38 



Old males are said to acquire a disgusting smell, from wMcli un- 

 enviable circumstance the Latin specific name has been derived. 



Phoca Gbcestlandica^ Miiller. The Harp Seal. 

 Synonyms — Phoca Grosnlandica, M^Uer. O. Fabricius. 



Phoea oceanica^, Lepechin Fischer. Jardine's Nat. Lib. 

 Oallocephalus grcenlandicus. F. Cuvier. 

 Pagophilus grmnlandicus. Gray, B. M. C. 1866, p. 25. 

 Rarp-Seal, Pennant, BeU, Hamilton. 



Lihabits G-reenland, North Sea. 



" Until six or seven weeks old, white, caUed white coats at Newfound- 

 land ; at one year old they have small spots ; at two years old they 

 have large spots, and the males are called Lampiers ; at three years 

 old the males and females have the harp-shaped band, and are then 

 called saddle-backs."^ 



The fur of the adult is greyish-white, the back being marked by a 

 blackish horse-shoe-shaped band, arching backwards from the Mioulder 

 to within a few inches of the tail. This band is broad at the sides, while 

 its outline is very irregular ; the anterior half of the head exhibits the 

 same deep brownish-black colour of the band. 



The Harp Seal is very abundant in the deep bays and mouths of 

 rivers along the coast of Q-reenland, Uving among the floating masses of 

 ice, and preying principally upon the Arctic salmon and other fish — and 

 occasionally upon molluscs. In size and general make it resembles the 

 two preceding animals, but its fur and oil are alleged to be of better 

 quality than theirs. 



Phoca babbata,* O. Fabricius. The Leporine Seal.* 



Sjrnonyms — Phoca harbata, O. Fabricius ; Miiller, Nilsson, Fischer, &c. 

 Phoca leporinaj" Lepechin. 

 Oallocephalus leporinui, F. Cuvier. 

 Phoca harbata, Gray, B. M. C, 1866, p. 31. 

 Leporine Seal, Pennant. 



This Seal and the foUqwing one are frequently mistaken for each 

 other, for they bear a general external resemblance, are similar in size, 

 being by far the largest of the species which I have attached to this 

 family, and both are found on the British and Irish Coasts. Their 

 structural characters and habits, however, vary so much as to render 

 them palpably distinct. 



The ordinary length of the adult animal may be taken at about nine 

 feet, but the aged will reach to twelve feet, or even more. In colour, 



1 Greenland. 

 '^ Oceanic. 



^ Jukes, Newfoundland. 

 ' Bearded. 



" Hare-like. This species is likewise known as the Great Seal, the Great Bearded 

 Seal, the Hare-like Seal. 



