426 FAMILY PHOCID^E. 



"Neitsek" bears the name Phoca Mspida, between which and 

 Fabricius's Phoca fcetida there is consequently a troublesome 

 question of priority.* In Schreber's work. are first formally 

 introduced into a general systematic treatise, the Siberian Seal 

 and the Caspian Seal (based wholly respectively on previous 

 descriptions of the same by Steller and Gmeliut), and "Der 

 graue Seehuud," commonly referred to Halich cents grypux. 

 Schreber also described, under the head of PJioca, two species 

 of Dtary. His species are the following: 1. Der Seebar, Phocn 

 in'Niua (= Urn UN mar-in us); -. Dergiatte Seelowe, Phoca -leonlna 

 ( = primarily Alison's Sea Lion); :>. Der zottige Seelowe, Ph oca 

 jtibata ( = primarily Steller's Leo ntarinux, but including also the 

 Southern Sea-Lion) ; 4. Phoca rituUna- 5. Der graue Seehund 

 ( ~Kri<i>iathHN barbatux); 0. Der sibirische Seehund ( Phoca 

 xihirica); 1. Der caspische Seehund (= Phoca caxpica); 8. Der 

 Schwarzside (= Phoca groenlandica) ; 9. Der rauhe Seehuud 

 (named Phoca hispifla on the plate); 10. Der Klappmiize 

 (= Cystophora cristata); 11. Der grosse Seehund ( = Phoca 

 barbata + H. grypm)} 12. Der kleiue geb'hrte Seehuud, Phoca 

 pusilla. These twelve species, excepting the last, all represent 

 valid species, nine of which belong to the present family. 

 He mentions, however, Olafsen's Gramm-Selur as still another 

 "grosse Seehundsart," but does not formally notice it as a spe- 

 cies. His Der grosse Seehund, it should be further noticed, i.s 

 based on the TJtsuk of Cranz and theUt-Selur of Olafsen, com- 

 bining an account of the habits of the latter with a description 

 of the external characters of the other. 



Olavsen (or Olafsen, as more commonly written), in his account 

 of his travels in Iceland, published in 1772, \ repeatedly alludes 

 to the various species of Seals met with in Iceland. As alread\ 

 noticed, Olafsen is quoted by Schreber, and quite frequently by 

 later writers. While he describes quite fully their habits, dis- 

 tribution, and products, he has very little to say of their external 



* For a discussion of this point see postea under .Pliocafwlida. 



t Schreber's "Der caspische Seehund" is based on the account of the 

 Caspian Seal -iven by Gmclin in 1770, in the third volume (p. 24G) of his 

 Reise durch Russland zur Untersnchung der drey Naturreiche. 



1 1 cite here the German edition entitled "Des Bice-Lavmands Eggert 

 Olafsens und des Landphysici Biarne Povelscns Reise' durch Island, veran- 

 staltet von der Koiiiglichen Societat der Wissenschaften in Kopenhageu 

 und beschrieben von bemeldtem Eggert Olafsen. Au.s dem Dituischen iiber- 

 setzt. Mit 25 Kupfertafeln und einer neuen Chavte iiber Island versehen. 

 Kopeuhagen uud Leip/Jg bey Ileiuecke und Faber, 1774." Z\vei Theilen. ! 



