THE MARINE CARNIVORA 203 



northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Near allies 

 of this form inhabit the waters of Lake Baikal, in Central Asia, 

 and of the Caspian Sea, relics of a time not far distant geologically 

 when the Arctic Ocean communicated with these inland seas. 

 The ringed seal was much commoner in British waters in the 

 Pleistocene period, especially during Glacial conditions. Its 

 fossil remains have been found off the coasts of England and 

 Scotland, and in great abundance in Belgium. 



Thoca barbata. THE BEARDED SEAL 



This is a large Phocine, almost the largest member of the 

 sub-family, unless it is exceeded by the gray seal, a creature for 

 which it is sometimes mistaken. It differs markedly from the 

 other True Seals in its large muzzle, high forehead, and small and 

 weak teeth, among which the canines are not much larger than 

 the incisors or premolars. Some of these fall out in the adult, 

 and the Bearded Seal is evidently on its way (if man does 

 not exterminate it) towards becoming a toothless mammal. A 

 curious feature in its fore paws is that the third, or middle, 

 finger is longer than the rest. In this point, therefore, the 

 bearded seal is less specialised than the other members of the 

 sub-order. Full-grown males are from loft, to II ft. in length, 

 and the females over 7 ft. The colour of the bearded seal is 

 dark gray on the back and flanks and light yellowish-gray on the 

 under parts. The considerable development of vibrissae gives 

 the creature the name of the bearded seal. The present 

 distribution of this Phocine is circumpolar and North Atlantic. 

 On the Atlantic coast it does not extend farther south than 

 Labrador. It is abundant on the coasts of Greenland, is met 

 with round Iceland, and on the north coast of Norway. It is 

 doubtful whether it has been recorded recently within British 

 waters, though its existence was rumoured in the middle of the 

 nineteenth century off the Hebrides. The reason it is mentioned 

 in this book is that its fossil remains occur in the late Pleistocene 

 deposits of Norfolk. 



