Kingdom Animalia Family Otariidae Scientific name Arctocephalus Higher classification Eared seal Order Carnivores | Suborder Pinnipedia Subfamily Arctocephalinae Phylum Chordata Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Brown fur seal, Antarctic fur seal, South American fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Subantarctic fur seal | ||
Antarctic fur seal s arctocephalus gazella penis visible while coercing king penguin
The genus Arctocephalus consists of fur seals. Arctocephalus translates to "bear head."
Contents
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. Other recent studies have indicated the genus may be paraphyletic. In that case, all species (except for the Cape fur seal) will have to be split off into a separate genus, for which the name Arctophoca has been suggested.
References
Arctocephalus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA