Arctocephalus

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Arctocephalus
New Zealand fur seal
Scientific classification Edit this classification
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]
, 1775
Species

Arctocephalus gazella

Arctocephalus townsendi

Arctocephalus philippii

Arctocephalus galapagoensis

Arctocephalus pusillus

Arctocephalus forsteri
Arctocephalus tropicalis

Arctocephalus australis

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 name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Antarctic fur seal

Arctocephalus gazella
(Peters
, 1875) 		Subantarctic islands
Map of range 		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 


700,000–1,000,000 Population declining

Guadalupe fur seal

Arctocephalus townsendi
(Merriam
, 1897)
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Juan Fernández fur seal

Arctocephalus philippii
(Peters
, 1866)
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Galápagos fur seal

Arctocephalus galapagoensis
(Heller, 1904) 		Galápagos Islands
Map of range 		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 Population declining

Brown fur seal or Cape fur seal

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)
Map of range 		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 


1,060,000 Population increasing

New Zealand fur seal

Arctocephalus forsteri
(Lesson, 1828)
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Subantarctic fur seal

Arctocephalus tropicalis
(Gray
, 1872)
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


South American fur seal

Zimmermann
, 1783)
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


References

  1. OCLC 62265494
    .
  2. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x
    .
  3. PMID 19254754
    .
  4. PMID 33367817
    .
  5. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T2058A66993062.en
    .
  6. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T2057A45223722.en
    .
  7. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T2060A45224212.en
    .
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