MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOULOGY. 41 



These are, Arctocephalus falldandicus, — one of the earliest described 

 species of the family, — A. cinereus and A. antarcticus {= A. Dela- 

 landi). A. falldandicus inhabits the shores and islands of Southern 

 South America ; A. cinereus, the Australasian Seas ; and A. antarcticus, 

 the southern coasts of Africa. These species hence have quite widely 

 separated habitats, yet the alleged differences between them are slight, 

 while in size, color, character of the pelage, and general conforma- 

 tion, they possess many features in common. Their distinctness has at 

 times been doubted, and it seems still to remain an open question wheth- 

 er they form a single species or three. That the A. falldandicus and 

 A. antarcticus hold a close relationship is generally admitted. The A. 

 cinereus, or the Australian species, was believed, through certain dif- 

 ferences in the fangs of the hinder molars, and the supposed less abund- 

 ance of the under-fur, to be quite distinct from the others. Professor 

 Peters, in his second paper, placed the A. cinereus and A. antarcticus in 

 different subsections of his section Arctocephalus, characterizing them 

 as follows: "a. mit sehr sparsamer Unterwolle " (referring to A. 

 antarcticus = Olaria pusilla Peters), and "/3. mit reichlicherer Unter- 

 wolle" (referring to A. cinereus). It is found, however, that the fur 

 of the latter is equally rich with that of the other species.* 



The distribution of these alleged species presents nothing incompati- 

 ble with the supposition of their identity. They inhabit islands one 

 third as distant from the shores of the South American, African, and 

 Australian continents as these islands are from each other. Other 

 Pinuipedes, as the sea elephant, range over nearly the same area. 

 Moreover, the distance is one of longitude merely, and the physical 

 conditions of this wide area are hence nearly uniform. Until favored 

 with the opportunity of comparing specimens from these several distant 

 points, my opinion as to the identity or diversity of these species must 

 remain unsettled. 



In respect to the synonomy of the eared seals, that of the northern 

 species will be presently given in full, in connection with the descriptions 

 of these species. To that of Otaria j ubata, given so fully by Dr. Gray 

 in his first memoir on these animals, may be added, as clearly shown 

 already by other writers, f the following recently recognized names: 



* Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d Scries, Vol. XVIII, p. 257, 1SGG. 



t For references to the papers wherein the following-named synonymes occur, see the 

 "Resume of the recent Contributions to the Natural History of the OUtl^tad<B, , ' anlea, 

 pp. 4-19. 



