THE LEOPARD SEAL 243 



des mammiferes carnassiers amphibies, qui comprend une seule espece: le phoque 

 leptonyx de M. de Blainville. Voyez I'article 'Phoque', 39, p. 548 (Desm.)". The use 

 of rhinch- for rhynch- is, of course, indefensible in classical forms, and even in his own 

 language Cuvier used the "i" and the "y" indiscriminately. It is therefore only 

 reasonable to attribute Stenorhinchiis to a lapsus calami, and it thus becomes a homonym 

 of Stetiorhync/nis which is preoccupied for a crustacean by Lamarck in 181 8. The 

 correct generic name is Hydrurga, proposed by Gistl in 1848, long before Ogmorhiniis 

 (Peters, 1875). 



MATERIAL AND METHODS 



An examination of Table I will show that the specimens which have been examined 

 are of great variety as to age and locality and, it must be added, in completeness of 

 data. Material for the examination of the genital organs is available from the seals more 

 recently killed either by Mr Bertram or myself; we have both found that Bouin's 

 aqueous fluid is admirable for such work in the field and, where transport is a con- 

 sideration, has the advantage that about five-sevenths of it is water and can therefore be 

 procured locally. The total number of skulls is seventy-two, and among them is the 

 type in the Royal College of Surgeons, and the earliest examples after it to have been 

 examined by a zoologist, the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' specimens used by Gray (1844), 

 which are in the British Museum. 



In the field I have found that a rifle of -22 calibre, using the "long rifle" cartridge, 

 is adequate for killing even these large animals, but it is essential that the bullet be 

 fired into the brain, and as soon as possible the animal should be stabbed in the heart 

 so that it will bleed freely. If this is not done the tissues take a long time to die and the 

 results are sometimes startling. The handling of the carcass is also more difficult. The 

 length in as straight a line as possible from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail was 

 taken as a routine, and all specimens from one animal have been referred to the number 

 on a label attached to the skull. The method just described is that used for seals on 

 beaches; when they are on ice floes or in the water additional apparatus is necessary, 

 in particular the harpoon, gaff and lance, but in all circumstances the most important 

 matter is the effect of the first shot. 



PHYSICAL CHARACTERS 



COAT COLOUR 

 The coat colour of the leopard seal has been adequately described by Barrett- 

 Hamilton (1902) and Wilson (1907), the remarks of the latter on the alteration of the 

 colour of dried skins being specially worthy of regard. Juvenile specimens are so 

 exceedingly rare in collections that I have been able to find only one, and I have never 

 seen any in life. The single skin is in the British Museum and was secured in the 

 Falkland Islands by R. Vallentin; it is in the first furry coat. This specimen is 

 somewhat discoloured by the fat which has soaked into the hair and there become 

 oxidized to a yellow tinge, but fortunately the discoloration is extremely faint. The 



