Abstract
Caspian and Baikal seals, as well as the ringed seal of Arctic waters, are classified, and fossils previously described and classified are discussed, with lectotypes given to prevent further confusion. In view of the classification, the fossil record, and the fact that the living varieties give birth to pups with white coats (an adaptation to birth on ice), a common ancestry is implied. It is suggested that the Caspian seal is probably of Tertiary origin, implying that ice must have formed at that time at least in some sections of northern seas, and that present varieties are relics of Tertiary connections with the northern seas rather than emigrants who migrated to present locales as a result of Pleistocene events.
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