3oS MAMMALIA: FEILE. — LIII. 



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



Procyonid-s, 198. 

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



Ursidae, 199. 

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



torial premolar of typical form Mlsteliu.k, 2U0. 



66. Hind feet with 4 toes. 



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



CA.N1U.E, 201. 



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

 head broad Feud.e, 202. 



Family CXCVII. PHOCID^E. 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 8 5: interorbital region very narrow; nails of all digits 

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

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



593. PHOCA Linnaeus, ((^cukt/, 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 X. (Lat., calf- 

 like.) (Eu.) Several other seals occur N. of Newfoundland. 



Family CXCVIIL PROCYONID^l. (The Raccooxs.) 



Plantigrade Carnivora of moderate size, with the body compara- 

 tively slender and the tail -well developed. Teeth i. |:|; c. \:\] 

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

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

 and the following, all American. 



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

 594. PROCYON Storr. {irpoKvav, 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 n fnll account of the seals, see Allen's admirable "Monograph of the Pinni- 

 pedes." 1880. 



