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PLATE LXXXV. THE WEDDELL SEAL. 



FIG. 1. From a photograph by R. W. SKELTON (S. 35, 5" x 4" plate) ; Weddell 

 Seal taken in M'Murdo Sound ; Feb. 1904. 



FIG. 2. From a photograph by R. W. SKELTON (Sk. 221, ^-plate) ; Weddell Seal, 

 taken as it rises to breathe at its blowhole in the ice ; Nov. 1902. 



The Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddelli] is the most abundant of all the 

 Antarctic Seals. It reaches a length of about ten feet in the adult. It is a coast 

 frequenter, and non-migratory, remaining as far S. as any known animal during the 

 winter. It feeds on fish, which it obtains by entering the water through holes in 

 the ice, and these holes are kept open for breathing, and egress or ingress 

 throughout the year. 



During the summer months far more of their time is spent basking in the sun 

 upon the ice than in winter ; but from the frequency of their visits to the blow- 

 holes in the winter, the ice, being constantly broken through, never freezes over 

 very firmly, notwithstanding the cold. 



The short hair, though useless as a fur, is handsomely marked with black and 

 silver grey. 



