712 MONACHUS? TROPIC ALIS WEST INDIAN SEAL. 



tbe fore paws, those of the hinder being rudimentary. The 

 eyes are large, bkick, and full, and the irides crimson. 



"^ When the specimen from which these notes were made 

 first arrived it was very lively, and so sensible to the slightest 

 touch, that however lightly the hand might be placed on the 

 fur, it felt the contact, and moved rapidly away, jerking the 

 whole body forwards. When left unmolested it was playful. 

 It ploughed the water with the nose, and snorted as it drew 

 the head out. It grunted like a pig, and barked, growled, and 

 snarled, like a dog. It was fond of turning uj^ou the back and 

 lying dozing. In this posture it slejtt and basked in the sun. 

 It refused all food, and lived four months without eating. 

 Symi^toms of dulness only appeared in the last month, when it 

 was found to be labouring under some disease of the head; 

 and when it died it was discovered to have become totally 

 blind, the dark pupil of the eye having disappeared, together 

 with the crimson colour of the iris. It was sur^jrisingiy fat, not- 

 withstanding its long fast. The fat was four inches thick, and 

 yielded four gallons of oil. It was a male, but the organs of 

 generation were not externally perceptible. This organization 

 is accordant with the peculiarities of the Seal tribe : in the fe- 

 male the teats are concealed in the skin, and the lacteal fulness 

 swells with the rotundity of the body, so that the animal does 

 not suffer pain or inconvenience when crawling on land; and 

 the biiid termination of the tongue, another j)eculiarity, is an 

 adaptation which enables the young of the Fhocidce to seize 

 the nipple uuder comparatively difficult circumstances, attend- 

 ant on lactation. The occipital aperture, which remains for a 

 long time unossifled in this tribe of animals, being still open, 

 though reduced to a very small orifice, this Seal may be con- 

 sidered to have been onlj' just full grown. The unworn sharp- 

 ness of the teeth indicated the same fact. 



" ' The measurements of this specimen were as follows : 



Feet. Inches. 



Total length along the back from snout to tip of tail 4 2 



From snout to insertion of fore paw 1 6 



From insertion of fore paw to hind paw 2 10 



Circumference of body near fore paws 3 2 



Circumference at hind paws 1 6 



Breadth of back at fore paws 1 



From one fore x)aw to the other, extended 2 G 



Length of fore paw 10 



Length of hind ijaw 11 



