MARINE LIFE
Vertebrates
Seals
Most of the skeleton of a Phoca hispida, more commonly known as the arctic ringed seal, was collected from Champlain Sea clay near Hull, Quebec along with Hiatella arctica tests.
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This species of seal is a very good indicator of conditions that existed in the Champlain Sea, as it is still in existence today. It keeps breathing holes open in sea-ice during the winter, and pups on land-fast ice during the spring as an adaptation to the cold climates in which they live. It can therefore be presumed that these conditions also existed in the western part of the Champlain Sea during its early stages. |
Other species of seals that lived in the Champlain Sea include:
The harp seal (Phoca groenlandica)
The bearded seal (Eringnathus barbatus)
The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)
These species all live under the same conditions as the Phoca hipsida.
