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HARD WICKE \S S CIENCE - G OS SIP. 



certainty and rareness of their occurrence, their ex- 

 ceptional foniis, the mystery which shrouds their 

 origin, heightened by the romance which, lilvc a 

 halo, surrounds the seas and high latitudes form- 

 ing their chief homes, must always render them 

 objects of the greatest interest. I purpose attempting 

 to give in the following papers such an account of 

 our Marine Mammalia as will, I trust, assist the 

 uninitiated to identify those specimens which may 

 chance to come under their notice, and if at the same 

 time I succeed in inducing others to take up the study 

 of this most interesting class of animals, I am sure it 

 will be to their benefit and advantage. 



The two great groups of Marine Mammals known 

 as Pinnipedia and Cetacea, although widely separated 

 from each other zoologically, naturally present them- 

 selves to us side by side as inhabiting the same 

 regions ; the facilities for studying the one are also 

 equally favourable for obtaining a knowledge of the 

 other. It is remarkable that in few groups of the 

 animal world, until recently, has so much confusion 

 existed as in the seals and whales. This has, of late 

 years, through the labours of English and Conti- 

 nental naturalists, to some extent been remedied, 

 although very much still remains to be done, and the 

 excellent and carefully-executed portion of the second 

 edition of Bell's "British Quadrupeds" devoted to 

 these groups has brought together the widely-scat- 

 tered results attained by scientific labourers, and pre- 

 sented them in a sound but popular form. Adopt- 

 ing the arrangement and nomenclature used by Bell 

 in his second edition, I purpose to give a short account 

 of the seals and whales inhabiting or occurring in the 

 seas, or on the shores, surrounding the British 

 Islands, with remarks on their habits and distribu- 

 tion. 



The Pinnipedia (fin-footed) forms a well-marked 

 sub-order of the Carnivora, and may be divided into 

 three distinct families — the Pliocida:, or true Seals ; 

 the Trichechidcr, represented by one species only, the 

 Walrus ; and the Otariidce, or Eared Seals. The 

 PJiocidce are found both in the Northern and Southern 

 hemispheres, most plentifully in the cold regions, but 

 extending into the temperate seas ; in the Northern 

 hemisphere they are found as far south as 40° N. 

 latitude ; two species, however, are said to be sub- 

 tropical. The true seals may readily be distinguished 

 by the absence of external ears and the position of the 

 posterior limbs, which are not adapted for progression 

 on land, but admirably suited for propelling the 

 animal through the element in which it obtains its 

 sustenance. These limbs are directed backwards, 

 and compressed laterally, the soles of the flippers 

 being turned inwards, and are only free from the 

 ankle-joints. Like the whole group, they are car- 

 nivorous. Five species are believed to have occurred 

 on our shores. The family of TricJuxhidce is limited 

 to one genus, and that consisting of only one species, 

 the Walrus or Morse, which is essentially Arctic in 



its habitat, and on our coasts can only be regarded as 

 a very rare and accidental straggler ; in this animal 

 there is no external ear, and its limbs are adapted for 

 raising the body from the ground, thus enabling it to 

 progress by their means upon dry land. The third 

 family, 0/ariid<r, consists of several genera and species 

 (according to Grey), none of which find a place in our 

 fauna; they are distinguished from both Phocida 

 and Trichccus by the presence of external ear- 

 conchs, and from the former by the structure of 

 their limbs, which are free and adapted for progres- 

 sion upon land, where at a certain season they take 

 up their abode for a considerable period, whereas the 

 Walrus visits the shore only occasionally,— generally 

 towards the end of summer, — and the true seals pass 

 much of their time basking on the shore or ice, but 

 never leave the immediate vicinity of the water.* 



The Eared Seals inhabit the lonely shores and 

 islands of the South Seas and North Pacific Ocean, 

 where they are hunted for their skins, the beautiful 

 "seal-skin" of commerce, so much prized for its 

 lustre and softness, being the produce of some 

 members of this family. Of this family I have 

 already given some account (see Science-Gossip, 

 April, 1877, p. 79). 



The true seals, as has already been said, spend 

 most of their time in the water, but visit the shore or 

 ice to bask in the sun or bring forth their young ; 

 this takes place early in the summer, and it is seldom 

 that more than one is produced at a birth. Some 

 species enter the water almost immediately after 

 birth, but others are two or three weeks before they 

 leave the ice, quitting it at first very unwillingly, but 

 soon becoming expert at swimming and diving. The 

 power of the seal to remain beneath the water for 

 lengthened periods Dr. Wallace t believes to be 

 acquired rather than structural. Their food consists 

 of Crustacea and fish, with an occasional sea-bird. 

 Some species are migratory in their habits. In dis- 

 position they are timid and gentle, and capable of 

 attachment, when in confinement, to those who feed 

 and attend them. The Bladder-nose Seal, however, 

 appears to be an exception to this rule ; it is said to 

 be fierce and vindictive, rather courting than fleeing 

 from danger, and altogether a formidable opponent. 

 Their great affection for their young is made use of 

 by the sealers for their destruction. When the sea is 

 covered with ice, the seals, by their constant visits to 

 the surface to breathe, always returning to the same 

 spot, keep open spaces which are termed ' ' blow- 

 holes " ; as they cannot remain beneath the water 

 longer than from five to fifteen minutes, these holes 

 are prevented from freezing over, and here the hunter 



* Professor Bell also points out that the fore-feet are hardly 

 used by the true seals as means of propulsion in the water, 

 whereas in the eared seals they form the chief organs used for 

 that purpose, and in the walrus all four limljs are employed. 



t Dr. Robert Brown on the "Seals of Greenland." Re- 

 printed, with additions, in the " Manual and Instructions for the 

 Arctic E.\pedition, 1875," from the P?-oc. Zool. Sec, i868, 

 pp. 405—440. 



