650 MR. J. W. CLARK ON EARED SEALS. [Dec. 7, 
8. On the Eared Seals of the Islands of St. Paul and Amster- 
dam, with a Description of the Fur-Seal of New Zealand, 
and an attempt to distinguish and rearrange the New- 
Zealand Otariide. By J. W. Cuark, F.Z.S8. 
[Received December 6, 1875]. 
(Plates LXX.—-LXXII.) 
When I began this paper I expected that it would amount to no 
more than a description of the four skulls from St. Paul’s Island which 
I exhibit to night, with a few notes on the stuffed specimens from the 
same locality preserved in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes, 
Paris, where, thanks to the kindness of my friends Professor Ger- 
vais and Professor Milne-Edwards, I was allowed, last autumn, to 
study the specimens that had been lately acquired. A fortnight 
ago, however, my friend Dr. Hector was so good as to present to 
the Cambridge Museum a young Fur-Seal of New Zealand preserved 
in spirit, and to lend me, with the concurrence of Dr. Giinther, 
two adult skulls of the same species, male and female. He also, 
with great generosity, put into my hands the notes and measure- 
ments he had taken when the animals were captured ; so that, thanks 
to him, I am able to lay before the Society much new and valuable 
information respecting the southern Ofaride, with which we are 
still so imperfectly acquainted, 
The specimens I have to exhibit are :—four skulls from the Island 
of St. Paul or Amsterdam, I am unable to say which ; of the Fur-Seal 
of New Zealand, a young female in spirit, and two adult skulls, of 
one of which the snout has fortunately been preserved ; and a young 
skull from Campbell Island lent me by Professor Gervais. 
I propose to preface my description of these by a collection of the 
notices of “Seals”? that are profusely scattered through the early 
voyages of exploration to the South Sea and New Zealand, in the 
hope of clearing up to a certain degree the difficult question of the 
number and synonymy of the species still existing on the Australian 
coasts, using the term ‘‘ Australian”’ to designate Australia proper, 
New Zealand, Tasmania, and the adjacent islands. These notices are 
peculiarly valuable for my present subject, as the destruction of Seals 
has been going on steadily since the first discovery of the country. 
Hisroricau EvipENCE. 
I. Islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam. 
RO 
These are two volcanic islands in lat. 37° 52! S., long. 77° 35’ E., 
discovered by one Vlaming, a Dutchman, in 1697. It would appear 
that the most southern of the two is now called St. Paul’s; but the 
islands have changed names more than once*. They are nearly 
equidistant from the Cape of Good Hope and Australia, and lie only 
* See Vancouver's Voyage, 4to, London, 1798, i. p. 26. 
