154 PROF. W. H. FLOWER OX THE ELEPHANT SEAL. [Jan. 4, 



Milk-Dentition. — As is well-known, in the Seals generally the 

 milk-teeth are extremely rudimentary in size and form, and per- 

 fectly functionless. They mostly never cut the gums, and are 

 actually absorbed before birth. In a specimen of Phoca vitulina, 

 which was born in the Society's Gardens in 1868, and which 

 survived its birth exactly one week, the only traces of milk-teeth 

 remaining were small rudiments of the upper canine and one molar 

 on one side only. All the permanent teeth were in a nearly equal 

 state of development '. Th'e same condition has been observed in 

 all the other species which have been examined. Jn Cystophora 

 cristata, the nearest ally of the Elephant Seal, the milk-teeth, as 

 observed by Reinhardt, are still more rudimentary -. On the other 

 hand, in the Eared Seals {Otariidce), which more nearly approach the 

 terrestrial Carnivora in many points in their structure as well as 

 habits, the milk-teeth are better developed and less evanescent than 

 in the true Seals, the canines especially being of moderate size and 

 retained for several weeks. 



In the youngest skulls of the Elephant Seal which I have been 

 able to examine, and which, from their size and general development, 

 must be little more than new-born, the whole of the permanent 

 teeth are fully in place, except the great canines, of which the apices 

 only are appearing above the alveoli ; and I am not aware of any 

 observations upon the milk-teeth of these animals, except one, which 

 I was fortunate enough to make some years ago ^ and which, froin its 

 extremely interesting nature, may be worth repeating here, especially 

 as I am enabled to exhibit the specimen to the Society for comparison 

 with the huge skull and teeth of the adult animal (see figs. 1a and 2a,- 

 pp. 150, 151). A foetal Seal is preserved in the stores of the Museum 

 of the Royal College of Surgeons, only 11 inches (28 millims.) long 

 from nose to end of hind feet, whence obtained I am not able to 

 gay, but which presents all the external characteristics of the species 

 under consideration, and which, it should be mentioned, is of the 

 female sex. It has no hair, except the whiskers and tufts over the eyes. 

 The five short conical nails are all developed upon the fore feet. On 

 the hind feet the position of all the nails is indicated by extremely 

 minute depressed dots in the skin a Uttle distance from the end of the 

 skin of the toe ; in the three middle toes, which are of nearly equal 

 length, these dots are scarcely 2 millims. from the extremity. In the 

 two outer, longer toes they are about 9 millims. from the end, and 

 more conspicuous than the inner ones. I mention these because it 

 is often stated that there are not even rudiments of claws on the 

 hind feet of the Elephant Seals. 



The jaws contained a set of very minute calcified teeth, viz. 

 i. -f-, c. \, m. f, on each side, being the complete number of milk-teeth 

 which the species would have ; for the incisors and canines should 



■ See W. H. Flower, " Notes on the First or Milk-Dentition of the Mam- 

 malia,'' Trans. Odontological Society, vol. iii. 1871, p. 211. 



- " Oni Klapmydsen's ufodte Unge og dens Melketandscet," Naturhist. Videnst 

 Meddelelser for 1864. 



2 See ' Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,' vol. iii. 1869, p. 270. 



