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IV. — On the Skulls of Antarctic Seals: Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. 

 By William S. Bruce, LL.D., Director of the Scottish Oceanographical Labora- 

 tory. (With Five Plates.) 



(MS. received March 13, 1913. Read May 5, 1913. Issued separately June 27, 1913.) 



Although the osteology of Antarctic seals has been very completely discussed, 

 notably by the late Dr J. E. Gkay, Sir William Turner, and Professor Robert 

 Thomson, yet the literature regarding the subject is somewhat scattered. I have 

 therefore considered that it might be important from the point of view, as it were, of 

 an index to publish a complete series of photographs of a set of the skulls of seals 

 taken by the naturalists of the Scotia during the Antarctic voyage of 1902-1904. 



The species considered are : — 



1. Leptonychotes Weddelli (Gill) : The Weddell Seal. 



2. Stenor/iynchus lejdonyx (F. Cuvier) : The Sea-leopard. 



3. Lohodon carcinoj)haga (Gray) : The Crab Eater, or White Antarctic Seal. 



4. OmmatopJwca Rossi (Gray) : The Ross Seal. 



5. Otaria jvhata (Forster) : The Patagonian Sea-lion. 



The type collection of the seals' skulls taken by the Scotia naturalists are chieHy 

 housed in the Anatomical Museum of the University of Edinburgh, and in the Scottish 

 Oceanographical Laboratory ; those housed in the Anatomical Museum of the Uni- 

 versity of Edinburgh have been duly recorded in Sir William Turner's excellent 

 descriptive catalogue entitled Marine Mammals in the Anatom,ical Museum of the 

 University of Edinburgh ; while Professor Robert Thomson, of Cape Town Uni- 

 versity, has contributed a paper to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 

 entitled " Osteology of Antarctic Seals," which also appears in the Scientific Reports 

 of the Voyage of S. Y. " Scotia," volume iv. 



Beyond this it is unnecessary to say more at the present time, except to refer to 

 the plates published herewith. It will be observed that the skulls of the species of 

 each seal are shown from every possible aspect : — 



From ( i ) The posterior aspect. 



(2) The anterior aspect. 



(3) The lateral aspect. 



(4) The inferior aspect without the lower jaw. 



(5) The inferior aspect with the lower jaw. 

 (5a) The superior aspect of the lower jaw. 



(6) The superior aspect. 



TRANS. ROY. SOC. EDIN., VOL. XLIX. PART II. (NO. 4) 45 



