THE RINGED SEAL: HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION G5 



leather and articles of clothing. The .skins ;ire said to be mostly sold to English maimfactnieis. 

 who employ them in tlie i>re])arutiou of a superior article of "patent" or lacquered leather. The 

 flesh is esteemed by the Greenlanders as superior to that of their favorite \rilxil; (Plioca ftetida). 



25. THE RINGED SEAL. 



GENERAL HISTORY AND NOMENCLATURE. The earliest notices of Phoca fcetidn, Fabricius, 

 in systematic works are based on the brief account given by Crauz in 1705, but then- appear to be 

 still earlier references to it by Scandinavian writers. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Although the Ringed Seal is a well-known inhabitant of the 

 Arctic Seas, of both hemispheres, the southern limit of its distribution cannot be given with certainty. 

 Wagner 1 records specimens from Labrador, which is the most southern point on the eastern coast of 

 North America from which it seems to have been reported. It is not enumerated by Jukes or ( 'arroll 

 as among the species hunted by the Newfoundland sealers, 2 nor is it mentioned by Gilpin 3 as occurring 

 in Nova Scotia. Its occasional presence here and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is doubtless to be 

 expected. Further northward, and especially along the shores of Davis's Straits and Greenland, 

 its abundance is well attested. It has also been found as far north as explorers have penetrated, 

 having been met with by Parry as high as latitude 82 40'. J. G. Ross states that it is common 

 on both sides of the Isthmus of Boothia, where it forms the chief means of subsistence to the 

 inhabitants during eight or nine months of the year. 4 It is common in Iceland, and Malmgren and 

 Von Ileugliu state it to be numerous at Spitsbergen. The last-named author gives it as abundant 

 in summer in the Stor-Fjord and its branches, in Henlopen Strait, and in the bays of the northwest 

 coast of Spitzbergen, occurring in great herds as well as singly, in the open water along the shores 

 and in the openings in the ice-floes. He states that it is also numerous about Nova Zembla, where 

 great numbers are killed for their skins and fat. 5 It is a common species on the coast of Finland, 

 and farther eastward along the arctic coast of Europe and doubtless also of Western Asia. 6 It is 

 also a common inhabitant 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 

 Middle Europe to North Germany, Ireland, and the British Channel. Professor Flower has recorded 

 its capture on the coast of Norwich, England; it undoubtedly occurs at the Orkneys and the 

 Hebrides, where it is supposed to be represented by the species known there as "Bodach" or "Old 

 Man." A specimen was also taken many years since on the coast of France, but here, as on the 



1 SCHREBER'S SUugethiere, vii, 1846, p. 31. 



-Professor Jukes says four species are known on the coast of Newfoundland, namely, tbe "Bay Seal" (Phoca 

 iitiiliuii), the Harp Seal (Phoca grocnlandica), the Hooded Seal (Cystophora eristata). and the " Square Flipper" (probably 

 HaHi-hu-rus gri/i>nn). Th' 1 first he did not see on the ice.among the Seals pursued by the sealers. The second is the 

 one that forms the principal object of the chase. The third seems not to be numerous, but occurs occasionally out on 

 the ice-floes with the Harp Seals. The fourth is referred to as very rare, and as being larger than the Hooded Seal. 

 Not one. was heard of or seen that season. He supposes it may be the Phoca barbata. Excursions in Newfoundland, 

 vol. i, pp. 308-312. 



Carroll stales that the species of Seal that are taken on the coast of Newfoundland are the " Square Flipper Seal" 

 (probably Jlalichccrus grypus), the "Hood Seal" (Cyetopliora cristata), the "Harp Seal" (Phoca grcciilandica), and the 

 "Dotard" or "Native Seal" (Phoca rilulina). Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, 1873, p. 10. 



'The species given by Gilpi" as found on the coast of Nova Scotia are the Harbor Seal (1'hoca vituUna), the Harp 

 Seal (Phoca granlandica), the Gray Seal (Halicliirrus grypui), and the Hooded Seal (Cyatophora crisjjja). 



Ross's Second Voyage, App., 183f>, p. xix. 



'Reise nach dem Nordpolarmeer, Th. iii, p. . r ,0. 



6 In an account of Professor Nordcuskjiild's lale arclic voyage, published in "Nature" (vol. xxi, p. 40, November 

 13,1870), u is stated that Phoca faetida "was caught in great numbers, and along with fish and various vegetables 

 forms the main food of the natives" at Cape Serdze (about 120 miles from Bering's -Straits), the point where the 

 "Vega" wintered, this and the polar bear being the only mammals seen. 

 5 F 



