1881.] PROF. W. H, FLOWER ON THE ELEPH.4NT SEAL. 



153 



I have examined many isolated canines of Elephant Seals, including 

 some which Mr. Moseley has been kind enough to put at my dis- 

 posal, which he selected as the largest he could find from a number 

 of skulls lying on the beach at Heard's Island, and find none with 

 crowns materially larger than those mentioned above, or differing 

 greatly in the form or size of the root. I have, in fact, seen 

 no tooth which, crown and root together, measures in a straight 

 line between the apex of the crown and the middle of the root 

 more than 6 inches, or 150 millims., or which exceeds in greatest 

 diameter \-6 inch, or 40 millims., though these dimensions are 

 very nearly reached in all the specimens which show signs of 

 maturity. I am therefore not disposed to attach the same import- 

 ance to Pernetty's statement of teeth of this animal in the Falkland 

 Islands 7 inches long^ and 3 in diameter, which my friend Dr. Peters 

 does, and to infer from it the existence of a distinct species. It is, 

 of course, possible, though as yet without proof, that in former 

 times, before these animals were subjected to the severe struggle 

 for existence occasioned by the remorseless pursuit of the sealers, 

 many, or at least some favoured individuals, may have acquired a 

 much larger size than at present ; but before accepting the state- 

 ment above quoted, it would be necessary to know whether the tooth 

 of a Sperm Whale, or some other Cetacean, may not have been 

 mistaken for that of a Sea-elephant. 



1 Apex worn. 



^ If measured along the curve, this would scacrely exceed the ordinary size as 

 to length ; but the " trois pouces de diamettre " is difficult to understand, 

 especially as he adds, " Ce n'est pas une des plus grandes ;" and what does 

 Pernetty mean by " nous en avons compte vingt-deux telles que celle-ci dans 

 la machoire d'un de ces lions, a laquelle il en manquoit encore cinq ou six ; 

 elles etoient solides dans toute leur longueur, et ne sailloient guere plus d'un 

 pouce ou d'un pouce & demi, hors de leurs alveoles " ? (op. cit. p. 48). Surely it 

 must bare been the jaw of an Orca, and not a Seal, that he was describing! ■ 



