MAMMALIA. 
98 
in the hind feet, the outer and inner toes are the longest, and the intermediate comparatively short. 
Their foreTeet are enveloped in the integuments of the body as far as the wrist, the hinder almost to 
the heel ; between the latter is a short tail. The head of a Seal resembles that of a Dog ; and they 
have the same intelligence and mild and expressive physiognomy. They are easily tamed, and become 
much attached to their feeder. The tongue is smooth, and notched at the end, their stomach simple, 
coecum short, intestinal canal long, and tolerably regular. These animals subsist on fish, which they 
always devour in the water, and are enabled to close their nostrils when diving, by means of a sort of 
valve. As they remain long below the surface, it was supposed that the foramen ovale continued open 
as in a foetus, which is not the case : they have a large venous cavity, however, in their liver, which 
assists them in diving, by rendering respiration less necessary to the motion of the blood. The 
latter is very abundant and very dark. 
Analogous to Calocephala, The Seals, (properly so called, or without external ears), — 
Have the incisors pointed ; all their toes enjoy a certain degree of motion, and are terminated by 
pointed nails placed on the edge of the connecting membrane. 
They may be divided according to the number of their incisors. In 
CalocepJiala, F. Cuv. \_Phoca, as restricted], — 
There are six above and four below. [The cheek-teeth have more than one root ; and besides the “ 
main cutting point, there is on each an anterior smaller one, and two posterior. The brain is in this ^ 
division amply developed, and the intelligence proportionate.] 
The common 
Seal (Ph. vitulina, Lin. ; Ph. littorea, Thiem.)— Common on the coast of Europe in vast herds, and 
extending- far to the north. The European seas, 
however, contain several Phoccs, which have;;,j| 
been long confounded, some of which are per-^|- 
haps varieties of the others ; as Ph. Mspida, 
Schreb. ; Ph. annellata, Nills. ; Ph.fcetida, Fabr.,)L" 
&c. [Those of the British islands much require il 
elucidation.] A species more easily recog- 
nized is 
The Harp Seal (Ph. groenlandica and oceanica, ^l [ 
Auct.), from the whole north of the globe. [Re- f, i 
markable for the difference in marking between" ; ; 
the adult male (fig. 37) and the female and 
young; length five feet. It pertains to the British s 
fauna, as does also the next species, according to - 
report, for which the Halichoerus griseus, how-^ 
ever, has been generally mistaken.] 
Bearded Seal {Ph. barbata, Fabr.), a northernj 
species, surpassing all the preceding ones in.^.. 
size, which is from seven to eight feet. Its'' 
moustaches are thicker and stronger than in thef 
others. [Several more are known from the north- 1|| 
ern hemisphere.] 
Fig. 37. — Greenland Seal. 
The Sterrincks {StenorhyncJms, F. Cuv.) — 
Possess four incisors to each jaw, and cheek- 
teeth deeply notched into three points (fig. 38), 
[but with single roots : the muzzle slender and 
much elongated ; and very small claws]. 
One only is known {Ph. leptonyx, Bl.), from the 
Austral seas : size of the Bearded Seal. [An allied 
species constitutes 
The Leptonyx (Leptonyx, Gray) — 
The grinders of which are bluntly three-lobed, 
the muzzle broad and rounded, and hind feet 
clawless. 
Otaria Weddellii, Lesson. — Also from the South Seas], 
