. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. TLbc Scale or jfin*3footeb Hnimale, FIFTH ORDER: N THE Seals we see inhab- itants of the sea, which, unlike the Whales,- appear to be mammals even to the uninitiated. Though essentially aquatic, they possess four legs, which are distinctly outlined and not joined for their entire length to the body, as in the Whale, although their motion is of a trail- ing character, and the feet show the existence of fin- gers and toes with some distinctness. With most of the Seals the toes are perfectly mobile and con- nected only by
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. TLbc Scale or jfin*3footeb Hnimale, FIFTH ORDER: N THE Seals we see inhab- itants of the sea, which, unlike the Whales,- appear to be mammals even to the uninitiated. Though essentially aquatic, they possess four legs, which are distinctly outlined and not joined for their entire length to the body, as in the Whale, although their motion is of a trail- ing character, and the feet show the existence of fin- gers and toes with some distinctness. With most of the Seals the toes are perfectly mobile and con- nected only by webs, but with a few they are entirely enveloped in the skin of the body and immobile, but may, nevertheless, be usually recognized by the little nails, which are developed externally. There is nothing that should strike us as absolutely strange about these animals except the feet. The structure of the toes is different from that of any animals we have so : the middle toe is here not the longest and strongest, but all the toes are of practically identical conformation. Though the bodily structure of the Seals differs notably from that of all other mammals which we have so far dis- cussed, in other respects comparison may still be drawn between it and that of the beasts of prey— especially the Otter and the Bear—with a fair degree of ease, and some naturalists, who class the Seals among the beasts of prey, are therefore justified in doing so. The head is comparatively small, toler- ably distinct from the neck and resembles that of the Otter or the Bear. The nose is provided with oblique, slit-like nostrils, which may be closed; the eye is large and furnished with a lid, the outer ear may be closed, and is developed to an appreciable extent oiily in one species, the other Seals lacking an ear-conch. The short, thick neck merges imme- diately into the body, the shape of which is more or less cylindrical and gradually tapers to the but- tocksj while the tail has
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
