OCEAN SEAL. Ifa 



this tribute the more willingly, as the description is 

 carefully drawn up by an eminent Naturalist. 



This animal, according to Lepechin, exactly re- 

 sembles the Common Seal, and is distinguished from 

 it only by its greater size, and the colour of its 

 coat. The head is round, the mouth somewhat 

 prominent and obtuse ; the upper lip is tumid, thick, 

 and marked with a furrow in the middle; it is 

 longer than the under, which, in its turn, is some- 

 what more pointed, The number of teeth is as 

 follows : In the upper jaw there are four incisors, 

 conically acute ; the middle ones the smaller, those 

 next the canines the stronger. The incisors in the 

 under jaw are only four, and not so sharp.* Next 

 to the incisors in both jaws is one canine, stronger 

 and sharper, five lines long, and curved inwards ; 

 then there are six molars on each side of both ja\vs, 

 three-pointed, the middle point being the longest 

 and strongest. The teeth are so disposed, that 

 when the animal shuts its mouth there is no inter- 

 space left, and the larger points of the upper teeth 

 correspond with the smaller ones of the under ones, 

 so that their prey, when caught, receive a deep 

 wound with a single stroke. The tongue is cleft at 

 the extremity, and furnished with rough papillse, 

 bent inwards. The eyes are large, and prominent ; 

 the iris is black, the pupil lucid ; a sort of wrinkled 

 skin, very firm and bare, supplies the place of eye- 



There is evidently some mistake in this enumeration, whether 

 typographical or otherwise we pretend not to decide. We give 

 it & in the original. 



