PREFACE. 



In this Hand-list it is proposed to give an account of all the speci- 

 mens of the Seals, Morses, Sea-lions, and Sea-bears in the British 

 Museum. Many of these have been described in : — 



1. The Catalogue of Specimens of Mammalia in the British Mu- 



seum. By Dr. J. E. Gray. Part II. Seals. 12mo. 1850. 

 Woodcuts of skulls. 



2. The Catalogue of Seals and Whales in the British Museum. 



By Dr. J. E. Gray. 8vo. 1866. Woodcuts of skulls. 



3. The Supplement to the Catalogue of Seals and Whales in the 



British Museum. By Dr. J. E. Gray. 8vo. 1871. 



The new species discovered, or improvements made in the ar- 

 rangement of the Pinnipedia, since the publication of these Cata- 

 logues have been adopted, and references made to the works in 

 which such species have been described. 



"When any of the specimens have served as the types of a de- 

 scription or figure of a species in a scientific work, reference is 

 made to where the description and figure are to be found. 



Whenever a specimen has been presented or obtained directly 

 from a collector, the name of the presenter or collector and the 

 habitat sent with the specimen have been recorded ; but the greater 

 number of the specimens have been obtained from dealers, with 

 only the most general habitats. 



The condition in which the specimen is preserved, its size, and 

 the age and sex, when known with certainty, are recorded. 



JOHN EDWARD GRAY. 

 British Museum, 

 June 15, 1874. 



