Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/758

 732 SEAL sides man, the seal has to guard against bears on land and on the ice, and against sharks and carnivorous cetaceans in the water. In the genns phoca, as restricted by modern natural- ists, the dental formula is : incisors J, canines ~fa and molars flf = 82 ; the molars have three or four triangular cusps, all except the first with double roots, and placed obliquely along the jaw ; the posterior margin of the palate is acutely and deeply notched, and the palatal foramen is on the maxillary bone. The group to which the common seal belongs was named callocephalus by F. Cuvier, on account of the fine shape and large size of the cranium and the shortness of the face; the brain is nearly as large as that of the most intelligent monkeys. This species the P. (C.) vitulina (Linn.), the phoque commun and teau marin of the French, the Seehund of the Germans attains a length of 4 to 6 ft. ; the color varies much, but is generally brownish above and yellowish white below, variously mottled, and sometimes pied and marbled. It is common in the European seas, especially those washing the northern countries ; it is fattest in spring ; a single large animal will yield from 8 to 12 gallons of oil excellent for lamps ; the leather is used for boots, and the hide for' caps, trunk covers, &c. ; the matter which lubricates the hair has a penetrating and offensive odor. Along the New Brunswick coast this species, which is called there the harbor seal, is often seen in summer; the fur is very handsome, and is highly prized by the Micmac Indians ; it is also common all along the New England shore. The Greenland or harp seal (P. [C.] Groen- landica, Mull.) is about 6 ft. long; the males are grayish white, with the face and a broad lunate mark on the back and sides black ; the females are brownish with blackish spots, and the young snow-white; the molars are in a straight line, with a small interval between them and the anterior tubercle obsolete ; the posterior margin of the palate almost directly transverse. They are found in herds on the coast of Greenland on floating ice, rarely ven- turing on shore or shore ice; they are some- times floated to the coasts of Great Britain, from their kaiaks ; the oil is the best and most abundant in this species, and the skins form an important article in the fur trade. The young Common Seal (Phoca vitullna). and are not uncommon on those of Labrador and Newfoundland. This is the most impor- tant of all to the Esquimaux, who harpoon it Greenland Seal (Phoca Groenlandlca). are born in spring. A species of seal (P. Cat- pica^ Pall.), about the size of the common seal, occurs in the Caspian sea, the sea of Aral, and Lake Baikal ; it affords an excellent oil, to ob- tain which many thousands are annually killed. In the narrow-muzzled seals belongs the genus ttenorhynchtu (F. Cuv.), with the in- cisors }, pointed, and the molars |i|, divided into three to five long points, conical, some- what hooked, and usually two-rooted; the snout is long and narrow, and the claws, espe- cially on the hind feet, very small, hence called leptonyx by Wagner and Gray. The leopard seal or sea leopard (S. Weddellii, Less. ; L. leopardiniu, Wagn.) is 9 or 10 ft. long, spotted above somewhat as a leopard, whitish on a grayish brown ground, and yellowish below ; the head is long and small, the neck long and taper- ing, and the hair soft and thin ; it frequents the frozen seas of the southern hemisphere, about the South Shetland and South Orkney islands. In the genus pelagiu* (F. Cuv.) the snout is broad and long; the number of teeth is the same as in the last genus, but the incisors are indented and shut into each other, and the mo- lars are thick, compressed toward the crown, with rudimentary points and central conical cusp. The white-bellied or monk seal (P. mo- nachvt, F. Cuv.) grows to a length of 8 or 10 ft. ; it is shining dark brown above, spotted with gray on the neck and head, and the lower parts and portions of the sides white; eyes large and ox-like ; it is gentle, easily tamed, in- telligent, and affectionate; it is found in the Adriatic sea and on the coast of Sardinia, and was the one best known to the ancients; its skin was believed by the old Romans to be a preservative against lightning, and tents were made of it under which they took refuge in thunder storms. In the genus stemmatoptu (F. Cuv.) or cystophora (Nilss.), the incisors are f and conical, the canines large, and the molars with three lobes and many small indentations;
 * C|, simple-rooted, compressed and striated,