Search results
Apr 22, 2009 · Scientists have found the first skeleton of a land-dwelling relative of seals, sea lions, and walruses. The 20-million- to 24-million-year-old Arctic fossil sports webbed feet instead of flippers, providing a long-sought glimpse of what such animals looked like before they dove into the sea.
Apr 21, 2009 · The fossil skeleton is thought to be more than 20 million years old, making it the earliest fossil pinniped -- the taxonomic name for seals, sea lions and walruses -- yet discovered, they report in the latest issue of __Nature__.
Apr 23, 2009 · FULL STORY. Researchers from the United States and Canada have found a fossil skeleton of a newly discovered carnivorous animal, Puijila darwini. New research suggests Puijila is a "missing...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the United States and Canada have found a fossil skeleton of a newly discovered carnivorous animal, Puijila darwini. New research suggests Puijila is a...
- Introduction
- Seal Origins
- Fossil Seal Diversity
- Pinniped Breeding Behaviour
- Diet and Foraging Behaviour of Fossil Seals
- Pinniped Palaeontology: Unresolved Questions
- Further Reading
Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and walruses) make up the second most numerous group of marine mammals (behind whales), with 35 species found throughout the world’s oceans and in several freshwater lakes. They are represented by 3 living families: the Phocidae (earless seals; 19 species), found around the globe; the Otariidae (sea lions and fur seals; ...
The origin of the pinnipeds and their relationships to other carnivores have been controversial. All studies agree that pinnipeds belong to the Arctoidea, a group of carnivores that contains bears, weasels and raccoons. Traditionally, pinnipeds were considered to have separate origins within Arctoidea, with odobenids and otariids more closely relat...
The oldest creatures known for sure to be pinnipeds belong to the Enaliarctidae. This group does not represent a true family, but rather an assemblage of fossil groups, or taxa, ancestral to the later pinniped families (Figs 2 and 3). This group includes the fossil seals Enaliarctos, Pteronarctos, Pacificotaria and Pinnarctidion; all of these speci...
One of the most fascinating aspects of modern seal biology is the variety of breeding behaviours that different groups use. Some seals, such as elephant seals and northern fur seals, use elaborate harem breeding systems, where males battle for control of territory and groups of females (Fig. 8). In seals that use these breeding systems, males are m...
Much research has focused on interpreting the diet and feeding behaviour of fossil pinnipeds. Unlike their land-living relatives, pinnipeds have simplified teeth, which are of no use in chewing. Instead, teeth are used in feeding only to hold prey. This is referred to as pierce feeding. In general, four main methods of feeding have been recognized....
Although every year brings new fossil discoveries and studies that clarify the evolution and biology of fossil seals, much is still unknown. For instance, we do not have a good understanding of which terrestrial carnivores in the fossil record are most closely related to seals. This has prevented scientists from addressing where seals originated, a...
Adam, P. J. & Berta, A. Evolution of prey capture strategies and diet in the Pinnipedimorpha (Mammalia, Carnivora). Oryctos 4, 83–107 (2002). Link Berta, A. & Adam, P. J. Evolutionary biology of Pinnipeds. In Secondary Adaptation of Tetrapods to Life in Water: Proceedings of the International Meeting Poiters, 1996 (eds Mazin, J. M. & de Buffrénil, ...
Crown pinnipeds comprise the Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions), Odobenidae (walruses), and Phocidae (seals), with paraphyletic “enaliarctines” falling outside the crown group. The position of extinct Desmatophocidae is debated; they are considered to be closely related to both otariids and odobenids or, alternatively, to phocids.
This fossil, named Allodesmus, was discovered in an ancient sea bed in California. It is clearly a pinniped (seals, sea lions and walruses), but no one is sure which one!
