40 
tough skins and a layer of fat several inches thick, which lies 
immediately beneath, protecting them from injury. They 
are representatives of the family of eared seals ( Otarida ), all 
of which are of large size, and are readily distinguished by 
the possession of an external ear, which is never more than 
an inch and a half long and is rolled tightly in the shape of 
a cone. There are seven or eight species of these seals, all 
being confined to the Pacific Ocean, where they range from 
the Arctic to the Antarctic region, one species only being 
sometimes found up the Atlantic coast of South America as 
far as Brazil. The fur seals belong to this group ; the under¬ 
coat of fur being very soft and thick in them, and supplying 
the seal-skin of commerce. 
When fully adult the males are seven or eight feet long, 
and weigh from five to six hundred pounds; the females 
weighing not over a fourth as much. 
Some years since the Society procured a number of the 
northern Elephant Seal or Sea-Elephant (Macrorhinus 
angustirostris). These animals received much attention on 
account of their extreme rarity; the ones formerly in the 
possession of the Society being the only ones which have 
ever been captured alive for purposes of exhibition. 
For many years the elephant seal was known to exist in 
the antarctic region of the Pacific, and about 1850, they 
were observed in small numbers on some of the uninhabited 
islands off the coast of lower California. These were subse¬ 
quently found to be quite distinct from the southern form. 
When adult, the males are usually from sixteen to eighteen 
feet long, although some have been seen nearly thirty feet 
in length and weighing probably seven or eight tons. The 
females are much smaller. 
The peculiarity from which they derive their name is a- 
curiously elongated snout, which in the adult male reaches a 
length of eighteen inches, and somewhat resembles the trunk 
of an elephant. 
They belong to the group of earless seals, and are the 
largest of marine mammals excepting the whale, although from 
the little that is known of their habits, they appear to be of a 
quiet and inoffensive disposition. The California species is 
nearly extinct, having been slaughtered for the oil and blub¬ 
ber which they yield in large quantities. 
