SEALS AND WHALES OF THE L.M.B:C. DISTRICT. 137 
Cystophora cristata, Erxleben. 
On February 24th, 1873, I announced* the capture of 
a Seal, which was found alive on the Mersey shore at 
Frodsham Marsh, on the 3rd of February, and was 
exhibited at Widnes, near Warrington, where I saw it 
alive and made sketches from it. It was large and 
powerful, being about six feet in length and in very fine 
condition, though it had taken very little food. The face, 
breast and fore flippers were of a blackish colour, the body 
paler, with a few dark blotches; but the colours were not 
very noticeable while the creature was wet. From the 
dilatation of the nostrils, shown under the shghtest provo- 
cation, I was inclined to consider it to be a Hooded Seal,+ 
but considering the extremely rare occurrence of that 
species on the British coast, I refrained from speaking 
positively, and waited in hopes of securing the specimen 
after death for the museum, in which I ultimately 
succeeded, and a comparison of the skull at the British 
Museum confirmed my original supposition. The second 
edition of Bell’s ‘‘ British Quadrupeds’’ was then in the 
press, and I wrote to Mr. Edward R. Alston, who was 
engaged thereon, informing him of the above occurrence, 
but the notice was too late for reference therein. ‘T'wo 
other specimens of the Hooded Seal are certainly known 
to have been killed in Britain :—one in the Orwell in 
1847, and the other at St. Andrews in 1872.§ 
The following notes on the Hooded Seal were taken at 
Widnes, soon after the death of the creature :—General 
colour brownish; front streak from eyes, front of fore and 
hind legs, black; belly and throat whitish. ‘Tail and hind 
* Proc. Lit. Phil. Soc. Liverpool, vol. xxvii., p. lxxiil. 
+ Bell’s ‘‘ Brit. Quad.,” ed. 2, p. 257; Gray’s ‘‘Mus. Catal.,” ed. 2, p. 41. 
+ ** Brit. Quad.,” ed. 2, p. 258. 
§ ‘‘Scottish Naturalist,” vol. ii., p. 1. 
