Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) in Freshwater LakeAuthor(s): Donald C. F. CottonSource: The Irish Naturalists' Journal, Vol. 21, No. 8 (Oct., 1984), p. 370Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25538878 .

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370 Ir. Nat. J. Vol. 21 No. 8 1984

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

COMMON SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) IN FRESHWATER LAKE

On 17 February 19841 observed a common seal (Phoca vitulina L.) in Lough Gill at Hazelwood, Co Sligo (G7234). Fishermen reported seeing it on several subsequent occasions and expressed concern about it taking trout (Salmo trutta L.) and salmon (Salmo salar L.). It was therefore not

surprising to hear that the seal had been shot on 8 April. To reach this freshwater lake it must have swum 8km from the sea at Rosses Point via the estuary

to Sligo town where the upper tidal limit is marked by a series of rapids in the Garavogue River. Upon climbing the rapids it would then have swum 4km up the river and 1.5km into the lake. Common seals

are quite numerous in Sligo Bay, for example I counted 76 on the Seal Banks of Ballysadare Bay on 4

February and from my records note mat Drumcliff Bay has had an average of about 50 animals during

February in the years 1981 -83. On two or three occasions I have seen a common seal in the estuary just below Sligo town but have traced no reports that would suggest they may occasionally go through the town and into the river and lake. It is likely mat this individual entered the lake in early February when the river was in flood and salmon were running.

Eh- James Fairley of U.C.G. told me that the only Irish record he knows of a seal in freshwater is

from a Belfast newspaper report of 10 March 1981 which refers to a 'grey' seal on the banks of the

Connswater at Beersbridge Road, Belfast.

Regional Technical College, Sligo. DONALDC. F. COTTON

FUNGI ATTACKING EGGS OF THE EARWIG FORFICULA AURICULARIA L. (DERMAPTERA)

Female earwigs (Forflcula auricularia L.) care for their eggs and early nymphal stages in

subterranean nests. Without the female's attention the eggs quickly become attacked by fungi. The

fungus or fungi responsible have not been identified.

Eggs taken near Riverstick, Co Cork (W 6658) in December 1979 were placed in malt agar plates and incubated at 10?C. The ensuing fungal culture was identified as a Fusarium sp., with

Acromoniella, Mucor and Oedocephalum spp. also present. Upon replating the contaminated eggs Acromoniella developed. This was identified as A. atra (Cda.) Sacc. by Dr P. Dowding of Trinity

College, Dublin, and confirmed by the Commonwealth Institute of Mycology. E. W. Mason (1933, Annotated account of "fungi received at the ImperialMycological Institute,

List II, Imperial Mycological Institute, Kew, Surrey, pp. 35-36) mentions that certain species of

Melanospora (very closely related to Acromoniella) are somewhat dependent upon Fusarium for part of their life cycle, and that M. parasitica (Tul.) (now Syspastospora parasitica (Tul.) Cannon and

Hawksw.) requires entomogenous fungi such as Isaria and Cephalosporium to grow well in pure culture. With this in mind two questions need to be answered. Firstly, is the Fusarium occurring on

earwigs eggs entomogenous? Secondly, does A. atra require Fusarium as an intermediate, or can it be

inoculated directly onto earwig eggs with success?

I wish to thank Dr P. Dowding of Trinity College, Dublin for his assistance with identification and culture of the fungi involved.

Department of Zoology, University College, Cork. JERVIS A. GOOD

ARION OWENII DAVIES (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA) IN SOUTH ANTRIM On 1 October 19831 took a single specimen of the slug Arion owenii Davies near Glynn south of

Lame (J 410994) in south-east Antrim. This locality is separated by some forty miles from other

known stations in Antrim (Glenshesk area) and these in rum by a considerable distance from the

species' apparent centre of distribution in Ireland in Donegal, West Tyrone and Londonderry (details in Anderson, R. (1983) Ir. Nat. J. 21: 53-96). The specimen was found under rotting wood in wet

mixed woodland by the main Lame-Whitehead road. The area around Glynn still retains sizeable

patches of relict scrub woodland on the basaltic scarps which fringe this part of the Antrim plateau and

the species is possibly associated with these. Almost all of the known Irish localities are in areas of

undisturbed scrub woodland, though mainly on acid strata. It has been searched for over a period of

several years in seemingly suitable wooded habitats elsewhere in Antrim but without success.

Department of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, The Queen's University of Belfast, Newforge Lane.

R. ANDERSON

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