24 



tremities so placed that they can walk on all fours. This 

 group includes the FUR SEALS, so prized for their nch fur ; 

 excellent examples are in this collection. 



The FUR Seal {Callorhinus ur sinus) is here represented 

 by male, female, and young. The fur does not show in 

 these specimens, on account of the long hairs that project 

 beyond it ; these hairs are cut off by scraping the inside of 

 the skin, the roots being longer and more deeply sunken 

 than those of the fur proper. 



Several other grand individuals of the Eared Seal family 

 are here, notably. 



The California Sea Lion {Zaloplms calif orniamis). 

 This is the familiar species so common on the rocks off San 

 Francisco. The eared seals are confined to the shores 

 of the Pacific in both hemispheres; none are found on the 

 Atlantic coasts. Four genera, with eight species, are known 



Family Trichcchidd embraces one genus, with one species, 

 the Walrus. 



The Morse or Walrus ( Trickechus rosmarus) inhabits 

 the circumpolar region of the north. The largest speci- 

 men known is here exhibited. The female and young are 

 also here. These animals rank as midway between the 

 preceding eared seals and the common seals. To the 

 Eskimo, this creature is most valuable, and to civiliza- 

 tion it contributes the ivory of its tusks ; this together 

 with its oil and hide are of considerable commercial impor- 

 tance. 



GROUP 1(>. — The Common Seals, Family Phocida, 

 Of this family thirteen genera, with twenty-one species, arc 

 known. They are called True Seals or Earless Seals, as 

 they have no external ears. This is a distinguishing charac- 

 teristic. Yet much more important features are seen that 

 place the latter group lower in the scale of life than the 

 eared seals. The Common Seals are more residents of the 

 sea; yet though able to live out of it, their forms are less 

 suited to locomotion. 



The Harbor Seal {Calhccphalus vitulinus) is the most 



