1914] Taylor: Aquatic Adaptation in the Carnivora 469 



The writer was assisted in many ways by Dr. Joseph Grinnell, 

 director, and by Dr. H. C. Bryant and Mr. F. H. Holden, mem- 

 bers of the staff, of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the 

 same institution, and desires to express to them his appreciation. 



The drawings were made by Mrs. Louise Nash. 



HISTORY OF THE LITERATURE 



The osteology of the sea-otter has been discussed by Home, 2 

 who notes several points with regard to skull (two plates of the 

 skull and lower jaw are given), skeleton, and external characters, 

 but considers internal anatomy at greater length; Lichtenstein, 

 who is said to have figured the skull ; Martin, 3 who described the 

 skeleton of the sea-otter in some detail; Baird 4 who, in character- 

 izing the sea-otter, incidentallv mentions skull characters ; Ger- 

 vais, 5 who worked out the osteology and discussed the systematic 

 position of Lata.c, and by Coues, 6 who discusses quite compre- 

 hensively the habits, characters and systematic status of the 

 animal, and gives the leading references to the sea-otter. 



Many naturalists, explorers, and traders, as well as a number 

 of both the earlier and later historians, refer, at least casually, 

 to the sea-otter. The fact of its former great abundance on 

 the shores of the North Pacific is recorded in many places. 7 The 

 progress of civilization has witnessed the steady increase in the 

 efficiency of man as a hunter, and a corresponding diminution 

 in numbers of this intrinsically interesting and economically 

 important animal, until now, from all accounts, it has become so 

 rare an animal as to be approaching extinction everywhere. 



2 Home, E., "A description of the anatomy of the sea-otter." Phil. 

 Trans. R. Soc, London, 1796, p. 385. 



3 Martin, W. C. L., "On the Osteology of the Sea Otter Enhydra marina 

 Flem. " Proe. Zool. Soc, London, pt. 4 (1836), pp. 59-62. 



4 Baird, S. F., ' ' General report upon the mammals of the several 

 Pacific railroad routes," pt. 1 (1857), p. 189, in Mammals of North 

 America. (Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott and Company, 1859). 



s Gervais, Journ. de Zool., vol. 4 (1875), pp. 200-206. 



6 Coues, E., "Fur-bearing animals." U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr. 

 Misc. Pub. 8 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1877), p. 325. 



7 For example, see Smythe, W. E., History of San Diego (San Diego, 

 The History Company, 1907), pp. 68, 88, 107. 



