ALLEN: mammalia: otariid^. 137 



formed the basis of a profitable Fur Seal fishery, carried on at intervals 

 for many years, at several groups of islands off the western coast of 

 Mexico and Lower California. The history is so interesting, as well as 

 important, that it may well be here transcribed for convenient future 

 reference. 



The first notice of this seal as a distinct and undescribed species is a 

 note written in June, 1892, and signed jointly by Dr. Gill, Dr. Merriam, 

 and the present writer, as given below, and published the same year in 

 the report of the "Fur Seal Arbitration, Appendix to the Case of the 

 United States," Vol. I, p. 586, but not available for public reference till 

 1895. This note, entitled "The Fur Seal of Guadalupe Island, off Lower 

 California," is as follows: 



"For many years it has been known that fur-seals breed at Guadalupe 

 Island, where formerly large numbers were killed annually for their skins. 

 Two thousand were secured as late as 1883, since which time small num- 

 bers have been taken nearly every year. Inasmuch as the Northern fur 

 seal [Callor/ii/ius ursinns) is not known to breed south of the Pribilof 

 Islands, but occurs in winter off the coast of northern California and 

 passes north in the spring, it seemed important to determine the species 

 of fur-seal inhabiting Guadalupe Island. For this purpose an expedition 

 was sent to said island by the direction of Dr. C. Hart Merriam in May, 

 1892, in charge of Mr. C. H. Townsend, an assistant of the United States 

 Fish Commission. Seven fur seals were seen near the island and one 

 was shot by Mr. Townsend, but it sank before it could be recovered. 

 The visit was made too early in the season to find the seals on the shore. 

 A beach on Guadalupe Island was visited where it was known that a 

 large number of fur seals had been killed a few years previously and 

 four skulls were there obtained. We have carefully examined these 

 skulls and find them to belong to a species of ArctocepJiahts, a very dif- 

 ferent kind of fur seal from that found in Bering Sea, the well-known 

 Callorhinus ttrsinus. [Signed] 



J. A. Allen, 



Theo. Gill, 



C. Hart Merriam." 



The history of this seal probably runs back to Dampier, who, in 1686, 

 met with seals at the Chametly and Tres Marias Islands, in latitude 23° 



