Page:The mammals of Australia Gould vol 3.djvu/209

 Sea Leopard.

Phoca Leptonyx, Blainv. Journ. Phys., vol. xci. p. 288, 1820.— Desm. Mamm., p. 247— Cuv. Oss. Foss., vol. v. p. 208. t. 18. fig. 2.—Gray in Griff. Anim. Kingd., vol. v. p. 178.— Blainv. Osteogr., Phoca, 1. 1, and t. 4. fig. (skull).—F. Cuv. Dent. Mamm., p. 118. t. 38 a.

Seal from New Georgia, Home, Phil. Trans. 1822, p. 240. t. 29 (skull).

Phoque quatrieme, Blainv. in Desm. Mamm., p. 243 (note).— Cuv. Oss. Foss., vol.v. p. 207.

Stenorhynchus Leptonyx, F. Cuv. Diet. Sci. Nat., vol. xxxix. p. 549. t. 44.— Ib. Mem. Mus., vol. xi. p. 190. t. 13. fig. 1.— Ib. Dent. Mamm., p. 118. t. 38 a.—Nilsson, Wieg. Archiv, vol. vii. p. 307.—Ib. Scand. Faun., t. .—Gray, Zool. of Ereb. and Terror, Mamm., t. 3 (animal), t. 4 (skull) p. 4.—Ib. Cat. of Osteol. Spec, in Brit. Mus., p. 31.—Blainv. Osteogr., Phoca, t. 5. fig. 9 (teeth and skull).—Gray, Cat. of Spec, of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., part ii., Seals, p. 13.

Phoca Homei, Less. Diet. Class. Nat. Hist., vol. xiii. p. 417.

The small-nailed Seal, Hamilton Smith in Jard. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. viii. p. 180. 1. 11.

Stenorhynchus aux petits angles, Homb. et Jacq. Yoy. a Pole Sud, t. 9.

Phoca ursina, or Sea Bear, Polack.

Sea Leopard of the Whalers.

landing on the sandy beach of one of the quiet bays of Port Arthur, Tasmania, I found myself between the salt water and a huge specimen of the Seal figured on the accompanying Plate; of course, as I had never seen the animal before, it was not to be lost without a struggle; and, after a slight resistance on the part of the animal, a strong cord was fastened round its neck, with the view of towing it after my boat and killing it by drowning, that the specimen might not be injured; but the attempt at dispatching the animal by this means proved futile, as the more it was towed through the water, the more it appeared to gain strength, and other means of depriving it of life had to be resorted to. I have notices of two other specimens having been taken on the south coast of Australia, almost in the immediate neighbourhood of Sydney. For the particulars of their capture, as well as for a very fine drawing of the species, I am indebted to Mr. G. F. Angas, who made the latter immediately after the death of one of them. I mention these solitary instances of its occurrence, because I have reason to believe that the animal is not common in the localities mentioned.

The note accompanying Mr. Angas's drawing is somewhat interesting, inasmuch as it informs us that the stomach of the Seal contained a specimen of that remarkable animal the Ornithorhynchus.

"We have lately added to our Museum Collection," says Mr. Angas, "a fine specimen of an adult Sea Leopard ( Stenorhynchus Leptonyx ), killed some miles above the salt water in the Shoalhaven River; it had an Ornithorhynchus in its stomach when captured; it is much larger than one killed on Newcastle Beach. The dentition is exactly the same as that of the animal figured under the name above-mentioned in the 'Zoology of the Voyage of the Erebus and Terror.' "

I am again obliged to remark that the above list of synonyms is given on the authority of Dr. Gray. For my own part, I have not been able to give sufficient attention to the subject to vouch for their correctness, but Dr. Gray's well-won reputation will be a sufficient guarantee in this respect.

This species of Seal is of a more lengthened or slender form than the Arctocephalus lobatus; its length is about ten feet, and its weight probably four hundred pounds.

The general colouring of the animal is greenish creamy white, becoming of a dark slaty hue on the head and back, and speckled with the same dark hue on the sides.