1 6 SonfJicni Cross. 



■ v tw.. niiiinuls whii-li iinisL have been fdrmerly closeh' allied, and 

 whith a^• suhjwt to the influence of precisely similar surroundings. 



I\S. In the nrcount of each Seal my procedure has been to 



;:.nicnce, ns nsiial, with the synonymy. Under this heading I 

 ..\.' not a ronipleto list of the works Avherein any given species 

 has liecn mentioned — a method involving, so far as I can see, 

 iinnion.w Iftlnmr without any corresponding advantages — but a list 

 of th«* |»rinci|»nl references to the species. 



Aflrr the synonymy follows an indication of the location 

 ,T..i ..rJ.r;,, of the type s{)ecimens when known, succeeded by para- 

 _ .. ^ : aline with the history, distribution, habits, and external 

 iip|Hrnmnce. 



Next comes a short description of the skull. The principal 

 dimensions of the crania brought home by the 'Southern Cross' are 

 compnn'd with those of the specimens procured by the staff of the 

 ' Ilfhjira ' and with those in the British Museum. 



TlitTe are general remarks on any character which seems 



.lo^Tving of si»ecial notice, a short list of the distincfuishinji 



r.icteristies for the guidance of the zoologists accompanying the 



new British expedition, and a summary of what is known of the 



habits and di.stribution. 



Any att«'mi>t at a detailed description of either skulls or 



skins has l)een purjiosely avoided. In the case of the skins of 



*fini(hnn Trnts ' collection I have had no opportunity of 



''u<: them (with the exception of one or two examples) in a 



" >i> which it would have been possible to describe them. 



MonH.ver. I believe that descriptions and dimensions of Seals, to be 

 of vahie, shouM l>e taken from the animals when in the flesh. 



As reganks the skulls, there is not one of which I know the sex, 



and only a few of which I know the skin appertaining to them. It 



w..uld, in my oj.iiiion. be of little value to enter into details regarding 



- i' • n«». the labels of which have perished from want of care on 



•t of those entrusted with their preservation. Moreover, 



- '• the death of Mr. Hanson, and the absence of his notes, the 



-e work will have to be performed again from the collections 



prrHMin-.! by the various expeditions which started in 1901. 



