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Sep 26, 2024 · Seal, any of 32 species of web-footed aquatic mammals that live chiefly in cold seas and whose body shape, round at the middle and tapered at the ends, is adapted to swift and graceful swimming. There are two types of seals: the earless, or true, seals; and the eared seals, which comprise the sea lions and fur seals.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
In general, marine mammals are larger than mammals on land, an adaptation that minimizes the area of skin in contact with the water. Elephant seals and Walruses can weigh up to 4 tons, and even the smallest seals are notably rotund.
Those fin-shaped feet make them supreme swimmers, and all pinnipeds are considered semi-aquatic marine mammals. This means they must spend some part of their lives on land or sea ice,...
Feb 1, 2019 · Marine mammals are classified into four different taxonomic groups: cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), and marine fissipeds (polar bears and sea otters).
What are they? Seals are pinnipeds, a group of animals with three separate families—phocidae (eared seals), otaridae (non-eared seals), and odobenidae (walruses)—that are the only mammals that feed in the water and breed on land.
Evolution. True seals (phocids) probably evolved from otter-like ancestors around the shores of the North Atlantic 15-20 million years ago and are the latest of the sea mammals to have evolved, with the exception of the sea otter.
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Seals are semi-aquatic mammals, having adapted to life in the ocean. The bodies of true seals and walruses are shaped like a torpedo, with physical features like ears internalized and short flippers, which allows them to reach high speeds underwater, while that of a sea lion is more maneuverable and allows for better mobility on land due to ...
