LEGS OE THE WALRUS. 279 



enlargement or extraordinary development of 

 the eye-teeth, and I think it is easy to conceive 

 that any large carnivorous animal, driven by 

 necessity to subsist on shell-fish nnder water, 

 would, in a few thousands of generations, 

 acquire such tusks. 



Also, he would soon learn to dive*, and to 

 hold his breath under water, and from gene- 

 ration to generation he would be able to stay 

 longer below. As he would have very little 

 use for his legs they would soon become 

 abortive as legs, and grow more into the re- 

 semblance of fins ; the hind legs would some- 

 what resemble the tail of a fish and would do 

 duty for that organ, ^ so his real tail would 

 almost disappear as is the case with the seal 

 and the walrus. 



The legs of the wabus, although almost abor- 

 tive, are still legs, and not fins, as he can walk on 

 all four on land or ice. Those of the seal are 

 more abortive still, and the latter cannot 

 walk, strictly speaking, but only jerk himself 

 along. Nobody who has seen the anatomy of 

 a whale's paddles can deny that even they are 

 legs and not fins, although of course only 



* I stated, ante, that we had seen the white bear dive 

 for a short distance just like a walrus. 



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