258 REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



perate regions of both bemisplieres, tbongli tbeir entire absence from the North 

 Atlantic is a noteworthy fact. No Otaria has ever been fonnd either on the European, 

 African, or American shores of that ocean north of tlio Equator. 



So far as is yetlcuown, each species has a definite and limited area of geograjdiical 

 distribution bevond which it never wanders. In this respect they follow an almost 

 universal law of Nature, applicable to both animals and plants, although the causes 



of this limitation are, in most cases, extremely obscure. 

 186 The chances of accurate observations upon the movements of marine ani- 



mals are so small that we are still and probably shall long remain in consider- 

 able ignorance as to the exact pelagic range of many of the species, but as they always 

 spend some months on shore every year during the breeding season, and as the num- 

 ber of localities suitable lor this purpose is limited, the coast range of each species 

 should be ascertained with a tolerable amount of precision when a sufficient number 

 of reliable data are obtainable. This cannot be said to be the case at present, owing 

 to the difficulty of discriminating the species from the casual external observations 

 of uninstructed seamen upon whose information we have mainly to rely. 



These remarks apply chielly to the species inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere. 

 With regard to those of the North Pacific, our knowledge is in a more satisfactory 

 state. 



It is now ascertained with tolerable certainty that there are in this region three, 

 and only three, very distinct species, and there is no evidence that either of these 

 species is, or has ever been, found elsewhere. 



These are — 



1. Stklleu's Sea-Lion {Otaria sleUeri^^Eumctopias .s/eZ/eri of some authors), the 

 largest of the whole group; found on the Pacific coast of North America from Cali- 

 fornia to Alaska; Pacific coast of Asia irom .Japan nortli wards into the I'oliring Sea. 



2. The Califoknian Sica-Lion ( Otaria calif(>rnia)ia = Zah)2)hns califoriiiana= Otaria 

 (jillesjni) inhabiting the coasts of California "and Japan, but not entering the liehring 

 Sea. 



These two are hair-seals; the next is a fur-seal. 



3. The Northern Fur-Seal or Sea-Bear {Otaria ursina=^CaUorMnu8 nrsinus) 

 inhabits the North Pacific from California and Japan northwards into the Behring 

 Sea. 



The main character by which this animal is distinguished from all other Otariidw, 

 and which has been considered by Gray and most later writers to entitle it to gene- 

 ric distinction, is the form of the fore part of the skull, which is short, broad, and 

 hi"h, being as it were truncated in front, instead of low and narrow as in all other 

 species. By this general aspect the skull can be distinguished at once from that of 

 any other. The molar teeth are six above and five below on each side. In the two 

 other North Pacific species they are five above and five below. The external char- 

 acters need not be entered into here, as they have been abundantly and minutely 

 described elsewhere.* 



The distinctive characters and geographical distribution of the species of Otaria 

 inhabiting the seas and coasts south of the Equator, and met with either now or 

 formerly in all suitable localities round the whole circumference of the globe, are, 

 as stated above, less accurately determined, nor is this the place to attempt to 

 unravel this purely zoological problem, but the following may be mentioned as best 

 established. 



4. The Southern Sea-Lion {Otaria juhata), formerly abundant on the Falkland 

 Islands and the coasts of Patagonia and Chile, extending as far north as the Gala- 

 pagos Islands; an animal nearly as large as the Northern or Steller's Sea-lion, but 

 easily distinguished from it by the form of the skull, especially of the bones of the 

 palate. This is not a fur-seal. 



5. The South American FvkS'Eaj. {Otaria aHiitralis= Otaria falklaiidica = Arcto- 

 cephaliis australis and fal]da7)diciis), South American coasts, from Lobos Islands near 

 the mouth of the Kio de la Plata on the east, to the Galapagos on the west. 



6. The South African Fur-Seal {Otaria jyiisilla^ Jrctocephalus antarctic us), 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. 



7. The Australian Fur-Seal {Otaria forstcri^ Arctoceplialus cinereus) of Aus- 

 tralia, New Zealand, Auckland Islands, &c. 



8. The Australian Sea-Bear {Otaria lohata = Zaloj)lms lohatus). A hair-seal from 

 the Australian coasts. , 



9. Hooker's SEA-ljio:tf {Otaria hookeri=^ J rctoceph at us hookeri). Auckland Islands. 



Also a hair-seal. _^ ^^ ^ 



W. H. F. 



May 1892. 



*See especially the excellent "Monograph on North American Pinnipeds," by 

 J. A. Allen, Washington, 1880. 



