Dr. J. E. Gray on the Species of Seals. 309 
The general form and size of the face, and the form of the teeth, 
are very similar to those of a skull of Payomys fetidus of the same 
age. It only differs from the latter in the lower jaw being rather 
shorter and broader, in the grinders being larger, thicker, and rather 
closer together, in the central lobe of the grinders being consider- 
ably larger, thicker, and stronger, and in all the lobes of the grind- 
ers being more acute. The lower margin of the lower jaw is dilated 
in front, just as in Pagomys fotidus; but the jaws behind the dila- 
tation diverge more from each other, leaving a wider space between 
them at the hinder part. The form of the hinder angle of the jaws 
is very similar in the two species.. The orbit is rather smaller and 
more circular; for in P. fetidus it is rather oblong, being rather 
longer than wide. The forehead appears, as far as one can judge 
by the fragments, to be flatter and broader, and the nose rather 
shorter. 
The following measurements show the difference between the two 
species :— 
P. fetidus. P. nummularis. 
in. 12ths. in. 12ths. 
Length of lower jaw to hinder notch .. 2 11 Er 
Length of lower jaw to end of dilatation. 1 55 I] 22 
Length of upper teeth-lme .......... lies 13 
Selieneth-or three stinders ......2.. 5... 0 23 ONS 
Width at outside of hinder notch...... le 9 aay 
Menethoforbit........... +: ; 1 8 es 
The Phoca nummularis of Japan has been considered to be iden- 
tical with Phoca Largha of Pallas, from the east shore of Kams- 
chatka, the Phoca Chorissii of Lesson, and the Phoque tigre of Kras- 
chennenikow (which has been named Phoca tigrina by Lesson), on 
the strength of their coming from nearly the same district ; but I 
am not aware that specimens of any of the latter species exist to 
verify the union and determine what are the species described under 
these names. 
The British Museum has lately purchased the dead body of a Seal, 
which had been exhibited in London as the “‘ Talking Fish.”’ The 
proprietor, an Italian, at first said it was from the coast of South 
America, but afterwards admitted that it was from one of the ports 
on the north side of the Mediterranean; and on examination it 
proved to be the Monk Seal (Phoca albiventer), the type of the 
genus Monachus of Fleming and Pelagus of F. Cuvier, a genus which 
was one of the desiderata in the Museum Collection. 
The comparison of the skull of this animal with the skulls of the 
Seal from Madeira, which I described in the ‘ Annals and Magazine 
of Natural History’ for 1854 under the name of Heliophoca atlan- 
tica, has shown that the latter animal is the same as the Mediter- 
ranean Seal. 
The British Museum has since received from M. Verreaux a very 
good skeleton of a Seal from Algiers, under the name of Phoca le- 
porina, which is evidently the same as the Phoca albiventer of 
Cuvier (Oss. Foss. v. t. 17). 
