154 



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(f UNIVERSITY \ 

 THE PIED SEAL. 



PLATE VI. 



Phoca bicOiOr, Cuv. Pied Sal of Pen. Shaw, Bingley, Fleming. 



THOUGH there are no data by which to determine the 

 genus to which this Seal belongs, yet as associated 

 with British species, this is probably the best place 

 to introduce the scanty notice which we have of it. 

 A curious mistake was committed in relation to 

 this Seal. Pennant, who first described, and fur- 

 nished a good engraving of it, considered it as the 

 same as the White-bellied Seal of Buffon, and at- 

 tached this appellation as a synonym* The next 

 Seal he noticed in his treatise was the Monk Seal 

 of Herman, so making this last distinct from that 

 of Buffon, who, however, had described the identical 

 animal which was so accurately examined by Her- 

 man. Dr Shaw followed Mr Pennant in his errors, 

 which led Baron Cuvier to remark " The Seal 

 (Ph. bicolor) which Pennant regarded as a variety 

 of the Ph. a venire blanc is very far from belong- 

 ing to that species."* No one can look at the two 



Oss Foss. v. 215. 



