Fur seal - Definition and Overview

Fur seals
Australian Fur Seal
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Pinnipedia Family: Otariidae Subfamily: Arctocephalinae
Genera
Callorhinus Arctocephalus

Fur seals make up one of the two distinct groups of mammals called "seals". Both the fur seals and the true seals are members of the Pinnipedia, which is usually regarded as a suborder of the order Carnivora but sometimes as an independent order. However, the fur seals, like their close relatives the sea lions, retain some ability to walk on land as their hind limbs can be brought forward under the body to bear the animal's weight, and retain small but visible external ears.

The fur seals and the sea lions as a group make up the family Otariidae, and are called eared seals or walking seals to distinguish them from the earless true seals of the family Phocidae. The fur seals alone make up the Arctocephalinae subfamily.

• SUBORDER PINNIPEDIA
• Family Otariidae
  • Subfamily Arctocephalinae
    • Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus
    • Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella
    • Guadalupe Fur Seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
    • Juan Fernandez Fur Seal, Arctocephalus philippii
    • Galapagos Fur Seal, Arctocephalus galapagoensis
    • Cape Fur Seal or Australian Fur Seal, Arctocephalus pusillus
    • New Zealand Fur Seal, Arctocephalus forsteri
    • Subantarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis
    • South American Fur Seal, Arctocephalus australis

• • Subfamily Otariinae: sea lions
• Family Phocidae: true seals
• Family Odobenidae: Walrus