Pagophilus groenlandicus
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English: Saddleback
German: Sattelrobe
French: Phoque du groenland
Spanish: Foca de groendland
Distribution areas
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The saddleback can be found in the North
Atlantic from Newfoundland to Chelyuskin
Cape and Nowaja Semlja.
Description of the fur
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The skins are from 160 to 220 cm long. The surface structure
The coat of young animal is white in of the skin, 100x
colour, it is marketed under the name
"White coat". The mature animals have a grey-yellow to silver-grey coat. The
guard hairs are straight and lustrous in appearance. The undercoat layer is
lighter in colour. The thickness of the coat is from 10 to 15 mm.
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Pagophilus groenlandicus
------------------------
English: Saddleback
German: Sattelrobe
French: Phoque du groenland
Spanish: Foca de groendland
Structure of the hair
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The microscopic structure of the skin
surface is furrowed. The upper parts of the
follicles are wide with straight edges. The
follicles contains clusters of about three
fibres.
The fine fur fibres have a diameter of The cuticular structure
12 to 18 µm. The cross-sectional outline is of the fine fibres, 2000x
usually circular. The cuticular scales are
cornet-like with a finely grooved scale surface and straight scale margins.
The fine fur fibres are not medullated.
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Pagophilus groenlandicus
------------------------
English: Saddleback
German: Sattelrobe
French: Phoque du groenland
Spanish: Foca de groendland
The intermediate fibres are, in the main
part of the shaft, elliptical in
cross-sectional outline. These fibres have
a diameter of from 50 to 70 µm. The
cuticular scales are rounded, tile-like in
shape; the scale surface and scale margins
are smooth. The hair shafts are non
medullated.
The cuticular structure
The guard hairs have a diameter of 70 to of the fine fibres, 1000x
125 µm and their cross-section is
elliptical or flat-shaped in outline. Also these fibres are not medullated.
Their cuticular scales are even, tile-like with a smooth scale surface and
straight scale margins.
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Pagophilus groenlandicus
------------------------
English: Saddleback
German: Sattelrobe
French: Phoque du groenland
Spanish: Foca de groendland
Transverse section
of a guard hair, 200x
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Pagophilus groenlandicus
------------------------
English: Saddleback
German: Sattelrobe
French: Phoque du groenland
Spanish: Foca de groendland
A group of hairs of the fine
and guard type, 400x
Numerical code for saddleback skin structure
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Surface of the skin: 3-2-3
Fine fur fibres: 1-5-2-1-4-0-0-0-0-12.18-4.8
Intermediate fibres: 2-3-1-1-4-0-0-0-0-50.71-6.13
Guard hairs: 2.3-2-1-1-4-0-0-0-0-70.125-10.15
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