ELEPHANT SEAL. 209 



we rejoice it has received a minute examination 

 from at least one Naturalist. Accordingly, we 

 shall take our description chiefly from the interest- 

 ing account of Peron. 



The Proboscis Seal must undoubtedly stand at 

 the head of all the Phocidae, as the largest and 

 most remarkable of those hitherto known. It has 

 the enormous dimensions of twenty, twenty-five, 

 and even thirty feet in length, with a circumference 

 of from fifteen to eighteen feet. Its colour is some- 

 times greyish, sometimes bluish-grey, and more 

 rarely blackish-brown. The absence of every thing 

 like external ears; great whiskers composed of 

 strong coarse hairs, very long, and twisted some- 

 what like a screw, witn other similar hairs over 

 each eye, supplying the place of eye-brows ; eyes 

 which are extremely large and prominent ; strong 

 and powerful swimming paws, having at their mar- 

 gin five small black nails ; a very short tail, which 

 is almost hid between two flat horizontal fins ; these 

 form the distinguishing traits of this strange ani- 

 mal. But the singular prolongation of the nostrils 

 still remains to be mentioned. When the animal 

 is in a state of repose, its nostrils, shrunk and pen- 

 dant, serve only to make the face appear larger ; 

 but whenever he rouses himself, when he respires 

 violently, when about to attack, or wishing to de- 

 fend himself, the proboscis becomes elongated in 

 the form of a tube to the length of about a foot ; 

 and then not only is the countenance changed, as 



o 



