338 MAMMALIA: FER^E. LIII. 



d. Tail well developed; body rather slender, the snout sharp. 



PROCYONID^E, 198. 

 dd. Tail rudimentary ; body very robust; snout not acuminate. 



URSID^E, 199. 



cc. Feet sub-plantigrade or digitigrade; only one tuberculate molar, the 

 sectorial premolar of typical form ....... MUSTELID^K, 200. 



bb. Hind feet with 4 toes. 



e. Teeth 42; claws not retractile; snout more or less produced. 



ee. Teeth 28 to 30 ; claws retractile into a sheath ; snout short, the 

 head broad ............. FELTD.E, 202. 



FAMILY CXCVII. PHOCID^J. 1 (THE EARLESS SEALS.) 



Seals with the fore-limbs well forward ; neck short ; hind limbs 

 directed backward, useless on land ; hand and foot hairy ; nails 

 usually well developed ; no external ear. Other characters further 

 distinguishing these seals from the Fur Seals and Sea-Lions (Ota- 

 riidce), and the Walruses (Rosmaridce), are drawn from the skele- 

 ton. Genera 11, species 17, found on most coasts, swimming freely 

 in the water and feeding chiefly on fishes, resting and sunning in 

 the rocks on the shore. 



a. Incisors usually i:f; interorbital region very narrow; nails of all digits 



well-developed; (other characters drawn from the skull). (Phocince.) 

 b. Snout narrow; incisors simple, conical ....... PHOCA, 593. 



593. PHOCA Linnaeus. (</>O>KT;, seal.) 



1121. P. vitulina L. HARBOR SEAL. Yellowish gray, usually 

 blotched with darker ; variable. L. 3 to 5 feet ; weight 50 to 65 

 pounds. Northern shores, S. to N. J., common N. (Lat., calf- 

 like.) (Eu.) Several other seals occur 1ST. of Newfoundland. 



FAMILY CXCVIII. PROCYONIDuE. (THE RACCOONS.) 



Plantigrade Carnivora of moderate size, with the body compara- 

 tively slender and the tail well developed. Teeth i. f :| ; c. %:\ ; 

 pm. |:| ; m. |:| = 40. Sectorial tooth broad, tubercular. Snout 

 more or less elongated ; no caecum. Genera 2, Nasua of Mexico, 

 and the following, all American. 



a. Tail not prehensile; snout moderate, not flexible. . . . PROCYON, 594. 

 594. PROCYON Storr. (npoKvav, before the dog.) 



1122. P lotor (L.). COMMON RACCOON. Grayish white ; hairs 

 black-tipped ; tail with black rings ; a black cheek-patch ; body 

 rarely entirely black. L. 33. T. 10. U. S., abundant. (Lat., 

 washer.) 



1 For a full account of the seals, see Allen's admirable "Monograph of the Pinni- 

 pedes." 1880. 



