REPORT ON THE SEALS. 83 



Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Falkland Islands to the east, and perhaps Juan Fernandez 

 and Masafuera to the west. Its geographical distribution almost exactly corresponds with 

 that of Otaria jubata. 



The distinguishing characters of the skull are as follows; the facial part narrow, 

 slender, and somewhat elongated, the nasal bones are almost in the same plane as the top 

 of the cranium, i.e., horizontal ; sagittal crest moderate ; tympanic with two or three 

 strong ridge or peg-like processes projecting vertically downwards ; mastoid massive, 

 separated from the tympanic by a broad and deep groove. The 6th post-canine not 

 much smaller than the others. Upper and lower post-canines with a cingulum, a large 

 cusp, and a small anterior cusp, the last two also with a small posterior cusp; mandible 

 arching slightly outwards from symphysis to angles. 1 



Arctocephalus gazella (Peters). Kerguelen Island Fur-Seal. 



Otaria (Arctophoca) gazella, Peters, Monatsber. d. k. preuss. Akad. d. Wiss. Berlin, June 10, 



1875, p. 393, 1876. 



This animal has apparently a more slender configuration of skeleton than the South 

 American species. Nasal boues in the same plane as the top of cranium ; sagittal crest 

 absent ; tympanic almost flattened, and with feeble processes projecting from its posterior 

 part ; mastoid moderate and with broad shallow groove separating it from the tympanic. 

 The 6th post-canine much smaller than the others. Upper and lower post-canines with a 

 feeble cingulum, with one large cusp and no secondary cusps. Mandible as in preceding 

 species. 2 



1 A. Nehring has recently described (Archiv f. Naturgesch., 1887, Heft i. Taf. ii.) three crania from the River 

 Trainandahy, Rio Grande do Sul, south coast of Brazil, which he considers to be a new species and names it 

 Arctocephalus gracilis. His specimens were one male and two females, but they were all young. In the absence of 

 adult crania it would be hasty to pronounce them to belong to a new species. Burmeister has indeed described crania 

 of Arctocephalus australis from the north of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, which is not far to the south of the Rio 

 Grande, so that it is not unlikely that the skulls described by Nehring are the young of Arctocephalus australis. 

 For the opportunity of reading Nehring's paper I am indebted to Mr. Oldfleld Thomas. In a more recent communica- 

 tion (Sitzungsb. d. Geselhch. naturf. Freunde zu Berlin, Dec. 20, 1887, p. 207), Nehring states that Professor Dr. Goldi 

 has intimated to him that a Fur-Seal has been taken at Ponta Negra, near Rio de Janeiro, which corresponded with the 

 Seal named by Burmeister Arctophoca falclandica, i.e., Arctocephalus australis. 



2 In addition to the two carcases of young Fur-Seals and the two skeletons of the same procured at Fuller's 

 Harbour, Kerguelen Island, described on p. 36 as Arctocepltalus gazella, the Challenger collection contained the skeleton 

 of a young specimen killed at Betsy Cove, Kerguelen. This skeleton was overlooked until after Part I. of this Report 

 had been printed off. All the epiphyses of the long bones of the limbs and those of the vertebrae were unankylosed 

 and the cranial sutures were unossified, but the occipito-sphenoid synchondrosis was closed. The skull was immature, 

 so that the specific characters were not strongly marked, but there can be no doubt, I think, that the animal was a 

 young specimen of Arctocephalus gazella. 



