122 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius) Gray seal 



1791 Phoca grypus Fabricius, Skriv. af Naturli. Selsk. 1 : 167. 

 1837 Halichoerus grypus Nilsson, Kougl. Vet. akad. Haudl. Stock- 

 holm. 

 1880 Halichoerus grypus Allen, History of North American pinnipeds, 

 p. 689. 

 Gray (silvery, ashy or dusky) with ill-defined dark spots. Total length 2450 

 (7 ft) to 3150 (9 ft), (grypus; Lat., hook-nosed) 



The gray seal occurs on the northern coasts of western Europe and 

 eastern North America. Its southward range in America extends about 



to Nova Scotia. 



Genus Phoca Linnaeus 



1758 Phoca Linnaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 10. 1 : 37. Type Phoca vitu- 

 1 i n a Linnaeus. 

 Teeth 34 (four front teeth in lower jaw) ; the cheek teeth large and strong, not 

 falling out ivith age; braincase forming nearly one half of length of skull ; fore- 

 head high, arched. (Phoca; Lat., a seal) 



The genus Phoca is widely distributed on the coasts of the north- 

 ern hemisphere. About a half dozen species are known, three of which 

 occur within our Umits. 



SPECIES OF PHOCA 



Male whitish with a black stripe crossing shoulder and 

 running back along sides (subgenus Pagophilus 



Gray) P. groenlandiea 



Male not white with black markings 



First finger slightly longer than others ; back generally 

 blackish with whitish spots (subgenus P u s a 



Scopoli)..., , P. hispid a 



First finger not longer than others ; back generally 

 light brown or gray with dark spots (subgenus 

 Phoca) P. vitulina 



Phoca groenlandiea Fabricius Harp seal 

 1776 Phoca groenlandiea Fabricius, Miiller's Zool. Dan. prodr., 8. (Coast 



of Greenland) 

 1880 Phoca groenlandiea Allen, History of North American pinnipeds, 

 p. 630. 

 Male whitish, with black face, and a black stripe crossing shoulders and 

 extending backward along sides. Female less distinctly marked. Total 

 length (male) about 1750 (5 ft), female smaller, (groenlandiea; N. Lat., 

 pertaining to Greenland) ' 



The harp seal is a circumpolar species, confined to the icy northern 

 seas. In America its southward range extends to Newfoundland and 

 the Magdalen islands. 



