10 



(•(iinpiessed in front, wltli the lower edge from the angle to 

 the gonyx longer than the jaws are wide at the angle. 

 I'aiiite very deep and wide, broad in front, contracted 

 Ix'hinil, with the lateral processes rather contracted. 



Inhab. Coast of South America. 



( )nly known from two skulls. 



1. Terfect skull of an adult male in the British 

 ^luseum, which is Hi inches long, and 6i inches wide at 

 the c;ondyles. Sixth upper grinder behind the hinder edge 

 of the front of the zygomatic arch, the lower jaw Sh inches 

 long, wide and strong, contracted on the sides in front. 

 The scar of the masseter muscle in the lower jaw is elongate 

 and narrow in fi'ont. 



2. An imperfect skull (335e) about 12 inches long, and 

 ()'l inches wide, wanting the intermaxillary bones, and 

 having only the canine teeth ; with the palate deep, 

 .slightly contracted behind, lobes erect, the sixth upper 

 grinder separated from the fifth Ijy a space just before the 

 liack edge of the front of the zygomatic arch. Lower jaw 

 compressed in front. 



Tliis species may be the same as Otaria Gudeffroyii, 

 described and figured by Dr. Peters from a specimen in 

 the Hamburg Museum, but the front of the lower jaw does 

 not appear to be the same as that of tiie skulls in the 

 British Museum ; it and the scar of the masseter muscle 

 are broad and rounded at the end as in the jaws of the 



common Sea Lion, Otaria julata, and Otaria Godeffroyi, 

 may indicate another species. 



Otakia Ullo.'E. The Pygmy Sea Lion. 



Otaria Ulloje, Tschudi, Fauna Peruana, 130, /. vi. (ani- 

 mal) ; Peters, Monasth. 1866, 667, t. (skull). 



Otaria (Phocarctos) UUoie, Peters, Monatsh., 1866, 270. 



Otaria pygm^a, G-ray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 1874. 



The skull elongate, narrow. Lower jaw elongate, sides 

 flat compressed in front, with the lower edge from the 

 angle to the gonyx longer than the jaws are wide at the 

 angle. Palate very narrow, deep, scarcely wider behind. 

 Sixth upper grinder behind the hinder edge of the front of 

 the zygomatic arch. Lower jaw comparatively slendei-, 

 C J inches long, compressed and flat in front. 



Only known from an adult, most probably female skull, 

 in the collection of the British Museum, received from the 

 Zoological Society in 1858. 



Inhab. South America. Coast of Peru {Tschudi). 



Since I described the skull in the Museum under the 

 name of 0. jJygmaM I have again compared it with the 

 figure of Otaria Ullom given by Dr. Peters, from one of the 

 skulls of the original animals described by Tschudi, and 

 have very little doubt it is the same, though Dr. Peteis 

 does not mention tlie form of the lower jaw which is so 

 characteristic. 



III.— THE SEA LIONS AND SEA BEAKS OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. 



Since the Synopsis of the species of Seals was published 

 s]iecimens of the Sea Lion have been exhibited in England, 

 and the British Museum has received many specimens of 

 them and of their skulls, and a few skeletons, and the 

 examination of them has proved that instead of their form- 

 ing a tribe of the Seals, which ^\ii.s cnWeA Ardocqihaiina in 

 the Synopsis, they form a distinct family from the earless 

 Seals, Phocidw, with a distinct habit and stmcture ; they 

 have more power of using their limbs, like the more typical 

 Mammalia, walking on them, with the body raised from 

 the ground, they rest with their hind limbs bent forward. 

 These habits were well shown in Dr. Forster's figure 

 engraved l)y Buftbn, and they have been verified by the 

 study of the living animal in the Zoological Gardens. 



Their scrotum and genital organs are exposed as in the dog. 



The Sea Bears and Sea Lions inhabit the more temperate 

 and colder parts of the Southern Hemispiiere and more 

 northern regions of tiie Pacific Ocean. 



They are said to make pieriodical migrations towards 

 the p(jles. They come to the surface during the process of 

 mastication and do not drink like the Seals. The pupils 

 nl' the eyes dilate and contract to a great extent. The 

 leniales lie on their backs to receive the caresses of the 

 male : they Ining forth their young far inland, and they 

 are gi'adually taught to swim. 



They generally liave a very close soft under fur between 

 tlu' roots of the longer and more rigid hairs, hence they 

 arc called Fur Seals. 



The quantity and fineness of the under fur differ accord- 

 ing to the seasons, and the age of the animal. Some have 



so little under fur when they arrive at the adult age that 

 they are of no use for making Seal Skins. The under fur 

 is only attached to the surface of the skin, while the Ion;; 

 rigid liair is rooted to the inner layers of the skin, they 

 therefore come out when the inner surface of the skin is 

 siiaved off, leaving the under fur, which forms what is 

 called Seal Skin by tlie furriers, attached to the outer sur- 

 face of the skin. 



So much improvement has taken place in our knowledge 

 since the " Synopsis " given at page 4 was written that 1 

 give an abstract of what is at present known of the Sea 

 Lions and Sea Bears of the Southern Seas. 



If one had the opportunity of examining these animals 

 alive there is no doul)t that they would present very decided 

 characters in the form of the face and size and structure of 

 the ears and feet, and the length of the flaps of the toes, 

 but all these parts are liable to be altered in the preparing 

 of the specimens for Museums, therefore the chief characters 

 for the distinction of genera and species are those afforded 

 by the skulls, as these alone are accessible to the scientific 

 zoologist and afford the only means by which lie can com- 

 pare the Sea Bears from different localities, and the different 

 genera and species peculiar to each locality. 



Steller described a Leo marinus and an Ursus marinus 

 from Kamschatka, and Temminck figured the animal and 

 skeleton of a Seal in the " Fauna Japonira " under the 

 name of Otaria Stelleri, confounding it with the Leo 

 marinus of Steller, which Lesson had called Otaria Stelleri. 

 Mr. McBain, who received the skull of this animal, named 



