THE TRUE SEALS. 



247 



having canines with enormous roots and short 

 thick crowns like those of bears. There are 

 further five small molars, standing apart from 

 one another, almost round in shape, and pro- 

 vided with a few confluent folds and a single 

 root, and only two small close-set incisors in 



the lower jaw, while in the upper jaw there are 

 four, the two outer ones being canines in minia- 



2.1.5 



ture. Dental formula: 



= 30 teeth. 



1.1.5 



These animals live chiefly on crustaceans 

 and molluscs. 



Fig. 127. The Sea-elephant (Cystophora proboscidea). 



The sea-elephant inhabits the Antarctic 

 seas, and formerly came in numerous flocks 

 to Patagonia, California, and Tasmania, while 

 at the present day only isolated individuals 

 are met with on the coasts of California, and 

 the others have retired to the almost inac- 

 cessible rocks of the Antarctic Ocean. The 

 head is broad and round, the eyes are sur- 

 rounded by only a few tactile hairs set in 

 concentric circles. On the lips there are 

 scarcely any such hairs. The front-flippers 

 are short, and the digits are furnished with 

 short strong claws, while those of the hind- 



flippers are without either nails or claws. 

 The male has a short proboscis marked with 

 transverse folds, and the nostrils open on the 

 lower surface at the end of this proboscis, 

 which hangs down over the mouth when the 

 animal is resting. The sea-elephant can blow 

 up its proboscis so as to resemble a thick 

 sausage. The female, which is much smaller 

 than the male, shows no trace of this orna- 

 ment. The uniformly coloured fur is bluish- 

 gray or brownish ; the hairs are short and 

 stiff. 



The habits of this species resemble those 



