t 85 ] 



jm 



IRISH MAMMAI.S. 



BY G. E;. H. BARRBTl'-HAMII.TON, B.A. 



{Concluded /rom page 72). 



To the synonyms of the Otter Mr. I^ydekker^ might have 

 added Lutra Roensis, a name given by Ogilby to the Irish 

 Otter, chiefly on account of its beautiful dark fur. Some other 

 IrivSh mammals have, at one time or other, been described as 

 distinct species, e.g., the lycsser Shrew, as Sorex hibernicuSy by 

 Jenyns,^ the Hare and the Rat, but the two latter are mentioned 

 by Mr. I^ydekker. These names are of at least sufficient 

 interest to Irish naturalists to deserve a passing notice. 

 Another point not touched upon by Mr. lyydekker in regard 

 to the Otter is its weight. In stating also that the female 

 gives birth to her young '' in the month of April or March " he 

 appears to have overlooked a paper, written by Mr. T. 

 Southwell, 4 wherein the writer endeavours to show that in 

 England the Otter almost invariably breeds in winter, but this 

 does not seem to apply so well to Ireland, where young Otters 

 have been met with in most of the summer months^ As far 

 as we are aware there is at present only one recognised pack 

 of Otter Hounds in Ireland, that of Mr. W. C. Yates, who 

 hunts parts of the Counties of Wexford and Wicklow, where 

 Otters are very plentiful. 



The last of the terrestrial carnivora treated of by Mr. 

 lyydekker is the Bear, Ursus arctos, which, though said to have 

 been exterminated in Great Britain in the historical period, 

 does not appear to have survived so long in Ireland.^ 



Of the marine carnivora (pp. 142-164) the undoubtedly Irish 

 species are the Great Grey Seal {Halichoerus grypus) and the 

 Common Seal {Phoca vitulind). No other species can as yet 

 with certainty be admitted to our list of mammals, although it 



^ Allen's Naturalists' Library, edited by R. Bowdler Sharp, LJ^.D., 

 F.Iv.S., etc. ; A Handbook to the British lYIammalia, by R. 



Lydekker, B.A., F.R.S., V.P.G.S., etc., London ; W. H. Allen & Co., 

 Limited, 13, Waterloo-place, S.W., 1895. Price 6s. 



^ P.Z.S., 1834, iii. ^ Annals of Nat. History, 1838. 



* Zoologist, 1888, p. 248. ^ Irish Sportsman, July 9th and 30th, 1892. 



6 V. Ball, Sci. Trans. Royal Dublin Society (2), vol. iii., pp. 334-5. 



