FERJE. THE SEAL TRIBE. 11 



Length from 4 to 6 feet. Head large and round, the anterior part 

 much like that of the otter. Muzzle broad and flat : nose somewhat 

 prominent. Whiskers very strong, each bristle waved through its 

 whole length. No external ears ; but the place of each auditory 

 hole marked by slight elevation of the border of the orifice. Eyes 

 nearer the ears than the muzzle; and each furnished with a winking 

 membrane. Tongue bifid at the tip. Neck short. Feet so short as, 

 in some positions of the animal, to be scarcely perceptible. Toes 

 enveloped in a membrane; and each having a strong, and somewhat 

 cylindrical nail or claw, black above and whitish beneath. Of the 

 toes of the fore-feet, the first or innermost are the longest; and the 

 rest diminish gradually to the outer ones, which are the shortest of 

 the whole. Toes of the hind feet enveloped in a membrane con- 

 siderably longer and wider than the membranes of the other feet: 

 toes themselves also larger. Of these, the first is the biggest and 

 longest: the fifth somewhat smaller: the second and fourth are 

 shorter than the fifth, and longer than the third, which is the shortest 

 of the whole. Nails of the hind-feet not so large as those of the fore- 

 feet. Tail very short. 



Body clad with short hair, at roots of which is a fine and close 

 down. Colour of hair different in different individuals. Sometimes 

 it is grey, sometimes brown or blackish, and sometimes blotched or 

 spotted with brown or yellow. W. B. 



Not uncommon about the sea-shores of the north of Scotland and 

 Ireland ; but rare about those of the southern counties of England. 



Phoca capite inauriculato et cervice Icevi, corpore fus- 

 co. Phoco wtulina. Linn. Syst. Nat. Grael. i. p. 63. 

 Erxleben, Syst. regn. animal, gen. 64, sp. 4 5 p. 583. 



Phoca capite laevi, cervtce retusiuscula, naso mediocri, 

 corpore sub cylindrico^ vibrissis undulatis medulla conco- 

 lori. Phoca ifitulina. Fabricii, Fauna Groenlandica. 

 p. 9. 



Phoca vitulina. Sea Calf. Turton, i. p. 39. Kerr, 

 p. 123. 



Phoca. Gesner. aquat. p. 702. -Ruysch, i. pa. 156. 

 Raii. syn. quad. p. 189. 



UPhoque 



