Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British Museum

by John Edward Gray

Inhab. California; Behring’s Straits.

The skin of the young specimen which Mr. Gurney gave to the Museum along with what was said by Mr. Taylor to be its skull (see ‘Cat. Seals & Whales,’ p. 51) was the only skin then known to exist in museums; and consequently I described the fur of the genus from this skin as having abundant under-fur (see Proc. Zool. Soc. 1859, p. 358). Dr. Peters having discovered Pander and D’Alton’s animal and skull in the Paris Museum, he observed that the adult animal was entirely without under-fur—a fact which has been confirmed by Mr. Allen, who suggests that the skin of the young received from Monterey is the skin of the young Eumetopias Stelleri, which, I think, is very probable. But this only shows the difficulties that must occur in the study of animals from the very imperfect materials which until lately existed.

The Sea-lion of Steller has been one of the zoological paradoxes. Professor Nilsson, like most preceding authors, regarded it as a variety of the Otaria jubata; and therefore I supposed it might be a second species of the restricted genus Otaria. Dr. Peters has solved the enigma by uniting it and the Seal which I described from California, observing that the skull in the Berlin Museum, figured by D’Alton under the name of “Steller’s Sea-lion” (Phoca jubata), was received from Kamtschatka, and a second skull of an old male in the Berlin Museum was received from Mr. Brandt as coming from Behring’s Straits.

The figure of Pander and D’Alton is so imperfect that it would have been impossible to determine the species it represents without the examination of the original skull; and then one sees that it may have been intended for the species to which it is referred. The same observation is applicable to the figure of the skull of Steller’s Sea-bear.

It is to be regretted that these skulls escaped the researches of Professor Nilsson, who visited most museums in Europe to examine the typical specimens.

The specimen of Callorhinus ursinus now in the Museum was received from St. Petersburg as Otaria leonina, or Leo marinus of Steller, from Behring’s Straits; so they evidently confound two species under that name.

8. ARCTOPHOCA.

Arctophoca, Peters.

Dr. Peters described this subgenus from a specimen sent from Chili by Dr. Philippi. It chiefly differs from Zalophus in the palate being much narrower, but rather wider behind, and the teeth rather far apart. I have not seen any skull agreeing with these characters.

“With abundant under-fur.”