Part 56

Well, let us stop here, and say that there are many wonders still hidden in the sea, and that there will be always a chance that of every species of animals individuals will be discovered, still larger than the largest specimen ever measured. If of all Pinnipeds the sea-elephants were hitherto the largest known, this is no more the case: they are surpassed by sea-serpents. If of all known living and fossil animals the _Atlantosaurus_ and the _Balaenoptera_ were hitherto the largest known, this is no more the case: they are surpassed by the _Megophias_.

Of all Pinnipeds the family of the _Auriculata_ (Eared Seals) has the longest necks. In this particular they are surpassed by sea-serpents.

None of the hitherto known living Pinnipeds has such an enormous tail as the sea-serpent, but the fossil _Basilosaurus_, an animal more or less allied to the earless seals, has an enormous tail. Of the singular appearance of a family of which some members have immensely long tails, and others are almost wholly without, we have more instances in the animal kingdom. Of the Monkeys the family of the _Simiidae_ have no tails, whilst the other families have generally long tails. Amongst the tailed monkeys we find in one _genus_ species with very long tails, as the _Macacus cynamolgos_ (the Macaque Monkey), and others with very short tails, as the _Macacus maurus_ (Moor Macaque). This difference in the length of the tail is present _in all orders_ of the _Quadrupedia_.

_Form._--The shape of _Megophias megophias_ is exactly that of _Zalophus californianus_, with a longer neck, and with a tail as long as trunk, neck, and head together. The shape of the head too, in my opinion, more resembles that of _Zalophus californianus_ than that of any other Pinniped. The shape of the neck, the trunk, and the flappers is exactly that of the same portions of the _Auriculata_, especially in _Zalophus californianus_, viz: all are slender: “The body is rather slender, and the head is narrow, long, and pointed, and with this slenderness of form is coordinated a corresponding litheness of movement”. (ALLEN, _History of North American Pinnipeds_, p. 276). It may be that the hindflappers have a form hitherto unknown in Pinnipeds, as we have of the hindflappers neither a description nor any tolerable illustration. The forehead being flat, very much resembles that of _Zalophus californianus._ The snout or muzzle too, is of all Pinnipeds most resembling that of _Zalophus californianus_.

All Pinnipeds have whiskers. In some species they are large, as in _Callorhinus ursinus_, the sea-bear, in other comparatively small, as in _Monachus tropicalis_ GRAY, and in the males of the genus _Macrorhinus_, and even very small in the _Trichecidae_.

The eyes of _Megophias megophias_ seem to be comparatively larger than those in other species of Pinnipeds, though _Otaria jubata_ and _Phoca foetida_ are known to have comparatively large eyes. I have nowhere found any remark about the colour of the eye, with regard to its _tapetum lucidum_, and till now I have had no opportunity to convince myself of the _tapetum_ of _Zalophus_ or _Eumetopias_ being red. But is it not remarkable that Mr. H. W. ELLIOT too asserts of _Eumetopias Stelleri_: “it has a really leonine appearance and bearing, greatly enhanced by the rich, golden-rufous of its coat, ferocity of expression, and _bull-dog-like muzzle and cast of eye_”? (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 258).

_Skin._--As in all Pinnipeds the skin is hairy, most probably the hairs are quite stiff and not woolly like fur.

_Colours, Individual Variations._--We have only to read different descriptions of seals, sea-lions, and sea-bears, to observe that every species varies much as to its colour, but that in some there is a wide range of individual variations. Only in a few species the under part is darker than the upper part, but generally the upper part is much darker than the under part, and with regard to their colours the animals are so to say longitudinally divided into two sections, dark above, lighter beneath. Their being variegated with spots or streaks occurs in many species, less in sea-lions and sea-bears, more in seals, but is the most striking in the Hooded Seal (_Cystophora cristata_, (ERXL) NILSS.). If we closely examine this species, the question arises: is not the lighter colour the ground-colour, and are not the dark spots and streaks and circles secondary appearances? And I think that this question must be answered in the affirmative. Remarkable is also the black colour of the region of the mouth and round the eye in some individuals of sea-serpents. This singularity occurs also in some specimens of other Pinnipeds. Of _Eumetopias Stelleri_ “the end of the nose.... is naked and.... dull blue black” (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 234, 235); of _Zalophus californianus_ we read: “A third is.... blackish around the eyes and nostrils” (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 277). In a foetal specimen: “nose and face, to and around the eyes” are “black” (Ibid., p. 278); and NILSSON’S black variety of the Ringed Seal (_Phoca foetida_ FABR.) has “nose and eye-rings uniform black” (Ibid. p. 602).

_Sexual differences, Mane._--The males of some species of Pinnipeds have a mane, i. e. the hairs of the neck are longer than on the rest of the body. Of _Eumetopias Stelleri_ “the hair is longest on the anterior upper portion of the body, where on the neck and shoulders it attains a length of 40 mm.; it decreases in length posteriorly, and toward the tail has a length of only 15 mm.” (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 234). Of the hairs of _Callorhinus ursinus_ we read: “It is longest on the top of the head, especially in the males, which have a well marked crest. The hair is much longer on the anterior half of the body than on the posterior half, it being longest on the hinder part of the neck, where in the males it is very coarse. On the crown the hair has a length of 42 mm.; on the hinder part of the neck it reaches a length of 50 to 60 mm. From this point posteriorly it gradually shortens, and near the tail has a length of only 20 mm. The males have much longer hair than the females, in which it is much longer than in _Eumetopias Stelleri_.” (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 315).

The difference in size of males and females is also a peculiar character of some species of Pinnipeds, as may be seen from the following tables:

+----------------------------+---------+---------+-------+ | | VERY OLD| VERY OLD| | | NAME | MALE. | FEMALE.| RATIO.| +----------------------------+---------+---------+-------+ |_Zalophus californianus_ | 8¹⁄₃ ft.| 6³⁄₄ ft.|100:81 | |_Eumetopias Stelleri_ |13 „ | 9 „ |100:69 | |_Macrorhinus leoninus_ |25 „ |15 „ |100:60 | |_Macrorhinus angustirostris_|22 „ |13 „ |100:59 | |_Callorhinus ursinus_ | 8 „ | 4 „ |100:50.| +----------------------------+---------+---------+-------+

In _Callorhinus ursinus_ the female, as we observe, attains only half the length of a male. The weight of a fullgrown female being less than one sixth that of a full-grown male.

The losing of hair when the animals grow very old, is very striking in both _Odobaenus rosmarus_ and in _Odobaenus obesus_.

_Food._ The food of all Pinnipeds consists of mussels, and other mollusks, especially, however, of all kinds of fish, but that they are not averse to cetacean flesh, may be proved by the following fact: Mr. BROWN says of _Odobaenus rosmarus_: “I have only to add that whenever it was killed near where a whale’s carcass had been let adrift, its stomach was unvariably found _crammed_ full of the _krang_ or flesh of that _Cetacean_” (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 135). _Eumetopias Stelleri_ occasionally eats birds (Ibid. p. 274).

_Breathing._--Even in seals and sea-lions it may be occasionally observed that they “blow like a whale”; I myself saw it more than once, when the animals lay with their nose at water level, or when they appeared on the surface after having remained under water for a long time. It is sufficiently known that the average time these animals remain under water is eight or ten minutes, but they have also been observed lying quite still on the bottom for more than three hours. I read in Mr. ALLEN’S work (p. 180) that also walruses “blow not unlike a whale”.

_Excretion._--The emitting a very strong odour is also known in Pinnipeds. KRASCHENINIKOW says of _Callorhinus ursinus_: “Such as are old, or have no mistresses, live apart; and the first that our people found upon _Behring_’s Island were such old ones, and all males, extremely fat and stinking” (ALLEN, p. 342). Of _Eumetopias Stelleri_ CHORIS reports: “L’odeur qu’ils répandent est insupportable. Ces animaux étaient alors dans le temps du rut” (ALLEN, p. 254), and of _Phoca foetida_ KUMLIEN asserts:

“It is only the adult males (called _Tigak_, = Stinker, by the Eskimo) that emit the horribly disagreeable, all-permeating, ever-penetrating odor that has suggested its specific name. It is so strong that one can smell an Eskimo some distance when he has been partaking of the flesh; they say it is more nourishing than the flesh of the females, and that a person can endure great fatigue after eating it. If one of these Tigak comes in contact with any other Seal meat it will become so tainted as to be repulsive to an educated palate; even the atluk of the Tigak can be detected by its odor.” (ALLEN, p. 624).

Respecting the foetid odour emitted by this species, Dr. RINK observes as follows:

“It derives its scientific name from the nauseous smell peculiar to certain older individuals, especially those captured in the interior ice-fjords, which are also on an average perhaps twice as large as those generally occurring off the outer shores. When brought into a hut, and cut up on its floor, such a seal emits a smell resembling something between that of assafoetida and onions, almost insupportable to strangers. This peculiarity is not noticeable in the younger specimens or those of a smaller size, such as are generally caught, and at all events the smell does not detract from the utility of the flesh over the whole of Greenland”.--_Danish Greenland, its People and its Products_ p. 123 (ALLEN, _Hist. N. Am. Pinn._ p. 624).

_Feeling._ Also in seals and sea-lions in our Zoological Gardens we may often observe that they dislike wind, and hold only the top of their nose above water, that they shut their eyes, and like to bask in the sun.

_Smell, Hearing, Sight._ It is also known of Pinnipeds that their smell is very good and their hearing very sharp, but that their sight is quite limited. This must not surprise us. Their eyes are adapted to see under water, but such eyes don’t see so well in the air. Yet I have observed that seals distinguish their keeper from other persons at a distance of twenty or thirty yards.

_Relative mobility of organs._ Every one who has ever witnessed the graceful movements of seals and sea-lions, especially those of _Zalophus californianus_ will admit that these animals, like sea-serpents, are “as limber and active as an eel”. There is not one movement made by the sea-serpent, which cannot be made in perfectly the same way by sea-lions, especially by _Zalophus californianus_, save the movement of the tail.

_Motion._ The same may be observed in comparing the motions of sea-serpents with those of _Zalophus californianus_. They too may appear on the surface, exposing head, neck, and so much of the forepart of the trunk, as to show their flappers; nay, they may like all kinds of whales, jump clear out of the water. When swimming slowly, they may occasionally swim with vertical undulations, they usually, however, propel themselves by means of their flappers, holding their body in a straight line; and sometimes horizontal undulations are distinctly visible; in darting on some prey they swim not only with their flappers, but undulate their body both horizontally and vertically at intervals. Of course generally only one or two, seldom three undulations are to be counted.

I don’t know if sea-lions have ever been seen swimming with _fixed bunches_, or folds. When at rest their skin may enormously wrinkle, like that of walruses, and as is shown in our fig. 78.

In swimming the sea-lion usually holds its head above water, and may occasionally raise its long neck as high as possible to take a view of a boat or another object.

Owing to the form and size of its flappers the speed of the sea-lion is really astonishing; it is much less in seals.

Though in a less degree, than in sea-serpents, the water curls up before its chest, or better throat, in swimming; foam is occasionally observed, and waves are seen in the form of a V, a wake is of course formed, and a rushing may be heard at times.

That seals swim so low under the surface of the water, that the course of the animal can be traced only by the rippling surface, I have myself witnessed, but I do not know if sea-lions, especially, if _Zalophus californianus_, are in the habit of swimming in this way.

The manner of disappearing of the sea-serpent is exactly the same as that of other Pinnipeds. They may turn down with a severe splash, or sink gradually below the surface, or even, by a sudden upward motion of their flappers, “sink down like a rock”.

As to the _voice_ of other Pinnipeds it is different in the different species, but as we have not a single statement of the voice of sea-serpents, comparison is out of the question here.

_Generation._--The rutting time and the time of whelping differ in different species, but on an average the month of March and April may be fixed upon as the pairing time, and July and August as those in which the females bring forth the young ones.

In some species the males are much larger than the females, and the new born young ones, like the young sea-serpents are in exact proportion to the old males, as may be seen from the following table.

+----------------------------+----------+----------+---------+ | NAME. | VERY OLD | NEW BORN | RATIO. | | | MALE. |YOUNG ONE.| | +----------------------------+----------+----------+---------+ |_Zalophus californianus_ | 8¹⁄₃ ft.| 2¹⁄₃ ft.| ¹⁄₃-¹⁄₄ | |_Macrorhinus angustirostris_| 22 „| 4 „ | ¹⁄₅-¹⁄₆ | |_Eumetopias Stelleri_ | 13 „| 2 „ | ¹⁄₆-¹⁄₇ | |_Callorhinus ursinus_ | 8 „| 10 in. | ¹⁄₈-¹⁄₉ | +----------------------------+----------+----------+---------+

_Taking notice of objects._ It is well enough known that seals will sometimes keep near a vessel, turning their head towards it; or will play round the vessel, disappearing on one side, reappearing on the other, as if playing hide and seek; from this it may be concluded they are in no dread of the vessel, but are curious, and suspicious of the living objects on it. I don’t know whether sea-lions and sea-bears behave in the same way, but I know that walruses do.

_Curiosity and Suspicion_ are known characters in all kinds of Pinnipeds, and it is noteworthy that they are most striking in walruses and seals.

_Harmlessness and Timidity._ There is hardly any Pinniped which is not harmless and timid.

_Fearlessness_ is a common trait in walruses and sea-elephants. One may come very near them. On the other hand scores of them, especially of the former, will sometimes follow a boat, roaring and crying and uttering the most horrible sounds, which may be expressions of their curiosity, suspicion, and fury, but it may also be a way they have of driving away their enemy.

_Fear_ on the contrary, though less noticeable in walruses, is a prominent trait in seals, sea-lions and sea-bears. When men approach them they fly away as fast as possible, and in their hurry to reach the water crawl over each other, and roar, and cry, and lament in a most horrible way.

_Fright._ It is superfluous to touch upon this subject in Pinnipeds; every one knows the effects and consequences of a shot at these timid animals.

_Fury._ As in sea-serpents, most Pinnipeds, but especially sea-lions, sea-bears and walruses only get furious when wounded, or when neared while they are protecting their offspring.

_Toughness._ I know of no observations about this character in seals, sea-lions, sea-bears, and sea-elephants, but I believe that they are not tough; one heavy blow with a thick cudgel on the nose killing them instantly, but the toughness of walruses is known well enough; these animals are not an easy prey; they may be struck with axes on their cranium and hit by several rifle balls in their brain, and yet not die; they die a hard death.

_Playsomeness_ is a well known character of all Pinnipeds; it may of course be less observable in the bulky and unwieldy walruses.

_Remark._ It is time that the volume comes to an end, and therefore I have made my comparison as short as possible. I have only to advise those who wish to know more about the agreement of sea-serpents with Pinnipeds, to read ALLEN’S often quoted work “_History of North-American Pinnipeds_”, and his “_On Eared Seals_”, (_Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard College._ Cambr. Mass. Vol. II, n^o. 1.), and BREHM’S _Thierleben_.

There is one great difference between all the known Pinnipeds on one side, and sea-serpents on the other. The former are gregarious or social animals, only living in colonies or great herds, whilst _Megophias megophias_ is a solitary being. This remarkable difference can be only accounted for by the two facts 1. That this species is a cosmopolitan, and 2. That these animals become extinct and that there exist at present only a very few individuals.

I don’t know if I have convinced my readers of the existence of sea-serpents, and if so, if they are convinced that these animals are closely related to Pinnipeds. But I am obliged to proceed on my way, and consider the rank which sea-serpents occupy in the system of Nature.

2. ITS RANK IN THE SYSTEM OF NATURE.

Zoologists admit as a fact that Pinnipeds originate in true land-animals. We are convinced that these land-animals were long-tailed Viverrine animals. The tail must have been longer than one half of the total length. This is no impossibility, as we have still living forms, the tail of which is as long as half of the total length of the animal, e. g. _Herpestes Widdringtonii_. The dentition must have been the typical carnivorous one: i 3/3, c 1/1, m 7/7; or there were more molars, perhaps 8/8, as a genus of wild dogs, _Otocyon_, has 8 molars on each side of each jaw; its dentition is i 3/3, c 1/1, m 8/8. (The _Cynoidea_, or dog-like animals are also considered as having their origin in Viverrine animals.)

Some of the descendants of these long-tailed Viverrine animals had gradually got such characters, that zoologists would term them long-tailed Musteline animals. They may be called _long-tailed ancestors of weasels and stoats_, for our common weasel (_Putorius vulgaris_ L.) and our common stoat (_Putorius ermineus_ L.) are still living descendants of them, though the tail has become very short, most probably because they have accustomed themselves to live in holes. The long tail has shown itself to be an inconvenient organ for this new manner of living, and therefore has gradually become shorter.

Some of these _long-tailed ancestors of weasels and stoats_ took to another manner of living, compelled thereto by certain circumstances. They viz. took to eating fresh water fish. Gradually this grew to be a habit; they learned to swim, which happened by vertical undulations, they paddled with the feet, and used the tail as a rudder. This group may be called _long-tailed ancestors of polecats and minks_, for our common polecat (_Putorius putorius_ L.) and the Russian minks (_Putorius lutreolus_ L.) are still living descendants of them, though the tail has become short, because they have accustomed themselves to live in holes. The long tail has shown itself to be an inconvenient organ for such a manner of living, and therefore has gradually become shorter, not so short, however, as in weasels and stoats. Zoologists place the polecats and minks in the same genus as the weasels and stoats. The minks live especially in the neighbourhood of rivers and brooks, often go into the water and swim exceedingly well. Besides on poultry and rats, they feed on frogs, crabs, cray-fish, and all kinds of fish.

Some of these _long-tailed ancestors of polecats and minks_ got so used to the water, that it finally became their proper element, and they came ashore only to rest from swimming, to bask themselves in the sun, or to find another brook or river. They began to feed on fish, crayfish, and frogs, and only when driven by hunger they fed on rats and poultry. It is evident that those individuals which by nature were best adapted to their new element, must gradually have survived their less privileged brethren, and so we may admit that a form gradually arose, which swam very easily with vertical undulations, using the tail as a rudder and as propelling organ. Also of great advantage must have been more sharply pointed teeth, and more jagged molars, smaller ears, a more woolly skin, and toes on the hind limbs, which were capable of expansion and more or less provided with a web. This group may be called _long-tailed ancestors of otters_, for all the known species of otters (_Lutra_) are still living descendants of them, though the tail has become shorter, shorter than one third of the total length of the animal, because they too like to live in holes. The face greatly resembles that of the polecat and mink, but the upper lips are thicker and the whiskers are longer and stronger. The change was not only great enough for zoologists to create for this group a new genus: _Lutra_ STORR, but even to establish for it a new subfamily _Lutrina_ GRAY.

These _long-tailed ancestors of otters_ were again survived by their congeners which were still better adapted to the new medium, so that from them another group gradually arose, which had broader webs on the hind feet. This group may be called _long-tailed ancestors of fin-tailed otters_, for the fin-tailed otter (_Lutra Sanbachii_ GRAY) is a still living descendant of them. The tail of this animal is shorter than that of its ancestors, longer, however, than that of the otters (_Lutra_), surpassing one third of the animal’s total length. Moreover it is somewhat flattened and shows on its hindmost half lateral fin-like dilatations. The change was great enough for zoologists to place the animal into a new genus: _Pteronura_ GRAY. Its ancestors, however, were not provided with these lateral fin-like dilatations on the tail.