Volume 23, Plate XIII / Mammalia (Mammals)

Monk Seal

Phoca Monachus

Frequenting the southern shores of Europe, the White-bellied Seal grows between ten and twelve feet long and was historically prized by the Romans for its skin. This intelligent, easily tamed marine mammal possesses a brown or blackish back, vertical nostrils that can remain closed for long intervals, and a large white or light-grey patch covering its belly and flanks.