22 Soiitlicni Cross. 



„,, i.KK ,„.■ ^...■.■. .-"vfeoe boins of a general yellowish colour 

 I.r lincovUm cl,an.ct..ris„s it ns bci«S " & pd^Se gns-fer mouche 

 o, ,.1,., nm,le, .le cclour .iauuo." Of the specimens brougM 



home by the < Brh,ica: the youn.er (No. 891), )s slaty grey above, 

 with the u.ulcr .si.k. both of the body and of the fln3pers dir y wl.t. 

 Tlu. colour of the back and belly is separated by a fairly distinct hue 

 of don.ura.tion. which runs from the base of the hind- to that of the 

 fon...nii.iH.n.. and thence to the nose, the upper hp being w iite like 

 the under surface. A number of dirty-white spots running obliquely 

 from fn.nt to rear on the flanks are arranged almost m rows, and 

 uive the impression of being discontinuous streaks. 



Tlie un.ler si.le of an older specimen (No. 893) is far yellower. 

 It is, however, so soiled that the mixture of various tints of dirty 

 yelh.w which it presents to the view are well-nigh indescribable. A 

 mixture of lUrty yellow and slate-grey colouring is so arranged on 

 the chest a.s t« pro-luce a pattern which may be described as mottled. 

 The un<k>r side of the jaw is without spots. 



In build this Seal is, judging from the photographs of Dr. Cook 

 and Dr. llaccnitza, more slender than Lobodon. The last-named 

 naturalist states that it is larger than Lobodon, and in that case the 

 head shoul.l be proportionately smaller. It is relatively longer and 

 more slender, and lacks the blunt nose of Lobodon. 



JHMiui/uishijuf cJi a ract eristics of shilL— Both the skull and 

 ' ' ■ II of Weddell's Seal have been described in detail by Sir 



\' ..lu Turner in his report on the Seals collected by the ' Challenger' 



iTiMditi..n (j.p. 20-28). The skull has neither great size nor remark- 



. ih to murk it off at a glance from those of the other Seals of 



the Antarctic seas. Yet Lobodon, which is of very similar size, is 



the only form with which it could possibly be confused. Even here, 



h«)wever, thoro are several obvious points of difference, and Lep- 



•''•.« (ai)art from its simple teeth) may be at once distinguished 



i',> iitj pr<tjM»rtionately greater breadth of its brain-case and the high 



■"■■» " irr->w anterior portion of the skull, as well as by the shorter 



Thi- uniler jaws of the two animals are also characteristic, 



that of hihmlon being far deeper, stronger, and more massive, than 



that of I^ptonjichotes. 



— W<' know next to nothing as regards any difference that may 

 oJ ■ • ween the sexes. The only skull labelled as that of a female 



« iiu u 1 nave examined, is No. 895 of the ' BeUjica ' collection. In this 

 the canines are smaller than are those of the males of the same col- 

 Ii'r*i..ii 11, ,1 if tlii.s distinction be borne out by a series of specimens, 

 iS in tlio P.iitisl, ATii'^eum will prove to be, as I have 



