197 



glandular trunk, extending from the forehead be- 

 ypnd the upper lip, and serving as a species of de- 

 fensive armour against blows, which upon that part 

 are almost always fatal* The tusks of the lower jaw 

 project at least four inches from it, and this singu- 

 larity, together with the trunk, give it some faint 

 resemblance to the elephant. The feet are divided 

 'mto five toes, half covered with a coriaceous mem- 

 brane indented upon the sides, each furnished with 

 a strong crooked nail. The ears, at first sight, ap- 

 pear to be truncated, but, on nearer view, are found 

 to be nearly half an inch long, and in shape like those 

 of a dog. The skin is thicker than that of the urigne, 

 and covered with short, thick and soft hair, the colour 

 of which is various, being a mixture of dun, yeIlovv% 

 grey, and dirty white. The female is of a less size, 

 and not so fat as the male, and has but a slight ap- 

 pearance of a trunk upon the nose. 



Lord Anson has improperly called this animal the 

 sea-lion ; and Limiccus, from his authority, has de- 

 nominated it phoca leonina, an appellation much 

 more appropriate to another animal of the same ge- 

 nus, but of a very different species. The lames are 

 found in the greatest numbers on the island of Juan 

 Fernandez, the Araucanian coast, the Archipelago 

 of Chiloe, and the Straits of Magellan. They herd 

 together in large companies, and during the summer 

 are almost continually in the sea, but on the com^ 

 meneement of winter they go on shore, where they 

 bring forth their young; They copulate, like the 

 urignes, by raising themselves on their hind feet, 

 - and have the same number of young with them. 



