FAUNA AMERTCANA. 109 



aquatic ; they become attached to man, and exe- 

 cute at his command various actions not very ac- 

 cordant with their natural habits. In captivity they 

 feed on fish ; remainino; a considerable time un- 

 der water without breathing, as they are enabled 

 to close their nostrils accurately b}' means of a 

 muscular apparatus, which has been described by 

 M. de Blainville, (Bull. Soc. Philom.) Their voice 

 is a sort of barking, rather weaker than that of a 

 dog, which they utter during the evening or when 

 the weather is about to change. 



Inhabit the northern seas ; frequent the coasts 

 of Spitsbergen, Greenland, North America, Rus- 

 sia, Norway, Baltic, Holland, England and France. 



Species. 



3. Phoca groenlaiidica, Mull, prodr. p. 8. Pho- 

 ca semilunaris, Bodd. Harp seal, Shaw, gen. 

 Zool. tab. 71. 



Chai\ Essent. Six incisors above, four below; 

 general colour of the adult male, whitish ; fore- 

 head black ; a large conical black spot on each 

 flank ; nails strong. 



Dimensions. Total length, six feet; circumfer- 

 ence, four feet. 



Description. This species though confounded 

 with the preceding, is nevertheless ver}^ distinct in 

 size, number of molar teeth, and in colour, which 

 resembles that of the Phoca oceanica, but it differs 

 also from the last in the number of incisor teeth. 



