Brown fur seal

Brown fur seal
Hauling-out on the Hippolyte Rocks off the east coast of Tasmania
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Otariidae
Genus: Arctocephalus
Species:
A. pusillus
Binomial name
Arctocephalus pusillus
(Schreber, 1775)
Subspecies
  • A. p. pusillus
  • A. p. doriferus
Distribution of the brown fur seal, dark blue: breeding colonies; light blue: nonbreeding individuals

The brown fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus), is a type of fur seal. It is also called the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal.[2]

Description

Adult male brown fur seals are dark gray to brown, with a darker mane of short, coarse hairs and a light belly. Adult females are light brown to gray, with a light throat and darker back and belly. The front flippers of the fur seal are dark brown to black. Pups are born black and molt to gray with a pale throat within 3–5 months.

Ecology

Predators

The brown fur seal's main predator is the great white shark. Other predators include, killer whales and southern elephant seals. Land predators include black-backed jackals and brown hyenas on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia.[3]

Cape fur seals are shown as "The Scoundrel" in the 2021 nature program Penguin Town.

References

  1. ↑ Hofmeyr, G. & Gales, N. (2008). "Arctocephalus pusillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  2. ↑ "Fur Seals | National Geographic". Animals. 2010-04-11. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  3. ↑ Penry, Gwenith S.; Baartman, Ashwynn C.; Bester, Marthán N. (2013). "Vagrant elephant seal predation on Cape fur seal pups, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)