Description
Ross seals reach a length of about 1.68–2.09 m (5.5–6.9 ft) and weight of 129–216 kg (280–480 lb); females are slightly larger at 1.96–2.5 m (6.4–8.2 ft). Pups are about 1 m and 16 kg at birth. The coat is colored dark-brown in the dorsal area and silvery-white beneath. At the onset of the Antarctic winter, the coat fades gradually to become light brown. At close range, the Ross seal can be easily identified by its large eyes, which are up to 7 cm in diameter.
The Ross seal is able to produce a variety of complex twittering and siren-like sounds that are performed on ice and underwater, where they carry for long distances. The underwater siren sound can be composed of two harmonically unrelated superimposed tones that are pulsed with the same rhythm. Uniquely, the vocalizations, whether on ice or in water, are made with a closed mouth - emitting no air. The purpose of these sounds is unknown, though their distinctive nature and long range are likely to facilitate either encounters or avoidance of individuals.
Read more about this topic: Ross Seal
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“Whose are the truly labored sentences? From the weak and flimsy periods of the politician and literary man, we are glad to turn even to the description of work, the simple record of the month’s labor in the farmer’s almanac, to restore our tone and spirits.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“An intentional object is given by a word or a phrase which gives a description under which.”
—Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (b. 1919)