TECHNICAL HISTORY SPECIES. 439 



6. Phoqtiff tigre, Krascheninikow ; 7. Le Plioque grumm-selur des 

 Islandaises, "Ann. d'Olaf Tryggesen et le Speculum Begale". 

 Eleven species are admitted as valid, among which appear two 

 under new names ; eight may be considered as representatives 

 of valid species, the other four being synonyms, but not in all 



counts of even the more common species being very meagre and erroneous, 

 while many of the less known are introduced with such inadequate descrip- 

 tions that from these alone they are mostly indeterminable. Although vir- 

 tually anonymous, as well as worthless, they have been dragged to light by 

 the above-named and other writers, but they always appear in the waste 

 lumber of unidentifiable species. To show the nature of this rubbish, and 

 for the purpose of elucidating the references to it which follow, I quote ver- 

 batim and entire the portions in question, and adding thereto the real origin 

 and basis of the names here appearing. 



Phoca "mutica; Long-necked Seal. Body slender, without claws on the fore- 

 feet." [The ' ' Long-necked Seal" of Parsons ( =Phoca mutica, Kerr), 

 which, as already stated, is some undeterminable species of Otary.] 

 Phoca " testudo; Tortoise Seal. Head resembling a tortoise ; neck slender. 

 It is said to inhabit many European shores ; the species is, how- 

 ever, but little known." [The Tortoise-headed Seal of Parsons and 

 the Phoca testudo of Kerr. J 



Phoca "1-aniger ; Leporine Seal. It has four fore-teeth in each jaw; the 

 upper lip is thick, with long, thick whiskers ; the fur is soft and 

 uneven ; the feet have nails, and its length is about six feet and 

 one-half. It inhabits the White Sea, Iceland, and the Frozen 

 Ocean." [The Phoca leporina of Lepechin (= Phoca laniyer, Kerr).] 

 Phoca "punctata; Speckled Seal. Body, head, and limbs speckled. It in- 

 habits the seas of Kamtschatka, and the Kurile islands." [The 

 Phoca punctata of Kerr. ] 



Phoca "maculata; Spotted Seal. Body spotted with brown. It inhabits 

 the Kurile seas, and is very scarce." [The Phoca maculata of Kerr.] 

 Phoca "niyra; Black Seal. Hind legs peculiarly formed. It is found on 

 the coasts of the Kurile seas ; but the structure of its legs has not 

 been accurately ascertained." [The Phoca nigra of Kerr.] 

 Kerr's references show that the last three species were unquestionably de- 

 rived from the follow ing passage in Pennant : "Other obscure species in those 

 [Kurile] seas, which are mentioned in Steller's MSS., are, I. A middle-sized 

 Seal, elegantly speckled in all parts ; II. One with brown spots, scarcer than 

 the rest ; III. Ablack species with a peculiar conformation of the hind legs."- 

 PENNANT'S History of Quadrupeds, third edition (1793), vol. ii, p. 276. 



None of these species make their first appearance here, they all occTtrriug in 

 Kerr. As Kerr (see antea, pp. 433, 434) cites Pennant in each case, and also 

 Parsons and Lepechin respectively in the three instances where Pennant's 

 species are based on these authors, the above-given names are thus strictly 

 identifiable. Whether these names and diagnoses were here copied from 

 Kerr or from Turton it is impossible to say, as Turton also gives them, but 

 entirely without reference to previous authors. It thus happens that neither 

 Turton nor the " Cyclopaedia " gives us any direct clue to their origin. 



