SEALS. 145 



The genus is represented solely by the undermentioned 

 species. 



THE GREY SEAL. HALICHCERUS GRYPUS. 



Phoca gryptts, Fabricius, Skriv. af. Nat. Selksk. vol. i. pt. 2, p. 



167 (I79 1 )- 

 Halichxrus grisetts, Nilsson, Faun. Skandinav. vol. i. p. 377 



(1820). 



Phoca gryphus^ Fischer, Synops. Mamm. p. 239 (1829). 

 Halich&rus gryphus, Bell, British Quadrupeds, p. 278 (1837), 



and 2nd ed. p. 262 (1874). 

 Halichosrus grypus, Gray, Cat. Seals and Whales Brit. Mus. 



p. 34(i866). 



Characters. General colour yellowish-grey, becoming lighter 

 on the under-parts, with dark grey spots and blotches ; but, 

 as in most Seals, there is considerable of variation in tint 

 according to age. Total length of male, about 8 feet. 



Distribution. The range of this species is restricted to the 

 shores of the North Atlantic Ocean, where it is far more com- 

 mon and more widely distributed on the European than on the 

 American side. Its chief haunts appear to be the British and 

 Scandinavian coasts ; its northern limits being seemingly 

 marked by the Baltic, the Gulf of Bothnia, and Iceland. This 

 Seal was first recognised as an inhabitant of the British seas in 

 the year 1836 ; and while rare on the southern coasts of Eng- 

 land, it is exceedingly abundant on the western and southern 

 shores of Ireland, as well as in the Hebrides and Shetlands. 

 The specimens taken on our southern coasts must be regarded 

 in the light of stragglers from more northern regions ; one of 

 these having been taken many years ago in the Severn, while a 

 second was captured on the Isle of Wight in 1857. It has 

 likewise been recorded from the Welsh coast. On the more 

 southern coasts of Scotland this Seal is likewise rare, but it be- 



5 *> 



