from the Pliocene Beds, Fifeshire. 385 



little that seems to be known of the osteology of many of the 

 recent species, the discrepancies in the diflFerent works on the 

 subject, and the confusion in which some of the species are still 

 enveloped, make this not a very easy nor perhaps certain matter. 

 In Phoca vitulina the oblique insertion of the molar teeth, the 

 two posterior cusps on those of the upper jaws, and the much 

 larger size of the molar teeth of young individuals about the 

 size of the fossil make it obvious that it does not belong to that 

 species, P. hispida appears to me to be the next Seal deserving 

 of notice ; and the close resemblance its cranium bears to that 

 of the fossil requires for it a sojnewhat lengthened comparison. 

 The osteology of this species appears to be but indifferently 

 known ; but its cranium, as figured by F. Cuvier in the ' Me- 

 moires du Museum,' tome xi,, agrees exactly with the fossil, so 

 far at least as the latter is entire, not only in the extreme length, 

 but when taken in detail. Thus, when the lower jaw is measured 

 from the anterior edge of the canine tooth to the articular con- 

 dyle, and then from the posterior edge of the glenoid cavity to 

 the extremity of the occipital condyle, the lengths in both cases 

 are exactly the same pi'oportionally as those of the figure, F. 

 Cuvier's description of the teeth is not very clear ; he only says 

 of them, " et qui ont des machelieres un peu plus simples que 

 celles du Phoque commun,'' Nilsson * appears to consider P. 

 hispida as only a variety of his P. annellata, but states that he 

 dare not positively say so ; and of this variety he says that there 

 are '^nicht mehr als 1 Spitze hinter und 1 vor der Hauptspitze 

 im Oberkiefer.'' This description is so applicable to the fossil 

 teeth, that had Nilsson been decided that this variety included 

 P. hispida, it would have gone far, I think, taken along with the 

 corresponding size of the cranium to Cuvier's figure, to have 

 settled the question as to the species. G, Cuvier's description 

 of P. hispidaf comes near enough the fossil : he says P. hispida 

 resembles P. Groenlandica and P. vitulina, but has a larger head 

 and a shorter snout ; his account of the teeth, however, is some- 

 what at variance both with those of the fossil and with Nilsson's 

 description given above : he says, " Ses dents sont comme au 

 Groenlandica, et meme les superieures, excepte la derniere, man- 

 quent du petit lobe en avant." Such being the case, the next 

 Seal deserving attention in connexion with the present inquiry 

 seems to me to be P. Groenlandica, which, taken in all, ap- 

 pears to be the Seal to which the fossil has the closest alliance. 

 Indeed, I have little doubt that it is a young individual of 

 that species. At the same time there are one or two matters in 

 connexion with this requiring a little consideration. Bell's 



* Wiegmann's 'Archiv fiir Naturgeschiclite,' 1841. 

 "t" Ossemens Fossiles, tome viii. 



