MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 11 



and figure of a young skull of Arctocephalus falklandicus, and some 

 interesting facts in respect to the distribution of the eared seals on 

 the east coast of South America, where he says but two species 

 exist. Under the improper name of A. falklandicus, he also refers 

 to the specimen captured and exhibited by Lecomte. One is led by 

 Burmeister's remarks to infer that he believed this specimen (and an- 

 other which did not live to reach Europe) was captured in the Rio de 

 la Plata. Later the death of this " sea bear " is announced in the Pro- 

 ceedings of the Zoological Society, and Dr. James Murie * reports the 

 results of his investigations as to the cause of its decease. 



The next paper of moment on the Eared Seals appeared in February, 

 1868, and is entitled '"Observations on Sea Bears (Otariadce), and 

 especially on the Fur Seals and Hair Seals of the Falkland Islands 

 and South America."! In this paper Dr. Gray refers briefly to the two 

 papers of Professor Peters, and very properly remarks, as it seems to 

 me, that Peters in his first essay "formed no less than five species 

 from the skulls of the Southern sea lion (Otaria jubata), — 0. jubata, 

 0. Byronia, 0. leonina, 0. Godeffroyi, and 0. Ulloa" lie reviews at 

 some length the complicated synonomy of the Falkland Island eared 

 seals, and raises his subgenera of Euotaria and Arctocephalus (pre- 

 viously mentioned) to the rank of genera, and redescribes the Falkland 

 Island and South American species. These are, (1) the Arctocephalus 

 falklandicus Gray ex Shaw, (2) the Euotaria nigresceus Gray, and 

 (3) P/tocarctos Hookeri Gray. Dr. Gray contends that Peters's O.falk- 

 landica is not the O.falklandica of Shaw, but that it is the same as 

 his Arctocephalus (or Euotaria) nigrescens. The Arctocephalus falk- 

 landicus of BurmeisterJ he, as it seems to me, erroneously referred 

 to his Phocarcfos Hookeri, doubtless from Dr. Burmei>ter having re- 

 ferred Lecomte's specimen of the ; ' sea bear " already mentioned, 

 which was really the 0. jubata, to the " 0. faUclandica." The de- 

 scription of the ^kin by Dr. Burmeister, in Profes-or Peters's second 

 essay,§ shows the animal to have been a. fur seal, the P. Hookeri being 

 a hair seal. 



The young male sea lion (or sea bear, as it was also called), which 



* Proceedings London Zool. Society, 1S67, p. 213. 



t Ann. and Mag. Nut Hi-t., 4th Series, Vol. I pp. 99-110, February, 1 56 , 



J Ibid., 3d Series. Vol. XVIII, p. 99, February, | - 



§ Monatsb. d. k. P. Akad. d. Wi;senseh, z. Berlin, 1866, p. 670. 



