4 BULLETIN OF THE 



The greatest number of species recognized by any writer during the 

 last live years is fifteen ; but they have now been reduced, by general 

 consent, to ten or eleven. These have been placed by Dr. Gray, in his 

 later papers, in ten genera. In the present enumeration six species * 

 are regarded as fully established, and two or three other species f are 

 given as doubtful. All are referred to five genera. \ 



One of the most singular facts connected with the history of these 

 animals is that they should have so long remained among the species 

 least known to naturalists, when their commercial importance is such 

 that their capture has given employment to thousauds of men and mil- 

 lions of capital for more than a century. 



For many years, as is well known, hundreds of thousands of the 

 skins of the Falkland Island fur seal, and hundreds of tons of the oil 

 of other species, annually reached England ; yet specimens of either 

 the fur seals, or of any of the other species that naturalists were able 

 to obtain, were exceedingly few and imperfect. Add to this the fact 

 that, in many cases, the localities whence these fragmentary and iso- 

 lated specimens were received were frequently wholly unknown or but 

 vaguely surmised, and we can well understand how it happened that 

 only till within the last decade have naturalists been able to decide with 

 certainty as to which of the species on their catalogues were to be refer- 

 red the various fur seals of commerce. 



I. Resume of Recent Contribute 'ons to the Natural History of the 



Otariad^e. 



A brief statement of the present state of our knowledge of the Ota- 

 riadce seems to be demanded in the present connection, inasmuch as 

 since the publication of the last general synopsis of the subject our 

 knowledge of the group has greatly increased, without the new facts 

 having been given in a single summary. As a resume of the contri- 

 butions to the literature concerning this group of animals which have 

 appeared during the last two decades would necessarily give such a 

 statement, and also at the same time a connected history of the recent 

 changes in their nomenclature and classification, a synopsis of the 



* Eumeiopias Stelleri, Zahphus GiUespii, Z. cinereus (= lobaluo, Auct.), Otctria jubata, 

 CM » himis ursii}us, Anii-< ephalus falklandicus. 

 t Phvcarctos Hookeri, Arctocephalm au&tralis, A, antarcticus. 

 I Eumetopias, Zahphus, Otaria, Cnllorhinvs, Arctocejihalus. 



