THE SEAL TRIBE IN GENERAL. 33 



B. THE SEALS AND WALRUSES. 



NOTE. The following biographies of the Seals and "Walruses are, by the permission of the author, 



J. A. Allen, extracted from the" Monograph of the Pinnipeds of North America." It is considered 

 important to present in this Report, in a form convenient for reference, biographies of all the im- 

 portant aquatic animals of the United States ; and since it is manifestly impossible to secure from 

 any other source so complete and reliable a discussion of the Seals as that given by Allen, it has 

 been thought allowable to reprint the biographical portion of his monograph. The material is here 

 published iirsuch a different form, being divested of the great mass of technical matter, interesting 

 chiefly to zoologists, with which it was originally surrounded, that it is to all intents a fresh pre- 

 sentation of the subject. 



The Biography of the Walruses lias been condensed and rewritten by Mr. Goode, during the 

 ill-health and absence of Mr. Allen, the discussions in the monograph being too extended for the 

 needs of this Report. For an exceedingly interesting biography of these most interesting animals 

 the reader is referred to Mr. Allen's more detailed work. 1 



17. THE SEAL TRIBE IN GENERAL. 



The Pinnipeds, or Pinnipedia, embracing the Seals and Walruses, are commonly recognized by 

 recent systematic writers as constituting a suborder of the order Fenv, or Carnivorous Mammals. 

 They are, in short, true Carnivora, modified for an aquatic existence, and have consequently been 

 sometimes termed "Amphibious Garni rora." Their whole form is modified for life in the water, 

 which element is their true Lome. Here they display extreme activity, but on land their move- 

 ments are confined and labored. 



The existing Pinnipeds constitute three very distinct minor groups or families, ditlering quite 

 widely from each other in important characters : these are the Walruses, or Odiilxriiida; the. Eared 

 Seals, or Otariida:, and the Earless Seals, or Phocida: The first two are far more nearly allied than 

 are either of these with the third, so that the Odoba-nida' and Otariida: may be together contrasted 

 with the Phocida'. The last named is the lowest or most generalized group, while the others appear 

 to stand on nearly the same plane, and about equally remote from the Phocida'. The Walruses 

 are really little more than thick, clumsy, obese forms of the otarian type, with the canines enor- 

 mously developed, and the whole skull correlatively modified. The limb-structure, the mode of 

 life, and the whole economy are essentially the same in the two groups, and aside from the cranial 

 modifications presented by the Odolmnidce, which are obviously related to the development of the 

 canines as huge tusks, the Walruses' are merely elephantine Otariids, the absence or presence of 

 an external ear being in reality a feature of minor importance. 



The Pinnipeds present a high degree of cerebral development, and are easily domesticated 

 under favorable conditions. They manifest strong social and parental affection, and defend their 

 young with great persistency and courage. They are carnivorous (almost without exception), 

 subsisting upon fishes, mollusks, and crustaceans, of which they consume enormous quantities. 

 The Walruses and Eared Seals are polygamous, and the. males greatly exceed the females in si/e. 

 The ordinary or Earless Seals are commonly supposed to be monogamous, and there is generally 

 little difference in the size of the sexes. The Walruses and Eared Seals usually resort in lar^e 

 numbers to certain favorite breeding grounds, and during the season of reproduction leave the 

 water, and pass a considerable period upon land. The Earless Seals, on the other hand, with the 

 exception of the Sen Elephants, do not so uniformly resort to particular breeding grounds oil land, 



n. ALI.IN, .inn. A-.u'ii : llistm-.v "I'Nnrtli Aniri ir:ii] ]'iniii|irils: :i moucgraph of the Walruses, Sea Lions, Sea 

 s. :iinl s,-;i]s of North Auirnr.-i. Washington, Government I'riiitiiii; oilier. I.--M. -fid pp., xvi. 7-.".. 

 ]>iililiratiniis. NIL 1-.'. 1". >. I it-ol. A. i reog. >nr\ .. 1". V. ll:i\ilni, Ci-nld^isi in rli:irj;i*. 



:j F 



