of the Auckland Islands. 29 



Mr. Clark observes, " I may mention that I was shown a 

 skeleton of Otaria jubata marked as from the Aucklands," — I 

 suspect, from the Paris Museum, though it is not stated. There 

 is no doubt that this is the Black Seal mentioned by Captain 

 Musgrave; and it would be curious to examine the skeleton to see 

 if it is a separate species of the Sea-lion [Otaria jubata) from 

 that found on the coast of South America. Mr. Clark proceeds, 

 " If this should be the case, which I do not believe on the 

 evidence presented to me, it would greatly extend the range 

 of that species ; but it is very unlikely that there should be two 

 Hair-Seals as well as a Fur-Seal on the islands." 



I do not quite understand what Mr. Clark means by the 

 latter sentence. According to his opinion, the Sea-lion of 

 Musgrave is Otaria Hookeri, and the skull figured by Dr. 

 Hector as the young of A. cinereus is " very probably the 

 young of 0. Hookeri'" and we are at the same time told that 

 " 0. Hookeri is a hair-seal." If the Black Seal of Musgrave, 

 of which we have no account, is Otaria jubata or an allied 

 species, it is undoubtedly a hair- seal. Then the fur-seal on 

 the Auckland Islands is not accounted for, but two hair-seals 

 are ! It is to be observed that Captain Musgrave, with a true 

 sealer's view of seals, believes that the Sea-lions which he is 

 about to describe are " common to the higher north and 

 southern latitudes ;" so that he has not a very clear idea of 

 zoological species. 



I may mention that I have authority for believing the fol- 

 lowing seals are found on the Auckland Islands : — 



1. Stenorhynchus leptonyx, most probably the Tiger Seal of 

 Musgrave. This is a regular earless seal, without under-fur. 

 Skull in the British Museum from New Zealand. 



2. Otaria (jubata^). Also without under-fur, always of a 

 dark brown colour. Preserved in the Paris Museum ? Most 

 likely the Black Seal of Musgrave. 



3. The pale Sea-bear (Phocarctos Hookeri). " The Sea- 

 lion," Musgrave ; Otaria Hookeri, J. W. Clark. A hair- 

 seal without under-fur. Specimens of males and females with 

 skulls in the British Museum. 



4. The smaller fur-seal of the Aucklands, Gypsophoca, sp. ? ; 

 Arctocephalus cinereus jun., Hector. A true fur-seal. This 

 may be the fur-seal of the sealers ; but most probably what 

 they went to collect is another, larger species, perhaps the same 

 as the fur-seal of New-Zealand, Euotaria cinerea [Arctoce- 

 phalus cinereus of Hector) . 



We are informed by Captain Morell, as quoted by Mr. 

 Clark, that " in 1823 Captain Johnson took from this and the 



