Arctocephalus

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Arctocephalus
Seal 0906.jpg
New Zealand fur seal
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Otariidae
Subfamily: Arctocephalinae
Genus: Arctocephalus
É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier in F. Cuvier, 1826
Type species
"Phoca ursina" [1]
Schreber, 1775
Species

Arctocephalus gazella
Arctocephalus townsendi
Arctocephalus philippii
Arctocephalus galapagoensis
Arctocephalus pusillus
Arctocephalus forsteri
Arctocephalus tropicalis
Arctocephalus australis

Contents

Arctocephalus.png
Synonyms
  • Arctophoca
  • Cynophoca

The genus Arctocephalus consists of the southern fur seals . Arctocephalus translates to "bear head."

Taxonomy

The number of species within the genus has been questioned, primarily based on limited molecular data. The issue is complicated because some of the species are able to produce fertile hybrids. A recent review recommended the retention of seven species, deprecating the New Zealand fur seals to a subspecies of the South American fur seal, while also questioning the status of the Guadalupe fur seal. [2] Other recent studies have indicated the genus may be paraphyletic, and some taxonomic reshuffling was previously done to account for this; however, more recent studies support it being monophyletic, with the alleged paraphyly being a consequence of incomplete lineage sorting. [3] [4]

Extant Species

Genus Arctocephalus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier, 1826 – eight species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Antarctic fur seal

091130 rosita bay south georgia 2563 (4172615911).jpg

Arctocephalus gazella
(Peters, 1875)
Subantarctic islands
Antarctic Fur Seal area.png
Size: Male: 180 cm (71 in) long; 130–200 kg (287–441 lb)
Female: 120–140 cm (47–55 in) long; 22–50 kg (49–110 lb) [5]

Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine [5]

Diet: Krill, cephalopods, fish, and penguins [5]
 LC 


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Guadalupe fur seal

Arctocephalus townsendi.jpg

Arctocephalus townsendi
(Merriam, 1897)

Arctocephalus townsendi distribution.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Juan Fernández fur seal

Lobo fino.jpg

Arctocephalus philippii
(Peters, 1866)

Juan Fernandez Fur Seal area.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Galápagos fur seal

Galapagos Fur Seal, Santiago Island.jpg

Arctocephalus galapagoensis
(Heller, 1904)
Galápagos Islands
Galapagos Fur Seal area.png
Size: Male: 150–160 cm (59–63 in) long; 60–68 kg (132–150 lb)
Female: 110–130 cm (43–51 in) long; 27–33 kg (60–73 lb) [6]

Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine

Diet: Small squids and a variety of fish
 EN 


10,000 Decrease2.svg

Brown fur seal or Cape fur seal

Seals at Cape Cross, Namibia (3046555706).jpg

Arctocephalus pusillus
(Schreber, 1775)

Three subspecies
  • A. p. pusillus(Cape/South African fur seal)
  • A. p. doriferus(Australian fur seal)
Southern African and Australian coasts (dark blue indicates breeding grounds)
Arctocephalus pusillus distribution.png
Size: Male: 201–227 cm (79–89 in) long; 218–360 kg (481–794 lb)
Female: 136–171 cm (54–67 in) long; 41–113 kg (90–249 lb) [7]

Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine

Diet: A wide variety of fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans, and sometimes African penguins and other seabirds
 LC 


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New Zealand fur seal

Fur seal posing on top of the rocks.jpg

Arctocephalus forsteri
(Lesson, 1828)

Arctocephalus forsteri distribution.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Subantarctic fur seal

Arctocephalus tropicalis CrozetIslands female.jpg

Arctocephalus tropicalis
(Gray, 1872)

Subantarctic Fur Seal area.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


South American fur seal

SAFS Falklands.jpg

Arctocephalus australis
(Zimmermann, 1783)

Arctocephalus australis distribution.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eared seal</span> Marine mammals in the family Otariidae

An eared seal, otariid, or otary is any member of the marine mammal family Otariidae, one of three groupings of pinnipeds. They comprise 15 extant species in seven genera and are commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the walrus (odobenids). Otariids are adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle, feeding and migrating in the water, but breeding and resting on land or ice. They reside in subpolar, temperate, and equatorial waters throughout the Pacific and Southern Oceans, the southern Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. They are conspicuously absent in the north Atlantic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic fur seal</span> Species of carnivore

The Antarctic fur seal is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus, and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. Despite what its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is mostly distributed in Subantarctic islands and its scientific name is thought to have come from the German vessel SMS Gazelle, which was the first to collect specimens of this species from Kerguelen Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subantarctic fur seal</span> Species of carnivore

The subantarctic fur seal is a species of arctocephaline found in the southern parts of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. It was first described by Gray in 1872 from a specimen recovered in northern Australia—hence the inappropriate specific name tropicalis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guadalupe fur seal</span> Species of carnivore

The Guadalupe fur seal is one of eight members of the fur seal genus Arctocephalus. They are the northernmost member of this genus. Sealers reduced the population to just a few dozen by the late 19th century, but the species had recovered to 10,000 in number by the late 1990s. Many individuals can be found on Mexico's Guadalupe Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown fur seal</span> Species of carnivore

The brown fur seal, also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South American fur seal</span> Species of mammal

The South American fur seal breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The total population is around 250,000. However, population counts are sparse and outdated. Although Uruguay has long been considered to be the largest population of South American fur seals, recent census data indicates that the largest breeding population of A. a. australis are at the Falkland Islands followed by Uruguay. The population of South American fur seals in 1999 was estimated at 390,000, a drop from a 1987 estimate of 500,000 - however a paucity of population data, combined with inconsistent census methods, makes it difficult to interpret global population trends.

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References

  1. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  2. Berta, A.; Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x.
  3. Yonezawa, T.; et al. (2009). "The monophyletic origin of sea lions and fur seals (Carnivora; Otariidae) in the Southern Hemisphere". Gene. 441 (1–2): 89–99. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2009.01.022. PMID   19254754.
  4. Lopes, Fernando; Oliveira, Larissa R; Kessler, Amanda; Beux, Yago; Crespo, Enrique; Cárdenas-Alayza, Susana; Majluf, Patricia; Sepúlveda, Maritza; Brownell, Robert L; Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Páez-Rosas, Diego (2020-12-26). "Phylogenomic Discordance in the Eared Seals is best explained by Incomplete Lineage Sorting following Explosive Radiation in the Southern Hemisphere". Systematic Biology. 70 (4): 786–802. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa099. hdl: 10923/20564 . ISSN   1063-5157. PMID   33367817.
  5. 1 2 3 Hofmeyr, G. J. G. (2016). "Arctocephalus gazella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T2058A66993062. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T2058A66993062.en .
  6. Trillmich, F. (2015). "Arctocephalus galapagoensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T2057A45223722. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T2057A45223722.en .
  7. Hofmeyr, G. J. G. (2015). "Arctocephalus pusillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T2060A45224212. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T2060A45224212.en .