584 PHOCA VITULINA HARBOR SEAL. 



Still another synonym, for which we have also to thank Dr. 

 Gray, remains to be considered, namely, his "Halicyont call- 

 fornica." This is based simply on " The Hair Seal (Phoca ju- 

 bata) " of Hutching's " Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in Cali- 

 fornia 7 ' (p. 189), and is described by Dr. Gray as follows: "A 

 seal without ears, with large, pale rings, which are more or less 

 confluent. Inhab. California."* He quotes parts of Hutching's 

 description, and adds, " It has no affinity to the Phocajubata of 

 the Systematic Catalogue." The extent of Hutching's scientific 

 attainments, so far as the present matter is concerned, may be 

 judged from the italicised portions of the following : " This seal, 

 with which the coast of California abounds, is by no means rare, 

 .as almost all the coasts in high southern and northern localities 

 abound with it." 



In recapitulation of the foregoing, it may be noted that of the 

 fourteen distinct synonyms here considered, three (varicgata, 

 linncei, canina) are due to the intentional renaming of Linne's 

 Phoca vitulina; that three others (tigrina, chorisi, calif ornica) 

 are based on the vague descriptions of travellers or unscientific 

 writers j that two (Lobodon carcinophaga, Phoca jubata) are the 

 result of malidentifications ; and that an erroneous label of lo- 

 cality gave rise to one of the erroneous identifications and led 

 to the introduction of one generic and two additional specific ap- 

 pellations. The four remaining synonyms (littorea,scopulicola, 

 concolor. richardsi) have the- palliating circumstances of locality 

 and scantiness of material in their favor. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Harbor Seal appears 

 to have formerly been much more numerous on portions of our 

 eastern coast than it is at present. Dr. DeKay, writing in 1842, 

 states that the a Common Seal, or Sea Dog," is "now compara- 

 tively rare in our [New York] waters," though " formerly very 

 abundant." He adds, "A certain reef of rocks in the harbor of 

 New York is called Robin's reef, from the numerous seals which 

 were accustomed to resort there ; robin or robyn being the name 

 in Dutch for Seal. At some seasons, even at the present day, 

 they are very numerous, particularly about the Execution rocks 

 in the Sound ; but their visits appear to be very capricious." 

 He further alludes to their capture nearly every year in the 

 Passaic River, in New Jersey, and states that a Seal was taken in 

 -a seine in the Chesapeake Bay, near Elko, Maryland, in August, 

 1824, supposed by Dr. Mitchill, who saw it, to be of this spe- 



* Cat. Seals and Whales, 1866, p. 367. 



