[The 10th. ] THE VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS. 421 
it through the water, either by vertical or horizontal undulation’. 
Thus we have separate statements closely corresponding with each 
other, and each statement is vouched for by several British officers 
whose veracity has never been called in question: under these cir- 
cumstances we may afford to dismiss from this mquiry all those 
assertions of American captains, which have been treated in this 
country with such contempt. Resting the evidence solely on the 
authority of British officers, I then wish to state my unhesitating 
conviction that a marine animal of enormous size does exist, and 
that it differs essentially from any living animal described in our 
systematic works; and here I cannot refrain from expressing my 
regret that the statement of captain Sullivan should have been so 
entirely neglected as it has been: it appears to me in all respects 
equally trustworthy with the official statement of captain M’Quhae.” 
“The next question which occurs is this — to what class of 
vertebrate animals must we refer this monster of the deep? Is it 
a mammal, bird, reptile, or fish? All these classes include animals 
whose home is the ocean. To commense with placental mammals; 
— we have otters, seals, walrusses and sea-cows, all of which 
breathe atmospheric air, and, therefore, when swimming on the 
surface usually keep their nostrils -- often their heads — above the 
water: they also propel themselves by means of submerged fins or 
paddles, and, when inclined, can move along the surface with 
rapid direct and continuous motion. Professor Owen (Zool. 2312), 
in accordance with these views, declares the animal to be a seal; 
Phoca proboscidea or P. leonina, but his reasoning on the point 
appears to me very inconclusive: he assigns the animal a “capa- 
cious vaulted cranium”, whereas Lieutenant Drummond (Zool. 2307) 
declares the head was “long, pointed, and fattened at the top’, 
adding that it was, “perhaps ten feet in length, the upper jaw 
projecting considerably.” Captain M’Quhae, also, subsequently to 
Professor Owen’s paper, repeats (Zool. 2333) that “the head was 
flat, and not a capacious vaulted cranium’. The captain, who must 
be annoyed at the insinuation that im an official report he had 
magnified a seal into a sea-serpent, emphatically declares that “its 
great length and its totally differing physiognomy preclude the 
possibility of its being a Phoca of any species.” This idea must 
therefore be abandoned; the other marine mammals still remaining 
open for future consideration.’ | 
“Among Birds we have no approach to the animal described.” 
“The Enaliosauri next claim our attention, and, for the present 
