Family Phocidae Scientific name Acrophoca longirostris Rank Genus | Species A. longirostris Phylum Chordata Order Carnivores | |
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Similar Piscophoca, Pliophoca, Carnivores, Thalassocnus, Imagotaria | ||
Acrophoca longirostris is an extinct species of pinniped whose fossils have been discovered in Peru and Chile. It is thought to have been the ancestor of the modern leopard seal.
Its fossils have been found alongside those of the marine sloth Thalassocnus and tusked cetacean Odobenocetops, as well as modern animals such as bottlenose dolphins, gannets and cormorants.
Description
Acrophoca was around 1.5 metres (5 ft) long, and was not as well-adapted to swimming as its descendants, possessing less developed flippers and a less streamlined neck. This may indicate that it spent a lot of time near the coast. Its diet probably consisted primarily of fish.
References
Acrophoca Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA