1864.] DR. J. E. GRAY ON THE SPECIES OF SEALS. 27 
is about one-eighteenth of the total length; the length of the head 
one-eleventh. The head is rather compressed, the snout short, the 
mouth very narrow, and the lower jaw very prominent. The mi- 
nute eye is lateral and in the anterior third of the length of the head. 
The dorsal fin commences at a distance from the occiput which is 
somewhat less than the length of the head; it is nearly even, and 
the rays are very distinct, the interradial membrane being thin and 
transparent. The anal fin commences immediately behind the vent. 
The caudal rays are much more slender and more closely set than 
those of the dorsal and anal; the caudal fin is rounded, two-thirds 
of the length of the head. Pectorals as long as the ventrals, and 
half as long as the head; the latter fins are close together, and in- 
serted a little behind the root of the pectoral. Upper parts uniform 
brownish olive. 
The single specimen is 4} inches long. 
26. ANABLEPsS DOvII, Gill. 
II. Species collected at Colon. 
1. Prist1POMA MELANOPTERUM, Cuv. & Val. 
2. PoMACANTHUS PARU, Gthr. 
3. SpHyR2ZNA PICUDA, Bl. Schn. 
III. Species from the Lake of Managua, Nicaragua. 
1. Heros tapratus, n. sp. (PI. IV. fig. 1.) 
D.%. A.4. L, lat. 32. L. transv. 6/13. The anterior por- 
11° 8 
tions of the upper and lower lips are much enlarged, each forming a 
moveable subtriangular flap. The height of the body is somewhat 
more than the length of the head, and two-fifths of the total. The 
mouth is very protractile ; the eye occupies the middle of the length 
of the head. Scales on the cheek in four series. Base of the dorsal 
almost scaleless. Uniform red, or sometimes red irregularly mar- 
bled with black. 
The largest specimen is 7 inches long. 
5. Notes on Srats (PHOCID#), INCLUDING THE DESCRIPTION 
or A New Sra (HALICYON RICHARDII) FROM THE WEST 
Coast or Nort America. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., 
ETC. 
Mr. Charles B. Wood, the Surgeon of H.M.S. ‘ Hecate,’ has very 
kindly sent to the British Museum, along with other interesting spe- 
cimens from the north-western part of North America, the skeleton 
of a Seal from Fraser’s River, and the skull of a Seal obtained on the 
west coast of Vancouver’s Island. 
The skull was procured from the natives, who had the animal 
