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Show 372 MR. J. W. CLARK ON OTARIA URSINA. [Mar. 19, size and build between the male and female. It is the first time, moreover, so far as I a m aware, that a pair of any species of Otaria has been obtained from the same locality at the same season of the year, and also the first time that this particular species has been seen in this country; and I feel most grateful to the Company for their generous present. The male is 5 feet 10 inches long, measured in a straight line from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail. The general colour of the pelage is a black inclining to grey ; and the hairs are 1 inch long. A closer examination shows that the grey tint is due to the presence of white hairs intermingled with the black ones. On the neck, right across the whole superior surface, from the back of the head to the shoulders, the hair is m u c h coarser, and individual hairs are exactly twice as long as on the back. There are a great many more white hairs on this part. The hair is equally long under the throat, but not along the sides of the neck. The shaggy appearance presented by this part of the pelage in an animal no older than our specimen gives an indication of what it must be in full-grown or aged individuals, and fully accounts for the " m a n e " so often described by the early voyagers. The muzzle is of a light brown, with very short hair. There is a patch of light-brown hair near the ear. The arm is destitute of hair near the distal end of the radius and ulna. There is a patch of a slightly rufous tinge behind it. A thick rufous under-fur covers the back, neck, and sides of the body, but it nowhere extends further than halfway clown. The hair under the belly is thinner and shorter; indeed it is extremely short on that part, and generally rather lighter in colour than on the rest of the body, especially between the hind legs. The enormous length of the cartilaginous flaps that project beyond the toes on the hind feet is characteristic of this species, and has been already noted and figured by Allen. Examination of the skull shows that the occipital crest has not yet been developed, and that the teeth are unworn. The canines have not reached their full size. The epiphyses of the bones of the arm and leg are still quite distinct. The female measures 3 feet along the same line as in the male. The pelage is generally much closer and finer, and the under-fur thicker, and longer in proportion to the hair. No white hairs are admixed with the dark ones ; but these latter have light-yellow tips, which become larger on the breast, so that that part is quite yellow. The colour under the belly is rufous, edged with a band of a lighter shade, which has a wavy outline, ascending higher just behind the arm and in front of the hind leg. The rufous tint is darkest between the fore legs. The skull shows that the animal is quite young, much younger probably than the male-an unfortunate circumstance, as we are unable to appreciate the difference in size between the sexes with the accuracy that could be wished. It will be seen that this female is just half the length of the male. Allen (t. c. p. 76) gives the length of an adult male as from seven to eight feet, of an adult female as four feet. |