EAEED- SEALS. 495 



In the first place, it will be -well to notice the distinctions that 

 can be observed between the eared and earless seals ; that, is be- 

 tween the Otaria and Phocidce. The most conspicuous one is that 

 the sea-lions have the power of walking on land with some degree 

 of comfort when compared with the laboured progression of the 

 true seals. The body of the sea-lion does not lie flat on the 

 ground like the seal's, but even when at rest it is raised several 

 inches off it, upon the hind and fore limbs. The neck of the sea- 

 lion, instead of being short and thick, is long, flexible, and mobile, 

 while the head is shaped more like the head of a terrestrial animal, 

 for it has pointed ears and thick lips, covered with stitf whiskers, 

 and may be compared with a polar bear. The small, scroll-like, 

 external ears, which led the French naturalist, M. Peron, early in 

 this century, to give them a distinct classification, are appendages 

 entirely wanting in the Phocidce or common seal family. 



The fore-limbs of a sea-lion, instead of being as it were 

 buried in the skin, are free from the body, and although the 

 " hands " are enclosed in a leathery skin, yet they are exceedingly 

 flexible, so much so that when on land these flippers accommodate 

 themselves to the shape of any obstacle over which the animal may 

 have to pass. When swimming they are also capable of such a 

 considerable flexion that they can be twisted or feathered like an 

 oar, and the power they give the animal makes its movements in 

 the water as beautifully graceful as the flight of a bird in the air, 

 for it swims slowly or rapidly along, on, or beneath the surface, 

 apparently by only an immediate act of will, for it is unaccom- 

 panied by any visible exertion corresponding to the effect produced. 



Again, with regard to the hind-limbs, in the true seal these 

 are disposed backwards, in a line with the tail and body, and exist 

 in a permanently extended condition, and are used entirely for 

 swimming, as they are of little service to the animal on land. In 

 the sea-lion, however, these limbs, as far as the ankle and foot are 

 concerned, are freely separated from the body, and the foot is 

 turned outwards, and is not unlike the same organ in the polar 

 bear, although its action may be somewhat limited, owing to the 

 way it is fastened, yet it is used exactly as a terrestrial animal uses 

 its paw. When walking on the ground these fore-limbs are lifted 



