SEM 
Seal's, formed of a black coriaceous fubftance, 
without the leaft external appearance of toes, as 
Pernetti very erroneoufly reprefents; the hind- 
feet are broad, and furnifhed with very fmall 
nails, a narrow ftripe or membrane extending far 
beyond each; the tail is very fliort; and the hind 
parts are vaftly large, fwelling out with an im- 
menfe quantity of fat. 
The aged males meafure from ten to fourteen 
feet; their circumference at the fhoulders is very 
confiderable; and they weigh from twelve to fif- 
teen hundred pounds. The females are from fix 
to eight feet in length; of a more flender form 
than the males; and quite fmooth. 
This fpecies is very numerous in the Penguin 
and Seal I (lands, near Cape Defire, on the coaft of 
Patagonia; and is alfo found within the Straits of 
Magellan, and on the Falkland Ifles : but it has not 
as yet been difcovered in any other part of the 
fouthern hemifphere, or nearer than the fta be- 
tween Kamtfchatka and America. 
Thefe animals, like the Urfine and other Seals, 
are gregarious; occupy the beach nearefl: the fea; 
and appear extremely lethargic. Each male re- 
tains from twenty to thirty females. They have 
a very fierce afpe(5l: and the old ones fnort and 
roar like enraged bulls; but, on the approach of 
any of the human fpecies, fly with the utmoft pre- 
cipitation. The females make a noife like calves ; 
and their young bleat like lambs. The aged 
males lie apart; and occupy fome large ftone, 
which the reft dare not approach without hazard- 
ing a combat. The n).\\es frequently take the 
water, compafs a large circuit, then land, and ca- 
refs the females with great afFedtion, joining fnout 
to fnout, as if kifling each other: and the females, 
on feeing their males deftroyed, fometimes at- 
tempt to carry off their cubs in their mouths, 
but ofiener defert them through exceflive fear. 
The Leonine fubfift on leflTer Seals, penguins, 
and fifh. During the breeding feafon, while 
afhore, they faft three or four months; but, in or- 
der to keep their ftomachs diftended, generally 
fwallov/ a number of large ftones. 
SECRETARY. A bird defcribed by Sonne- 
rat, found in the Philippines, and feveral parts of 
Africa. It is about the fize of a turkey-cock. 
The bill and feet referable thofe of the gallina- 
ceous tribe; but the legs are deftitute of feathers 
as far as the knees. The upper part of the body, 
the neck, the belly, and the coverts of the wings, 
are of a grey blue colour, but brighter below than 
above. The primaries are black; on each fide of 
the tail there is a long, narrow, cinereous feather ; 
and on the top of the head behind, as far as the 
neck, at moderate, though unequal diftances, rife 
two parallel plumes, which become longer in 
proportion as they are fituated lower down on 
the neck: thefe plumes, which the bird can eredl 
and deprefs at pltafure, are wholly black, and ex- 
hibit a very beautiful and finguiar appearance. 
The Secretary is pretty fociable, and capable 
of being reclaimed. It feeds on flefh, and con- 
fequently may be confidered as a predaceous bird. 
The eyes are furrounded with a naked circle of 
a deep red colour; and the irides, as well as the 
bill and feet, are greyifh. 
SEMILUNARES COCHLEAE. A genus 
of maarine fnails, fo called from their having fe- 
micircular mouths. Their diftinguiiliing cha- 
rafters are : rhe fhells are univalve, of a compaft 
body, with a flat femicircular, and often dentated 
SEP - 
mouth; the columella, or inner lip, runnino- dia- 
metrically acrofs it in a ftraight line. Some of 
the fpecies have exerted apices, and others de- 
prefled. Thefe fhells are nearly globofe ; for the 
turban is never much produced, but lies fiat or 
level with the bottom. 
A variety of diftinftive and fpecific charafters 
appear in the feveral fpecies of this genus, which 
include confiderable numbers under each. Thus 
the neritse, which are of this genus, are fom.e of 
them um.bilicated ; while others have teeth, and a 
fort of gums. The fnail kinds, diftindlly fo 
called, which fall under this genus, are very dif- 
ferent from the neritse, in that they have neither 
teeth, gum.s, nor palate. 
R umphius firft introduced the term Semilu- 
nares Cochleje, as exprefilve of the figure of the 
mouths of thefe fhells, which is femicircular. 
The Cochlea Semilunares may be arranged un- 
der two general divifions, the dentated neritje, 
and umbilicated cochleas. There are eight fpe- 
cies of the dentated neritse; the gum fliell, the 
bloody-tooth nerita, the ox-palate nerita, the ftri- 
ated and punftulated nerita, the canaliculated, 
the furrowed, the thrufh, and the partridge ne- 
rita. Of the neritse without teeth there are ten 
fpecies; the jafper with a long beak, the jafper 
with an operculum, the lemon-coloured pea, the 
yellow pea, the prickly, the reticulated, the va- 
riegated vv'ith black fpots, the red and white faf- 
ciated, the flightly ftriated green, and the undu- 
lated nerita. 
There are nine fpecies of umbilicated neritas; 
the long umbilicated, that with an exerted apex, 
that with a depreffed apex, the tefticulated, the 
hermit, the umbonated, the fmall nipple, the heavy 
white, and the orange coloured cochlea. 
SEPIA. A genus of the mollufca worms, in 
the Linnasan fyftem, comprehending five fpecies. 
The characters of which are; that it has eight 
arms placed round the mouth, with fmall concave 
diflcs internally, and frequently two long tenta- 
cula; and that the body is flefhy, with a fheath 
for the breaft, and a tube at the bafe of the breaft. 
Pennant defcribes the genus of Sepia, orcuttle- 
fifh, under the names of the great, eight-armed, 
middle, fmall, and officinal Sepia. They all 
emit, when either purfued or alarmed, that black 
liquor which the ancients fuppofed darkened the 
circumambient wave, and thus concealed them. 
Their flefh was alfo efteemed a delicacy by the 
ancients; and is at prefent eaten by the Italians, 
Rondeletius has furnifhed two receipts for dref- 
fing it, which are continued to this day ; Athe- 
nsEus has alfo tranfmitted the method of making 
an antique cuttle-fifh faufage; and from Ariftotle 
we learn that thofe creatures are in their highefl; 
perfeftion when pregnant. 
SEPS. An animal of the lizard kind, appa- 
rently of an intermediate nature between the li- 
zard and the ferpent tribes. 
This is a fmall fpecies. The body is rounded; 
and the back is variegated with longitudinal 
black lines. The eyes arc black; and the cars 
and tail are extrem.cly minute. The legs are 
four in number, with feet divided into toes; the 
firft pair are placed very near the head, and the 
other by the anus. The fcales are placed in a 
reticulated manner, in a longitudinal direflion. 
The belly is white, with a flight caftof blue; an4 
the noftrils are fituated near the end of the fnout. 
Colum.na took five live ones from the body of 
a female 
