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Show 416 MR. R. BROWN ON THE SEALS OF GREENLAND. [June 2o, material of clothing in North Greenland. All of the ol iroXXoi dress in Neitsik breeches and jumpers; aud we sojourners from a far country soon encased ourselves in the somewhat hispid but most comfortable Neitsik unmentionables. It is only high dignitaries, such as " Herr Inspektor," that can afford such extravagance as a Kassigiak (Callocephalus vitulinus) wardrobe! the Arctic belles monopolize them all. (3) PAGOPHILUS GROENLANDICUS (Miill.), Gray. Phoca grcenlandica, Miill. P. oceanica, Lepech. Callocephalus oceanicus, Less. Phoca semilunaris, Bodd. P. dorsata, Pallas. P. miilleri, Less. Callocephalus groenlandicus, F. Cuv. Young. Phoca lagura, Cuv. Callocephalus lagurus, F. Cuv. Phoca albicauda, Desm. P. desmctrestii, Less. P. pilayi, Less. Popular names.-Saddleback (English northern sealers); White-coats and Bed Lampiers (Newfoundland sealers) (young) ; Harp Seal (English authors) ; Svartsida (Norse) ; Deelja, Deevok, Aine (Lapp); Svartsiden (Danish, hence Egede, Green, p. 62); Blaudru-selur (Icelandic) ; Karoleek and Neithe (Eskimo at Pond's Bay, Davis's Strait) ; Atah (Greenlanders). The same people, according to the age of the Seal, call it Atarak, Aylektok or Uklektok, and Atarsoak (hence Crantz, Gronl. i. p. 163), meaning respectively the little Seal (white), the blueside, and the large Seal, while Atak means merely the Seal (blackside) without reference to age. A variety having the belly dark also is called by the Danes in Greenland Svart-svart-siden. The Uklektok of the natives is also called by the whites Blaa-siden (the blueside). I shall afterwards refer to some of its other names. There seems little doubt that the Phoca oceanica, Lepech.*, is identical with this species; indeed Lepechin's description is one of the best we have of the Pagophilus groenlandicus. Lepechin seems to have confounded with this the young of another species, and to have erred by trusting wholly to the deceptive characters of colouring, instead of relying for its distinctive character on the more stable distinction of teeth and skull. What he says about the changes of coat in P. oceanica exactly agrees with what I have said regarding the present species. Remarks.-It seems to be almost unknown to most writers on this group that the male and female of the Saddleback are of dif- * In Sir Joseph Banks's copy of Fabricius's 'Fauna,' in the British Museum, " Phoca oceanica "is written (apparently in Sir Joseph's handwriting) opposite the description of Phoca yrwnlandica. |
