GENUS MACRORHINUS.

THE cranium of the Genus Macrorhinus differs very much from that of other Seals, as do also the teeth, whose formulary is

The incisors are hooked like the canine, but are much smaller; the canine are very strong tusks, and the molars have simple fangs, and present this singular appearance that their crowns are smaller than their roots; they appear like a nipple on the round base which supports them.

M. de Blainville has given an interesting account of this cranium, from which we make a few extracts. "It is a foot and a half long, and the largest we have examined. The sagittooccipital crest is raised into a sort of pyramid like that of the Rhinoceros. But that in which it differs from all others is its exhibiting a structure capable of sustaining a prolongation from the nostrils. In truth, the forehead is extremely prominent, somewhat like that of the Elephant, and probably for an analogous purpose. The nasal bones are very short, and those of the muzzle are longer than in any other kind of Seal, since they form from their anterior extremity to the border of the orbit more than two-fifths of the total length of the head; and this muzzle is nearly formed entirely of the maxillaries: the space between these bones is entirely hollow, which leaves an enormous nasal opening.*

Lib. supra cit.

THE PROBOSCIS SEAL, OR

ELEPHANT SEAL.

Ph. Proboscidea. PERON.

PLATE XVI.—THE MAle.

Phoca Proboscidea, Peron, Des. 368. Ph. Elephantina, Molina, Elephant Seal of the English. Phoque à trompe of the French. Macrorhinus Proboscidius, F. Cuv. Miouroung of native Australians.*

THIS animal has received its specific name from the able Naturalist of the Voyage aux Terres Australes, on account of the very peculiar appearance of its short trunk. It is not, however, from this point of resemblance alone that it has acquired the name of Sea-Elephant, but also because it is by much the largest of its kind, in this respect more than doubling the dimensions of its terrestrial namesake, reaching the enormous length of twentyfive and thirty feet, maintaining withal a proportionate thickness. From being an object of great commercial importance it has attracted much attention, and

This is also the Sea-Lion of Anson, and the Sea-Wolf of Pernetty.

we rejoice it has received a minute examination from at least one Naturalist. Accordingly, we shall take our description chiefly from the interesting account of Peron.

The Proboscis Seal must undoubtedly stand at the head of all the Phocidæ, as the largest and most remarkable of those hitherto known. It has the enormous dimensions of twenty, twenty-five, and even thirty feet in length, with a circumference of from fifteen to eighteen feet. Its colour is sometimes greyish, sometimes bluish-grey, and more rarely blackish-brown. The absence of every thing like external ears; great whiskers composed of strong coarse hairs, very long, and twisted somewhat like a screw, with other similar hairs over each eye, supplying the place of eye-brows; eyes which are extremely large and prominent; strong and powerful swimming paws, having at their margin five small black nails; a very short tail, which is almost hid between two flat horizontal fins; these form the distinguishing traits of this strange animal. But the singular prolongation of the nostrils still remains to be mentioned. When the animal is in a state of repose, its nostrils, shrunk and pendant, serve only to make the face appear larger; but whenever he rouses himself, when he respires violently, when about to attack, or wishing to defend himself, the proboscis becomes elongated in the form of a tube to the length of about a foot; and then not only is the countenance changed, as

may be seen in the drawings, but the character of the voice is modified in a not less striking manner. The females are destitute of this organization, and have the upper lip even somewhat cleft. In both sexes the hair is exceedingly coarse and close, and hence cannot be compared in value with the finer skins of many other Seals.

THE FEMALE.

PLATE XVII.

THE following particulars have kindly been communicated to us by Dr Trail:-" The Great Seal at Liverpool was brought from New South Shetland about ten years ago. They abound on the coasts. The sailors find the male usually surrounded with several females; and they avoid wounding him, as the females seldom abandon the male, though they see the butchery of their own sex, but will leave the shore with the flight of the male.

The males are pugnacious with each other for their females. The one in the Liverpool Museum is not reckoned above the usual size of a full grown female."

To the account of the external appearance by Peron, we are happy we can add the following valuable description, by our intelligent publisher, of the same female of this species, preserved in the Liverpool Museum, and which was put up under the able direction of Dr Trail:- "I have taken," says Mr Lizars, "a sketch of this Great Seal, and a wonderful monster it is;-compared with any ordinary Seal three or four feet long, it appears exactly like an Elephant when compared to a sheep. The animal is laid out at full stretch, and measures from the point of the nose to the end of the hind flippers fifteen and a half feet; but when the bones were in situ it must have been longer, I should say fully sixteen and a half feet. Its greatest circumference, taken behind the foree-paws, is ten feet three inches; but this also must be far short of what it was in the living state, so that I should say it must have amounted to twelve feet. If you measure across between the tips of the paws, it appears the animal is nearly as broad as it is long, as in the human frame. The whole surface, excepting the nose, is entirely covered with very short hair, dark olive brown above, and shading away to a yellowish bay colour below upon the belly; upon the under part of the cheeks and chin the colour approaches to a