242 THE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC 



the most part associate in pairs, and only leave the water for short periods. The 

 distribution of the three groups of these animals is somewhat noteworthy. Out of 

 the whole assemblage only a single kind appears to be restricted to the tropics, 

 although a few others range into that zone, either from the north or the south, the 

 great majority being thus denizens of the cooler seas. 



Seals inhabit not only the Caspian and Aral Seas and Lake Baikal, but also 

 certain other inland lakes. Apparently neither the seals of the Caspian and Aral, 

 which inhabit salt water, nor those of Lake Baikal, which live in fresh water, are 

 specifically distinct from the ringed seal (Phoca hispida or fcetida), of which they 

 respectively constitute local races. In addition to those of Lake Baikal, seals, 

 probably of the same race, occur in the comparatively small sheet of fresh water 

 lying to the north-east of it which is known as Lake Oron. The seals which 

 occur in a few of the Russian and Finnish lakes are stated to come so close to the 

 typical form of the ringed seal that they are not even racially separable, this being 

 in accordance with physical conditions as the lakes in question are even now not 

 completely landlocked, and at no very distant epoch probably had more free com- 

 munication with the ocean. Seals of this type occur in Lake Saima, in the south- 

 eastern corner of Finland, and likewise in Lake Ladoga, both these sheets of water, 

 although now fresh, having been doubtless at one time in close connection with the 

 Gulf of Finland. Farther east seals are stated to inhabit Lake Onega, in the 

 government of Olonetz, but the evidence is inconclusive. There seems, however, 

 no reason why it should not be true, seeing that Onega is connected by water with 

 Ladoga, as well as with the White Sea. 



The typical, or earless seals, forming the family Phocidce, are specially 

 characterised by the absence of external ears, the shortness of the neck, and the 

 circumstance that the hind -flippers are directed backwards so as to lie parallel with 

 the tail, and are of use only in swimming. Moreover, even the front flippers are, 

 as a rule, not used in progression on land, these animals shuffling along by means 

 of a kind of serpentine movement with the front flippers held close to the sides of 

 the body and the hind-pair stretched out behind. The Greenland and the crested 

 seal are, however, in the habit of making use of the front flippers when on land, 

 and drag themselves along by their aid. During pairing-time many members of 

 the group associate in large herds, and nearly all the typical seals are sociable 

 animals, which display remarkable affection for their young. 



The typical representative of the group, the aforesaid common 

 seal, grows to a length of between 5 and 6 feet, and in colour is mostly 

 yellowish grey spotted with dark brown or blackish above, and yellowish white 

 blotched with greyish brown beneath. At birth the fur is woolly in texture and 

 yellowish white in colour, but within a few hours the young seal exchanges its first 

 coat for a hairy dress like that of its parents. 



This species inhabits not only the North Atlantic, but likewise the North 

 Pacific, in both areas rang-ins: into the Arctic Ocean, so that its distribution is 

 probably circumpolar. Along the European coasts the range of this seal extends 

 into the Mediterranean, and on the American side as far south as New Jersey; 

 while on the Asiatic coast of the Pacific it reaches Kamchatka, and on the American 

 side, South California. Off the Spitzbergen and Greenland coasts the common 



