18/2.] DR. J. E. GRAY ON AUSTRALIAN SEA-BEARS. 743 



Iii the foetal skull from California (figs. 4, 5) the hind upper 

 grinder is at a considerable distance from the others, as in the very 

 old skull in the Museum and the two adult skulls figured by Mr. 

 Allen. The closer position of the last grinder in the younger skull 

 from Japan may either be an individual malformation, or may be a 

 peculiarity of the Japan Seal ; this is a question that must be left 

 for future determination. 



The middle-sized skull from Japan is 1 1 inches long, and 5^ inches 

 broad at the condyles of the jaws ; lower jaw 7| inches long. The 

 skull of the very young is 7i inches long, and 4£ inches broad. 



3. Additional Notes on Arctocephalus cinereus and on 

 Gypsophoca. By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c. 



[Eeceived June 10, 1872.] 



I have just (June 10th, 1872) received a proof-plate that is to 

 form part of the forthcoming volume of the ' Transactions of the 

 New-Zealand Institute,' vol. iv. plate 12. 



The Plate represents two skulls, and is inscribed " Arctocephalus 

 cinereus, Gray : fig. 1, adult, Milford Sound ; fig. 2, young, Auck- 

 land Island." 



Dr. Hector in this case has made the same mistake as I did in 

 the ' Catalogue of the Seals and Whales,' when I described the skull 

 of Mr. Macgillivray's Seal from North Australia as the Otaria cinerea 

 of Quoy and Gaimard ; but then I had never seen the real skull of 

 the Arctophoca cinerea. 



There is no doubt that the skulls Dr. Hector has figured are very 

 distinct from each other, for the reasons given in my former paper. 

 That which is figured as the adult Arctocephalus cinereus from Mil- 

 ford Sound is a true Arctocephalus, and apparently the same as O. 

 cinerea. The young Arctocephalus cinereus of Hector, from Auck- 

 land Island, is evidently a Gypsophoca and very similar to the skull 

 which we received from North Australia, near the tropics. The 

 skull figured by Dr. Hector wants the last pair of upper grinders ; 

 but the cavities for the reception of their roots are well marked. The 

 only difference that I see between this skull and the skull in the 

 Museum from North Australia is the small size of the foramina on 

 the side of the ossa petrosa. This adds to the difficulty about the 

 geographical distribution of this genus. The specimen and skull in 

 the Museum come from North Australia, near the tropics ; Dr. 

 Hector's skull from the Auckland Islands near the Antarctic circle ; 

 and Dr. Philippi's skull from the west coast of S. America, as also 

 does Dr. Peters's Arctophoca, if we consider that the skull which he 

 described had probably lost its last upper grinder, and belongs to this 

 genus. 



