Lobodontini

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lobodontine seals[1]
Temporal range: Late Miocene to recent
Crabeater seal, Lobodon carcinophaga
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Subfamily: Monachinae
Tribe: Lobodontini
J. E. Gray, 1869
Genera

The

pack ice
. Thus, though they are collectively the most abundant group of seals in the world, the combination of remote range and inaccessible habitat make them among the least well studied of the world's seals.

Adaptations

Schematic of crabeater seal skull teeth, illustrating the unique krill-filtering lobes and cusps

The Lobondontini are thought to have diverged from the

penguins, while still retaining the ability to filter-feed on krill.[4]

Abundance

The lobodontin seals in aggregate are among the most successful of all marine mammal groups, collectively accounting for at least 50% of all seals on Earth and about 80% of the global

baleen whales in the Antarctic due to commercial whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the subsequent increase in krill densities.[7] Genetic evidence suggests that Weddell and crabeater seal populations may have increased in size during the Pleistocene.[8]
None of the four species is currently thought to be declining in numbers.

Genera

Image Genus Species
Lobodon
Gray, 1844
Hydrurga
Gistel, 1848
Ommatophoca
Gray, 1844
Leptonychotes
Gill, 1872


References

  1. .
  2. .
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  5. ^ Laws, R.M. Seals. In: Laws, R.M. (ed) Antarctic Ecology, Vol. 2, Academic Press, London, pp. 621-675
  6. ^ Erickson, A. W., Siniff, D. B., Cline, D. R. and Hofman, R. J. (1971). Distributional ecology of Antarctic seals. In: G. Deacon (ed.), Symposium on Antarctic Ice and Water Masses, pp. 55-76. Sci. Comm. Antarct Res., Cambridge, UK.
  7. ^ Mori, M.; Butterworth, D. (2006). "A first step towards modelling the krill-predator dynamics of the Antarctic ecosystem". CCAMLR Science. 13: 217–277.
  8. S2CID 5323435
    .