MORSE, WALRUS, or SEA-HORSE (trichectis), a genus of amphibious mammalia of the family phoqdtc, agreeing with the rest of that family—the seals—in the general form of the body and limbs, but widely differing from them all in the head, which is remark able for the enormous development of the canine teeth of the upper jaw, and the tumid appearance of the muzzle caused by the magnitude of their sockets, and by the thick ness of the upper lip. These great canine teeth form two tusks directed downwards, and the lower jaw becomes narrow in front, so as to pass between them. There are no canine teeth in the lower jaw. The incisive teeth are small, six in the upper jaw, and four in the lower, mostly disappearing from adult animals. The molars—at first, five on each side in each jaw, but fewer in the athilt—are simple and not large; they have the crowns obliquely worn. The nostrils, as if displaced by the sockets of the tusks, open almost upwards, at some distance from the muzzle. The eyes are small, and the ears have no auricle, or, in popular language, there is no ear.—There is only one known species (T. roeviarus), sometimes called the ARCTIC WALRUS, an inhabitant of the Arctic seas and of the colder parts of the north temperate zone. It sometimes attains a size greater than that of the largest ox. and the tusks are- sometimes 2 ft.. or even 30 in. long; but the ordinary length of the tusks is only about one foot. The morse is a gregarious animal, and is often seen in great herds, which sometimes leave the water to rest for a while either on the ice or on the land, where, however, their movements are very awkward and clumsy, and the hunter assails them with much greater prospect of success than in the water. Hundreds have thus been killed at one time. although the adventure is not without danger. as they must be assailed with spears, their hide being, thick enoug.1, to resist even a rifle bullet. The morse uses its tusks for protecting itself or young from attack, for combating with its enemy the polar-bear, for aiding it in clhnbing upon ice; but principally, it is supposed, for tearing sea-weed from submarine rocks; that being, there is every reason to think, the principal food of the animal, al though it is supposed also to prey on mollusks, crustaceans, and other marine animals.
The female morse shows great affection for her young, and will defend it to the last ex tremity; the young also remains beside the mother even after she is killed. When one of these animals is attacked, the rest of the herd—at least if in the water—hasten to its assistance. The morse is very capable of being tamed.—It is much sought after by the inhabitants of the most northern parts of the world for its skin, thongs of which seem to have been generally used in former times for ropes and cables—esteemed so valuable, that the Finlanders paid tribute in this article; whilst its oil—not very abundant—is em ployed like seal oil: and the tusks are very much valued as ivory, being superior in com pactness to those of the elephant. The flesh is coarse, but is eaten by the Esquimaux. The young morse has not large tusks like the adult.
The morse has occasionally been seep on thc British,, coasts, probably transported on icebergs from tharprth `*aiit - Diciltrzed by Ittlicrosoii The name morse is from the Russian 77Wass or Lapp morslc. '1 _.e name walrus is Norwegian (hcal-ros, whale-horse). Another Norwegian name is rosiatir, supposed to be from the Teutonic ?vs. horse, and mar, the sea.
ItIORSHANSK, a t. in the government of Tambov in Russia, 56 rat. n. of Tambov, is situated on a feeder of the Oka. Pop. '70, 19,800. Morshansk is the port for ship ment of corn, the shipments annually amounting in value to 5,000,000 rubles. There is also a large market for the cattle and sheep of the s.e. provinces, the average annual supply being 20,000 cattle and 100,000 sheep; also for incited grease, of which 1,500,000 rubles' worth is sent yearly to St. Petersburg and Moscow. The trade of the town itself is of little importance, the chief establishments being soap boilerics, flour mills, and sail-cloth manufactories.