Ixxiii 
PrsNiPEDiA. MAMMALIA. Pinnipedia. 
docile and intelligent as the Seals. It produces one 
usually at a birth. Winter is the usual time for the 
appearance of the young. The mother nurses it on 
shore, and in the water carries it under the “ fore-flip- 
pers.” The term Walrus signifies, literally, “ Whale- 
horse,” and the specific name is from the Latinized 
N’orwegian, Bosmar, “ Sea-horse.” It is thought 
that the Walrus feeds mostly on vegetable matter 
procured at the sea-bottom, and that one of the uses 
of the great tusks is to uproot its foodr which con- 
sists of certain parts of the vast growths of algae. 
The flesh is highly prized by the voyagers, as well as 
by the native population of the Arctic regions. The 
dentition is curious, and a portion of it — the tusks — 
quite remarkable. 'I'hese are sometimes two feet in 
length, the girth measuring nearly seven inches, and 
the weight ten pounds each. Ordinarily the tusks 
are about one foot in length. The ivory is very fine 
in quality, and commands a large price. The im- 
mense size of the roots of the tusks necessarily re- 
quires a corresponding breadth of snout to receive 
them and give strength to weapons so formidable ; 
this results in a peculiar aspect of the face, which is 
rather ferocious and forbidding. The other teeth 
are very small, comparatively. While young there 
are six incisors in each jaw, two canines, ten molars 
in upper jaw and eight in lower. When the animal 
has reached its full growth, the incisors all fall out. 
The economy of this phenomenon is not apparent. 
The Walrus proves a most valuable prize to the 
native population. Its skin, teeth and oil are valued 
highly with us, while with the natives its whole 
carcass furnishes almost every article required in 
their domestic life. In close quarters it proves a 
formidable foe ; and being very tenacious of life, it 
fights with intense fury, even when severely wounded. 
'I’he enormous tusks prove terribly destructive, 
especially when the creature is approached by a 
boat, when the latter aflbrds an object upon which 
to spend his vengeance and fury. Though strictly an 
Arctic animal, yet stragglers have been known to 
visit the coast of Scotland. The young animal is 
black throughout, the adult a pale brown. The 
Walrus is a northern form, inhabiting more especial- 
ly the North Pacific. 
Family — OTAEIAD^E. 
Eared Seals. 
The nose in this family is simple ; the muffle 
rather large, callous above and between the nostrils; 
ears with a cylindrical, external conch. The arms 
and legs are rather elongate. The fore and hind- 
feet are fringed. The fore-feet are fin-like, with a 
scalloped naked membrane. The hind-feet are claw- 
less, and palms and soles of both are bald. The 
toes are nearly of equal length, the outer one on 
each side being rather the strongest ; the three middle 
toes have claws. The fur has more or less of under 
fur, distinct and shorter. The alisphenoid canal is 
present, as is also a post-orbital process. The cut- 
ting-teeth are f, the upper ones often bifid. The 
canines are conical. The grinders are f or f. • 
VoL. I. — k. 
The Eared Seals form quite a natural group or 
family distinct from the Earless Seals, the Phocidm ; 
they also exhibit features, many shades advanced, as 
mammals. They have limbs that serve them some- 
what more like those of the typical quadrupeds ; they"’ 
progress on land by aid of these limbs, the body being 
at the time raised from the ground. The scrotum 
and genital organs are external, as in the Dog. 
They do not swallow under water, nor do they 
masticate there ; and they do not drink as the’ 
Earless Seals do at times. 'I’he pupils of the eyes 
contract and dilate enormously. The skulls of these 
animals change very materially during their growth, 
insomuch as to render it a matter of much difficulty 
to determine species, without a large experience and 
a very full series of specimens. Eared Seals are 
characterized particularly by the under fur, which 
lies between the roots of the longer and more rigid 
hairs ; hence, the more familiar term of the sealer — 
the Fur Seal. Much difference is noticed in the 
quantity and fineness of their under fur, which varies 
according to the species or country. Those having 
inferior fur are called Hair Seals, and are collected 
generally for their oil, the skins not being much 
prized. It is said that the Fur Seal skins are much 
in request in China. In Gray’s Sapplement to Oat. 
Seals and Whales, 1871, the only species of Eared 
Seal, or Fur Seal, that had been observed in cap- 
tivity was the Otaria leonina, or Sea Bear. Since 
then several others have been kept successfully, and 
much information is likely to be recorded concerning 
their habits. Among facts recently noted by sea- 
faring observers, those furnished by Captain Musgrave 
are interesting. He says : “ Their habits are much 
unlike those of the Earless Seals. The young are 
brought forth far inland, and they are taught to 
swim very gradually ; at first the young do not take 
readily to the water, their dams devoting consider- 
able time to this duty.” 
Tribe I— OTARIINA. 
Otaria. 
In this genus the grinders are f. In the adult 
skulls the fourth upper grinder is under the front 
edge of the orbit, and the sixth and last in a line 
with the back edge of the zygomatic arch. The 
hinder edge of the palate is rather in front, on the 
line of the condyles. 
THE SEA LION ( Otaria jubata) — Fig. 38, vol. i, 
p. 127 — is a most ferocious-looking creature, having 
the savage aspect of the other large species, and 
additional features which add materially to its for- 
midable appearance. It is very large, measuring- 
fifteen feet in length, and weighing some sixteen 
hundred.pounds. 'I'he color of the male is a reddish- 
brown, which is paler in the older ones. Upon the 
neck and shoulders is a heavy mass of stiff, curly, 
crisp hair, bearing some resemblance to the mane of 
the Lion. I'he female has no mane. The fur is a 
chestnut-brown. In the fall of the year Sea Lions 
are seen in great numbers on Behring’s Island, 
where they rear their young. The male is said to 
