712 MONACHUS? TROPICALIS WEST INDIAN SEAL. 



the fore paws, those of the hinder being rudimentary. The 

 eyes are large, black, and full, and the irides crimson. 



u i When the specimen from which these notes were made 

 first arrived it was very lively, and so sensible to the slightest 

 touch, that however lightly the hand might be placed on the 

 fur, it felt the contact, and moved rapidly away, jerking the 

 whole body forwards. When left unmolested it was playful. 

 It ploughed the water with the nose, and snorted as it drew 

 the head out. It grunted like a pig, and barked, growled, and 

 snarled, like a dog. It was fond of turning upon the back and 

 lying dozing. In this posture it slept and basked in the sun. 

 It refused all food, and lived four months without eating. 

 Symptoms of dulness only appeared in the last month, when it 

 was found to be labouring under some disease of the head j 

 and when it died it was discovered to have become totally 

 blind, the dark pupil of the eye having disappeared, together 

 with the crimson colour of the iris. It was surprisingly fat, not- 

 withstanding its long fast. The fat was four inches thick, and 

 yielded four gallons of oil. It was a male, but the organs of 

 generation were not externally perceptible. This organization 

 is accordant with the peculiarities of the Seal tribe : in the fe- 

 male the teats are concealed in the skin, and the lacteal fulness 

 swells with the rotundity of the body, so that the animal does 

 not suffer pain or inconvenience when crawling on laud ; and 

 the bifid termination of the tongue, another peculiarity, is an 

 adaptation which enables the young of the Phocidce to seize 

 the nipple under comparatively difficult circumstances, attend- 

 ant on lactation. The occipital aperture, which remains for a 

 long time unossified in this tribe of animals, being still open, 

 though reduced to a very small orifice, this Seal may be con- 

 sidered to have been only just full grown. The unworn sharp- 

 ness of the teeth indicated the same fact. 



" * The measurements of this specimen were as follows : 



Feet. Inches. 



Total length along the back from snout to tip of tail 4 2 



From snout to insertion of fore paw 1 6 



From insertion of fore paw to hind paw 2 10 



Circumference of body near fore paws 3 2 



Circumference at hind paws 1 6 



Breadth of back at fore paws I 



From one fore paw to the other, extended 2 6 



Length of fore paw 10 



Length of hind paw 11 



