HHo Snout broad; skin well haired; length of adult about 7-1/2 feet; occurs 

 only in western Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian monk seal, page 27. 



GG. Claws on hindflippers; upper incisors (chisel teeth) 6; newborn young 

 light colored or spottedc Northern hair seals. 



I. Whiskers smooth, long, flattened, and bushy, about 120 pairs; third 

 digit of foreflipper longest; claws heavy and about equal in length 

 (whence the name squareflipper in some areas); coat unspotted but 

 with dark area down middle of back, rufous tinge around neck; space, 

 between back teeth almost as wide as tooth. Bearded seal, page 26. 



n. Whiskers faintly beaded, 40 to 70 pairs; first digit of foreflipper 



longest; coat spotted or striped; back teeth close or touching. Ribbon, 

 ringed, and harbor seals » 



J. Ground color uniform brown with white stripes (stained yellow by fat 

 on many skins) around neck, around foreflippers and around rump; 

 stripes conspicuous in adult male, inconspicuous in females and 

 young animals; cheek teeth, except foremost, conical with few if 

 any accessory peaks (cusps); associated with ice floes. Ribbon seal, 

 page 23. 



JJ. Coat spotted; cheek teeth with well defined accessory peaks or cusps. 

 Ringed and harbor seals, 



K. Color variable but often many of the spots in the shape of large elon- 

 gated rings, which blend into a dark area along the back; claws of 

 digits on foreflippers heavy for use in digging through ice and snow; 

 teeth smaller than in harbor seal and upper teeth have only one cusp 

 behind main point of cheek teeth; claws triangular in cross section 

 and sometimes show annual growth ridges; interorbital space of skull 

 very narrow; newborn pup always white; weight up to 200 pounds; 

 associated with ice floes in northern Bering Sea. Ringed seal, 

 page 24. 



KK. Color varies from almost white to black marked with spots and rings, 

 but rings do not ordinarily blend into a dark back as in the previous 

 species; foreflipper claws not conspicuously heavy; claws rounded 

 (not triangular) in cross sections and smooth, without growth ridges; 

 teeth larger than in previous species and with two cusps behind main 

 point of upper cheek teeth; newborn pup white only in Alaska, else- 

 where spotted; weight up to 250 pounds; the common spotted seal all 

 along the Pacific coast, Mexico to Bering Strait. Harbor seal, 

 page 20. 



3U 



U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1955 O - 352711 



