188 mr. j. w. clark on a [Mar. 18, 



2. On a Sea Lion from the East Coast of Australia (Otaria 

 cinerea, Peron). By J. W. Clark, F.Z.S. 



[Eeceived March 18, 1884.] 



In the New South Wales Court of the Fisheries Exhibition which 

 was held last year at South Kensington, there were four stuffed 

 Otarias belonging to the Australian Museum, Sydney. They were 

 labelled : "A group of Australian Eared Seals. The Grey Sea-Lion 

 (Arctocej)halus cinereus, Gr.), from the Seal Rocks near Port Ste- 

 phens, New South Wales." 1 



The following notes on the four specimens were partly communi- 

 cated to me by my friend Mr. E. P. Ramsay, Curator of the Museum, 

 partly written by myself. 



1. A male from which the skull (figs. 1 and 2) had been extracted. 

 The animal was between six and seven feet long ; the hair short, 

 stiff, and bristly, especially on the nape of the neck ; the underfur 

 red and very sparse. Colour a uniform brown, rather lighter on 

 the head and on the back of the neck 2 . 



2. An animal nearly as large as the former, and said to be a female 

 of the same species. Hair bristly ; the general .colour brown, but 

 paler on the back than in the male, and on the head and neck 

 inclining to a dusky yellow ; on the under surface of the body and 

 on the upper surface of the * pes ' and ' manus ' a dark brown. The 

 stuffer had fortunately set the jaws open, so that the teeth could be 

 examined. The molars were ^, each having a posterior and 

 anterior cusp, with the exception of the first tooth in each row. 



3. A small Otaria rather less than three feet long. It had no skull, 

 and therefore the age could not be ascertained. Hair short and fine, 

 with a dense underfur. Colour a yellowish grey, paler on the under 

 surface of the body, and becoming a light brown on the upper surface 

 of the ' pes ' and ' manus.' 



4. A very young Otaria, about two feet eight inches long, of a uni- 

 form dark brown on the back, lighter underneath. 



It appears to me that nos. 1 and 2 are rightly referred to the same 

 species, but I doubt about their being male and female ; and no. 4 may 

 very likely be a cub of the same species also. It appears to be a rule 

 among the Otariidee that the cubs are of a dark brown colour ; and Mr. 

 Ramsay informed me that this animal had unquestionably been taken 

 from the same rocks as the former. On the other hand, I suspect 

 that no. 3, from the density of the underfur, is a specimen of the Fur 

 Seal of Australia, for which I ventured to revive the name Otaria 

 forsteri (P. Z. S. 1875, pp. 650-677) ; and which is, I believe, the 

 same as Dr. Hector's Arctocephulus cinereus (Trans. New Zealand 

 Inst. 1871, iv. p. 196). 



Besides these specimens I purchased a few months since a com- 

 plete skeleton, not quite full-grown, said to have been obtained from 



1 Port Stephens is an inlet about 100 miles to the north of Sydney. 



2 This specimen is now in the British Museum. 



