148 G. F. Eaton — Prehistoric Fauna of Block Island. 



a chart is given showing the localities in which remains of the 

 Great Auk have been found in Indian shell-heaps. Although 

 Mr. Lucas gives no locality south of Cape Cod, he says that 

 this bird was probably common along the New England coast. 

 So far as the. writer can learn, the only evidence of its pres- 

 ence south of Cape Cod is to be found in Brereton's "Account 

 of the Voyage of Gosnold to Virginia," where mention is made 

 of "penguins" in the list of birds of the country. The date 

 of Gosn old's arrival in Virginia was April 26, 1607. 



A theory has been advanced by Fannie P. Hardy (The Auk, 

 July, 1888) that the New England shell-heaps were formed 

 principally during the summer encampment of the Indians at 

 the shore, and that the finding of auk bones throughout the 

 deposits points to the presence of these birds on the coast dur- 

 ing their breeding season. In regard to the Block Island shell- 

 heaps, there is no reason for supposing that they were deposited 

 during the summer only, or even principally. On the contrary, 

 the remains of many birds which visit our coast in the autumn 

 and early spring rather indicate a permanent residence of the 

 Indians there. Furthermore, the fact that all the auk bones 

 found belonged to mature skeletons is opposed to the theory 

 that these birds bred on the island. 



The Gray Seal. 



While exploring the Mott Shell-heap, part of a skull of the 

 Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus) was discovered. This consisted 

 of a left maxillary and its premaxillary, with a nearly complete 

 series of the teeth borne by these bones. A few small frag- 

 ments and phalanges were found near the imperfect skull, and 

 probably belonged to the same skeleton, although they have 

 not been identified with certainty. The teeth in place were 

 the second and third incisors, the canine, and the five teeth 

 of the premolar and molar series. This seal had evidently 

 reached an extreme old age, for all the teeth were much worn, 

 especially the incisors and canine, which had been ground 

 down until their pulp cavities were exposed to view. Only 

 one individual of this rare species of seal was obtained from 

 the Block Island shell-heaps, and there is no reason to suppose 

 that it frequented the waters around the Island in such num- 

 bers as did the Harbor and Harp Seals. Yet its occurrence 

 here is of interest when what has been written about its distri- 

 bution is taken into consideration. From J. A. Allen's " Mon- 

 ograph of the North American Pinnipeds," the following quo- 

 tation is made: "The Gray Seal appears -to be not only one 

 of the least abundant of the northern Phocids, but also to be 

 restricted to a rather narrow range. It is wholly confined to 



