to the whalers who visit these waters.

The specimens described l)y Messrs. Ildl and Gosse were
taken at the Pedro Kays, oft" the southern coast of Jamaica,
where thirty years ago they appear to have occurred in consid-.
erable numbers.

On a "Chart of the Environs of .Tamaica," ^.ublished in
1774,* as well as on later maps of this region, are indicated
some islots oft' the Mosquito Coast, in about latitude 12^ 40',
which bear the name " Seal Kays,'' doubtless in reference to
the presence there of these animals.

it therefore appears that the habitat of the West Indian
Seal extends iiom the northern (.-oast of Yuiatan northward
to the sou' hern point of Florida, eastward to tlie Baliamas and
Jamaica, and southward along the Central American coast to
about latitude llio. Although ku- xv to Jiave been once abun-
dant at some of these localities, it appears to ha\o now weil-
nigh reached extinction, and is doubtless to be found at only a
few of the least frequented islets in various portions of the
ar I above indicate«i. Beiiig stiM well known to many of the
wreckers and turtJe-hunters, it seems strange that it should

* History of Jamaica, ol. i, faeiiij; fit. -page. Tb« work in a.ionyuioiis,
but tlie iiulhorsliip isattiilMiled <o Edwiinl Long.

C -^^-NUS CYSTOPHORA.

i23

have 80 long remained almost unknown to naturalists. The
only specimen extant in any museum seems to be the imperfect
skin transmitted by Mr. Gosse to the British Museum thirty
years ago. Consequently respecting none of the Pinnipeds,
at least of the northern hemisi)here, is information still so desk-
able.

Subfamily CYSTOPHORINiE, Grmj. .

Genus CYSTOPHORA, mUson.

Cystophora, Nillson, "Skaiul, Fauna, i, 1820, 382." Type, Cystophora bore-

al'iH, Nilssou = P/ioca crixtata, Erxlobcn.
Stemmatope [Stemmatopua'], F. Cuvier, M<Siu. du Mas., xi, 1824, 196. Type,

Photd a-istata, Erxlobeii.
Stemmatopu8, F. Cuvier, Diet. Sci. Nat., xxxix, 1826, 551; ibid., lix, 1829,

464.
MiroiDiga, Gray, Gilfflth's An. Kin<r., v, 1827, 463 (in part).

Incisors j^'. Molar teeth with small, plaited crowns, a dis-
tinct neck, and very thick, swollen roots, all simple-rooted
except the fifth upper, which is double-rooted, as is also some-
times the fourth upper. Nasal bones rather short, small ;
palatal surface br ad, flat ; hind bonfer of palatines concave.
Nasal passages deep, broad, nearly divided posteriorly by a
long septum; intevorbital region broad; muzzle narrow, rather
produced. Auditory bulh© greatly swollen, the anterior border
nearly straight (convex in youth). Brain-case short, broad;
prominent occipital crest', and well-developed anteorbital i)ro-
cesses in the adult males ; also, with a large inflatable sac on
the nose, which is absent in the females and in the young
males. Digits of both fore an<'- hind limbs armed with large
powerful claws. Outer digits of pes but little longer than the
middle ones.

Cyfitophora agrees closely Avith Macrorhinus in the form aud
general character of the teeth ; also in neither do the inter-
maxillaries rise in front to meet the nasals, as is the case
throughout the Phocinw. Cystophora differs from Macrorhimis
in the form of the basisphenoid and basioccipital bones, which
in Cyntophora constitute a bro^d tiat interl>ullar space, this
region in Macrorhinus being narr^. w and deeply hollowed. Also
in the form of the hind feet, which in Cystophora are only
slightly emarginate on the distal border, whereas in Macro-
rhinuH the hind feet are deeply forked, in consequence of the

724

CY8T0PH0RA CR18TATA — HOODED SEAL.

outer digits far exceeding in length the middle ones. The nails
8xe alao rudimentary in the last-named genus, while in Cysto-
phora they form strong, well-developed claws. A further differ-
ence iu external characters consists in the form of the nasal
appendage of the adult males, the large inflatable sac met
with in Cystophora being represented in Macrorhimis by a long
flexible proboscis, resulting in a widely different physiognomi-
cal expression.

In respect to general form, MacrorMnus is heavily developed
anteriorly, all the bones of the fore limbs being especially mas-
sive, while those of the hind limbs are rather weak, and the
feet small. The scapula is very large and broad, the width at
the widest part being equal to the length. The acromion pro-
cess is strongly developed, and the crest placed very near the
posterior border, two-thirds of the width of hhe scapula being
in front of the crest. While the length of the skeleton (adult
males being compared in each case) in MacrorMnus leomnua is
twice that of Cystophora cristata, and the bulk of the whole
animal must be many times greater, the hind limb is only a
little larger than in the latter (for detailed measurements see
infra, pp. 733 and 750). While the humerus and radius are each
twice as long in Macrorhimis as the corresponding parts in
Cystophora, the tibia is scarcely a third longer, while the rela-
tive length of the pelvis in the two is as 5 to 4 !

Cystophora, so far as is certainly known, is represented by
only a single species, which is restricted to the colder parts of
the North Atlantic. A second species has been attributed to
the Caribbean Sea, but, as already shown {antea, p. 720), there
seems to be reason for believing the locality to have been wrongly
assigned.

CfSTOPHORA CRISTATA {Urxl), Nilss.

Hooded Seal.

Phoca leonina, LiNNUi, Syst. Nat., 1766 (in part, — only the reference to EUia's
"Seal with a Cawl"; not Phoca konina, Linn6, 1758). — Fabbicics,
MUUer'sZool Dan. Pi-od., 1776, viii ; Faun. Groeul., 1780, 7 (exclud-
ing jiart of the references ; not Phoca leonina, Linnd, 1758). — Wal-
lace, Proc. Eoy. Phys. ^oc. Edinb., 1862, 393.

Klamilth, Eobde, Det gamle Gronlands Ts} e Perls., etc., 1741, pi. facing p. 46.

Seal with a Cawl, Ellis, Voyage to Hudson's Bay, etc., 1748, pi. facing p. 134.

Neitseraoak, Cranz, HJstorie von GrSnland, 1765.

Hooded Seal, Pennant, Synop. Quad., 1771, 342 (based on Egede and CraniB).

KlappmUze, Schbebbr, Saugt., iii, 312 (baued on the foregoing).

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SYNONYMY.

725

Phoca crialata Erxleben, Syst. Reg. Anim., 1777, 590 (based exclusively on
Egede, Ellis, Cranz, Pemiaut, and Schreber, as above). — Gmeun,
Syst. Nat., i, 1778, 64. — Fabricius, Skrivter af Naturh.-Selskabet,
i, Hefte 2, 1791, 120 (in part only).— Kerr, Anim. King., 1792, 126.—
Desmarest, Nouv. Diet, des Sci. Nat., xxv, 1817, 580; Mam., 1820,
;i41, :i71.— DeKa Y.Ann. New York Lye. Nat. Hi8t.,i, 1824, 94, pi. vii.—
Ludlow and King, ibid., 99 (anatomy).— Harlan, Faun. Amer.,
1825, 106.— Godman, Am. Nat. Hist., i, 1826, 336.— Lesson, Diet.
Class, d'llist. Nat., xiii, 1828, 412.— Fischer, Syn. Mam., 1829, 241.—
Von Bakb, Bull. Acad. Imp. des Sci. de St. P^tersb., iii, 1838, 350.—
Hamilton, Ampbih. Carniv., 1839, 197, pi. xiv (from DoKay). —
Blainville, Ostdogr., Phoca, 1840-1851, pi. v (skull). — Schinz,
Synop. Mam., i, 1844, 485. — Gervais, Zool. et Pal. Fran^ais, 1848-
1852, 139, pi. xlii (animal, skull, and dentition. Coast of France,
accidental) ; ibid., 1859, 270.

Cyatophora criatata, Nilsson, "K, Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockholm, 1837, — ";
Wiegmanu's Arch, fur Naturg., 1841,326; "Ilium. Fig. till Skand.
Fauua, 20:de hiiftet, 1840"; Skand. Faun. Daggdj., 1847, 312.—
Wagner, Schreber's Saugt., vii, 1842, 48. — Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc.
Lond., 1849, 91 (variation in dentition) ; Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850,
36, fig. 13; Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 41, tig. 14; Zoologist, 1872,
3334, 3338 (distribution) : Hand List Seals, 1874, 17, tig. 11, i>l. xiii
(skull, juv.). — Giebel, Siiugeth., 1855, 142. — Blasius, Nature. Wir-
bel. Deutschl., i, 1857, 258, ligg. 145-147.— Malmgken, Ofv, af
Kongl. Vet. -Akad. Forh. Stockholm, 1863, 134; Arch, filr Naturg.,
1864, 72.— Reinhardt, Videusk. Meddel. Natiir. Foreu., 1864 (1865),
248, 277 (milk-dentitiou). — GCnther, Zool. Rec, ii, 18f)5, 38 (ab-
stract of Reinhardt's paper on milk-dentition). — Gill, Proc. Essex
Inst., V, 1866, 13.— Packard, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., x, 1866, 271
(Labrador).— Quennkustedt, K. Svens. Veten.-Akad. Handl., Bd.
vii, 1868, No. 3, 25.— Brown, Proc. Zoiil. Soc. Lond., 1868, 435 ; Man.
Nat. Hist., etc., Greenland, 1875, Mam., 64.— Allen, Bull. Mus.
Comp. ZooL, i, 1869, 193 (Massachusetts).- Reeks, Zoologist, 1871,
2548 (Newfoundland).— Walker, Scottish Nat., ii, 1873 (St. An-
drews, Scotland). — Moore, Proc. Liverpool Soc, xxvii, 1873, xiii
(England). — Cobbold, Pioc. Zoiil. Soc. London, 1873, 741 (same). —
Von Heuglin, Reisen nach dem Nordpolarmeer, iii, 1874, 66. — LiLL-
JEBOBG, Fauua ofv. Sveriges och NorgesRyggradsdjur, 1874, 721. —
Van Beneden, Ann. du Mus. roy. d'Hist. Nat. du Belgiqiu>, pt. i,
1877, 17 (geogr. distr., with chart).— Rink, Danish Greenland, its
People and its Products, 1877, 126, 430.— Schultz. Rep. U. S. Comm.
Fish and Fisheries, pt. iii, 1873-74 and 1874-75, 53.

Stenimatopua criatatua, F. Cuvier, M(5m. du Mus., xi, 1824, 196, pi. xiii ; Diet,
des Sci. Nat., xxxi, 1826, 551. — Lesson, Man. de Mam., 1827,201. —
DeKay, Zool. N. Y., i, 1842, 55, pi. xv fig. 1.— JUKES, Excura. in
Newfoundland, i, 1842, 319,

Mirounija cnafata, Gray, Griliith's An. King., v, 1827, 463. ;

Phoca ciimllata, Boddaert, "Elen. Anim., 1785, 107.'"

Phoca mitraia, "Milbert i'S.", G. Cuvier, Oss. foss., 3"" ed., v, 1825, 210,
pi. xviii, fig. 3.— F. Cuvier, Dents de Mam., 1825, 122, pU. xxxviii
B, xxxix— Fischer, Syn, Mam., 1829, 241.— Hamilton, Amphib.
Carniv., 1839, 204, pi. xv ("from Diet, des Sci. Nat.").

726

CYSTOPHOKA CRISTATA HOODED SEAL.

Stemmatopm mitraUis, Gn.vY, "Brooke's Cat. Mum., 182(5, 36."

Cyatophora boreaUs, Nilsson, "Skaiul. Faun., W20, :ifi'A."

Phocaleucopla, Thienkmann, "Reise im Nordeu von Eiiropa, etc., 1824, 102,
pi. xiii (young); liull. Sci. Nat., 1825, v, 261."— Fischeu, Syn.
Mam., IH^y, :$37.

Phoca iaidorei, Lesson, Rov. ZooL, 1843, 25(5 (Isle d'Olerou, P'rauce, acci-
dental).

ICyntophora aniillariim, Gray, Pro«. Zool. Sec. Lend., 1849, 93 (excluding
the skin from Jamaica received from Mr. Gosse) ; " Zotil. Erebus and
Terror, t. ined.," apttd Gray ; Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1850, 58 ;
Cat. Seals Brit. Mus., 1850, 'iS; Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, 43;
Hand List Seals, etc., 1874, 18.

"A Seal new to the BritM Shores, Clxrkk, 1847, 4to. lig. of animal & skull."

Hood Seal, Cahuoll, Seal and Hcri'lug Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, 13.

Klapnujdsen, Reinuahdt, Vidensk. Meddel. fra den Naturh. Foreu.,i, Kjo-
Itcnhavn, 1H64 (18G5), 248 (milk-deutitiou).

Neitsersoak ( g ), Xcsanrsalik ( 9 ), Kakoriak (young), Greenlaudic.

Bldaajiilen, lilanx-Skal, Klapmijts, Klappnujsta, Swedish.

Tevyak, Russian.

Klapmyda, Danish.

Elappmiitze, Blaserohhe, Gorman.

Phoqiie hcapuehon, French.

Hooded Seal, Created Seal, Bladdernose, English.

External Characters. — Color above bluish-black, lighter
on the sides ami veutrally, thickly varied with small irregular
spots of whitish ; head and limbs nearly uniform black. Some-
times the light grayish- white tint prevails, varied with spots of
dark-brown or blackish. Length of full-grown male about 7J
to 8 feet ; of full-grown female about 7 feet. The young are
born white, with a soft woolly pelage, but this is soon changed
for the harsh, stiff co\ering of the adults, and the color changes
to a Uniform brownish, or more or less silvery-gray, lighter on
the sides, and whitish below.

DeKay describes the male as haWng the " Head small in pro-
portion to the body, with a moveable muscular bag on its sum-
mit, extending from the muzzle to about Ave inches behind the
eyes, and in certain positions nearly covering the internal cauthi.
This sac is twelve inches long, and, when fully distended, nine
inches high, covered with short hairs, and with slight trans-
verse wrinkles. The nostrils are round, each two inches in di-
ameter, and pierced in the anterior part of this hood. When
the hood or nasal sac is not inflated, the septum nasi can be
distinctly felt, elevated into a ridge about six inches high. . . .
Ifasal sac bright brown or rufous." *

• New York Zoology, pt. i, pp. 55, 56.

EXTERNAL CHARACTERS.

727

Nearly all writers, from Fabricius to the present time, speak
of the hood as a sexual character. Mr. Carroll, whose famili-
arity with the species should render him an authority on this

. <" 't2l!l':'1?;?i'f;i'ffi|Hi!ii|||!i^i^n.» „,,„.„

point, says distinctly : "The female of this species has no hood
on the head."* Mr. Brown, however, observes: "Tt is assorted
by the sealers that this bladder is a sexual mark, and is not
found on the female". But he adds: "I do not think there is
any just ground for this belief"; yet he i)resents no reasons for

* Seal and Herriug FishcrieH of Ncwfourullaiirt, p. 14,

728

CYSTOPIIORA CKISTATA HOODED SEAL.

tliis stsiteiiient.* The testimony on this point is too explicit,
however, to be set aside on ilie mere }?ronnd of opinion.

Respecting? the size of this species, DeKay gives the total
length of the male specimen desciribed by him as 90.5 inches, of

which the tail formed G.5 inches. He says its weight was 500
to GOO pounds {loc. cit,., p. 50). Carroli says the length of the
Hooded Seal, " from nose to tail", is G to 8 feet, and that the
weight of the male, ^^ when in full flesh ", varies from 800 to 900
pounds, of which the skin and fat form 350 to 450 pounds,
while the skin and fat of the female, " when prime", will weigh
only 150 to 200 pounds. This indicates that the female is much
smaller than the male {loc. cit., p. 14). Quennerstedt gives the

*Proc. Zoiil. Sou. Loud., 1863, p. 4:5(1, footuovc; MauualNat. Hist., Geol.,
etc., Greenland, Mum., 187.'), p. (54, footuote.

EXTERNAL CIIAKACTERS.

729

following measurements : Male, from the i»oint of the nose to the
end of the tail, 2190 nun. (7feet3inches,Swe<lish measure) ; from
the i)oint of the nose to the end of the hind extren. ties 2400 mm.

Fig. 54. — Cystophora cristata. No. 6576, Nat. Mus ; i iiat. size.

(8 Swedi-sh feet); length of the fore limb 480 mm.; of rhe hind
limb 420 mm.; of the tail 10") mm. Fenmle, from the point' of
the nose to the end of the tail, lOSO mm. (0.^ Swedish feet.*)
He gives the length of two young ones a few days old as respect-
ively 3 feet 4 inches and 3 feet 9 inches. I find. the length of a
skeleton of an adult male, from the point of the nose to the eml
of the tail, to be 1070 mm.

~ * K. Sv. Vet.-Akad. HaiuU., Baud vii, No. % 1868, pp. "25, 26,

730

CYSTOPIIORA CRISTATA HOODED SEAL.

Skeleton and Skull. — The skull of the Crested Seal (Figg.
53-56, from a rather young example) is nearly quadrate in gen-
eral form, with the anteorbital portion abrui)tly and greatly
narrowed. The orbits are very large, the palatal region very
broad and flat, the auditory buUre large and regularly swollen,
the braiti-case very short and very broad. The interorbital

Fig. 55. — Cystophora cristata. No. 0576, Nat. Mns.; ^nat. size.

region is broad, regularly narrowing anteriorly. The teeth are
remarkable for their small plaited (not lobed) crowns and the
very large size of the roots, which are not only long but greatly
swollen. Usually only the last (5th) upper molar is 2-rooted,
and in this the double character of the root is only indicated by

SKELETON AND SKULL.

731

the deep longitudinal grooves on each side. Not unfrequently,
however, the fourth upper molar is either distinctly double-
rooted, or incipiently so, the two fangs being connate and more
or less completely united. It sometimes happens that the 4th
upper molar is double-rooted on one side and single-rooted on
the other. In old age the bones of the skull become greatly

Fig. 56. — Cystophora oristata. No. 6576, Nat. Mus.; ^ nat. size.

thickened, the surfa<;e assumes a more or less rugose charac-
ter, with incipient sagittal and well-developed occipital crests.
The sutures, even in old age, remain open nearly throughout
the skull.

The usual sexual variations are observable in the smaller
size, weaker structure, and smoother surface of the bones in the
females. An adult female skull gives a length of 220 mm.
against a length of 275 mm. in an old male. Detailed measure-
ments are given in the subjoined table.

732

CY8T0P1I0KA CRI8TATA — HOODED SEAL.

■9

"S'

■Ai«f aoMO[ JO q^aoq

be be

ii . .

>> (^ "d -d

"3 5 •3 '(.' 'C ^

'aaea-aiwq jo q'tpi^ )S9^Ba.io

■dBB3-ii|Bjq JO niSno'x

•fflnnq
JJOJipnw % v nn jia jo ^qa|9q i bqubmq

'^I9U9ABiiBj} 'eajBO jo|a9)attjo q^pvaig

■^llBopaoA 'HOiBU .loj.ia^an jo mpnoaa;

'il98J9A8auj|'sa.ii)ajouk^aodjoq)pB9jQ

■iXI^O^^OA '89JBa J0lJ9((8OCl JO q!)pBajQ[

■;(lI8!)iqjoje)a! '([ti^ti jo q:)po9jq ^avoi

'Bea;aB9 >b uniiH jo qjpBOJjj

•nxBrn-ojnojj" ^B qipiAi 'w.inoq [ssv^

S 3 3 S S

9> 00 00 00 S X

g: : lo o o

: . iH c^ o

iH ; I PI r-( rH

9 cv) ^ tA ^ m

^ S S 9

»A CO t^ t* 00 t-
^ "if tf ^ ^ -^

M rH S 8 S M

M S m T(< 3 (N

^ -.1 C5 M w »o

■* i)< ■>* so I- •*

O rt O t- l> Tl>

'A'tjougfuu tllp(Al '83U0q 1B9«X

?J M «

•q;3aoi '89aoq jBBBii

■aanjxBiu JO paa |

jopajaod IB uoiSoj WB[Bd jo q(jpi7i\ |

S S 3

M)ll|XBUI

aqj. JO j>)p.io(t ,iu[o.>Aii) aq^ jo q^anei |

ssas

-{[iiuiuq pio^itAlja^d jo pna o)
9jtnn8 Aj»ntxB'ai-o)ntBd mo.ij oonoiBift

»ft «p S-l X

to in m 2

■J9)a( JO Oj^pa loiia^nu inu.ij aacB)B((x !

'8n).io;ipnv sn^Bain o% a)[[!xuui I

jjajni JO aSp,) joija^nv laoJj aanoisid |

•jBiom 48Bt JO aSpa^ipottf oflBnixBiu

■J9^m JO a3pa joLia^OB aiojj_aouB48i(i i

•UnuiBq pioal.Oojil oraJiiiXBuT \

■ga^ni jo a^pa' joua^aB tno.ij'aanB^ srci i

■saqoxB o;)Bino!iij(z %v q^psajq ^sa^Bajf)

5 Tj« 00 OT O

1-1 M

is S CO S

'B998aaojd pto4i>-Bia %v q^praa-j

•qnSnaT;

-X9S

1-1

g s

220
165

I-t

iH »-*

^ ^ g §

N M M N

^ 9

o o

t- *t «o ?* in in
•laqtnun aiiS?oiv;BO | | g | 3 §

I
I
I

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 733

In respect to the general skeleton, it may be noted that the
bones are very thick in pro])ortion to their length, and of a
rather light open structure. The vertebraj are short and broad,
especially their contra, the ai)ophysial elements being also thick
and short. The scapula is very large, with the (irest medial
and the acromian process well developed. In general outline
and proportions it bears a close resemblance to that of Phoca
grcenlandica, and is consequently entirely unlike the long, nar-
row, luimte scapula of ErignathuH barbatus. The femur is short
and stout, being one-third shorter but much thicker than in the
last-named species. The same stoutness of form characterizes
the humerus and the other limb-bones. While the humerus is
of tlie same length as in the Bearded Seal, it is much thicker,
besides differing much in other features. There is thus a
strongly marked difference in the relative length of the upper
segments of the fore and hind limbs in the two species. The
pelvis has the same general form as in the species of the re-
stricted genus Phoca. The following measurements are from
a disarticulated skeleton of an adult male of apparently medium
size:

Miasurementa of th^ principal parte of the akeletov in Cyatophora criafata {$ ad.),

MM.

Length of the skull 265

Length of the cervical vertebr® 275

Length of the dorsal vertebrae 630

Length of the lumbar vertebrsB 320

Length of the sacral vertebrae 190

Length of the caudal vortebrse 290

Lbiigth of the scapula 213

Length of the humerus 160

Length of the radius 155

Length of the mauus 215

Length of the pelvis 318

Length of the femur 127

Length of the tibia 315

Length of the pes 410

Length of the whole skeleton 1,970

Length of the fore limb (excluding scapula) 530

Length of the hind limb.. 852

Geographical Distribution and Migrations. — The
Hoodeii or Crested Seal is restricted to the colder parts of the
Xorth Atlantic and to portions of the Arctic Sea. It ranges
from Greenland eastward to Spitzbergen and along the Arctic
coast of Europe, but is rarely found south of Southern Norway

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

f/.

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1.0

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2.0

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734

CY8T0PH0RA CRISTATA — HOODED SEAL.

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and Newfoundland. As is the case with other pelagic species,
stragglers are sometimes met with far to the southward of the
usual range of the species. On the North American coast it
appears to be of uncommon occiirrence south of the point
already mentioned, as it is said by Gilpin * to be " a rare vis-
itor to the shores of Nova Scotia." Like the Harp Seal, it ap-
pears also to be regularly migratory, but owing to its much
smaller numbers and less commercial importance, its move-
ments are not so well known. Carroll states that it visits the
coast of Newfoundland at the same time as the Harp Seal, or
about the 25th of February, the time, however, varying with
the state of the weather. He further states that Hooded Seals
always keep to the eastward of the Harp Seals, amongst the
heavy ice; also that they are quite numerous in spring in the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where " many of them are killed by
persons who reside on St. Paul's Island."! Dr. Packard states
that it "is not uncommonly, during the spring, killed in con-
siderable numbers by the sealers" along the coast of Labra-
dor.J Eink says, " It is only occasionally found along the
greater part of the coast [of Greenland], but visits the very
limited tract between 60° and 61° N. lat., in great numbers,
most probably in coming from and returning to the east side
of Greenland. The first time it visits us is from about May
20 till the end of June, during which it yields a very lucrative
catch."§ Robert Brown observes, " With regard to the favour-
ite localities of this si)ecies of Seal Cranz and the much more
accurate Fabricius disagree — the former afl&rming that they are
found mostly on great ice islands where they sleep in an un-
guarded manner, while the latter states that they delight in
the high seas, visiting the land in April, May, and June. This
appears contradictory and confusing; but in reality both au-
thors are right, though not in an exclusive sense." Again he
says : " This Seal is not common anywhere. On the shores of
Greenland it is chiefly found beside 'r^rge fields of ice, and
comes to the coast, as was remarked by Fabricius long ago, at
certain times of the year. They are chiefly found [u South
Greenland, though it is erroneous to say that they are exclu-
sively confined to that section. I have seen them not uncom-
monly about Disco Bay, and have killed them in Melville Bay,

* Proc. and Trans. Nova Scotia Inst. Nat. Sci., vol. iii, pt. 4, p. 884.
t Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, pp. 13, 14.
tProc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. x, p. 271.
$ Danish Greenland, etc., 1877, p. 126. .

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 735

in the most northerly portion of Baffin's Bay. They are prin-
cipally killed in the district of Julianshaab, and then almost
solely in the most southern part, on the outtermost islands, from
about the 20th of May to the last of J une ; but in this short
time they supply a great portion of the food of the natives and
form a third of the colony's yearly production. In the begin-
ning of July the Klapmyds leaves, but returns in August,
when it is much emaciated. Then begins what the Danes in
Greenland call the maigre Klapmydse fangst, or the ' lean-
Klapmyds-catching', which lasts from three to four weeks.
Very seldom is a Klapmyds to be got at other places, and espe-
cially at other times. The natives call a Klapmyds found
single up a tjord by the name of Nerimartont., the meaning of
which is ' gone after food'. They regularly frequent some small
islands not far from Julianshaab, where a good number are
caught. After this they go further north, but are lost sight of,
and it is not known where they go to (Rink, /. c). Those seen
in North Greenland are mere stragglers, wandering from the
herd, and are not a continuation of the migrating flocks.
Johannes (a very knowing man of Jakobshavn) informed me
that generally about the 12th of July a few are killed in Ja-
kobshavn Bay (lat. 09° 13' X.). It is more pelagic in its habits
than the other Seals, with the exception of the Saddleback."*

I conclude the account of the geographical distribution of
the Hooded Seal in Baffin's Bay with the following from Mr.
Kumlien's account :

"The bladder-nose appears to be very rare in the upper
Cumberland waters. One specimen was procured at Annanac-
took in autumn, the only one I saw. The Eskimo had no name
for it, and said they had not seen it before. 1 afterward
learned that they are occasionally taken about the Kikkertoii
Islands in spring and autumn. I found their remains in the
old kitchenmiddens at Kingwah. A good many individuals
were noticed among the pack-ice in Davis's Straits in July." t

On the European coast t\x\c species is said to be of not very
common occiu'rence on the northarn coast of Norway, but more
to the southward only stragglers api)ear to have been met
with.| In March and April, according to Malmjiren, ths^v arc

* Proc. Zool. Soc. Loml., Itilid, pp. 436, 437; Niiiu. Nat, Hist., etc., Green-
land, Mam., pp. (iS, G(?. tBuU, U. S. Nat. Mn8.,No. 15, lH7y, p. 64.

t Says BlasinH, writing in 18r)7, "An don siidlichcn Kiistenliindorn der
Nordsee batnuui sie bin jotzt noohnicbt geeeben." — Naturgesch. der SUngeth.
Deutschlands, p. UGO.

\m:

736

CYSTOPHOEA CRI8TATA HOODED SEAL.

i I
I

I ■•

mil

ill

seen about Jan May en, and they are said to occur on the coast
of Finuiark, and at the mouth of the \Vhite Sea. Von Baer*
and Schultz also state that it is rarely found not oidy in the
White Sea, but along the Tiuianschen and Mourman (!oasts.
Von Heuglin says it appears to be found in the Spitzbergen
waters only on the western coast of these islands,! and states
that they are not known to occur at Xova Zendda. He gives
its i)riucipal range as lying more to the westward, around Ice-
land an«l Greenland.

It thus appears that the range of the (Jrested Seal is restricted
mainly to the Arctic waters of the IJforth Atlantic, from Spitz-
bergen westward to Greenland and Baffin's Bay, and thence
southward to Jfewfoundland. Stragglers have been captured,
however, far to the southward of these limits, on both sides of
the Atlantic. Thus Graj* observes :

"A young specimen has been taken in the Eiver Orwell: at
the mouth of the Thames ; and at the Island of Oleron, west
coast of France, but I greatly doubt if it had not escaped from
some ship coming from North America ; there is no doubt of
the determination of the species. The one caught on the Eiver
Orwell, 29th .Tune, 1847, is in the Museum of Ipswich, and was
described by Mr. W. B. Clarke, on the 14th August, 1847, in
ito, with a figure of the Seal and skull. The one taken on the
Isle d'Oleron is in the Paris Museum, and is figured, with the
skull, in Gervais, "ool. and Paleont. Franc, t. 42, and is called
Phoca Isiclorei, by Lesson, in the Rev. Zool., 1843, 256. The
young is very like that of PogophiluH grcenlandicits, but is im-
mediately known from it by being hairy between the nostrils,
and by the grinders being only plated and not lobed on the
surface." J

Its capture has occurred a few times on the coast of the
United States, as far from its usual range even as on the Euro-
pean coast. A large Seal is occasionally seen on the coast of

•Bull. Acad. Irnp. des Sci. de St, P^tersb., iii, 1838, p. mo.

+ Malmgren, writing some years earlier, says that in recent time" it lias
not been observed witb certainty at Spitzbergcn, tbongb reported as occur-
ring there by Martens and Scorcsby. Possibly, he svys, during its summer
wanderings it may (extend to the latitude of Spitzbergen. During Torell's
first journey to Spitzbergen a young individual wa« killed in the vicinity
of Bear Island. He says it is only exceptionally taken by the Seal hunters
about Jan Mayen, only a comparatively small number being captured. —
Arch, fur Naturgeich., 1864, p. 72.

t J. E. Gray, Zoologist, 2d ser., vol. vii, 1872, p. 3338.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 737

Massachusetts, which has be ^n supposed to be the Crested Seal,
but just what this large 8ej*l is remains still to be determined.*
DeKay, in 1824, recorded t the capture of a male example of
this species in a small creek that empties into Long Island
Sound at East Chester, about fifteen miles from New York City.
Twenty years J later 'le refers to this as the first and only
known instance of its occurrence within the limits of the State
of New York, where, he says, "it can only be regarded as a rare
and accidental visitor." Professor Cope, however, has recorded
its capture in the Chesapeake Bay, where he says it has twice
occurred.§ The first specimen was recorded in 1865 |f as " some
species of Cystophora^, taken near Cambridge, Maryland, on
an arm of the Chesapeake Bay, eighteen miles from salt water,
by Mr. Daniel M. Henry". The specimen, it is said, " measured
6i^ feet, and weighed, when living, about 330 lbs.". Although
Professor Cope adds, " Whether this species is the C. cristata
or antillarum, can not be determined, owing to the imperfection
of extant descriptions", there is no reason for doubting that it
was really the Crested Seal, a conclusion to which Professor
Cope seems to have later arrived. Although Gray's sugges-
tion anent the English specimen naturally arises, namely,
transportation from the north in some ship, it seems more
probable that they were really wanderers from the usual home
of the species.

• In my " Catalogue of the Mammals of Massachusetts," I refer to this
large Seal as follows, supposing it to be the Hooded Seal : "From accounts
I have received from residents along the coast of a seal of very large size
observed by them, and occasionally captured, I am led to think this species
is not of unfrenuent occurrence on the Massachusetts coast. Mr. C. W.
Bennett informs me of one taken some years since in the Providei.ce River,
a few miles below Providence, which he saw shortly after. From his very
particular account of it I cannot doubt that it was of this species. Mr. C.
J. Maynard also informs me that a number of specimens have been taken at
Ipswich within the past few years, that have weighed from seven hundred
to nine hundred pounds. It seems to be most frequent in winter, when it
apparently migrates from the north." — Bull. Mua. Conp. Zool., vol. i, No.
8, 1869, pp. 198, 194. This identification was made almost solely on the
ground of size, taken in connection with the fact that the species had be-^n
taken in Long Island Sound near New Tiork City. The question, howevex
may fairly be raised whether the large Seals more or less frequently seen on
the coast of New England are not really the Gray Seal {nalichcerua prypna).

t Ann. New York Lyceum Nat. Sci., vol. i, 1824, p. 94.

t New York Zool., pt. i, p. 56.

$ New Topog. Atlas of Maryland, 187:{, p. 10.

UProc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 18CJ.'>, p. '^73.
Misc. Pub. No. 12 47

738

CYSTOPHORA CRISTATA HOODED SEAL.

II >

.1 ■

'i I \
Iff w

Generai, History and Nomenclature. — The first refer-
ences to the nooded Seal, or at least the earliest that have auy
importance in relation to the technical history of the species,
are the brief allusions to it made by Egede in 1741, by Ellis in
1748, and by Cranz in 17G5, the first two of whom gave each, in
addition to their textual notices, a grotesquely rude figure of
the animal, although they show clearly that no other species
than the present (!ould have been intended. On these refer-
ences and figures are based Pennant's " Hooded Seal," and
Schreber's "Klappmii/.e". Primarily they are the basis also
of Erxleben's Phoca vristata (1777), the first tenable specific
designation of the species. Eleven years earher (176G), how-
ever, Fabricius had called the species Phoca leonina, apparently
confounding it with the Phoca leonina of Linn6, 1758, which
has reference entirely to the Sea Elephant of the southern seas.
In 176G Linnd also partly confounded the two species by cit-
ing as synonyms of his Phoca konina the KlapniUts of Egede,
Ellis's " Seal with a Cawl," etc. Although Fabricius retained
for this species the name Phoca leonina, in his "Fauna Grcen-
landiea," published in 1780, he abandoned it in 1791 for Phoca
vristata, but at the same time kept up the confusion of this spe-
cies with the southern Sea Elephant by citing the references
to that siiecies as synonyms. With slight exceptions, the name
cristata has since prevaileil as the designation of the species,
although Boddaert renamed it cucnllata in 1785, and Nilssou
in 1820 applied to it the name borealis. Milbert labelled a speci-
men he sent from New York to the Paris Museum Phoca mi-
trata, which name was published by G. Cuvier in 1825, and sub-
sequently came into some prominence, through the labors of
compilers, as that of a supposed second species of Crested
Seal. Thienemann, in 1824, described the young under the
name leucopla, and Lesson, in 1843, added isidorei, based, as
already noticed, on a specimen captured on the coast of France.

The chief stumbling-block in the technical history of this
species has been Cuvier's Phoca mitrata. To show how im-
perfectly the Hooded or Crested Seal was known by a promi-
nent writer on the Pinnipe«ls as late as 1839, and also to indi-
cate the confusion that arose from the Phoca mitrata, I (piote
a few passages from Dr. Robert Hamilton's "Amphibious Car-
nivora"(pp. 197, 204-200). He begins by saying that "It is
with considerable hesitation we i)lace the Crested Seal in the
same genus with the Mitrata". He correctly gives for a " Plate

GENERAL HISTORY AND NOMENCLATURE. 739

of the Cristata" a copy of that publislied by DeKay in the
"Auuals of the New York Lyceuui of Natural History," of the
New York specimen, but has to regret that I)e Kay's descrip-
tion was inaccessible to him, and so falls back ui)on "the ac-
curate Fabricius'' for the chief part of hits account of the spe-
cies, adding thereto a few anatomical details from Drs. Ludlow
and King, based, like DeKay's figure, on the si>ecimen taken
near New York. Of the Phoca mitrata he says: "The desig-
nation of Mitred Seal appears to have been first api)liec by
Camper, and a cranium with this label was found in his mu-
seum, in 1811, by Baron Cuvier. This specimen was supposed
[doubtless correctly] to have been procured in the Northern
Ocean. Soon after making this observation Cuvier received
from Mr. Milbert, of New York, a young animal of this genus,
from which a skeleton was prepared, and which was found per-
fectly to correspond with Camper's specimen. The locality of
its capture was not indicated. It has probably been from these
materials that the plate in the PI. de Diet, des Scien. Nat., of
which ours is a copy, has been prepared, though this is not ex-
pressly stated. The learned author of the work [F. Cuvier]
here referred to has certainly been unfortunate in making this
animal identical with the Crested Seal." After quoting from
Cuvier's and Blain\ille's accounts of this specimen he concludes
by stating: "The dimensions, the habits, and even the locality
of this singular species seems to be nearly unknown," and
quotes " as the only gleanings we have detected " a part of
Cranz's account of his " Neitsersoak," which he (Cranz) says is
also called " Clapmutz," and hence is merely Cranz's account
of the Crested Seal!

All the names, both vernacular and technical, that have been
applied to this species relate to the peculiar inflatable hood of
the male. Respecting the vernacular designations, Mr. Brown
gives the following : " Popular names. — ' Bladdernose ' or, shortly
' Bladder ' (of northern sealers, Spitzborgen sea [also of New-
foundland]); Klappmysta (Swedish); Klakkekal, Kabbutskobhe
(Northern Norse) ; Kiknebb (Finnish) ; Avjor, Fatte-Nuorjo, and
Oaado (Lapp); Klapmyds (Danish; hence Figede, Greenl., p.
46 : the word Klapmyssen, used by him on page 62 of the same
work, Engl, trans., and supposed by some commentators to be
another name, means only the Klapmyds, according to the
Danish f>rthography) : Elapmiitzc (German, hence Cranz,
Greenl., i, p. 125: I have also occasionally heard the English

740

CYSTOPHOLA CRISTATA — HOODED SEAL.

I!' 'I

W'l

'J^:

,¥■1 '

if*--

sealers call it by this name, apparently learnt from the Dutch
and German sailors). All of these words mean the ' Seal with
a cap on,' and are derived from the Dutch, who style the frontal
appendage of this species a mutz or cap, hence the Scotch
mutch. This prominent characteristic of the Seal is also com-
memorated in various popular names certain writers have ap-
plied to it, such as Blas-SMl (Bladder-Seal) by Nilsson (Skand.
Faun., i, p. 312), [hence Elme-Robbe by various German writ-
ers,] Hooded Seal by Pennant (Synopsis, p. 342), Seal with a
caul by Ellis (Hudson Bay, p. 134), in the French vernacular
Phoque a capuchon, and in the sealers' name of Bladdernose, ^
Neitersoalc, 9 Nesaursalik (Greenland), and KakortaJc (when
two years old)." *

Habits. — As already noted in the account of the geograph-
ical distribution of this species, it is, like the Harp Seal, pelagic
and migratory, preferring the drift ice of the "high t^eas" to
the vicinity of land, and seems rarely if ever to resort to rocky
islands or shores. It brings forth its young on the ice, remote
from the land, in March, a week or ten days later than the
Harp Seal, with which it appears only rarely to associate,
although the two species are often found on neighboring ice-
floes.t It is commonly described as the most courageous and
combative of the Phocids, often turning fiercely upon its pur-
suers. Dr. Rink states that its pursuit is hazardous to a man
in a frail kayak, and that its destruction is facilitated by the
use of the rifle, the hunter first shooting it from the ice-floes
and afterward dispatching it with the harpoon from the kayak.
Although it will pursue a man and bite him, Brown states that
"as long as the memory of the oldest inhabitant of South
Greenland extends, only one man in the district of Julianshaab
(where they are chiefly captured) has been killed by the bite of
the Klapmyds, though not unfrequently the harpoon and line
have been broken." Various writers speak of the difficulty of
killing it with the seal-club, and state that it is hard to kill
with the sealing-gun unless hit on the back of the neck behind

•Proc. Zool. Soc, Lond., 1868, pp. 435-436; Mau. Nat. Hist, Greenland,
etc.. Mam., p. 64.

t Says Brown, " It i^ affirmed, curiously enough, that the Bladdernoae and
the Saddleback are rarely or ever [sto] found together ; they are said to dis-
agree. At all events the latter is generally found on the innide of the
pack, while the former is on the outside." — Proc, ZoSl. Soo. Lond., 1868, p.
437; Man. yat. Hist. Greenland, etc., Mam,, p. 65. Jukes and Carroll, from
entirely independent observations, make substantially the same statement.

FOOD — HUNTING AND PRODUCTS. 741

the hood, the inflatable "hood" of the male afifording no small
degree of protection from the effects of the club, or even the
ordinary heavy seal-shot. Mr. Carroll says that no matter
how large the gun, or how heavy the shot you fire at him, you
will not kill him, even if within the length of the gun, unless
he rises in the water so that you shoot him in the throat, or he
turns the side of his head toward you.

The Hooded Seal is desciibed as very active when in the
water. It swims very low, with only the top of the head above
the surface. During the rutting season the males wage fierce
battles for the possession of the females, the noise of which
may be heard miles away. At times the sexes are said to live
apart, but associate in families during the breeding season.
Their att'ection for each other, and especially for their yoxmg, is
rt^l>resented as very strong, both parents remaining by them
with such persistency that the whole family are easily killed.
It often happens, says Carroll, that if the female or young one
• be killed the male will mount the ice and take the deatl one in
his mouth and bring it into the water, in which act he is very
often himself killed. The female is reported to be far less
fierce than the male, but even she will allow herself to be killed
before she will abandon her young one. Jukes represents the
young of this species which he hud on shipboard as tamer and
more gentle than the young of the Harp Seal, and that when
teased it did not offer to scratch and bite so much as did the
young Hari)8.

Food. — The food of this species doubtless consists chiefly of
fishes of ditterent species. Malmgren supposed it to subsist
mainly on those of large size. That it also feeds upon squids,
and probably on other mollusks, is evinced by their remains
having been found in their stomachs, as well as " the beaks of
large cuttle fish."*

Hunting and Products. — This species, owing to its scar-
city, is of relatively small commercial importance, yet many
are taken every year by the !Mewfoundland and Jan Mayen
sealers ; generally no separate estimates, however, are given
of the number taken. Dr. Eiuk states that the average annual
catch in Greenland is 3,000. The flesh is greatly esteemed by
the Greenlanders.

The Hooded Seal is usually taken on the ice, but Mr. Beeks
states that many are also shot in the spring of the year by the

* Jukes, Excurs. iu Newfoimdlaud, vol. i, p. 312.

742

GENUS MACRORHINUS.

settlers aloog the coast of Newfoundland. As already stated,
the hood of the male affords such a protection to its owner as
to render the animal so provided v« "y hard to kill with the
ordinary seal-dub, or even with a heavy load of shot; and they
are, furthermore, "at times very savage, and it requires great
dexterity on the part of the seal-hunters to keep from being
bitten".

Genus MACRORHINUS, F. Cuvier.

Macrorhine lAIacrorhinita'i, F. CuviEU, Mdiii. «lu Mus., xi, 1824, 200, pi. xlii.

Type and sole species, Phoca proboscidea, P^ron.
Macrorhinus, F. CuviER, Diet. Sci. Nat., xxxix, 182G, 552; ibid, lix, 1829, 4C4.
Manrorhyna, Gray, Grifiitli's An. King., i, 1827, 180 ("njispriuf. Gray).
Mirounga, Ghay, Griffltli's An. King., v, 1827, 179 (in part).
Bhinophora, Wagler, Nat. Syst. Auiph., 1830, 27.
Cystophora, Nilsson (in part), 18;i7, and of various later authors.
Morunija, Gray, List Ost. Spec. Brit. Mas., 1847, 33.

Dental characters as in Cystophora. Basi sphenoid and basi-
occipital bones deeply arched and the interbullar space narrow.
Hind feet deeply bilobed, with the claws rudimentary. Males
with an elongated tubular proboscis.

The genus Maerorhinus was founded by F. Cuvier in 1824 on
the Proboscis Seal {Phoca proboscidea^ P6ron) or the Elephant
Seal of the Southern Seas, which, until within the last fifteen
years, was supposed to be sole representative of the genus. In
1866 a second species was described by Dr. Gill from the coast
of California, thus adding this remarkable genus to the North
American fauna. As already shown {anted,, p. 723), Macro-
rhinns agrees closely with Cystophora in dental and cranial
characters, the skull being an exaggerated form of that of
Cystophora, while it differs from the latter in the form of the
nasal appendage of the males, in the form of the hind limbs,
and in the relative size of the fore and hind limbs.

A prominent synonym of Maerorhinus is Gray's barbarous
term Mirounga, proposed in 1827 for both this species and Cys-
tophora cristata, but changed in 1847 to Morunga and restricted
to the Elephant Seal of the Southern Seas. Although uniformly
adopted by Gray, and by those who follow Gray as authority,
it is clearly antedated, even iu its first form, by three years by
Maerorhinus of F. Cuvier, although Gray's incorrect citation of
F. Cuvier at 1827 makes them apparently synchronous.*

* It may be here noted that Gray persistently ^ives the date of the eleventh
volume of the "Memoirs dii Museum" containing F. Cuvier's paper, "De
quelque esp^ces de Phoques et .dee groupes gfin^riques entre lesquels ils bo

M. ANGUSTIROSTRIS — CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHANT. 743

MACRORnmUS ANGUSTIROSTRIS, mil.
Callfornian Soa Elephant.

Macrorhinua angualirostria, Gill, Proc. Essex Inst., v, 186G, 13; Proc. Chicago
Acad. Sci., i, 18(Ui, X], — Scammon, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila.,
1869, (>;$; Marino Mam., 1874, 115, pi. xx, flgg. 1, 2,

Moriitif/a ungHgtiroHtrin, Gray, Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 1871, 5.

Sea Ehphant, Scammon, .J. Ross Browne's Resonrces of the Pacific Slope
[App.], 129; Overland Monthly, iii, 112-117, Nov. 1870.

Ehftinte marhio, of Mexicans and old Californiaus. '

Elephant Sml ; Sea Elephant , English.

External Characters. — Color lij;ht dull yellowisb-browu,
varied with gray, ratber darker on the back, more yellowish
below. Hair very harsh and stitf. The new coat is said to have
a slightly bluish cast. Mystacial bristles black, in four to six
rows; the longest five to seven inches long; flattened, with
waved or beaded edges. A group of bristles over each eye, the
largest nearly as thick and as long as any of the mystacial
bristles, and two or three on each side of the face, midway be-
tween the nose and eye. Extremity of hind flippers deeply
emarginate, hairy, without nails. Fore flippers armed with
strong nails ; web deeply notched between the fourth and fifth
digits, slightly so between the third and fourth, and a slight in-
dentation between the second and third. (Description based
on three examples from Santa Rarbar.i Island.)

" The sexes vary much in size, the male being frequently tri])le
the bulk of the female ; the oldest of the former will average
fourteen to sixteen feet ; the largest we have ever seen measured
twenty-two feet from tip to tip." " The adult females average
ten feet in length between extremities." Scammon. " Round
the under side of the neck, in the oldest males, the animal ap-
pears to undergo a change with age ; the hair falls oft", the skin
thickens and becomes wrinkled — the furrows crossing each other,
producing a checkered surface — and sometimes the throat is
more or less marked with white spots. Its proboscis extends

partagent", as 1827, instead of 1824, the correct date. He also cites F. Cu-
vier's article on "LesPhoques" in the " Dictionnaire des Sciences Natu-
relles" as published in tome lix, 1829, although it appeared originally in
tome xxix, 1826. The result is a postdating by three years of F. Cuvier's
generic and specific names, favoring, as it happens (accidentally or other-
wise), several of Gray's names published in ''Griffith's Animal Kingdom"
in 1827.

744 M. ANGUSTIROSTRIS CALIFORNIAN «KA KLKI'HANT.

from oi)i«»sitr tlic jiiifih' of the iiioutli forward (in ih« larjjfer
niiilo.s) about fifteen inches, when the (a'eatnre is in a state of
quietudt!, and the upper surface appears vidgy ; but when the

animal makes an excited respiration, tiio trunk becomes elon-
gated, and the ridges nearly disapi)ear." The females "are
destitute of the proboscis, the nose being like that of the com-
mon se.al, but pi'ojecting more over the mouth." Scammon.

Captain Scamnion gives the following measurement:^, in feet
and inches, of two large females taken on the coast of Lower
California : , ^

"No. 1. No. 2.

"LeixgMifroiu tip to til) 9 10

Rotind the body bohiiul the fore Hippers 5 10 5 U

Lenjjth of tail 2 2i

EXTERNAL CHAKACTEU8. 745

No. 1. «s(). 2

Brcftdtli of tail nt root, 2 «^

Loiijftli of ]K>Mt»'ri()i' flipiMTs 17 17

Exi>anHioii of poHtt rior lliiipcrs 1 ^ 18

Longtli of foro tlippcru 1 "> 1 2

Width of foiellipiH-iH U G fi

Round cxtioinit V of liodv at root of tail 1 (i 1 7

JilBI'll'

il'iiL-

'II i: ji iingitnin i'i^in.

Fig. 58. — Macrorhimis angiiBtiiostri.s. No. 4704, Nat. Mns. ; \ nat. size.

No.]. No. 2.

From tip of nose to comer of inoutli 7 H

Opening of month .' 4} 4^

From tip of nose to eye 8 9

From tip of nose to fore flippers 2 7 3

Length of fissure between the eyelids If"

... - ■,■, ,■..-■..,- . . ■'■''• '! ^ -v'.,', ■■■&:

746 M. ANGUSTIROSTRIS CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHANT.

Twc salted skins, male and feniali!, obtained from Santa Bar-
bara, by Professor O. C. Marsh, whicli I had an opjtortunity of
examining as they were unpacked at Pi'ofessor Ward's estab-
lishment, measur, ,1 respectively from tip of nose to end of tail
5 feet and 4 feet 10 inches. One of these specimens nowmeas-

FlQ. 59. — Macrorhiiius augustiioHtiis. No. 4704, Nat. Miis. ; i iiat. size.

ures, mounted, G feet 4 inches. They were young individuals,
probably yearlings. In neither was the proboscis at all de-
veloped. Captain Scammon gives the length of a " new-born
pup" as 4 feet. .

Skull. — The skull differs from that of Cyntophora crintata
as already described, but its general contour is essentially the

SKULL.

747

same, of which it niav be considered as a magnified type. It is
somewhat arched Jihove, the region of greatest convexity being
at the orbits. The facial jwrtion is abruptly narrowed and
somewhat i)roduced, the width of the skull at the base of the
malar ]>rocess of the maxillaries being nearly twice as great as

Fig. 60. — MacTorhimis aiiKUHtirostris. No. 4704, Nat. Miis. ; ^ uat. size.

at the canines. The following measurements of two examples
will serve to indicate its general proportions. One is marked
as female, but whether either i;* full-grown is not known. For
purposes of comparison the same table contains measurements
of two old male skidls of the Sea Elephant of the Southern Seas.

748 M. ANGUSTIROSTRIS — CALIFOENIAN SEA ELEPHANT.

it <

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JO|J9}8od %v n aiSiti i[Bt B[Bd jo q^piM.

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^Btora !jBBi JO oSpa .upajq oj oshixbui
•Jiijnj JO oSp9 io!J9)aB mojj oauBjsjd \

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-aajni JO oapo ".loua^uB raoaj oouBqiBTd l_

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COMPARISON WITH THE SOUTHERN SEA ELEPHANT. 749

lu respect to the, skeleton I have no account to reud^ir, my
material being' restricted to the before-mentioned skins and
skulls. As a contribution to the history of the genus, how-
ever, I append measurements of the principal parts of an old
male skeleton of the Southern Sea Elephant, one of two nearly
complete skeletons in the Museum of Comparative Zoology,
obtained by Captain Edwin Church at Kurd's* Island, and re-
ceived from Mr. R. H. Chapell, of New London.

Measurements of the principal parts of the skeleton in Maororhinus leoninus

U ad.).

MM.

Length of the skull 480

Length of the cervical vertebrae 570

Length of the dorsal vertebrae 1,690

Length of the lumbar vertebrae » 670

Length of the sacral vertebrae 250

Length of the caudal vertebrae (approximate) 680

Length of the scapula 330

Length of the humerus 335

Length of the radius 310

Length of the manus (apx>roximate) 650

Length of the pelvis 390

Length of the femur 200

Length of the tibia 415

Length of the pes (approximate) 450

Length of the os penis 335

Length of the whole skeleton 4,340

Length of the fore limb (excluding scapula) 1, 195

Ldugth of the hind limb 1,065

Peters t states that the skull of a male, apparently an old
animal, from Kerguelen Island, measures 50 centimetres, and
the vertebral column 370 centimetres, — substantially the same
as the above. The skull is intermediate in length between the
two of which measurements have already been given {antea,
p. 748) ; the length of the vertebral column given by Peters is a
little (16 centimetres) less, but this may be due to differences
in the mode of measurement, as I have included the probable
length of the intervertebral cartilage.

COMPABISON WITH THE SOUTHERN SEA ELEPHANT. — So

fax as can bo determined by descriptions, the Northern and

* This name I find variously spelled by different writers, to wit: "Herd's,"
" Heard's," and "Hurd's."
t Monatsb. dor K. P. Akad. der Wisseusch. zu Berlin, 1877, p. 393, footnote.

7oO M. ANGUSTIROSTRIS CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHANT.

P% '

th" Southern Sea Bleiihants* differ very little in size, color, or
other external features. Captain Scammon gives the average
length of the full-grown male of the northern species as twelve
to fourteen feet, and says that the largest he ever measured had
a length of twenty -two feet "from tip to tip". P^ron gives the
length of the southern species as twenty to twenty-five, and
even thirty feet, with a circumference of fifteen to eighteen
feet. Anson gives the length as twelve to twenty feet, and the
circumference as eight to fifteen feet. Pernety records the total
length as twenty-five feet. Scammon gives the length of the
young of the northern species, at birth, as four feet ; and P6ron
gives four or five feet as the length of the young at birth for
the southern species. The skeletons of the two old males of the
southern species, already mentioned, allowing for the intcirver-
tebral cartilages that have disappeared in maceration, meas-
ure respectively not over fifteen and sixteen feet, adding to
which the length of the hind flipper and the proboscis gives a
total length, from "tip to tip," of about twenty-one to twenty-
two feet. Prom the foregoing we may infer that the usual
difference in siz. between the two species is not great, the

* It is here aflsumecl that the Sea Elephants of the Southern Hemisphere
are all referable to a single species, the Phoca honina of Linn^, 1758, based
on the Sea Lion of Lord Anson, which was renamed Phoca elephantina by
Molina, in 1782, and again renamed Phoca probosciden by P6ron, in 1816, and
of which Phoca bi/roni of Desmarest, and also Phoca amaoni of the same au-
thor (the latter species in part only), and the Mirounga patagonioa of Gray
are synonyms. I am aware, however, that Peters has recently proposed
the recognition of four species, namely, Cyatophora leonina ( = Anson's Seo
Lion), C. falklandica ( = Pernety'8 Sea Lion), C. proboacidea (ox P^ron), and
C. kerfftielenais (the Sea Elephant of Kerguelen Island). He seems not, how-
ever, to have arrived at this course by an examination of an extensive suite
of specimens from various localities, as he refers in this connection to only
a single old male example from Kerguelen Island. He seems to have been
influenced merely by the varying statements in respect to size and some
other features given by Pemety, Anson, and Pdron. His entire presenta-
tion of the case is as follows : "Pernety gibt von seinem Seelowen eine lange
Miihne, eine Totallange von 25 Fuss und einen Durchmesser der Basis der
Eckzahnevon3 ZoUan. P^rons See-Elephanten sollen bis 30 Fuss langund
von blaugrauer Farbe seiu. Vielleicht siud alle diese Arten versohieden
und es wiirde dann der Name C. leonina L. bloss dem Anson'scheu Seelowen
zu belassen sein, wahrend die C. falklandica, wie man die von Pernety ben-
en nen konnte, die C. proboaoidea P^ron, die C. angitatiroatria Gill der ndrd-
lichen Hemisphare und die von Kerguelenland besonderen Arten angehSreu
wUrdeu. Fiir den letzteren Fall schlage ich vor, diese Art kerguelenais zu
benennen" (Mouatsb. d. K. P. Akad. Wissensch. zu Berlin. (18C5, p. 394,
footnote).

GEOGKAPIIICAL DISTRIBUTION. 751

soutliei'ii species qu the whole appeariug to be Homewhat the
larger of the two.

In respect to color, Eaton says of the Sea Elephant of Ker-
guelen Island : "Some examples are uniformly reddish brown;
others are pale, blotched and spotted with darker grey ".*
Peters describes an old example from the same locality as dark
brown, the liairs being white at the base, and brown or blackish-
brown at the tips. P6ron gives the color as sometimes grayish,
sometimes bluish-gray, more rarelj' brownish-black. Jjizarst
has described the color of a female as dark olive brown, shad-
ing to a yellowish-bay upon the belly. Scammon gives the color
of California examples as light brown, but adds that the new
coat has a bluisli cast. It thus appears that the two species
present a striking similarity of coloration.

I have before me two skulls of the northern species, both of
which are those of adult females, and also four skulls of the
southern species, but of these two are those of adult males,
and the others those of animals probably less than three months
old. Of the two young skulls, one is from Kerguelen Island
(Kidder), and the other from the "Cape of Good Hope" (Lay-
ard). The adult skulls being of different sexes are not com-
parable. They differ greatly in size (see measurements, anted,,
p. 748), and necessarily in other features, but to what extent
these differences are merely sexual cannot be stated.

From the foregoing it would seem that the northern and
southern Sea Elephants, though presumably distinct, are closely
allied, as well in structural characters as in habits. In respect
to geographical distribution, I am not aware that the south-
ern species has been found north of about the 35th degree of
south latitude (the island of Juan Fernandez), or the northern
species south of about the 24tli degree of north latitude. It
may consequently be safely assumed that the two forms have
been long isolated, and that the southern is an offshoot from
northern stock, since the only other known species of the
Cystophorina' is also > lorthern.

Geographical Distribution. — The Sea Elephant seems
to have been formerly very abundant on the coast of Califor-
nia and Western Mexico, whence it became long since nearly

*Pi-oc. Roy. Soc. Loudou, vol. xxiii, 1875, p. 502. See alao PluloiM>X)b.
Transact., vol. clxviii, 1879, p. 96.
t IIaiiiilton't« Marine Amphibia, p. 211.

I ! y

752 M, ANGUSTIROSTRIS — CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHAXT.

extirpated. Captain Sciiinmoii, in writing (abont 1852) of Ce-
dros Island, ofi' the coast of Lower California, says: "Seals
and Sea Elephants once basked upon the shores of hisisolivted
spot in vast numbers, and in j'ears past its surrounding shores
feemed with sealers. Sea Ele^jhant and Sea Otter hunters;
the remains of their rude stone-houses are still to be seen in
many convenient places, which were once the habitations of
these hardy men."* A few Sea Elephants are still found at
Santa Barbara Island, where they are reported, however, to
be nearly extinct. Whether or not they still occur elsewhere
along the California coast I am without means of determining,
although it is probable that a small remnant still exists at other
points, where scarcely more than a quarter of a century ago
vessels were freighted with their oil. Neither is it possible to
determine with certainty the limits of their former range. Cap-
tain Scammon, who doubtless obtained his information from
trustworthy sources, states that it extended from Cape Lazaro,
latitude 24° 46' north, to Point Reyes, in latitude 38°, or for a
distance of about two hundred miles. As already stated (««-
teil, p. 290), l)j?mpier, in 1080, met with Seals on the islands
off the western coast of Mexico, as far south as latitude 21^ to
23°, but of wluit species his record unfortunately fails to show.
They were doubtless either Sea Elephants or Sea Lions {Zaio-
phus calif or itianus), and nuiy have included both. This rather
implies its former extension, two hundred years ago, consider-
ably to the southward of the limit assigned by Captain Scam-
mon, on probably traditional reports current among the resi-
dents of this part of the coast at the time of his visit there in
1852.

General History. — The California Sea Elephant was first
described by Dr. Gill, in 1806, from a skull of a female in the
Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, received from Saint
Bartholomew's Bay, Lower California. Its external characters
were first made known by Captain C. M. Scammon in 1809, and
the species was redescribed by him in 1874, with detailed meas-
urements of two adult females and a newly-born pup. This is
all that has thus far appeared relating to its technical history.
Captain Scammon, as early as 1854, gave some account of the
habits of this species, under the name Sea Elephant, and ear-
lier incidental references to it doubtless occur in the narratives

* In J. Robs Browne's " Resources of the Pacific Sloiic " [ App. ], p. 129.

HABITS. 753

of travellers. Dr. Gill observes, in his p:per already cited,
"For a long time, the fact that a species of the genus Macro-
rhinu8 or Elephant-Seal inhabits the coast of Western Nor^^h
America has been well-known. But, on account of the want
of opportunity for comparison of specimens, the relations of
the species have not been understood". I fail to And, however,
in any technical account of the Sea Elephant, any previous no-
tice of their occurrence on the coast of I^^orth America. Dr.
Gill compares his specimen of the skull with the figure of the
skull of Morunga elephantina {=Macrorhinus leoninus) pub-
hshed by Dr. Gray in the "Zoology of the Erebus and Terror",
and says if that "represents an equally old female, the i)resent
species must bo very distinct". He adds, "I do not know the
size of the original of that gentleman's figure. Some of the
differences, however, cannot be the effect of age, and there can
exist no doubt that the present form is at least distinct from
those described by the Cuviers, Blainville, and Gray. In al-
lusion to the peculiarly narrowed and produced snout of the
female, the name Macrorhintis angustiroatris is conferred upon
it."* ^

Habits. — We are indebted to Captain Scammon, who has
fortunately had favorable opportunities for observation, for
everything of importance that has thus far been recorded re-
specting the habits of the Sea Elephant of California. "The
habits of these huge beasts," he tells us,t "when on shore, or
loitering about the foaming breakers, are in many respects like
those of the Leopard Seals [P}ioca mtulina]. Our observations
on the Sea Elephants of California go to show that they have
been found in much larger numbers from February to June
than during other months of the year; but more or less were
at all times found on shore upon their favorite beaches, which
were about the islands of Santa Barbara, Cerros, Guadalupe,
San Bonitos, Natividad, San Boque, and Asuncion, and some

* " Ou a new species of the genus MacrorUnus." Proc. Chicago Acad., i,
1866, pp. 33-34.

t Marino Mammalia, 1874, pp. 117-119. See also Proc. Acad. Nit. Sci.
Phila., 1869, pp. 63-65, where the account here quoted was first published.
See further J. Ross Browne's Resources of the Pacific Coast [Append.], p.
129, where the same author has also given a short account of its habits as
observed at Cedros (or Cerros) Island in 1852. Also an article entitled
'*Sea-£lephant Hunting," in the "Overland Monthly" magazine, iii, pp.
112-117, Nov., 1870.

Misc. Pub. No. 12 48

754 M. ANOUSTIROSTRIb — CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHANT.

¥0

v" '

ItJ

I'M

of the most iiriccossiblo ])oiiits on the main-laml between As-
uncion and Cerro8. Wl mi coming up out of the water, they
were generally first seen nc:ir the line of surf ; then crawling up
by degrees, frequently reclining as if to sleep ; again, moving
up or along the shore, Jippearing not content with their last
resting-place. In this manner they would ascend the ravines,
or ' \)w-downs,' half a mile or more, congregating by hundreds.
They are not so active on land as the seals; but, when excited
to inordinate exertion, their motions are quick — the whole body
quivering with their crawling, semi-vaulting gait, and the ani-
mal at such times manifesting great fatigue. Notwithstamling
their unwiehliuess, we have sometimes found them on broken
and elevated ground, fifty or sixty feet above the sea.

"The principal seasons of their coming on shore, are, when
they are about to shed their coats, when the females bring forth
their young (which is one at a time, rarely two), and the mat-
ing season. These seasons for 'hauling up' are more marked
in southern latitudes. Tlie ditl'erent periods are known among
the hunters as the '])ui)i>ing cow,' ' brown cow,' ' bull and cow,'
and 'March bull' seasons;* but on the Californhi ccast, either
from the influence of climate or some other cause, we have no-
ticed young pups with their mothers at (pate the opposite
months. The continual hunting of the animals may possil)ly
have driven them to irregularities. The time of gestation is
supposed to be about three-fourths of the year. The most
marked season we could discover was that of the adult males,
which shed their coats later than the younger ones and the fe-
males. Still, among a herd of the largest of those fully ma-
tured (at Santa Barbara Island, in June, 1852), we found sev-
erjil cows and their young, the latter apparently but a few days
old.

" When the Sea Elephants come on shore for the puqiose of
'shedding', if not disturbed they remain out of water until the
old liair falls oft". By the time this change comes about, the
animal is supposed to lose half its fat; indeed, it sometimes
becomes very thin, and is then called a 'slim-skin'.

"In the stomiMih of the Sea Elephant a few pebb'>i3s are
found, which has given rise to the saying that 'they take in
ballast before going down ' (returning to the sea). On warm

* Referring to the liabits of the Soiitheru Se.i Elaphaut (Macrorhinm leo-
ninus), as he had " learned from ship masters who have taken Seals about
Kergnelen's Land, the Crozets, and Hurd's Island." See Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Phila., 1869, p. 64.

CHASE a:;.o prodt^cts. 755

and sunny days we have watched ihem come up snigly on
smooth beaches, and burrow in the dry ■ and, tbrowijig over
their backs the lose particles that collect about their fore
limbs, and nearly coverinjj: thcTUselves from view; but when
not disturbed, the animals follow their gregarious propensity,
and collect in large herds." " Tiie largest number I ever found
iu one herd," he states in another coiniectlon, "was one lunulred
and sixty-five, which lay promiscuously along the beach or up
the ravine near by."

Nothing further respecting tlic breeding habits or sexual re-
lations of the species appears to have been as yet recorded, but
they umy be presumed to be similar to those of the Sea Ele-
phant of the Antarctic Seas.*

Ohask and Products. — The mode of capturing Sea Ele-
phants on the coast of California has been described b,, Cap-
tain Scammon, who " in 1852, when the ' gold fever' raged ",
was compelled by force ot circumstances "to take command of
a brig bound on a 'sealing, Sea-elephant and whaling Aoyage'
or abandon sea life — at least temporarily". He says: "The
sailors get between the herd and the water; then, raising all
possible noise by shouting, and at the same time flourishing
clubs, guns, and lances, the party advance slowly toward the
rookery, when the animals will retreat, appearing in a state of
great alarm. Occasionally' an overgrown male will give battle,
or attempt to escape; but a musket-ball through the brain dis-
patches it; or some one checks its progress by thrusting a
lance into the roof of its mouth, which causes it to settle on its
haunches, when two men with heavy oaken clubs give the crea-
ture repeated blows about the head, until it is stunned or killed.
After securing those that are disposed to show resistance, the
party rush on the main body. The onslaught creates such a panic
auiong these peculiar creatures, that, losing all control of their
actions, they climb, roll, and tumble over each other, when pre-

* The Sea Elephants appear to be exceptional among the PhoeidcB in the
great disparity of size between the sexes, in which, as well as in their
breeding habits, jhey closely resemble the Otaries. Although, unlike the
latter, they have not the power of using the hind limbs in locomotion on
laud, and are hence unable to walk, they manage to crawl to a considerable
distance from the sea, — according to Scanunon, a "half a mile or more ".
The habits of the Southern Sea Elephant (Macrarhinua leoninua) were long
since described by Anson and Pernety, and later by P^ron, but their ac-
counts seem in some respects to be tinged with romance. According to these
Trriters the males dght desperately for the possession of the females.

756 M. AN0USTIR0STRI8 CALIFORNIAN SEA ELEPHANT.

vented from farther retreat by the projecting cliflfs. We recol-
lect in one instance, where sixty-five were captured, that sev-
eral were found showing no signs of having been eitlier clubbed
or lanced, but were smothered by numbers of their kind heaped
upon them. The whole flock, when attacked, manifested alarm
by their peculiar roar, the sound of which, among the largest
males, is nearly as loiftl as the lowing of an ox, but more pro-
longed in one strain, accompanied by a rattling noise in the
throat. The quantity of blood in this species of the seal tribe
is supposed to be double that contained in an ox, in proportion
to its size.

"After the capture the flaying begins. First, with a large
knife, the skin is ripped along the upper side of the body the
whole length, and then cut down as far as is practicable, with-
out rolling it over; then the coating of fat that lies between
the skin and flesh — which may be from one to seven inches in
thickness, according to the size and condition of the animal — is
cut into 'horse-pieces', about eight inches wide, and twelve to
fifteen long, and a puncture is made in each piece sufficiently
large to pass a rope through. After flensi.ig the upper portion
of the body, it is rolled over, and cut all around as above de-
scribed. Then the 'horse-pieces' are strung on a raft-rope (a
rope three fathoms long, with an eye-splice in one end), and
taken to the edge of ^he surf; a long line is made fast to it, the
end of which is thrown to a boat lying just outside the break-
ers ; they are then hauled through the rollers and towed to the
vessel, where the oil is tried out by boiling the blubber, or fat,
in large pots set in a brick furnace for the purpose. The oil
produced is superior to whale oil for lubricating purposes.
Owing to the continual pursuit of the animals, they have
become nearly if not quite extinct on the Cahfornia coast, or
the few remaining have fled to some unknown point for secu-
rity." • He also states that a fat bull, eighteen feet long,vtaken
by the brig "Mary Helen", in 1852, yielded two hundred and
ten gallons of oil.

* Marine Mammalia, pp. 118, 119.

APPENDIX.

A.-MATERIAL EXAMINED/

Family 0D0B.^NID^.

ODOBiENUS ItOSMAKUS.

List\ of apecimena examined.

3«

LooaUty.

In collection of—

Nature of speci-
men.

Age.

7156
4645
0570

1860

1720
1721

?
?
9

?
<f

North Greenland

National Museum.
....do

Skull

Old.

Very old.

Young.

Adult.

Old.

Young.

Old.

Young.

Adult.

Young.

Greenland

...do

....do

...do

Skin

Sable Island

....do

Skull

G-reenland ............

Boston SocN.Hiflt.
MuB. Comp. Zo{>l . .
....do

. . do ....

....do

Skeleton

Skull

....do

Davis's Straits

Prof. H. A. Ward..
....do

Skin and skull ..
. . . .do

. ...do

... do

.do

Greenland

Amherst College . .

Skin

*Only that relating to North American species is recorded in the subjoined tables,
t In part only ; quite a number of skulls have been esamined in different museums that
ai-e not here recorded.

757

758

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

ODOB^NUS ODEflUS.
List of epecimeHu examined.

U740

0475

14»05

njoa

14307
078U
7880

Locality.

Walrus Island, Alaska . .

, do

North Paciflo

Walrus Island, Alaska . .

North Paciflo

AValrus Island, Alaska. .
do

North Pacific .
do

la collection of—

Naturo of speci-
men.

National Alusouni.

...do

....do

...do

....do

... do

....do

Prof. n. A. Ward . .
Boston Soc.N.IIist.
MuH. Com]). Zoiil . .
....do

Skull ,

...do

....do

...do

....do

Skeleton

Skin

Skin and skull

Skeleton

....do

Skin

....do ISkuU.,

do j....do ,

do I do .

— do I do .

....do '...do

Boston Soc.N.IIist.' . . . do
. .. iio I do

Age.

Very old.
Very old.
Very old.
Young.
Very old.
Very <dd.
Very old.
Very old.
Very old.
Tounjr.
Very old.
Very old.
Very old.
Very old.
Very old.
Very old.
Young.
Very old.
YonuK.
Young.

Family OTARIID^.

El'METOWAS STELLEIU.

List of apecimena examined.

11
ii

2020

2921

11675

8166

8162

8163

15359

4703

4702

6006

3631

4701

18217

1767

Locality.

In collection of—

St. Paul's Island, Alaska

-do.

.do

-do

St. George's Island, Alaska

ITnalaahka

San Francisco, Cal

Monterey, Cal

Farallono Island, Cal . . .

Museum of Com-
parative Zoology.

...do

National Museum .

...do

Mus. Comp. Zool

Collected by-

Charles Bryant..

....do

.-..do

W.H.DaU

....do

...do

Dr W.0.Ayre8.

...do

I r. C. S. Canfleld

i.S. Taylor

Dr.W.O. Ay res.
C. M. Scammon-.
F. Bierstadt

Naturo of
specimen.

Skin and
skeleton.

Do.
Skin.

Do.
Skull.

Do.

ZAL0PHU8 CALIFORNIANUS.

759

ZAI.OIMUI8 CALIFORNIANUS.

List of spfcimenn i-xamined.

Corrcspon ding
number of skin.

1
•Et

cf
O
O
9

o
o
o
o

9
9
9

9
cf

9
9
d"

Locality.

In collection
of-

Collected
by-

Nature of
spuuimvn.

Age.

Califonila
. . . .do

National Mu-
seum.

Skull

....do

Very old.

Very uld.
Rather young.

Adult.
Middle-aged.

Middle-aged.
Fow days old.
Few dayp old.
Old.

About fotir
months.

Fffital. .

A few mouths.
A few months.
A few months.
A fow months.
Old.

Old.

Adult.

Nearly adult.

Rather young.

Middle-aged.

Rather young.

Two or three
years.

Two or three
yearH.

Adult.
Adult.
Young.

14500

14507
1.W34

152.55

15000

15001

0150

0100

0158

0156
0153
0154
6165
6140

0150
0150
0152
6147
6148
0149
0101
0102

0103

0164
6H>5
6160
1132

Santa Bar-
bara I»l-
aiid, Cal.

...do

....do

Capt. C. M.
Scammon.

....do

....do.

....do ...

San Nico-
las iHland,
Cal.

....do

P. Schuma-
cher.

....do

...do

....do

....dtf

California .
....do

....do

...do

...do ....

....do

Santa Bar-
bara IhI-
aud, Cal.

. . . .,lo

Museum of
(Joniparativo
Zoology.

....do

. . . .do ....

Skeleton . .
....do

5830

....

,...(l0

... .do

....do ....

Skull and
skin.

...do .

. .do ...

do .

..do

6876

5780

5787
5788
5077
f785
5780
5078

5
3
4

....do

... .do

.... do

....do

Skull

....do

. . do

....do

...do ...

....do

Skull and
skin.

....do

... .do

....do

... do

....do .

....do

..do ....

do .

....do ....

... .do ... .

....do

...do

... .do

....do

... .do

....do

...do

....do

... .do

....do

... .do

....do

.v.. do

....do

... .do

....do

...

....do

San Diego,
Cal.

....do

nasslerEx.
pedition.

SkuU

l:'''

760

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

CaLLORHINUS UR81ND8.

List of specimens examined.

■3 d «

11720
11005
11715
11701 j
11733 !

11008 ' d

11689 I d

7100 9

14508 I ?

12737 ?

12738 j 9

12739 j 9
8415 j 9
8825 I O

11270 9

0080 ! 9

0079 . 9

1830 ; d

6536 9

6537 9
6558 : 9
6011 ! 9

9
9

1°

' o
o

2022 d

2023 d

2024 9

2025 9

2026 \ O
2927 O

' d

1088 I d

1086 i V

1087 ■ 9

1149 I O

1150 i O
1787
1788
1788
1784
1786
1786
5326

Locality.

Saint PauVs Island, Alaska

A luDtian Islands

Straits of Juan de Fuoa.

, do

Puget Sound

, do

Saint Paul's Island, Alaska
do

.do

-do

.do.

-do

.Jo.

.do .

.do.

.do

.do.

.do

.do,

.do

In collection of—

CoUoctod by-

[ Nature uf
specimen.

National Muacam

...do

...do..

...do

.do
do
.do
do
do
.do.
do
.do
.do
.dc

...do

Mus. Comp. Zool .
....do

.t'o
.do
do
.do
.do
do
.do,
.do
.do
do
.do
.do
.do
.do
.do
.do
.do

Capt. C. Bryant .

....do

...do

....do

Colonul Bulkloy.

....do

n.-W. Elliott....

....do

Dr. T. T. Minor .

....do

Capt. CM. Scam
mou.

...do

....do

J.G. Swan

...do

....do

H.W.Elliott....

....do

Capt. C. Bryant .

...do

....do

...do

....do

...do

....do

...do

....do

Alaska Com. Co.

...do

....do

...do

....do

C. J. Mclntyre . .

Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
SkuU.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.

Skull.

SkuU.

Skull.

Skin.

Skiu.

Skin.

Skiu.

Skin.

Skoloton.

Skelnton.

Sktilcton.

Skeleton.

Skull.

SkuU.

Skeleton.

Skin.

PHOCA VITULINA.

761

Family PHOCID^.

PlIOCA VITULINA.

List of apecimem examined.

- —
Catalogue
number.

A
<%

Locality.

In collection of—

Collected by—

Nature of
specimen.

3506
3634
4716
4713
4714
3506 1
5285 1
1738"
1143
1142
5144
6157
12284
11742
14337
0480
0783
6550
6485
6486
6535
9081

3031
3648
3741
7778
7770
7780
7781
0516
8201
12043
5852
5853
3742
7782
3320
5680
5783
5784

National Museum.
.. do

Skull. *

Skull.t

Skull.

Skull.:

Skull.

Skeleton.

Skull. §

Skull. ;

Skull.

Sable iHland, N. S

P.S.Dodd

....do

.. do . ...

England

rer jkese IsUind, Mass

Valiant Afans . ....

Mus. Com p. Zoiil . .

....do

...do

L. Agassiz

....do

W.K.Cabot

P. Scluimacher. .
W.n.Dall

Santa Barbara Island, Cal.
Aleutian IsIandH

....do

National Muaoiini .
....do

St. Paul's Island, Alaska. .
do

....do

H W Klliott i Skull.

Kanai Inland, Alaska

Plover :«a,v, Bcihrinn's Sts.

Wasbington Territorj'

...do

....do

F. Hisohoft'

Col. Buckley ....

J.O.Swan

Lt G.W.White,
do

Skull.
Skull.
Skull,
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.

Skull. ;

Skull. II

Skin. II

Skin.

M't'd skin.

M't'd skin

....do

Straits of Juan de Fuca. . .

...do

Capt.C.M.Seam-

mon.
U. S. Ex. Ex....
do

....do

.do

....do

....

...do

W.n.Dall

...do

.do

....do

Lt.(^ W.White.
...do

...do

. do

W.n.Dall

Copenhagen Mus,

StpiLlfiiiil Unnniarlc

....do

....

Sable Island N S

P.S Dodd

...do

....do

....

California

....do

Washington Territory

....do

... do

Dr.J.S.Newberry
P. Schumacher . .
do

Santa Barbara Island, Cal.
do

Mus. Comp. Zofil . .
....do

... .do

,...do

Orleans. Mass

...do

J. A. Allen

♦Adult. told. {Toiug. {Very old.

JIThe type of " Halichcerui antarotietu, Peale," and "Lobodon eareinophaga, Cassin,"

762

MATERIAL EXAMINLD.

' PHOCA FCETIDA.

■ List of speeimena examined.

Locality.

In collection of—

CoUe( ted by—

Nature of
specimen.

6560

]S'ational Museum.
do

CopenfaagenMus.
1 do

Skull.

Skeleton.*

Skull.*

Rkeleton.t

Skeleton.*

Skeleton.;

Skeleton. §

Skeleton. II

Skeleton. 11

Skeleton.^

Skull.*

Skull.;

Skull.

SkuU.t

Skull.f

Skull.i

Skull.t

6567

6S68
6565
3504

...do

d»

...do

S. Sternberg

...do

3503

...do

8698
8699
8700
8042
7105
6785

Disco Bay, Greenland

iln

...do

. do

Copenhagen Mus,

... do

....do

W. H. Ball

....do

L. Kumllen

....do

ilo

....do

Unalakleot, Alaska

Plover Bay, Behring's Sts
do

....do

...do

6297
6295

Gulf of Cumberland

Mu8. Com p. ZoJil . .
.. do

6296 d
6298 9

....do

...do

....do

...do

16106
16077
16061

National Museum.
...do

16033....
16034 ....
16050 ....
16098 <?

. . .do

....do

...do

....do

16138
16130
10111
16023
16061
16058

d
d
?

....do

. do

....do

...do

..do

...do

16135

...do

16137

, do

..do

....do

16082
16101
16134
16068
16066
16136
16134
16055

....do

..do

....do

Skull. f
Skiill.t
okuU.t
Skull.t
SkuU.t
Skull. II
Skull. II

....do

. . do

... do

..do

.do

♦Adult. tToung in white coat. ; Young. § Few days old. |1 Foetal.

PH. GRCENLANDICA, ERIG. BARBATUS, fflST. FASCUTA. 763

PHOCA GRCENLANDICA.

List of apedmena examined.

3514

3515

3805

881

8762

4582

12039

12040

i 5791

S130

1146

Locality.

In collection of—

Collected by-

Nature of
specimen.

Disco Bay. Greenland

National Museum.
....do

Copenhagen Mus.
....do

Skull.

SkuU.

Skull.

Skiu.

Skin.'

Skin.*

Skeleton.

....do

(?)
Diacu Bay, Greenland

— do

....do

(?)
Copenhagen Mus.

(?)
tT. M. Harv'.y —
..do

Hudson's Bay ?

....do

St. John's, Newfoundland .
do

....do

...do

Newfoundland

Mns. Conip. Zool..

" Mas8u>;uusett8 "

...do

"Nahant.Mass."

....do

"L. Agassiz" ...

*In the white coat.
ERIGNATHUS BARBATUS.

List of specimens examined.

6569
6570
6571
7103

7104

7106

7107

15685

5697

16116

16117

16112

6290

Locality.

Behring's

Greenland ...

Plover Bay,
Straits.

Cumberland Gulf i do

Disco Bay, Greenland ' do

Cumberland Gulf j do

In collection of—

National Museum .
...do

.do,
.do

.do
.do
.do

Collected by-

.do i — do

.do do

.do ! Mus. Comp. J^ool .

Copenhagen Mus.

....do

...do

Col. Buckley . . . .

....do

W. A. Mintzer . .
Copenhagen Mus.

L. Kumlieu

....do

...do

Nature of
specimen.

Skull.
SkuU.
Skull.
SkuU.

SkuU.

Skin.

Skeleton.

Skull.

Skeleton.*

Skull.

►Foetal.

HiSTRIOPHOCA FA8CIATA.

List of 82>ectme»i8 examinee

9 .

M
&

Locality.

•

In collection of—

■

Collected by—

Nature of
specimen.

9311

....

CapoRomanzoff ..

National Museum.

W.H.DaH

Skin.

764

MATERIAL EXAMINED

HaUCHCERUS GRYPU3.

List of apecimena examined.

3 3

Locality.

In collection of—

Collected by—

Nature of
specimen.

4717
6593
14011
5857
8694

Sable Island, Nova Scotia

National Museum
....do

P.S.Dodd

Copenhagen Mus.
J. M. Harrey . . .

P.S.Dodd

Copenhagen Mus.

Skull.*

SkuU.t

Skia.J

Skin.

St. John's, Newfoundland .
Sable Island, Kova Scotia .

....do

...do

....do

* Very old.

t Young.
CYSTOPHOKA CRI8TATA.

List of epecimens examined.

t Adult.

Catalogue 1
number.

■1

Locality.

In collection of—

Collected by-

Nature of
specimen.

6577

6576

6574

14012

14013

1083

1084

1085

5790

8696

16022

Greenland

National Museum
....do

Copenhagen Mus.
....do

Skull.

Skull. ■

Skull.*

SkuU.*

SkuU.

Skeleton.

Mounted.

Skin.

SknlLt

....do

Newfoundland

M.Harvey

....do

Mus. Comp. Zoul . .
... .do

Michael Carroll.
. ..do

iIa

. 1 Hn . .

.do.

?
?

....do

...do

Disco Bay, Greenland

Gulf of Cumberland

National Museum
...do

Copenhagen Mus.
L. Kumlien ...

* Young.

f" Two years old."

MaCRORHINDS ANGUSTIR08TRI8.
List of apedmena examined.

5«

Locality.

In coUection of—

CoUected by—

Nature of
specimen.

4704
13526

San "Jartholomew's Bay,

Lower California.
Coast of Lower California
do

National Museum.
....do

Dr.W.O.Ayres.
C. M. Scammon .

Skull.

Skull.
Skin.
Skin.
Skin.

... do

Prof. 0. C. Marsh .
do

1 ..

ODOB/ENUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS. 765

B -ADDITIONS AND COKKECTIONS.

Family ODOBJINID^.

ODOBJ5NUS EOSMAEUS.

To the bibliographical references to this species already given
{anted, pp. 23-26) add the following :

Rostitngcr oder Rossmer, Ola i .sen, Reiao ilurch Island, i, 1774, 189, $ 525 (uses
of tho tusks) ; ii, 118, ^ 1861 (occurreuce iu Icelaud).

Trichechus roamarus, E. Sabine, Parry's First Voy., Suppl., 1824, cxci. —
RiciiAUDSON, Parry's Second Voy., Suppl., 1825, 337. — J. C. Ross,
Parry's Third Voy., 1826, 192 (distribution— Spitsbergen, Walden
Island, etc.). — Schinz, Syu. Mam., i, 1844, 487. — Lloyd, Game Birds
and Wild Fowl of Sweden ami Norway, 1867, 444. — Feilden, Nares's
Voy. to the Polar Sea, 1875-76, ii, 1878, 196.— Alston, Ptoc. Nat.
Hist. Soc. Glasgow, 1879, 97 (Outer Hebrides); Fauna of Scotland,
Mam., 1880, 15 (Western Scotland).

Odobwnusrosmarus, Quennerstedt, Kongl. Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademieus
Handlingar, vii, No. 3, 1868, 10.

Size and External Appearance. — To the remarks al-
ready given the following may be added :

Dr. E. Sabine gives the length of a young male, from the
point of the nose to the end of the hind flippers, as 10 feet 3
inches, and the weight as 1,384 pounds. — Parry's First Voyage,
Suppl., 1824, J), cxci.

" One of the largest Walruses we saw wa^ killed on the ice
near Shannon, on the 27th of August, 18G9, by Dr. Copeland.
It measured 9 feet 11 inches. ... It [the Walrus] is from
9 feet inches to 10 feet inches long, weighs about 20 cwt.,
and its skin is 3^ inches thick (a sort of massive coat of mail),
with a head of infinite ugliness, rather large eyes, and tusks
sometimes 30 inches long (of a sort of ivory), which help the
creature to obtain his food (chiefly mussels) from the bottom of
the sea, and, together with the breast-flus, help him to climb
on to the floating ice to a place of rest [compare anteh, p. 137].

766

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

Round liis jaws are long cat-like bristles, as thick as a large
clarning-needle. Demoniacal as his appearance is his voice is
as had — a Jerking imitative scream, lowing and puflBng, often
repeated, and in which it seems to delight." — German Arctic
Expedition, 1869-70, j). 479.

I'.i

Geographical Distribution. — To the remarks on this
subject add the following:

Nova Zcmbla and Northern Coast of Europe. — According to
Alexander Schultz, Walruses are caught '*on the coasts of
Novaya Zemblya and the islands of Vaigatch and Kalonyen."

He also states that '* About a dozen sailing-vessels devote
themselves habitually to Inmting the Walrus from Cape Ka-
nine to the mouth of the Kara ". — Rep. U. S. Commis. Fish and
Fisheries, Part iii, 1870, pp. 53, 50.

Franz-Josef Land. — Payer reports Walnises as seen on two
occasions near the coast of Franz-Josef Laiul. — New Lands
tcithin the Arctic Circle, p. 2(i0.

Abundance in Wolstenholme Sound. — ''Two Hoe-pieces two or
three feet thick, and each coveringau area of about half a mile,
were black with the large ungainly creatures", in Wolstenholme
Sound, August J 1871. — Narrative of the ^^Polaris^^ North Polar
Expedition, 187G, p. 72.

Spitzhergcn, ete. — Mr. J. G. Ross, in Parry's "Third Voyage"
(1824, p. 192), says that " Trichechus rosmarus^^ is "Very uncom-
mon along the western coast of Spitzbergen and the Low Islands
of Phipps ; l)ut none seen to the northward of Walden Island."

Iceland. — Respecting the former occurrence of the Walrus
in Iceland Olafsen observes "Dahingegen hat man hier [Ost-
Island] mehr Rostunge als an andern Orten, inbesondere kam
1708 eine ungewohnlicheMengedavon nachden Ost-florden." —
Beise durch Island (German translation), Theil ii, p. 118, §1861.

Supposed Presence of Walruses in the Antarctic
Seas.^ — In the last footnote to page 176 reference is made to
Mr. R. Brown's belief that " It is not unlikely that it [the Wal-
rus] may even be found in the Antarctic regions", in relation to
which I there observe : "This idea I have not seen elsewhere
revived since the early part of the present century". I find,
however, that Schinz, in his " Synopsis Mammalium " published

fee

OI)OB^.NUS ROSMARUS — ATLANTIC WALRUS. 767

UH late Jis 1844 (vol. i, p. 487), says : "Es [Trichechus rosmarns]
bewoliiit die Polarmeere beide Pole, man ist aber nocli iin Zwei-
fel, ob das Wallross des Siidpolarmeers dieselbe Art mit deueii
der aictisislieu Meere seiu ".

The Walrus a Formidable ANTAaoKiST.— To the pre-
vious remarks on this subject {antea, pp. 107-133, passim), add
the following- : " In the summer of 1809 a boat excursion to Cape
Wynn with diOiculty escaped the destruction of their craft.
Another time they were followed by a herd and succeeded in
reaching- the i^hore of an island, where, though only for a short
time, they were blockaded in. The longer you live in Arctic
regions the less v.nn you persuade yourself to attack these
creatures in their own element, unlesti forced by pressing cir-
cumstances, i. e., want of either food or of oil, and then it is
advisable, if in boats, to provide oneself with cartridges." —
German Arctic Expedition, 1800-70, p. 481.

Curiosity and Fearlessness of the Walrus. — "One
Ijeculiarity [of the Walrus], which under some circumstances
may be very (hmgerous, is its curiosity. Should one of these
monsters see a boat, it raises itself astonished above the sur-
face, utters at once a cry of alarm, swinnning towards it as
quickly as possible. This call brings up others, awakens the
sleepers which the boat had carefully avoided, and in a short
time the small vessel is followed by a number of these monsters,
blustering in apparent or real fury in all their hideousness.
The creatures may possibly be only actuated by curiosity, but
their manner of showing it is unfortunately so ill-chosen that
one feels obliged to act on the defensive. The bellowing, jerk-
ing, and diving herd is now but a short distance from the boat.
The tirst shot strikes, and this inflames their wrath, an<l now
begins a wild tight in which some of the black sphynxe.'. are
struck with axes on the flappers, with which they threaten to
overturn the boat. Others of the men defend themselves with
a spear or with the blade of an oar." — German Arotic Uji^editionj
1869-70, p. 481.

Locomotion ; Use of the Tusks in Climbing.— Captain
Sir Edward Belcher, in "The last of the Arctic Voyages" (vol.
i, p. 93), thus describes the Wabus's manner of mounting an
ice-floe : " But here, within a few feet, deliberately did I watchi
the progress of the animal in effecting its purpose. In the first

768

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

place, the tail and fins, exerting their full power in the water,
gave such an impetus, that it projected about one-third of the
body of the animal on to the floe. It then dug its tusks with
such terriflc force into the ice that 1 feared for itK brain, and,
l^ech-like, hauled itself forward by the enormous muscular
l)ower of the neck, repeating the operation until it was secure.
The force with which the tusks were struck into the ice ap-
peared not oidy suflicient to break them, but the concussion
was so heavy that 1 was surprised that any brain could bear
it. Can any one then be suiprised, when they are informed,
that they 'die hard,' even when shot throug!i the brain ?"

Figures of the Walrus.— In Lloyd's "Game Birds and
Wild Fowl of Sweden and Norway, together with an Account
of the Seals and Salt- Water Fishes of those Countries" (London,
1807) — a work which was inaccessible to me tiil after the Mono-
graph of the Walruses was put in type — occur two admirable
plates, illustrative of the Walrus (facing pp. 444 and 457), the
tirst in tint, the other plain. The colored i)late (drawn by
Korner) gives a full side view of one in<lividual, and a side and
front view respectively oi the he"jds and front parts of two
others. The other (drawn by Wolf) represents an encounter
between a Walrus and a Polar Bear. In this ilhr ration the
Walrus is in the attitude of walking, with the hind ioet turned
forward and the fore feet bent backward. This is one "of the
most characteristic and truthful representations I have yet met
with.

In the "German Arctic Expedition, 1869-70", there is also
a figure (wood-cut, p. 309) of a young Walrus, — a side view,
with the hind flippers turned backward.

ODOB^NUS OBESUS.

11!.
it'''

Destruction op the Pacific Walrus,— Attention has
already been called (see antea, pp. 185-186) to the rapid diminu-
tion of the Pacific Walrus, and to the alarm the natives have
of late years felt respecting the disappearance of their chief
means of support. The following (here copied from the Boston
Daily Advertiser of October 4, 1879) shows how speedily their
fears were realized :

"A letter from E. F. Nye, barque Mt. WoUaston, off Cape

0TAR1E8 AT TIIK GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. 769

Lisburue, Arctic ocean, written to the New Bedford Standard,
and dated August 2 [1879], saya : —

"'This season up to the present time has been a successful
one. Fifty one whales have been taken by the fleet, against
tliirty-two at the same time last year, and the whales have run
large, averaging about 100 barrels of oil, and say 80,(M)0 pounds
of whalebone in all; also about 11,000 walrus against 12,000
last year; the walrus making less oil than usual, as fewer
females are killed and a larger i)roportiou of male walrus than
in years past. . . . The trading vessels have abcmt 0000
pounds of whalebone and a small quantity of ivory compared
with former years ; about half the fleet are in this vicinity, tlie
other half are all over to Cape Seege and the western walrus- i
ing, destroying them by the thousands; about 11,000 have
been taken and .'30,000 or 40,00() destroyed this year. Another
year or perhaps two years will tinish them, — there will hardly
be one left, and I advise all natural history societies and
museums to get a specimen while they can. Fully one-third
of the population south of St. Lawrence bay perished the past
winter for want of food, and lialf the natives of St. Lawrence
Island died ; one village of 200 inhabitants all died excej)t-
ing one man. Mothers took their starving children to the
buryiug-grounds, stripped the clothing from their little emaci- f
ated bodies, and then strangled them or let the intense cold
end their misery. It is heart-rending to hear them tell how
they suffered. Captain Cogan has taken very few walrus ; he
says that for every one hundred walrus taken a family is !
starved, and I concur in his opinion. I should like to see a
stop put to this business of killing the walrus, and so would
most of those engaged in it. Almost every one says that it is
starving the natives, and if one of our whalers should be
wrecked on the coast in the fall, the crew must perish.'" J

Family OTARIID^.

OTABIES AT THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. — To the footUOte tO

page 211, tlie following may be added. :

An early reference to the occurrfjnce of the Southern Fur
Seal at these islands is given by Pennant (Arct. Zoiil., i, 1792,
p. 199; see also Hist. Quad., third ed., ii, 1793, p. 282) on the
authority of Woodes Eogers (Voy., p. 136, 265). On referring
to Callander's account of Kogers'H voyage, the only one to
Misc. Pub. No. 12 49

770

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

whicili I havo sicci'ss, I tlrul the following, which siH'Ihn to have
been jienorally ovorlookt'd by lator writers on tlusc aninialH:
"Hea's liannt some of these islands [(ralapagos], but not so
jiunierous, nor tiieir fur so ^ood as at Juan Fernandez.'^ U«i
refers to a vvvy larj^e one that repeatedly attaeked him and
adds, ''This iiini>hibions beast was as bij; as a large bear."*

In the footnote to page Ull it is stated (hat the oeeurrenee oC
Eared Seals at the (Jijlapagos Islands seems not to bo gtMier-
ally known. While tl'ere is no reference to their occurrence at
these islands by Gray and otiier lending writers on tlie group,
I tind that Mr. Salvia, in discussing the probable habitat of the
Xcma fiirvata (Ibis, lS7r», p. 407), alhules to the fa<'t incidentally,
as follows : "Still even were its Arctic character established,
it [Xema furcata] nuiy yet be an inhabitant of the GaUii>agos
Islands, where an Otarin beh)nging to a northern sjiecies exists
and formerly abcmnded ". "Northern", however, should read
southern, for the Ofaria is 0. jubata, and conse«piently is not a
northern type.

Fossil Otahies. — Add at i)age 217 the following: Trofessor
McCoy has recently described and figured t fossil remains of
Eared Seals from the Pliocene of Vi(!toria, under the name
Arctocephaliis wllUamsi, sp. nov. The skull figured, which he
refers to as an "ohl male skull", bears a close resend)lance to
the K.vull of a female of Zaiophus lobatus, fron^ which, judging
from his description and figures, it does not very materially
dift'er.

Capture of Sea Lions fob Menageries.— The following
interesting Jiccount of the capture of Sea Lions alive for me-
nageries is from the "Illustrated Guide aiul Catalogue of Wood-
ward's Gardens," of San Francisco, California (San Francisco,
1880, i^p. 50-52), where it is credited to the " Santa Barbara
Press":

"Nearly all the live seal, sea lions and sea elephants that
have been fuiuished Woodward's Gardens, in San Francisco,
and that have been sent to the Old World and the Eastern
States during the last fitleen years, have betu captured from
tlie Santa Barbara Islands, across the channel from this city.

" Every year there are more or less of these animals captured

* Callaiuler'a Voyages, vol. iii, 17(58, p. ;}07.

tProd. Pahvout. Victoria, decade v, p. 7, pU. xli and xliv.

ZALOPIIUS CALIFOKNIANIS — CALIFORNIA SEA LION. 771

ou the iHlaiids, for the purpose of 8up])Iyiiig nienagerioa in the
Eastern States, and parties engaged in the business always
come to Santa Barbara to se<',ure men for the purpose, who
have ha^l years of experience in capturing them.

"The mode of capturing these aniumls is simple, yet very
exciting, and w'lile it is not considere*! nuich of a trick to
cage an ordinary sized seal, it is a big contract to capture a
bull that weighs 1,500 pounds or more, without seriously iiyur-
lug the animal.

•' Three (►r four expert vaqueros usually approach the .animals
that are out on the rotrks m'ar the beach, select, perhai)8 from
a Inunlred or more, the big bull which usually starts for the
water, and when the animal arrives at a convenient place on
the sand, if ])ossible three riatas are thrown simultaneously,
one over the animal's neck, one over either of his front flip-
pers, and one over his rear flippers, making a spread eagle of him
instantly. The riata that holds the r'nir flippers takes away
the motive jwwer of the animal, and while his other front flip-
l)er is 'lassoed', the riatas are all fasti'ned to the rocks or trees
near by, or held by the engaged, wiiile the large box — which
has already been nia«le — without the cover, is brought and care-
fully stood on end close behind the animal, unobserved, and,
with a man on top of it is dropped suddenly over the 'ea lion
as he lies stretched at full length on the sauil. Small ropes are
worked under the box and the animal, and lashed to th j top of
the box, and at a given signal the riatas are loosened, and the
animal is free to move around in his cage at will. The cages
are made out of strong fence boards, firmly nailed to the
scantling in the corners and on the sides. They are about
four feet high, four and a half feet wide, and from eight to
fourteen feet in length, and always made before the animal is
captured. After the animals are caged, several strong ropes
are made fast arounil the cage and blocks hitched into these
ropes, and the cage, with the animal, is drawn through the
water to the schooner, near by, and hoisted on board. Fish
and water are given the captured, but they often go ten to
twenty days without eating."

ZALOPHUS CALIFOENIANUS.

Period of Gestation, etc.— Under date of June 2, 1880,
Mr. Frank J. Thompson, superintendent of the Cincinnati
Zoological Garden, wrote me that a second Californian Sea

772 AUDITIONS AND CORRECTIONH.

Lion had just been born at the Garden. In respect to the
period of jjestation, etc., Mr. Thon)pHoii later kindly gave nu' the
following interesting partienlars: "Tin* mother arrived in (ho
(ianlen on .Inly 2, IS7!>, and was seen in eopidation with the
nuile several times between Jnly 10 and la. The yonng one
was born May M, 1880, making the period of gestation abont
ten and a half months. It was evidently the tirst ealf, and
therefore, aa is generally the ease, the ])eriod of gestation was
a little lengthened. The yonngster is Jnst fonrteen days old
this morning [June 14], bnt does not as yet show the least
desire to go into the water, lie will follow his mother to the
edge of the water and there <ini<'tly remain while she takes her
bath. We ha<l the mother in onr possession thirty days before
she ate, and as she must have been captured twenty -five or
thirty days previous, she was without food for souui tifty or
sixty days. She was shipped from San Francisco, California,
by rail, in a simple wicker basket, and 1 do not believe she had
a drop of water in trannitu.''^

CALLOKHINUS URSINUS.

Breeding off the Co/.st of Washington Territory. —
In a letter from Mr. .Tames G. Swan, Field Assistant of the
United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, dated Xeah
Bay, Washington Territory, July 17, 1880, kindly communi-
cated by Dr. Coues, contains the following respecting the breed-
ing of the Fur Seal off the coast of Washington Territory:

" Several ue\ facts and theories have been developed by my
investigations about Fur Seals this season. The fact that they
do have pups in the open ocean off the entrance to Fuca Strait,
is well established by evidence of every one of the sealing cap-
tains, the Indians, and my own i>er8onal observations. Doctor
V -^ Power says the fact does not admit of dispute. The theory of
the captains is, ifirst, that this fact proves conclusively that
these Seals do not go to Behring's Sea to have their young, and
hence they argue that they do not go there at all, but 'haul out'
for pu'^poses of reproduction on some undiscovered islands in
the No-, th Pacific, or go at once to the coast of Japan or Siberia
where they are known to abound. It seems as preposterous to
my mind to suppose that all the Fur Seals of the North Pacific
go to the Pribylov Islands as to suppose that all the salmon go
to the Columbia and Fraaer's River or to the Yakon.

CALLORHINUS UUSINUS — UALIFOllNIA SEA LION. 773 (

"Tlie question is oiu' of inU'H'.st, and I have snjyf^ested to Pro-
fessor IJainl liis havin}; blank forms of (luestions furnished the
captains of all the vessels cnpiged in sealinj^, for them to fill
out with their observations during the season or during their
voyages. These blanks could be sent to the custom-houses at
San Francisco, Port Townsend, and Victoria, and given to the
captiiins, with their other |)ai)erH, wlu^n they clear on their seal-
ing voyages, with instructions to fill them out and return them
to the custom-house at the end of their voyage.

"A series of such observations, made during several success-
ive seasons, would enable us to ascertain definitely the facts
about the J''ur Seal, whose habits are but little known except
at the rookeries."

Prof. D. S. Jordan, the well-known ichthyologist, to whom
the letter was addressed, adds: "I may remark that I saw a
live Fur Seal pup June 1 [1880J, at Cape Flattery, taken from
an old seal just killed, showing that the time of bringing them
forth was just at hand."

These observations, aside from the judicious suggestions made
by Mr. Swan, are of special interest as confirming those made
some years ago by Captain Bryant, and already briefly recorded
{anteitf p. ) in this work. They seem to show that at least a
certain number of Fur Seals repair to secluded places suited to
their needs as far south as the latitude of Cape Flattery, to
bring forth their young.

. V

Family TEOCIDM

Extinct Species. — Prof. A. Leith Adams, in a paper " On
Bemaius of Mastodon and other Vertebrata of the Miocene
Beds of the Maltese Islands" (Quar. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol.
XXXV, i^art 3, August, 1879, p. 524, pi. xxv, figg. 1, 2), has de-
scribed and figured four teeth and a portion of the left ramus
of a seal from the calcareous sandstone of Gozo, Malta, under
the name Phoca rugosidens {Phoca rugosidem, Owen apud
Adams). They indicate a species of about the size of Mona-
chus albiventer, with which in respect to the character of the
teeth the species may be compared. Mr. Adams says that
canine teeth of large size, referable to the Phoddce, are of com-
mon occurrence in the sand bed, and are also somewhat plenti-
ful in the nodule-seams of the calcareous sandstone.

IISTDEX

[Iho flKures iu black-faced typo refer tu the descriptions of the families, genera, and species.J

Aglektok, 632, 633.
Aglektorsoak, 633.
Aglektuiigoak, 633.
Aglektytsiak, 633.
Alactberiuin, 12, 14.

crotsii, 13.
Amphibia, 11.
Arctoc^phalcs, 210.
Arctocephalina, 11, 187, 188, 189, 414.
Arctocephalns, 11, 190, 191, 192, 209,
210, 225, 231, 275, 312.
antarcticus, 190, 198, 201 , 202, 205,

207, 212, 222.
argeiitatus, 199, 202.
australis, 197, 199, 202, 205, 207,
210, 211, 222, 224, 226, 330, 333.
brevipes, 204, 213.
californiauus, 197, 199, 233, 249,

314, 338.
cinereus, 191, 197, 198, 199, 213,

217, 294, 372.
iMalandi, 190, 191, 196, 197, 213.
olegans, 204, 213.
eulo] ..U8, 199, 200, 202, 201, 216,

316.
falklandicus, 191, 196, 197, 199,
200, 202, 204, 205, 207, 208, 210,
213, 228, 372.
forsieri, 199, 204, 205, 213, 372.
gazella, 204, 213.
gilliespii, 197, 276.
grayi, 211.

grayii, 199, 200, 202, 204.
hookeri, 191, 197, 202, 209.
lobatus, 191, 196, 197, 209, 217,

293, 294.
moutorieiisia, 190, 191, 197, 199,

233, 249, 293, 314, 337.
nigrescens, 191, 197, 199, 205, 211,

222.
nivosiis, 198, 199, 202, 203, 213.

Arctocepbalus — Continued .

pbilippii, 199, 202, 204.

pusillns, 203, 204.

schisthyperoes, 198, 202, 203, 213.

scbistiiperns, 198.

willianmi, 770.

nlloic, 191.

ursiniis, 197, 200, 204, 312,
Arctophoca, 191, 192, 206, 210.

argeutata, 192, 199, 204, 206.

ebigans, 202, 213.

falklandica, 192.

gazella, 202, 213.

nigrescens, 192, 204.

pbilippii, 192, 199, 206.
Atd,it8iak, 633.
Atak, 425.
Atarak, 631.
Atarpek, 433.
Atarpiak, 429, 432, 433.
Atftrsoak, 633.
Attarak, 632.
Attarsoak, 425, 631, 632.
Atteitsiak, 632. »

AiiN-ekiejak, 432.
Avjor, 739.

Bartiobbc, 657.
Bedlamers, 634.
Bedlimers, 634.
Bellaniers, 634.
Bebiga catodon, 147.
Bdte i\ la grande dent, 26, 82.
Bodacb, 600.
Bos marinus, 26, 82.
Blaakobbe, 657.
Blase-Robbe, 740.
Bladdernoso, 726, 740.
Blase-Seebund, 427.
Blandrusb, 425.

T75

776

INDEX.

Kiassjiilen, 720.
Blas-SkUl, 740.
BlmidniHcilur, 427.
Blnc-sidiiH, (155.
BriH'ii, r>, 11.

c.
Calloc<5i»liiik', 415, 417, 557.
Calloiophiilus, 414, 415, 41(), 417, 418,
419, 420, 557, 558, 463.
albicaudim, 444.
anncllatud, 599.
barbatns, 443, 444, 449, 65(i.
bioolor, 449.
caspicns, 451, 453.
diiiiidiatus, 451, 453, 455, 459,

464, 599.
discolor, 443, 444, 449, 458, 599.
fcEtidus, 451, 598.
graMilandicns, 443, 444, 449, 630.
hispidus, 443, 449, 451, 598.
lagurus, 443, 444, 631.
larj^ha, 561.

leporinus, 443, 444, 449, 656.
oceaniciis, 444, 449, 631.
scopnlicoluH, 444, 690.
\ituliuus, 443, 444, 449, 451, 453,
455, 561, (545.
Callopboca, 479.
obsctira, 479.
Callorbiniua, 188, 192, 210, 225, 312.
CallorhiuHS, 190, 191, 192, 210, 312.
ursinu.s, 190, 196, 199, 201, 205,
210, 216, 218, 224, 225, 3 1 3,760.
Canipodoutia, 5, 11.
Chat marin, 314.
Chein marin, .562.
Cheval luarin, 26, 82.
Clapinutz, 425, 739.
Cystopliora, 3, 11, 57, 220, 413, 414,
415, 419, 420, 462, 465, 467,
■793, 724, 742.
augustirostris, 456, 470.
antillariini, 450, 451, 453, 454, 4.'i9,
708, 716, 717, 718, 719, 720, 726.
borealis, 441, 448, 458,466,723,726.
cristata, 219, 425, 426, 428, 431,
436, 441, 448, 450, 451, 452, 453,
454, 455, 459, 465, 468, 481, 482,
492, 545, 570, 614, 667, 723, la*,
\*\ 750,764.

Cysfophora— Continued.

falklandica, 4.56, 459, 466, 750.

kergutilousis, 4,56, 459, 466, 750.

leouiua, 456, 466, 750.

proboscidea, 448, 4.50, 452, 456,
466, 469.
Cystophorina, 414.
Cystophorina;, 220, 413, 462, 467, 723,

]>.

Dotard, 562, 614.
Dugcng, 10, 16.

fi.

Elefante niarino, 743.
Elephant, Sea, 743.

Southern Sea, 7r)0, 754, 755,
Enhydris, 57, 412.
Equus niarinus ot Hippopotamus

false dictus, 23.
Eriguathus, 414, 417, 419, 420, 461,
462, 464, 654.
barbatna, 139, 425, 426, 430, 431,
436, 454, 459, 465, 468, 481,
482, 488, 545, .570, 641, 6S5,
()5(), 763.
Eumetopias, 189, 192,209, 225, 331.
californianus, 233, 293.
ciuerca, 204, 210.
elougatus, 200, 233, 248, 252.
gillespii, 203, 204.
stellcri, 189, 195, 196, 199, 202,
204, 209, 217, 218, 223, 225,
333, 233, 29(i, 305, 316, 338,
7.57.
Eumetopiina, 188, 189.
Euotaria, 191, 192, 210.

cinerea, 201, 205, 207, 213.
compressa, 202, 203.
latirostriH, 201, 294, 207, 211.
nigrescens, 201.
schisthyperoes, 20S.

Fatte-Nuorjo, 739.
Fiordsaj], .599.
Fjordskai, 597.
Fur-seals, 189, 216, 229.
Fipper, Square, 657.
Flipper, Square, 614, 657.

INDEX.

777

Gramm-Scliir, 426, 428.
Grainselr, 425, 665, 666.
Gr&sskul, 436.
Gressigiada, 3.
Grninbelr, 666.
Groiilaudsiil, 631.
Gronlandsjiil, 631.
Gritnlauds-Robbcj, 631.
Giypboca, 479.

siuiilis, 479.
Gypsophoca, 191, 192, 206, 210.

tropicalis, 199, 201, 204, 206, 213,
217.
Gypsophociua, 189.

Haaf-flsh, 690.

HsBinatopimis, 139.
Hafcrt-skiil, 6.")7.
Hair Seals, 216.
Halarctus, 191, 210,
Halitore, 10.
Havcrt, 6.57.
Havhest, 26.
HavSiil, 427.
Horsowael, 81.
Hvalriius, 2(5.
Halichoerina, 414.

Halicbcpriis, 5, 11, 414, 415, 419, 420,
462, 465, 4§3.
antarcticuN, 418, 4S0, 459, 463,

561, 580.
grisens, 414, 441, 444, 449, 465,

663, 682, 691, 697, 700.
grypbus, 691.

grypus, 414, 427, 431, 437, 448,
450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 459,
465, 468, 531, 545, 614, 616, 617,
628, 648, 662, 663, 664, 669, 673,
690, 737, 764.
macrorhynchus, 451, 459, 465,

690, 698.
pachyrbyucbus, 451, 459, 465, 690,
698.
Halicyon, 414, 417, 419, 454, 463, 557,
559.
californica. 453, 454, 455, 459, A6A,

.')61, 584.
pealei, 455, 561, 582.
ricbardsi, 453, 455, 459, 464, 561,
572, iSaj, 587.

HalipbiluH, 418, 419, 455, 46.3, 557,
.559, W'i.
antarcticus, 561.
Harps, 634.

Breeding, 634.
Turuiug, 634.
Young, 634.
Heliopboca, 417, 419; 465, 707.

atlantica, 451, 453, 4.59, 465, 717.
Histriophoca, 419, 461, 462, 464, 67S.
equestrin, ()41.
i fasciata, 4()4, 468, 632, Oie, 763.

I Hofsskai, 436.

I.
Ibeeu, 599.
Iblan, 632.
Imab-ukallia, 429, 433.

KabbuHtskobbe, 739.
Kakortak, 726, 740.
Kampselur, 666.
Kassiarsook, 591.
Kassigiak, 425, 562.
Kikweb, 7.39.
Killer, 406.
Kioluk, 631.
Klakkokal, 739.
Klapmlits, 422, 724.
Klappmutze, 726.
Klapniyds, 667, 726, 735.
Klappmuze, 426, 724, 738.
Klappmysta, 726.
Knubbsjiil, 562.
KongeMeteriak, 429, 433.

Ii.

Lachtak, 422, 657.

Laktak, a57, 665.

Lanmntiue, 14.

Lame, 430.

Land-Selur, 427.

Leo marinus, 190, 195, 233, 233, 248.

Leptonychotes, 418,419, 421, 463, 467.

weddelli, 467.
Leptonyx, 413, 414, 416, 419, 420, 467.

leopardimis, 450, 452.

monachuB, 450, 452.

roHsi, 450.

aerrideuB, 45(), 452.

weddelli, 450, 451, 452, 453, 4«7.

778

INDEX.

Lion mariii, 233, 254, 430.

(le la Californie, 251, 276, 291.
Lobodon, 413, 414, 416, 419, 420, 463,
466.
carcinophaga, 449, 450, 451, 453,

463, 466, 475, 476, 561, 581.
vetiis, 480.
Lobo marino, 27<), 302.
Loup marin, 196, 562.

in.

Macrorbiuo, 415, 417, 742.
Macrorbinus, 3, 57, 220, 414, 415, 417,
418, 419, 420, 463, 46(), 467, 558,

723, 724, 742-
augustirostris, 437, 453, 454, 456,

459, 466, 494, 517, 744, 764.
auHuui, 444.
byroni, 444.
leoninus, 430, 456, 459, 466, 517,

724, 750, 753, 754, 755.
probo8"ideu8, 433, 444, 449.

Macrorhyua, 742.
Manatee, 9, 10, 16.
Manatus, 9, 10.
Meerbiir, 193, 314.
Meerbiisenkalb, 664.
Meerlowo, 193.
Meerpferd, 26, 36, 82.
Meerrobbc, dicliscbnauzige, 698.

kruniiuiiasigo, 698.

langscbnanzigc, 698.
Meerross, 82.
Mesotaria, 220, 479.

ambigua, 219, 478.
Mdsotaries, 219.
Milatok, 632, 633.
Mirounga, 416, 419, 465, 4(56, 723, 744.

au8oni, 445.

byroni, 445.

cristata, 445, 725.

patagonica, 445, 458, 466, 750.

proboBcidea, 445, 482.
Monacbina, 414, 707.
MonacbuH, 414, 415, 419, 420, 436, 461,
462, 465, lOT, 720.

albiventer, 415, 430, 451, 459, 465,
467, 479, 717, 772.

meditorraueiiH, 415, 465.

ti'opicaliH, 453, Y0§«
Monatherihm, 479.

Monatheriiim — Continued,
aberratuin, 479.
afflnis, 479.
dolongii, 479.

Mors, 17, 80, 81, 100

Morscb, 24.

Morse ou vacbe marine, 24.

Morse, 24, 26, 74, 82, 100.

Morses, les, 5.

Morsk, 26.

Morss, 66, 82, 110.
j Morsus, 17, 80, 81.

Morsz, 80, 81.
I Morunga, 220, 414, 416. 420, m), 742,
j angustircstris, 4'">. 744.

I elejdiantina, 451, 453, 753.

Moruuge, 436.

Miincbs-Robbe, 429.

Natantia, 10.

Natsek, 599,

Neitsek, 425, 597, 616.

Neitsersoak, 425, 724, 726, 739, 740.

Neit8ik"k,425,616.

Neopboca, 191, 192, 209,275.

lobata,199,202,210,««»4.
Neriuiartont, 735.
Nerpa, 600.

Nei-8aursalik,726,740.
Netsiavik, .5S>9.
Netsick, 599.

O.
Oaado, 739.
Odobu'niUa;, 2, 5, 17.
Odobasnns, 3, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17.

rosuianis, 23, 2(5, 80, 157, 757, 765.

obesus, 141, 758, 768.
Odobenotberiuiu, 15, 16.

lartctiauuui, 20, 26, 61, 80.
Odobemis, 9, 14.
Odontobienus, 15, 16, 137.

rosnianis, 23, 26.
Ogjook,657,671.
Ogmorbinus, 419, 421, 463, 466.

leptonyx, 466.
Omiuatophoca, 413, 414, 416, 419, 420,
463, 467.

rossi, 449, 451, 453, 458^ 459, 467.
Oinniatopliora, 420.
Oo-sook,657,665.

INDEX.

779

Orca,:Wl,r)52.

Otaria, 187, 190, 191, 192, 208, 221, 225,

231.
albicoUiH, 194, 19(5, 203, 209, 215.
argoutata, 211.
aurita,216.

australis, 197, 803, 210, 293.
bironia, 199.
byrouia, 198, 208.
caUforniaua, 191, 195, 197, 250,

270,291,292.
chilensis, 197, 208.
■ cineiea, 194. im, 198, 203, 209,

213,215.
coronata, 196, 197, 215.
elegans, 202, 213.
delalaudi, 197, 199,222.
fabricii, 19.5, 196, 215, 313.
falklaudica, 191, 194, 198, 210.
flavescenH, 194, 19r),215.
forsteri, 19(),203.
gillespii, 198, 276, 293.
gilliespii, 191, 293.
godefroyi, 198, 199, 203, 208.
graii, 198.

hookeri, 191, 198, 199, 208, 209.
baiivillii, 196, 197, 203, 211.
japonica, 293,
jubatu, 188, 190, 191, 196, 197, 198,

199,200,201,203, 204, 205, 208,

209, 211, 226,232,245,247, 248,

276,305,31.5,770.
krascbenuinikowii, 195, 313.
lamari, 197,213,216,
leclerci,218.
leonina, 177, 1S»2, 194, 197, 198,

203, 208, 335.
lobata, 197, 198.
minor, 201, 203, 208.
niolinaii, 196.
niollissina, 196, 208.
nigrescens, 191.
oiidiiaua, 218.
pernottyi,196,208.
peroni, 194, 195, 196, 203, 212, 215.
philippii, 191, 198, 211.
platyrhincus, 197, 208.
porcina, 194, 197, 215.
pusilla, 194,195, 196, 198, 199,222.
pygin«'a,201,203,208.

Otaria — Coiitimicd.

8bawi,196,211.

atelleri, 191, 195, 197, 198,200,210,
216, 219, 9" ><>.>, 293, 294.

ulloa', IL .98, 199, 203, 208.

urBiiia, 194, 197, 198,201, 313.

\voddellii,444,458,467.
Otariadii", I ST, 188.
OtarideH, 187.
Otario coudrdo, 203.

de Delalaude, 213.

du Lalaude, 196.

de Steller, 292.

du cap, 203.
Otariesat the UalapagOH Islaiid8,769.
Otariidto, 2, 3, 12, 187.
Otariina, 188, 189.
Otariiiuu, 187.
Otary, Asb-c olored, 196.

Cape, 196.

Lesson's, 196.

White-necked, 196.

OuliphociuiB, 188.

Ours marin, 314.

Oxystonins, 10.

Pagomys, 414, 417, 419, 420, 421, 4(53,
557,558.
foBtidus, 453, 454, 455, 598, 645.
largba,453,.561,577.
nnmnuilaris, 561, .577.
ochotensis, 4.55.
Pagopbilns, 414, 416, 419, 420, 421,
462, 4'i3, .5.57, 558.
equestris, 4.55, 676, 681.
grojnlandicus, 451, 453, 454, 4-55,
631.
PaljEophoca,218,479.

nysti, 477, 478.
Palmata, 9.
Pelage, 415, 4(55, 707.
Pelagias, 416.
Polagios, 416,

Pelagius, 413, 415, 416, 419, 420, 465,
707.
monaobus, 218, 443, 444, 449, 465.
PLipper, Square, 616.
Phoca, 15,24, 188, 413, 414, 417. 418,
419, 420, 462, 463, ««», 597,
(i54.

780

INDEX,

Plioca— Coiitinuod.

albicanda, 440, 457, 4(>4, (CJl, (WJ.
albigeua, 447, 455, 458, 4(55, 65G,

666.
all>ini,G:U.

albiventor, 4;J0, 440, 457, 4C5.
aiiibi>,'iin,477,47I).
aiisoni, 410, 443, 440, 45b, 406,

750.
aiitai(tiLa,'Jl'2, 440.
aiistialis, 10;{, ','10, 420, 434, 437.
amu-llata, 441,44-i, 448, 450, 452,

455,458,404, 500. (i07, 000, 012,

019,031.
baicaU'iisiH, 450, 450, 404, (ilO, 012.
barbata, 422, 423, 425, 427, 428,

420, 432, 434, 437, 440, 442, 443,

445,440,448, 4.50, 451, 452, 455,

457,014,0.54,090, 098, 699, 700,

702.
bicolor, 437, 440, 457, 405.
byroui, 208, 440, 441. 440, 457, 406,
■ 750.

byrouia, 198, 443.
califoruica, 270.
eanina, 43(5, 438. 446,447, 4.57, 458,

463, 501, .576, 587.
caniua var. caspica, 464, 609.
carciuophaga, 41(), 400.
caspica, 426, 437, 448, 450, 452,

456, 457,458,459,464,468,484,

514, 546, ()07, 608, 609.
cbilpusis, 434, 457.
chorisi, 441, 446, 450, 458, 463,

561, 576.
coinmuuis, 559,575.
coiuinuuiB var. octouotata, 449,

458, 464, 599, 601.
oomuiuuis var. inuliilata, 449,

458, 464, 599, 601.
concolor, 449, 458, 463, 561, 579.
coronata, 196, 215, 316.
coxii, 440, 443, 444, 446, 457.
cristata, 428, 434, 437, 440, 445,

446, 450, 457, 723, 724, 7:38.
ciicuUata, 431, 457, 465, 725,

738.
debilis, 470, 473.
dt'iitibus caninis tectis, 562.
desniarcHti, 446, 458, 464, 631,639.
diinidiata, 599.

I Pboi'a — ("DiiUniKd.

discolor, J4l, 44.5,446,464,599, 019,

dorwita, 447,458,404,031, 039, 041.

dubia, 44(i, 458, 4W.

elcpbantiiia, 430, 457, 460, 7.50.

c()iicNtriN, 447, 452, 458, 4()4, 075,
070. (M».

lalklandica, 103, 196, 210, 437.

fasciata, 429, 434, 437, 438, 440,
441, 444, 440, 455, 457, 675, «»76,
()79.

flavesccns, 190, 208, 2(5, 437.

<a>ti<la, 221. 425, 420, 427, 43(», 431,
430, 440, 443, 4 15, 457, 459, 404,
40H, 481, 483, 488, 407, 54.5, .561,
.5()5, 500, 567, 570, 597, 508,
(i41, 050, 004, (»2, 088, 702.

fredcrici, 440, 404, .500, (UO.

gaiidiiii, 47>^, 479.

gnmlaiidicii. 210. 221, 422, 425,
420, 42S, 420, 43tt, 431, 433. 434,
430, 437, 440, 442, 443, 445, 440,
448, 450, 452, 457, 450, 404, 408,
470, 474, 481, 483, 484, 488, 492,
497, 511, .545, .5()5, (507, 614, 616,
630, 0.59, 688.

grainlaiidica var. nigra, 434,4.57,
031, 703.

grypluLs, 56(5, 567, 569, 570, 663,
689, 697.

grypiiH, 420, 431, 446, 457, 682, 685,
689, 697.

halicha?ruB, 442, 458, 465,690,697.

halitscbcusis 477, 479.

heruauni, 446, 458, 465.

liispida, 426, 428, 434, 436, 437,
440, 446, 4.57, 464, 598, 617,618,
619.

liispida var. (piadrata, 434, 457.

hoinei, 44(5, 4.58, 46(5.

isidorei, 449, 458, 466, 725, 736,
738.

jubata, 193, 208, 232, 426, 433,437.

lagura. 442, 445, 446, 4.50, 458,
464, 561, an, (539.

lakhtak, 440, 441, 457, 465, 0o5.

Janiger, 434, 439, 457.

largba, 447, 449, 458, 464, 501, 570.

leonina, 190, 208, 233, 417, 422,
423, 42(5, 428, 430, 433, 437, 446,
447, 457, 415, 460, 724. 738

INDEX.

781

Pboca — ("oiitiimed.

leoniua capito antice cristato,

.4-jr,.

Icopanlina, 4(57.

lepcchini, »ir,, 458. 4<?r), 651;, 6(56.

It'porina, f^'K, J:U, V.Vi, i'Xi, 434,

437, 440, 4 If., 446, 457, 46.'), {i:Hy,

6.')8, 6()."), 6(i().
leptonyx, 440, 441, 445, 446, 450,

457, 46().
leucogiwtiT, 43S, 457.
leucopla, 442, 445, 446, 458, 46(>,

7-25, 7:W.
limine, 445, 458, 463, 561, 576.
litton-a, 44-2, 445, 458, 4()3,561,576.
lonjticollis, 214, 4:?7, 438, 440, 443,

444.
lupina, 430, 437, 440, 443, 444,446.
liitris, 447.
iiiaiulata, 431, 434, 438,439, 440,

441, 444. 446,457.
major, 445.
maxima, 422, 665.
iiiediiu inngiiitiKliniH, 562.
mitrata, 442, 458, 46r), 725, 738.
modesta, 470, 473.
moeotica, 478, 479.
monacha, 429, 431, 434, 437, 440,

446, 447, 450, 457, 465, 707.
miillcri, 445, 458, 464, 631, 639.
mntica, 439, 457.
iiauri(;a, 455, 465, 656, 666.
nautica, 447, 455, 458, 465,656, 666.
nigra, 313, 434, 439, 440, 441, 446,

447.
iiummularis, 449, 450, 452, 458,

464, 558, 561, 572, 57«i, 587.
oceatiica, 422, 429, 440, 443, 446,

457, 4()4, 631, 639.
ocboti'iwis, 447, 452, 458.
parBousi, 445, 458, 465, 656, 666.
parva, 212.

peal«i, 418, 454, 464, 495, .561, 581,
pedroni, 477.
platytbrix, 448, 458.
poutica, 477, 479.
porcina, 215, 430, 431, 433, 4:i4,

437, 457, 466.
proboscidea, 438. 440, 446, 4i>0,

4.57, 466, 742.

Pboca — Contimu'd.

punctata, 434, 438, 439, 440, 441,

444, 44(), 457.

imsiUa, 194, llKi, 212, 214, 215,

426, 430, 434, 437.
pylayi, 44t), 448, 464, 631, 639.
n'sima, 438, 440, 446, 457.
ricliardsi, 154.
rosmaruM, 24, 417, 423.
rugidt'iis, 477.
rngosidciis, 772.
sericoa, 436, 438, 446, 450, 457.
semiliiuariH, 430,4.57, 4(i4, 631, 639.
scbri'bcri, 44.5, 458, 4(54, 617.
8coi)iilicola, 442, 446, 458, 465,

5(50, .57(5, 690, (597.
Bibiiica, 426, 437, 464, 4(58, 607.
stelleri, 232.

Hen vitnliis marinns, 562.
testndinoa,437, 4:W, 440, 446, 450,

457.
testudo, 434, 438, 457.
tetradactyla, 438.
tbienomanni, 44.5, 4.58, 4(55, 690.
tigrina, 444, 4(53, .561, .57(5.
tropioalis, 451, 459, 708, 716, 717,

718.
ursina, 26, 193, 195, 210, 212, 213,

417, 423, 42(!, 429, 431, 432, 433,

437, 447.
variegata, 436, 438, 441, 457, 458,

4(53, .560, 576.
vitnbna, 221, 417, 421, 423, 426,

430, 431, 434, 43(5, 437, 440, 441,

445, 44(5, 448, 450, 452, 454, 457,
459, 463, 4(58, 479, 484, 488, 492,
493, 497, 534, 545, 459,608, 614,
641, 659, 761.

vitnlinavar. botbionica, 445,4.58.
vitnHua var. botnlca, 431, 434,

457, 599, 616.
vitnlina var. caHpica, 431, 434,

445, 464, 609.
vitnlina var. macnlata, 445.
vitnlina var. sebrica. 44.5, 458.
vitnlina var. sibirica, 431, 434,

457, 464, 612.
vitnlinoides, 479.
vulgaris, 561.
weddelli, 214, 446, 4.50.

782

INDEX.

Phoca — C'untiimed.

wilkianus, 708, 710, 718.

wyinani, 470, 471, 473, 480.
Phocacea auriciilata, 187.

inauriciilata, 412.
Phocauella, 479, (514.

minor, 479.

pnmila, 479.
Phocarctos, 191, 809.

eloiiKatns, 18t), 201, 210, 233, 252,
294.

hookori, 199, 201, 20.5, 209.

uIloiD, 191.
Phocitlffi, 2, 4, 188, 4112, 461.
Phocina, 414.

PLociiiic, 221, 41:3, 414, 461, 467, 55V.
Pbocoidea, 12.
Phoque i\ capiicliou, 430, 726, 740,

k croissant, 430, 631.

k ventre, blanc, 430.

cominiine, !jti2.

de nAtre oceau, 562.

Gassigiak, 430.

Grum-selur, 439, 440.

Laktak, 430, 440.

marbr<^, 599.

Neitsoak, 430.

petit, 195, 196, 203, 204, 214.

tigr<!, 439, 440, 576.
Phoqiies h oroilles, 187.

proprement dits, 419, 429.

sans oreilles, 412, 429.
Pickaninny Pussy, 600.
Pinnipedia, 1.
Pinnipeds, 1.
Platyrhinchiis, 190, 208,
Platyrhincus, 208,

leoninns, 20H.

niollnssinuB, 208.

nranio;, 208.
Platyrhinques, 190, 208.
Platystomus, 10,
Porcus monstrosTis ocean! Genuauici,

93.
Porco marina, 430.
Pristiophoca, 479.

occitana, 477, 488.
Prophoca, 479,

proxima, 479.

ronBaeani, 479.

Pua, 683.

Pusa, 414,417, 419, 421,462, 463, 6S7,

558, .559, 682, 683.

grypus, 684, 690.

Puesb, 684.

Puirse, 684.

Pflrse, 684.

Pftse, 684.

PnsHV, 684.

Ragged Jackets, 6:^4

Ranger, ,5(>2.

Rat, Floe, 510, 600.

Rawn,.')62.

Rerauiesu'len, 657.

Remru8a'l,66<>.

Roptigrada, 4.

Rhinophora, 416,419,466,742.

Rhytina,9.

gigas, 73. 432.
Rosmarida), 5, 12, 17.
Rosmaroidea, 5, 12.
Rosmarns, 15, 16, 17, 23, 80. 82.

arcticus, 22,26,147.

cookii, 22, 147.

obesus, 22,26,147,

trichechus, 26, 147.
Rosniarus sen morsns norvegioas, 33^

Rosnibvalr, 80.
Ro8mul,80,
RoHtnngr, 80,

«.
Saddleback, 631, 634,
Sadiers, 634.
S»l, 562.

Krunisnudede, 431, 690.

Spraglede, 431, .562.
Sffilhnnd, .562,
Sattel-Robbe, 631,
Sea-Bear, 193,

Forster's, 196,

Steller's, 196,
Sea-Bears, 188,216,
Sea-Calf, 422, .562, 657, 662.

Bay, 524.

Gray, 664,
Sea-Cat, 336, 341, 562. '

Sea-Co w , 24, 26, 67, 82, 177.

Steller's, 9,16,432.

INDEX.

783

Sott-Dog. '.(52.

Sea-EI«i)lmnt, 177,290, 484,494,517.

SonthtTi), 422, 7.''.0.
Sea-Iiorsc, 2fi, 2H, 76, 82, 95, 147.
Sea-King, 233.
Sea-Lion, 193.

Aiihou'h, 422.

California, 27<>.

Northern, 190,23;J.

Soutliern, 245.
Sea-LionH, 188, 21(5, 770.
Sea-Oxon, <5(».
Sea- Wolf, 432.
Seal, 5()2.

liaikal, 012.

Bay, 534, '•'52,014.

Beanlcd, 139, 431, 488, 510. .545,
055, <»o7, 700.

Black, 434.

Blacksitle, 422, 031.

Bla<l<l«'r-no8e<l, 510.

Bottle-noned, 433, 435.

Caspian, 484, 514, 54C, 609, 611.

Ciiu^roons, 194.

Common, 423,4:54,562.

Crested, 422, 428, 484, 492, 720.

Eared, 435.

Elephant, 221,517,743.

Falkland Isle, 193,43.5.

F,jor<l,599.

Fossil,. -)<)9.

Freshwater, 502.

from tlie South Seas, 090.

Fur, 314.

Gray, 531, .545, 014, 61(5, 028,004,
073, (589, (590.

Great, 435, (5.57.

Great Seal of the Farn Islands,
098.

Greenland, 484, 488. 492, 545, (531.

Ground, 0.57.

Hair, 233.

Harbor, 431,488, 497, 524, 559,614.

Harnassed, 4:t4.

Harp, 422, 4;^!, 435, 488, 492, 497,
545,014,(530,031.

Hispid, 488.

Hooded, 428, 431, 435, 410, 545,
014, 648, 724, 720, 738. 740,

Jamaican, 708,

Seal — Continued.

Lan«l, 562.

Leopard, 495, 5(5 J.

Leonine, 435.

Leporine, 435, (557.

Little, 435.

Long-b(.die«l, 423, 430, 657, 662,
0(5.5.

Marbled, 000.

Mediterranean, 435

Mitred, 739.

Monk, 429.

Native, .5(52, 014.

New to the British Islands, 726.

Pedro, 708,710.

Pied,4:{,5.

Porcine, 435.

Ribbon, (57(5.

Rnbbon, 434, 4;{5, 67(5.

Rough, 4:55,488,541,598, 618.

Saddle-biuk, 510.

Shot near the Orkney Islands,
599.

Square Phipper,4:M,614,670

Sj.ring, 427.

Tortoise-he.aded, 423, 434, 435.

Urigone, 4:55.

Ursine, 19(5,314,435.

Yellowish, 194.

West Indian, 708.

Wikai>e,5:M.

Winter, 427.

With a Cawl. 422,724,738,740.
Seals, Eared, 187.

Earless, 221, 412. ♦

Sealch, .5(52.
Seebiir, 42(5.
Seehund,. 5(52, (509.

caspische, 426, (509.

gefleckte, .562.

gemeiue, 502.

geringelte, 5i)9. .

>:iane, 426, 498, 690, 696.

gronlandisehe, (331.

grosse, 426, 897. •'"

kleiue geiihrte, 426.

rauhe,420,498,499,6ir

schwarzseitige, 631.

sibirische, 426, 612.

VierteSorte,612.

784

INDEX.

S«^ckulb, W.-i, Vm.

jjraiio, (»89.
Scelowe, SiUH.

glatto, 426.

zottigc, 4'26.
See-viteliio,5>33.

Soikio, rm.

Siiil, bra, (ilO, ($89, (190, 097.
Singtikto]), 4^9, 433.
8ireuia, 10.
Sireniiiim. 10.
Sjii'l, (ira,r)9J>.

\Vikan-,5«!2.
Skill, Ur&, 6<>4.

CJraWikaio,r>99.
lUiiK'lad, .'^99.
Sk;Bl, BlasH, 72().
Gra, cm.
Spriicklig, .'•02.
Spraglfi, .^<)2.
Squul«{lon,218,470.
tlebiliH, 473.
wymaiii, 473.
Steen-kobbc, M2, 599.
Stenorhyncbina, 414.
Stenorliyiichinie, 413, 414, 403, 407.
Stenorhynclius, 413, 414, 415, nO, 419,
420, 421, 400.
leo])ar(linu.s, 449.
leptonyx, 443, 444, 449, 453.
Benitlciis, 400, 475.
vctus, 47.'V, 47().
wo(l(leni,444,467.
St^norhiuqiKs 415, 4()6.
Steniinatop*-, 415, 723.
StemiuatopuH, 415, 410, 419, 405, 723.
cristatus, 443, 444, 449, 72o.
mitratiis, 449, 726.
Stiiik-Robbe, 599.
Storkobbe, 657.
Storsjiil, 657.
Sulryg,031.
Svart8ide,431,631.
Svartsiide, 422, 631.
Sviiu8a3l,431,433. ; .

S0ebi0rne, 431.
Sfk'hare, 431.

T.
TanRfish, 562.
TapvaiBt,690,70S.

Tcvyak,720.
Tizak,.''.9l»,024.
Thriiboclnis, l.'j.
Trichei'liina, 5, 414.
Trii'bccliiila',.''', 11.
Triclu'cbodon, 12, 14, 15.

linxloyj, 13,14,20,26,04,80.

konniiicki, 14.
Trit!btHbim, 9, U, 1.5, 10, 413, 414.
. (!ooki,22,.'>l,147, 171.

div«figeim, 18, 19, 147, 170.

diibiuK,20,20, 171.

loiigidt'iis, 19,20,20,80, 171.

inaiiatiiH, 26, 432.

(.boHiis, 18, 80, 147, 170.

i<i8inaiUH, 18, 19, 20, 21, 34, 147»
171).

viigiiiianuH, 20, 26, 58, 80.
Trichecina, 5, 11.
TricluMMiH, 9, 15.

dngong, 9.

iiiauatiiH, 9.

rosiiiarim, 9.
Trieliipbociiiiu, 188.
Triebisina, 414.
TricbopbocaeiB, 208.

U.
UkHuk, 6.57, 005.
Uii(iue, 430.
Urkfluk, 425, «M)5.
UrsuH uiariiuiH, 193, 195, 313. 426.
Utokaitaiak, 033.
Utsclr, 610.

Ut-Solur, 420, 427, 017, 090, 097
Ut8«k,425,420.

Vacca tuarina, 94.
Vache, marine, 24, 20, 82.
Vade-Siil, 427.
Vadeselr, 425.
Vadeselur, 031.
Vcau uiariu, 562.
VikaroKJiil, 599.
Vikare-8k&I, 436.

Gra, 436.

Svart, 436.
Viksiil, 599.

VitiiliiB marinus, 423, 56i, 657, 662.
Yitulua maris oceani, 561.

INDEX.

Wullro,sH,03,0,i,;„;^y, 1(^

WallniH.Hl.
WalroHH, Zi, 81.
VValruH. 26, 82.
Arctic, 24.
Atlantic, 23.
FoHsil, 24.
Pacilic, 22, 147.
WalmseH, 2,.';, 221.
Walru8licii,38.
Wetrar-Scliir, 427. 690, 697.
Whitecoat, (531,634.

Wlk»re,664.
Wor-Selur,4Sn'.

785

ZalopLina, 188, 189.
^*'"P';";•,^«^•'»=-^ 209.217, 223. 225,

caIifl,rumnnH,20r,, 209,217, 224,
!i--'<>.248,2o2, a»6,7r.9,771

gnh-spli, 19.-,, lyy 200, 202. 204
^.'■•l, 27(1, 291, 292.

'"!;^"';,J'";' '''' '''■'' 204. m.

209, 5il7, 258, 803, -.'94, 770.