ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE AND RESEARCH 



small seals. Its color is dark gray with a black back, 

 sometimes somewhat tawny beneath. The teeth differ 

 greatly from those of the relatively harmless Weddell 

 seal. In the sea leopard the canines are very sharp, 

 while the twenty post-canines are three-lobed tridents, 

 adapted to catch and tear fish to pieces. Its only enemy 

 is the killer-whale. 



The common seal of the pack ice is the crab-eater 

 (Lobodon) which is often so light-colored as to be 

 practically white. Usually, however, there are many 

 individuals of a chocolate color with handsome dap- 

 plings. It is smaller than the other common Antarctic 

 species (the Weddell) being about eight feet long. It 

 lives almost entirely upon shrimps which it grubs off 

 the bottom of the sea together with much gravel. The 

 teeth are curiously divided, and apparently act like the 

 whale's baleen, for the seal squirts out all the water 

 through the teeth, which act as a sieve, while it retains 

 the shrimps and stones. Apparently the latter help to 

 grind its food. This seal is usually observed in little 

 groups of five or six lying on the floes, so that it is 

 the first seal to be seen by the explorer. 



The Ross seal (OmmatopJwca) is the smallest of all, 

 being only about seven feet long. It is very rare in 

 East Antarctica but is apparently commoner in West 

 Antarctica. The Weddell seal (Leptonychofes) is the 

 most important of the shore fauna, for it is an invalu- 

 able source of food, fuel, and hides to the explorer. 

 Luckily its fur is not attractive to the sealers, for it is 

 long and coarse with no thick under- fur such as is 

 found on the true fur-seals. We used several skins 



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