270 Messrs. Hancock & Atthey on Antliracosaurus. 



, The latter animal is easily known from Dr. J. K. Forster's 

 description and figures. 



Phoca nigra, Pallas (Zoog. Eosso-Asiatica ; Fischer, Sy- 

 nops. p. 242 ; Rees, Cyclopgedia, P7«ocffi), from the Caribbee 

 Islands, is most likely the young of some north-weSt species of 

 the family. 



■ • I cannot agree with Dr. Murie (Proc. Zool. Soc.1869, p. 108) 

 in regarding Otaria PMlii^jpii as the same as 0. Hookeri, but 

 consider it a distinct genus. 



XXXI. — Note on Anthracosaurus. By Albany Hancock, 

 F.L.S., and Thos. Atthey. 



In the following brief remarks we wish to supply a note to 

 our paper on Anthracosaurus and Urocordylus, published in the 

 September Number of the ' Annals.' In that paper we de- 

 scribed a large portion of the skull of Ant7i7-acosaurus and a 

 portion of a mandible belonging also to the same Labyrintho- 

 dont. We spoke likewise of the occurrence of a central sternal 

 plate, ribs, and vertebraj which we thought belonged to that 

 Amphibian. We are now in a position to show that another 

 considerable fragment of a skull of this interesting Laby- 

 rinthodont has occurred in the same locality, the true nature 

 of which fossil, however, has been misunderstood. 



In the ' Annals,' some months ago, Mr. T. P. Barkas de- 

 scribed what he considered to be a malar bone as large as that 

 of a fidl-grown crocodile. Having obtained some authentic 

 information respecting this enigmatical bone, we are not sur- 

 prised to find that it has no resemblance whatever to a repti- 

 lian malar, and that it is, in fact, composed of several of the 

 upper cranial bones of the Labyrinthodont alluded to. 



* Mr. William Dinning, a clever young palseontologist, was 

 allowed by the owner of the fossil in question to make a 

 drawing of it ,* and he has kindly permitted us to refer to his 

 figure, which represents the specimen of the natural size, and 

 has all the appearance of great accuracy. With the aid of this 

 di'awing and the original incomplete description in the ' An- 

 nals ' there is no difficulty in determining the real nature of 

 this so-called malar. That it is the upper portion of the 

 cranium of a Labyrinthodont, there can be no doubt • neither 

 can there be any doubt that it consists of the two frontals (which 

 are quite distinctly displayed), the parietals, and the greater 

 portion of the supraoccipitals. 



• We' have recently had an opportunity of examining a per- 

 fect cranium of a large Labyrinthodont resembling Loxomma. 



