| Description | The northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the southern elephant seal). It is a member of the family Phocidae (true seals). Elephant seals derive their name from their great size and from the male's large proboscis, which is used in making extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating competition. Sexual dimorphism in size is great. Correspondingly, the mating system is highly polygynous; a successful male is able to impregnate up to 50 females in one season.
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| Source Data | |
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| Rank | species |
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| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Carnivora : Phocidae : Mirounga : Mirounga angustirostris |
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| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Carnivora : Phocidae : Mirounga : Mirounga angustirostris |
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| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted |
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Classification
(PBDB,GBIF) | |
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| Generic Name | Mirounga |
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| Common Name | northern elephant seal |
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| Scientific Name | Mirounga angustirostris (Gill, 1866) |
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| Name Published In | Proc. Essex Inst. Salem vol.5 p.13 |
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| Opinions (PBDB) | | Name | Rank | Opinion | Evidence | Author |
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| Mirounga angustirostris | species | belongs to Mirounga | stated without evidence | Gill, 1866 | | Mirounga angustirostris | species | belongs to Macrorhinus | stated without evidence | Allen, 1880 | | Mirounga angustirostris | species | belongs to Mirounga | stated without evidence | Scheffer and Rice, 1963 | | Mirounga angustirostris | species | belongs to Mirounga | stated with evidence | Deméré et al., 2003 | | Mirounga angustirostris | species | belongs to Mirounga | stated without evidence | Cullen et al., 2014 |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant |
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| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 1 |
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| Extant Size (PBDB) | 1 (100%) |
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| First Recorded Appearance | 0.30 - 0.01 Ma
Pleistocene |
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| Environment | marine (based on Pinnipedia) |
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| Motility | actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes) |
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| Diet | piscivore, carnivore (based on Phocidae) |
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| Reproduction | viviparous (based on Pinnipedimorpha) |
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| Ontogeny | modification of parts (based on Pinnipedimorpha) |
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| Taphonomy | hydroxylapatite (based on Pinnipedimorpha) |
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| Primary Reference (PBDB) | E. L. Trouessart. 1904. Catalogus Mammalium Tam Viventium Quam Fossilium, Fourth Edition |
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| Common Name(s) | Northern Elephant Seal, Northern Sea Elephant, Elefante-marino Norteño, Nördlicher See-elefant |
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| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirounga_angustirostris |
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| Trouessart E. L. (1904) , Catalogus Mammalium Tam Viventium Quam Fossilium, Fourth Edition, 1-929 |
| Allen J. A. History of North American Pinnipeds, US Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, Miscellaneous Publications 12, 1-785 |
| Trouessart E. L. , Catalogus mammalium tam viventium quam fossilum 5, 665-1264 |
| Friant M. (1947) Recherches sur le femur des phocidae, Bulletin du Musee royal d'Hisoire naturelle de Belgique 23 2, 1-51 |
| Scheffer V. B., Rice D. W. (1963) A list of the marine mammals of the world, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Special Scientific Report - Fisheries 431, 1-12 |
| Kurten B., Anderson E. (1980) , Pleistocene mammals of North America, 1-442 |
| Riedman M. (1990) The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses, 1-439 |
| Vidal O. (1991) Catalog of osteological collections of aquatic mammals from Mexico, NOAA Technical Reports NMFS 97, 1-36 |
| Koretsky I. (2001) Morphology and systematics of Miocene Phocinae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from Paratethys and the North Atlantic region, Geologica Hungarica Series Palaeontologica 54, 1-109 |
| Deméré T. A., Berta A., et al (2003) Pinnipedimorph evolutionary biogeography, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279, 32-76 |
| Cullen T. M., Fraser D., et al (2014) Early evolution of sexual dimorphism and polygyny in Pinnipedia, Evolution 68 5, 1469-1484 doi:10.1111/evo.12360 |
| Berta A., Churchill M., et al (2018) The Origin and Evolutionary Biology of Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 46, 203-228 doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010009 |
| Kienle S. S., Berta A. (2019) The evolution of feeding strategies in phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae), Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, e1559172 |
| Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 2005: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2. 2142. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 1992: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing. xviii + 1207. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner, 1987: Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. 79. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| Rice, Dale W., 1998: Marine Mammals of the World: Systematics and Distribution. Special Publications of the Society for Marine Mammals, no. 4. ix + 231. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| Mead, J. G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). Cetacea. In Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. 723--743. - via World Register of Marine Species |
| Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole, 2000: null. Common Names of Mammals of the World. xiv + 204. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| (1996) database, NODC Taxonomic Code - via Catalogue of Life |
| (2001) database, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad - via Catalogue of Life |
| Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. (1992) Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing - via Catalogue of Life |
| Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. (2005) Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2 - via Catalogue of Life |
| Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole (2000) Common Names of Mammals of the World - via Catalogue of Life |
| Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner (1987) Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada: Resource Publication, no. 166 - via Catalogue of Life |
| Rice, Dale W. (1998) Marine Mammals of the World: Systematics and Distribution: Special Publications of the Society for Marine Mammals, no. 4 - via Catalogue of Life |
Mirounga angustirostris
