199 



THE COMMON SEAL. 



Phoca vitulina. LINN. 

 PLATE XVIII. 



Muzzle obtuse, outline of forehead concave; grinden 

 four-lobed, obliquely placed in the jaws ; pile yellowish-grey, 

 mottled with dusky on the upper parts ; fore feet with the 

 first toe longest. 



?hoca vitulina, Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 56 ; Desmar. Mammal. 244 ; 

 Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 15 ; Bell, Brit. Quadr. 263. 



THE species of Seal commonly seen along our 

 coasts, and abundant among our northern islands, 

 as well as occasionally in the estuaries of our larger 

 rivers, sometimes attains a very considerable size, 

 measuring five or six feet in length, but is more 

 frequently met with of much smaller dimensions. 

 An individual, from the Frith of Forth, which I 

 shall describe as the representative of the species, 

 measures nearly four feet in length. 



The head is of moderate size, ovate, depressed, 

 its outline convex behind the eyes, anteriorly con 



