PART II.-PINNIPEDIA. 
INTRODUCTION. 
A variett of marine animals inhabit the western coast of North America which 
are scientifically classed under the head of Pinnipedia, but familiarly known under 
the general name of Seals. Those described in the following monograph are enu- 
merated, and their technical names given, at the conclusion of the catalogue appended 
to this work. 
All the pinnipedes periodically inhabit both the water and the land adjacent. 
Their food consists of fish, crustaceans, and various other marine invertebrates 
found about the shores, and of sea -fowls. All the different species of pinnipedes 
bring forth and suckle their young in a similar manner to other mammals. The 
general form of the animal is elongated, with quite full anterior proportions, 
exclusive of the head and neck. The posterior part of the body is tapering, and 
terminates at the junction with the hind limbs. Their appendages for locomotion 
are commonly called flippers. The anterior, or side ones, nearly correspond to the 
fore limbs of carnivorous animals ; and, in some species, they take closely the form 
of the pectorals of Cetaceans. "Where one set of flippers is furnished with claws, 
or nails, the other is nearly or quite destitute of them ; and, whether it be the 
anterior or posterior members which are thus armed, it is these of which the 
animal principally makes use in its movements upon the land. These flippers are 
very flexible, and seem much better suited for propulsion in the water than for 
terrestrial locomotion. The body of the animal is usually covered with short 
and bristly hair ; but in some few species their inner coating is a thick, rich 
fur, with long, glistening hairs over all. The geographical distribution of the 
pinnipedes is unlimited, the family being distributed in different groups over every 
zone and both hemispheres. 
Marine Mammals. — 15. [113] 
