28 



EDWARD A. AVILSON. 



have been published, notably an excellent one by Mr. Bernacchi in his narrative 

 of the 'Southern Cross ' Expedition, and in the 'Southern Cross' Eeport (p. 26), is 

 markedly different to all the other species. The head is disproportionately large 

 for the rest of the body, and the power of the neck is immense. The rest of the 

 animal tails off in a more snake-like fashion than in any other of the Southern seals, 

 suggesting great power and rapidity of movement under water. The total length from 

 nose to tail tip of the four specimens in our collection is respectively 1-8 inches in 

 No. 64, 106 inches in No. 65, 131 inches in No. 66, and 107 in No. 18. These figures, 

 however, do not give a true idea of the size to which the animal may grow, for Sir 

 James Ross captured one with a length of 144 inches. The proportions of the animal 

 will be better understood by the following measurements, which were in each case 

 taken in the Hesh, and it may here be noted that the example recently mounted in the 

 British Museum Gallery (No. 64 of the ' Discovery ' collection), was modelled carefully to 

 these figures, so that its form represents as nearly as possible the proportions of life: — 



Nose to tail tip 

 Diameter, taken with callipers from side to side : — 



The end of the fore flipper, lying along the side, was 02i inches from the nose. 

 At a point 90 inches from the nose was the smallest diameter of the belly, \'> inches. 



The following dimensions were taken by Dr. Davidson from examples captured 

 on the ' Morning,' : — 



Length from tip of nose to end of tail ... 

 Greatest girth 

 Length of fore flipper 

 Breadth ,, „ 

 Length of hind flipper 



Spread „ „ 



Girth under the fore flippers 

 Girth above the tail 



501 

 37" 



In the stomach of the specimen which we procured were the remains, almost a 

 complete skin, of an Emperor penguin, 3 feet in lengtli. In the stomach of one 

 taken by Dr. Davidson, on the ' Morning,' were the remains of a young Weddell's Seal. 

 Fish, cephalopods and penguins seem to form its chief diet in the Antarctic seas, and 

 in one instance 28lbs. of fish are reported to have been taken from the stomach of a 

 single animal. On the ice Hoes it seems to be e\eu less active than Weddell's 



