SEALS. 197 



peculiar characters of the species. Until two years 

 ago, only a single species, Phoca vitulina, was 

 tolerably well known, and even its characters were 

 by no means satisfactorily traced ; while the other 

 species, generally considered as Ph. barbata of 

 Muller, was incorrectly so named. In consequence 

 of the light imparted by the Swedish professor, Mr 

 Bell was enabled, in 1 836, to add to the list two 

 species, and to correct the synonymy and descrip- 

 tions of the other two. It has been found that too 

 much importance had been attributed to colour, 

 which in these animals is exceedingly variable, and 

 that the only satisfactory characters are derived 

 from the form and disposition of the teeth. Now, 

 that these four British species are well character- 

 ized, we marvel how observers had so long been 

 ignorant of their distinctions, and are induced to 

 expect that several more will be added to the num- 

 ber, as it will be easy to ascertain, on the occur- 

 rence of an individual, whether it may be referred 

 to any of those already described. In three of our 

 species, the grinders have at least three points, but 

 in the fourth the large central point only remains, 

 the rest having become obsolete. In consequence 

 of this simply conical form of the teeth, the species 

 Tn question has been placed in a different genus 

 from the Seals, but its general structure is in all 

 essential respects similar to that of the latter, and I 

 am unable to perceive the propriety of separating 

 the Grey Seal from the other species. 



The Common Seal is at once distinguished from 



