HOODED SEAL. 



261 



longest, the rest being gradually shorter to the fifth. 

 The hair is rather long, and the under-wool is very soft 

 and thick. The upper parts are dark grey, nearly black, 

 with oval spots and markings of a still darker shade ; the 

 lower parts are lighter grey. The young, after losing 

 their first woolly white coat, are grey above and white 

 below. 



The size of this species appears to vary considerably ; 

 Fabricius gives the length of the adult as eight feet, 

 Nilsson says seven to eight feet, and Scoresby ten to 

 twelve feet. 



