1. Trichechus ⸺?
Trichechus rosmarus, Schrenck, Amur-Land, p. 179.
Inhab. North Pacific.
Family 3. OTARIADÆ.
Nose simple; muffle rather large, callous above and between the nostrils. Ears with a cylindrical, external conch. Arms and legs rather elongate. The fore and hind feet fringed. Fore feet fin-like, with a scolloped naked membrane. Palms and soles bald, longitudinally grooved, more or less triangular. Fingers gradually diminish in size from the inner side. Hind feet elongate, narrow, all clawless. Toes nearly of equal length, the outer one on each side being rather the strongest (see Cat. Seals and Whales, p. 44, f. 15). Three middle toes clawed. The fur is generally provided with a more or less thick under-fur. Skull with a postorbital process. An alisphenoid canal. Mastoid process strong and salient, extending aloof from the auditory bulla. Cutting-teeth 6/4, upper often bifid; canines conical; grinders 5/5 or 6/5. The scapula is curved backward to the upper angle, but with its spine or crest near the posterior margin. Testicles enclosed in the small external scrotum. They walk on their fore and hind limbs; they rest with the hind part of the body bent down, and the legs directed forward, like the Morse. The females lie on their backs to receive the caresses of the male; and the young are born on shore and are gradually taught to swim.
Otariadæ, Brookes, Mus. Cat. 1836, pp. 18, 28; Gray, Ann. & Mag. N. H. 1869, iv. p. 268; Gill, Proc. Essex Inst. 1866, v. p. 7; Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. ii. p. 27.
Arctocephalina, Gray, Cat. S. & W. p. 44.
The Eared Seals (Otariadæ) form a distinct family from the Earless Seals (Phocidæ). They have more power of using their limbs like the more typical mammalia, walking on them with the body raised from the ground; they rest with their hind limbs bent forwards. These habits are well shown in Dr. Forster’s figures, engraved by Buffon; and they have been verified by the study of the living Eared Seal in the Zoological Gardens. Their scrotum and genital organs are exposed as in the Dog.
The Otariæ come to the surface during the process of mastication, and do not, like the Eared Seals, swallow under the water. They do not drink, while the common Seal occasionally sucks in water as a horse would. The pupils of the eyes dilate and contract to an enormous extent.
The Sea-bears (Otariadæ) inhabit the more temperate and colder parts of the southern hemisphere, and the temperate and more northern regions of the Pacific Ocean.