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Show 508 PROF. FLOWER ON PHOCA HISPIDA. [Julie 6, quoted by Erxleben), in which a brief description (p. 312) is given of "der rauhe Seehund," which is latinized in the figure (pl. 86) into Phoca hispida, although this name is not given in the text. This is evidently founded upon the "Rough Seal" of Pennant (Synopsis of Quadrupeds, p. 341, 1771), the description of which is a mere reproduction of Crantz's account of the Neitsek. There is nothing either in Schreber's description or figure to identify the species ; and it has since been thought (as by A. Wagner in his edition of this part of Schreber's work, 1846) to refer to a totally distinct animal, viz. Halichcerus grypus. Erxleben, in his 'Systema Regni Animalis: Classis I. Mammalia' (1777), describes Phoca vitulina, P. grcenlandica, P. barbata, and P. hispida. The brief description of the latter is taken from Schreber (which, as mentioned above, is mainly derived from Crantz), who is given as the authority for the name ; but P.fcetida (Miiller, Prodr. Zool. Dan.) is given as a synonym. This brings us back to Gmelin iu 1788, who adopts the species and nomenclature of Erxleben. In 1790 Fabricius published an elaborate paper on the Greenland Seals *, in which he redescribes his P. fcelida, but withdraws the name he had bestowed upon it in favour of P. hispida, as he believes that it is the same species as that described by Schreber, Erxleben, and Gmelin under that name, which, he says, has therefore the priority over his own. In this paper figures are given of the skulls of P. grcenlandica and P. barbata, Halichcerus grypus and Cystophora cristata, but unfortunately none of P. hispida; or its specific identity would have been absolutely determined. Although the name of P.fcetida was thus definitely withdrawn by its author, it has been revived and adopted by many recent zoologists, as the table of synonyms (p. 509) will show. Nilsson, in 1820, not being able to satisfy himself that the species had been clearly determined by either of these names, when giving the first thoroughly accurate and detailed account of its characters, renamed it P. annellataf. This name has also been adopted by many modern authors. In the ' Memoires du Museum ' (tome xi. 1824) Fr. Cuvier (being apparently unacquainted with Nilsson's work) gave figures of the skulls of all four species of Phoca, three views of each, on one pa°-e (tab. 12), and therefore well adapted for comparison. Although they are taken from rather immature specimens, and not all of corresponding ages, they give the most characteristic differences clearly, and there is no difficulty in recognizing the species now under consideration in that to which the name of hispida is applied, apparently the designation under which it was received from Reinhardt (see fig. 3, g, h and i). In the same memoir the name of P. discolor is proposed for a Seal which had lived in the Jardin des Plantes, and * In ' Skrivter af Naturhistorie Selskabet,' Copenhagen, 1st vol. t Skand. Fauna, i. p. 362, 1820 ; see also " Entwurf einer systeinatischen Ein-theilung und spcciellen P.<-'selircih*mg der Phoken, von Nilsson, aus dem Schwe-dischen ubcrsetzt von W . Peters," Wieginann's Archiv, viii. 1st vol. p. ;'01 (1841). |