XIV. Notes on the External Characters and Anatomy of the Californian Sea-lion 
(Otaria gillespii). By W. A. Forses, B.A., Fellow of St. John’s College, 
Cambridge, Prosector to the Society. 
Received March 12th, read April 5th, 1881. 
[Puares XLVIIL, XLIX,, L.] 
OF late years numerous specimens of the Californian Sea-lion (Ofaria gillespii)' have 
been brought alive to Europe and exhibited in the Zoological Gardens and Aquaria of 
England and the Continent. A pair, the male of which has lately died, lived long at 
the Brighton Aquarium, and on two occasions bred, one of the cubs being now a fine 
adolescent male. Another pair were received in the year 1877 at the Southport 
Aquarium. Of these the female was killed accidentally some fifteen months ago, as 
already noticed in the Society’s ‘ Proceedings’ (1879, p. 460). Unfortunately no 
further use seems to have been made of her body, though the skull was exhibited at 
one of the Society's meetings, and determined by Prof. Flower as belonging to this 
species (J. c. p. 651). The male did not long survive his partner, but, gradually pining 
away, died last spring. Mr. C. L. Jackson, the Superintendent of the Aquarium, 
having forwarded this animal after its death to Prof. Flower, our President, being at 
that time much occupied with other duties, was kind enough to hand it over to me for 
examination and dissection. 
Till within a few weeks ago our knowledge of the Californian Sea-lion was extremely 
limited, all that was known about it being contained in Mr. J. A. Allen’s account of the 
species in his article on the “Eared Seals” (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. ii. pp. 69-73, 
1870-71). At that time his only materials, as regards the present animal, were two 
skulls and a skeleton; and for his description of the skin he had to depend upon 
Schlegel’s (7. e. Temminck’s) account of Otaria stelleri in the ‘ Fauna Japonica,’ which 
at that time, following Dr. Peters’s identification, he regarded as being in reality 
O. gillespiti. 
! Mr. J. A. Allen, in the second of his valuable memoirs mentioned below, uses the name Zalophus califor- 
nianus for the present species. I am not yet prepared to split up the, in many ways, very natural genus 
Otaria into several genera, founded, as these are, almost entirely upon cranial characters. As regards the 
genus Zalophus, it may be noted that Mr. O. Thomas has lately noticed a skull of Otaria jubata with the 
same number of molars as are supposed to characterize that genus (P. Z. 8. 1881, p. 4). 
As regards the specific name, the Otaria californiana of Lesson was based, as Mr. Allen states, on a drawing 
published by Choris in 1822, which is called by Mr. Allen himself “a rather poor figure,” and has hitherto 
been referred to O. stelleri. As there can be no doubt as to the species intended by MacBain’s name gillespii, 
and as that name, too, has hitherto been used by nearly all writers on the subject, I think it will be better 
to retain it. 
VOL. X1.—pakT vu. No, 3.—October, 1882. 2N 
