1010.] The Pinnipedia. 313 



reducing thein to the rank of a division of "les Carnivores" which consti- 

 tuted in turn one of the (Hvisions of "les Carnassiers." 



1834. l)e Blainville breaks up this unnatural assemblage and joins 

 the seals with the other Carnivora, jilacing the '' Piyinicjradi on Phoqiir.s" 

 ("auxquels on est conduit par les Chiens et les Proteles") as a division 

 "anomaux" coordinate with the division " normaux" ("Plantigradi" and 

 "Digitigradi"), both divisions being embraced in "les non-clavicules" 

 [= Fissipedia and Pinnipedia] of the group "Carnassiers." 



1840. Bonaparte separates entirely the Fera^ from the Insectivora and 

 gives the "Pinni|)edia" ecpial rank with Fera^. 



1872. Gill, following other authors (r. g., Haeckel 1860), divides Ferte 

 into two suborders, Fissipedia and Pinni])edia. 



1897. Wortman tries to derive the Pinnipeds from the Creodont genus 

 Patriofeli.s. 



1905. Weber sui)ports the view that seals are related to the arctoid 

 Carnivores, adducing many resemblances in the soft parts (cf. p. 314, below). 



1909. Matthew shows that the Eocene Insectivore Pantolestes fore- 

 shadows the Walruses in many characters, some of which may imply a 

 certain degree of affinity. 



Supposed Derivation of the Pinnipedia from the Creodonta. 



The Middle Eocene Creodont Patriofelis shows certain characters in the 

 feet and limbs which Dr. Wortman (1894, pp. 129-164) interpreted as 

 aquatic adaptations. In addition to this the Pinnipedia (or at least the 

 more primitive ones) retain many other characters; such as an alisphenoid 

 canal, a vestigial astragalar foramen (in Zalophus-) a large astragalo-cuboid 

 contact, etc., which are also seen in Patriofelis. Dr. Wortman therefore 

 conjectured (/. c, p. 162) that the supposedly amphibious Patriofelis "took 

 to the open sea and finally came to feed upon fish exclusively." This caused 

 the degeneration of the powerful dentition into the simple teeth of the Pinni- 

 pedia. In 1900 Professor Osborn (/. c, pp. 269-270), after restudying 

 the material, concluded that Oxyoena and Patriofelis were powerful terres- 

 trial or partly arboreal animals analogous to the cats in habits of feeding, 

 and that their many resemblances to the Pinnipedia were due to derivation 

 from common Insectivore-Creodont ancestors. In 1902, Dr. Wortman 

 (/. c.) rej)lied at some length to this conclusion and adhered to his original 

 opinion. Matthew (1909, |)p. 429-432) now adduces strong evidence to 

 show tliat the limbs of Patriofelis were adapted neither for aquatic nor for 

 arboreal life, and that the animal was a large, heavy-bodied, slow moving 

 type, with rectigrade limbs. 



