Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British MuseumGray, John Edward
Science
Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British Museum
Gray, John Edward
Seals (Animals); Whales
The two skulls of this species in the British Museum agree in most
particulars; but they differ considerably in the form of the hinder
nostrils. The larger one is without its upper teeth, but the forms of the
roots are well exhibited by their sockets; the front edge of the hinder
nasal opening is produced rather further forward, and is acutely angular.
The other skull, which is rather smaller and has the teeth in good
condition, has the hinder nasal opening with a slightly arched, nearly
truncated, front edge.
Dr. Peters refers _Phoca falklandica_ (Shaw, Zool. i. p. 256) and _Otaria
falklandica_. (Hamilton, Ann. & Mag. N. H. 1839, p. 81, t. 4; Jardine,
Nat. Lib. vi. p. 271, t. 25) to this species. But as neither Dr. Shaw nor
Dr. Hamilton describes the number or position of the teeth, it is not
possible to determine if this is the _Fur-Seal_ of the sealers, collected
at the Falkland Islands, more especially as the fact of the skull coming
from the Falkland Islands is not well ascertained. See the other synonyma
which have been established on the sealers’ descriptions and figures or
the skins collected for the furriers at the Falkland Islands (Gray, Cat.
Seals and Whales, pp. 55, 56). Dr. Hamilton, who prides himself on his
figure, represents the hind legs as extended behind: but they look very
awkward in that position, the stuffer having evidently had a difficulty
in extending them.
The hair of _A. nigrescens_ is considerably longer than that of _A.
cinereus_, but not so harsh, the fur of the half-grown _A. nigrescens_
being longer, sparse, flat, rather curled at the end, giving it a
crispness to the feel; while the hairs of the very young specimens are
abundant, nearly of equal length, forming an even coat that is soft and
smooth to the touch.
Capt. Abbott’s young specimen in the British Museum chiefly differs from
the adult specimen in the same collection in the hairs being longer, more
erect, and with minute white tips, and in the face, throat, and chest
being rufous brown; but this reddish colour is common to the young of
several Sea-bears.
The skulls from Desolation Island, on the south-west coast of Patagonia,
presented to the Anatomical Museum of the University of Edinburgh by the
late Professor Goodsir, evidently belong to _Euotaria nigrescens_, the
usual Fur-Seal of the Falkland Islands and other parts of the coast of
South-west America. Two of the skulls are from adult animals, are without
the lower jaws, and have only a few worn and broken teeth, having been
rolled on the beach.
The other skull is of a young animal, exactly similar to the skull
of a young _Euotaria nigrescens_, n. 1013_e_, in the British-Museum
collection. The front edge of the hinder nostrils is as arched as in that
specimen; the teeth are rather more developed than in our skull; they
have a well-marked central lobe and a distinct small acute tubercle on
the front edge of the cingulum.
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