30 ODOBiENUS EOSMARUS -ATLANTIC WALRUS. 



other more angularly, thus < In tlie act of swimming^ 



the Walrus evidently can use its fore limb as far as the elbow, 

 with a kind of rotarj^ movement of the manus and antibrachium ; 

 but in the Seal the rotary action takes place only at the wrist, 

 and above that a sort of ginglymoid or back and forward move- 

 ment." 



"The palmar surface or sole of the manus is not unlike a par- 

 lor shovel in figure. There is a great callous, roughened and 

 warty pad at the proximal end or ball of the hand ; and this, 

 from discoloration incident to use, is of an intense dark brown 

 or almost black colour. From the radial margin, Avhere it is 

 stoutest and roughest, it trends towards the base of the fifth 

 digit. Circumscribed digital i>ads, as in Carnivora, there are 

 none; but furrows and ridges traverse obhquely forwards the 

 pohcial to the opposite side." This "remarkable rough and 

 warty palmar surface," continues Dr. Murie, "affords above 

 everything a stay and firm leverage on shppery ground ; no 

 stocking or wisp of straw used by man to bind round the foot 

 when on smooth ice can equal nature's jjrovision of coarse tegu- 

 mentary papillae." Also, "The angle at which the carpo-meta- 

 carpal joint is set, and the very odd manner of foot-implanta- 

 tion on the ground, namely, semiretroverted, evidently make it 

 an easier task to go forwards or upwards on a smooth surface 

 than to retrograde." * The hind foot (pes) is similarly rough- 

 ened and farrowed. The notion advanced by Sir Everard 

 Home,t that the feet of the Walrus were provided with suc- 

 torial power, like that of the disk of a fly's foot, by which they 

 were enabled to maintain firm footing on smooth ice and rocks, 

 Dr. Murie considers untenable. !N'o one who has ever seen 

 a Walrus walk, says Dr. Murie, could for a moment suppose 

 that its massive weight was sustained by a pedal vacuum, as in 

 a fly's foot. 



As regards the proportionate size of the limbs, the fore limbs, 

 in an animal 8 to 10 feet long, are stated by Edwards,| to meas- 

 ure from the " shoulder joint to the finger ends, two feet; expan- 

 sion, one foot; the hind limbs measuring twenty-two inches, and 

 extending, when outstretched, eighteen inches beyond the body, 

 with an expansion of two feet." Scoresby says the fore feet are 

 "from two to two and a half feet in length, and being eximnsive 



* Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., vol. vii, 1872, pp. 420, 42L 



tPliil. Trans., 1824, pp. 233-235, pi. iv. 



tMSS. as quoted by Ricliardson, Suppl. Parry's Sec. Voy., p. 340. 



