Tribe III. ARCTOCEPHALINA.
Grinders 6/5·6/5; face of the skull shelving in front; the fifth and sixth grinders behind the front of the zygomatic arch.
3. PHOCARCTOS.
The skull elongate, forehead flat. The palate concave, deep, with a thickened margin on each side in front, widest in the middle part of the tooth-line, and gradually narrowed behind the teeth; the internal nares oblong, longer than broad, truncate in front, the front edge in a line with the orbital process of the zygomatic arch. Grinders large, compressed; the fifth and sixth upper behind the back edge of the zygomatic arch. The grinders have compressed roots; some of them have a very indistinct longitudinal groove on the side; the fifth upper grinder has two distinct roots. The ear-bones scarcely prominent, with a flat lower surface. Flap of toes moderate.
I have not seen an adult skull of this genus. The skulls described are 10 inches long, but the bones are not knit (see Cat. S. & W. p. 47, f. 17).
Arctocephalus § II., Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1859, p. 109.
Phocarctos, Gray, Ann. & Mag. N. H. 1866, vol. xviii. p. 234.
Otaria (part.), Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. ii. p. 44.
1. Phocarctos Hookeri. The Southern Hair-Seal.
B.M.