TECHNICAL HISTORY GENERA. 415 



was made by Nilsson in 1820,* who separated from the other 

 Earless Seals the Gray Seal and the Crested Seal, which formed 

 the types and sole representatives, respectively, of his genera 

 Haliclioerus (tyiie, Hallchoerus griseus, Nils., = Fhoca grypus, 

 Fabr.), and Cystophora (type, Cystophora borealis, Nils. = Phoca 

 ^ristata, Erxl.). These genera became soon widely recognized, 

 iind have been (with the exceptions soon to be noticed) since 

 ciuTently. adopted. The next dismemberment was \drtually 

 effected by Fleming t in 1822 by snggesting that the Monk or 

 Mediterranean Seal might reqnire, with possibly others, to be 

 placed in a genus Monachus, Avith the Phoca monachus of Her- 

 mann as the type. J 



F. Cnvier in 1824, either ignorant of, or ignoring, the generic 

 -separations made by Nilsson and Fleming (as he makes no ref- 

 erence to them), divided the genus Phoca of preceding authors 

 into five genera, namely : 1. Calloceplialus (type, Phoca vitulina, 

 Linn.) ; 2. Stenorhynchus (type, Phoca leptonyx^ Blainv.) ; 3. Pela- 

 gius (type, Phoca monachus, Hermann) ; 4. Stemmatopus (type, 

 Phoca cristata, Erxleben); 5. MacrorMmis\\ (type, Phoca pro- 



* " Skand. Fauua, i, 1820, pp. 376, 382." 



tPhilosophy of Zoology, vol. ii, 1822, p. 187, foot-uote. 



t Fleming suggested rather tbau constituted the genus Monachus, for he 

 .simply says of it in a foot-note under the genus Phoca : ' ' Some seals, as Ph. 

 monachus, are said to have four incisors in each jaw. Such will be prob- 

 ably constituted into a new genus, under the title Monachus." This is the 

 whole basis of Fleming's genus Monachus, which is allowed precedence over 

 F. Cuvier's genus Pelagius, based on a detailed account of the distinctive 

 cranial characters of Phoca monachus, together with a figure of the skull. 

 Other Seals than Phoca monachus are not only "said to have," but are well 

 known to have "four incisors in each jaw", and mention of Phoca monachus 

 is all that saves Fleming's genus, for it cannot be said to be characterized, 

 and ought not to be recognized to the prejudice of Pelagius. Upon Dr. Gray 

 (Cat. Seals, Brit. Mus., 1850) appears to fall the responsibility of reviving 

 the generic name Monachus, and renaming the species Monaclius alhiventer 

 (ex Boddaert), although Nilsson appears to have previously employed it in 

 1837, but speedily abandoned it for Pelagius, F. Cuvier. Says Nilsson, " Ich 

 liatte in der Vet. Academiens Handl. for 1837, p. 235, die hierher gehorige 

 Art Monachus mediterraneus genannt, aber seitdem ich erfahreu, dass Fr. 

 Cuvier dieselbe schou im Diet, d'hist. uat. unter dem Namem Pelagius mona- 

 chtis beschrieben, scheint mir dieser Name wegen seiner Prioritat beibehalten 

 werden zu miissen." Wiegmann's Arch.filr Naturg., 1841, i, p. 308, foot-note. 



Ann. duMus. d'Hist. Nat., vol. xi, 1824, pp. 174-200, pll. xii-xiv. 



II F. Cuvier's names appeared here only under the gallicized forms respect- 

 ively of Callocephale, Stenorhinque, Pelage, Stemmatope, and Macrorhine. They 

 were first Latinized as above by the same author in 1826 (Diet, des Scieu. 

 Ifat., vol. xxix, 1826, pj). 544-552), but naturalists generally concur in assign- 

 ing 1824 as the date of the introduction of these genera into systematic 

 literature. 



