KEY TO LAND MAMMALS OF NORTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA 1 23 



Phoca hispida Schreber Ringed seal 



1775 P h o c a hispida Schreber, Saugethiere. 3 : 312. 



1880 Phoca foetid a Allen, History of North American pinnipeds, p. 597. 



F%r>it f.nger longest, the others successively decreasin-g in lecgth. General color 

 blackish brown above, yellowish white below, the back with large oval wbitish 

 spots; muzzle ar d eye ring usually black. Total length (male) about 1750 (5 ft), 

 female smaller, (hispida; Lat., harsh) 



The ringed seal occurs on the Arctic coasts of both hemispheres. In 



eastern North America its range extends to Labrador and Newfoundland. 



Phoca vitulina Linnaeus Hm-bor seal 



1758 [Phoca] vitulina Linnaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 10. 1:38. (Coast 



of Europe) 

 1880 Phoca vitulina Allen, History of North American pinnipeds, p. 559. 



Fingers not distinctly graduated; general color grayish or brownish; paler 

 below ; the back with dark spots, muzzle and eye ring usually yellowish. Total 

 length about 1750 (5 ft); female smaller, (vitulin a; Lat., calf-like) 



The harbor seal is peculiar to the north Atlantic. Its normal range in 



• North America extends about to Long Island, though individuals straggle 



much farther south. It is frequently taken in rivers and lakes at some 



distance from the sea. 



Family Felidae Cats 



Heel never ajJplied to ground in tvalMng ; claws sharp, compressed, retractile, 

 hind toes 4 ; teeth 28 or 30 ; head short, round. (F d 1 i d a , genus F e 1 i s ) 



The well known cat family, though distributed throughout the 

 / warmer parts of the world (AustraHa and neighboring islands excepted) 

 contains only a small number of genera. Two are all that are com- 

 monly recognized, but this number should probably be doubled. Two 

 only occur in America, both of which are found in the northeastern 

 United States. 



GENERA OF FELIDAE 



Tail long; teeth 30 Felis 



Tail short; teeth 28 , Lynx 



Genus Felis Linnaeus 



1758 Felis Linnaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 10. 1:41. Type Felis catus 

 Linnaeus. 



Form slender; tail long; teeth 30; no mane; ears not tufted; pupil of eye 

 when contracted a vertical slit. (F 6 1 i s ; Lat., a cat; 



The range of the genus Felis is the same as that of the family. 

 Some 50 species are known, about a dozen of which occur in America 



