uREENLAND OB HARP SEAL. 211 



cording to the age of the individual. It is said that 

 in the foetus the pile is white and woolly ; in the 

 first year somewhat less white ; in the second year 

 grey ; in the third and fourth spotted with brown ; 

 in the fifth greyish-white, with the head dusky, and 

 a large crescent-shaped band of brown on the back 

 and sides, whence the name of Harp Seal. 



It inhabits the Northern Seas, being abundant in 

 Greenland, Davis' Straits, and Spitzbergen. If it 

 occurs in considerable numbers on our coasts, it 

 has not yet attracted attention, having been con- 

 founded with Ph. vitulina, and Ph. Gryphus; and, 

 considered as a British animal, its history is entirely 

 unknown. 



