Fauna of Shropshire and North Wales. 541 



heart of the otter, and head of the conger. The former I procured, 

 but the latter, slipping through one of the boatmen's fingers, was 

 carried off with the tide. 



Canis vtjlpes, Linn. (Fox.) Common. A female in the possession 

 of Edward Gataene, Esq. of Gataene, bred in confinement, having 

 made an earth by scratching up a large flag- stone, her young, how- 

 ever, having been looked at, she destroyed them when two or three 

 days old. 



Phoca vitulina, Linn. (Common Seal.) Pennant, in his British 

 Zoology, mentions the occurrence of this species on the coasts of 

 Caernavonshire and Anglesea. The fishermen also have several times 

 informed of its occurrence. I have never, however, succeeded in 

 obtaining or seeing one. Mr Bell, in his " Historv of British Qua- 

 drupeds," page 263, mentions, on the authority of Professor Nilsson, 

 that the oblique position of the teeth is a constant character in this 

 species. It is, however, one which appears to vary with the age of 

 the animal. In the cranium of a specimen in my collection obtain- 

 ed in Scotland, and of whose habits while alive some account was 

 published in the first number of this Magazine, the two posterior 

 molars are not oblique, and the third only slightly so. The fourth 

 and fifth are, however, as represented in Mr Bell's work, page 268. 

 The teeth in the lower jaw correspond with those of the upper, al- 

 though a young one, which appears from the state of the ossification, 

 and the total length being only 3 feet 4 in. It has no remains of 

 milk teeth. The following particulars with regard to the skeleton 

 may perhaps contribute towards the elucidation of the genus. The 

 palatine bones are as figured by Mr Bell. Vertebrae, cer. 7 ; dor. 

 15 ; lum. 5 ; sac. 6 ; caud. 8 ; the tip of the tail was slightly in- 

 jured, but I believe the enumeration to be correct. Ribs, 15. 



Sciurus vulgaris, Linn. (Squirrel.) Common. 



Myoxus avellanaeios, Desm. (Dormouse.) In woods near 

 the Wrekin, consisting chiefly of oak and hazel underwood, grow- 

 ing from old stumps, in which they make their winter quarters. 

 The strokes of the wood- cutter's axe awake them, when, in their 

 endeavour to escape, they are frequently captured. My specimens 

 were obtained in this manner. 



Mus messorius, Shaw, (Harvest Mouse.) A specimen is in 

 my collection taken near Eyton. 



Mus sylvaticus, Linn. (Long-tailed Fieldmouse.) Common 

 during a late flood on the wild moors. I could have captured any 

 number of these mice, everv little tuft of grass that was tolerablv 



