CARNIVORA. 259 



seals are named by South Sea men Wigs, and the 

 females Clapmatches. The males are larger than a 

 Newfoundland dog : their bark is somewhat similar ; 

 they bite severely, and their skins made clothes. 

 The voice of the females resembles the human.* 

 They bring forth in December on shore, and there 

 also suckle their young, though the sea is their ge- 

 neral resort. The young, denominated Pompeys, 

 are excellent food ; at first glossy black, and almost 

 without fur : between two and three months old 

 they become silvery grey ; but, being no longer fed 

 by their mothers, they become lean, and not choice 

 for eating." We presume this account refers to Les- 

 son's Patagonian Seal, and Mr. Gray's Sub-genus 

 MIOUROUNGA. 



In the next group we place the Otarice or Eared 

 Seals, with a longer neck, fore paws formed into 

 flippers, and the skin of the hind feet prolonged 

 beyond the claws. The molar teeth more simple 

 and conical. 



They form two genera, Platyrhincus, Sea Lions, 

 and Arctocephalus or Sea Bears, described in detail 

 in the Eighth Volume ; but, in our collection of 

 drawings, we find one taken by us from a specimen 

 in the museum of Erlangen : it was about 4 feet 

 in length, remarkable for its elongated cylindrical 

 form, with the anterior flippers nearly medial ; the 

 nose protruded, making the head somewhat pointed. 



* These are, no doubt, the mermaids of the South Seas, 

 noticed by Captains Colnet and Weddell. See Nat. Lib., 

 Vol. VIII. page 290, &c. 



