124 MAMMALIA. FERiE. Seal. 



jn caverns, or hollow places of rocks, and then take them to fea. This animal cannot remain long 

 below water, but muft rife often to breathe : It fleeps, in the fummer, on rocks or fand banks, preci- 

 pKatihg itfelf, when furprifed, into the fea ; or, if at too great a diftance to get there, it fcranibles 

 along, flinging up the fand and gravel very forcibly with the hind feet, making a piteous moaning ; 

 and. if overtaken, makes a vigorous defence with the feet and teeth : Is ^afily killed by a blow on 

 the nofe, but bears numerous wounds on other parts : Swims with great ftrength and fwiftnefs, and 

 fports without fear round fhips and boats ; is of a gentle nature, very docile, and may be tamed, and 

 taught to obey a keeper almoft like a dog : It never goes far from the land •, feeds on all kinds of 

 iifh, and gets enormoufly fat during the time that herrings are on the coaft. The flefh is very good 

 food ; the fkin is ufeful, making good Ihoe leather, and the oil ferves many valuable purpofes. 



. Befides the common feal, on all the coafts of the north of Europe, including the Britifh iflands, 

 the following varieties are enumerated in Dr Gmelin's edition of the Syftema Naturae. 



s 75 |S. Bothnic common Seal. — Ph. •vit. botmca. 3. j3. 



Differs from the preceding variety by having a broader nofe, and longer nails or claws, 

 and being of a darker colour. Linn. faun. Suec. p. 2. 



Inhabits the Gulph of Bothnia, in the Baltic. 



ij6 y. Siberian common Seal. — Ph. vit.fib'irica. 3. y. 



Is of a filver white colour. 



Inhabits the lakes Baikal and Oram, in Siberia. 



1 j j £. Cafpian common Seal. —PA. vit. cafpica. 3. <fv 



Is of a mixed or mottled colour. 



Inhabits the Cafpian, and the rivers which fall into that fea. 



178 5. Hooded Seal. — 5. Phoca monachus. 5. 



Has no external ears; only four cutting teeth in each jaw; the fore paws are not di- 

 vided, and the hinder paws have no nails. 



Herman. Act. nat. fcrut. Berolin. iv. 456. t. xii. xiii.— Mediterranean Seal. Penn. hift. of quad.. 

 n. 376. 



Inhabits the Mediterranean, chiefly on the coaft of Dalmatia. — When this animal is placed on its 

 back, the fkin of the neck folds into the fimilitude of a Monk's hood. The head is fmall, having a 

 longer neck than in the common fpecies -, the orifices of the ears are very fmall ; the hair is fhort, 

 rude, and of a dufky colour, fpotted with alh colour, and having a tawny fpot above the navel : 

 The whole body is eight feet feven inches long, and five feet round. 



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