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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Ross
seal |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Pinnipedia |
| FAMILY: |
Phocidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Ommatophoca
rossii |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Ross
seals look different than other seals. They have
a smaller, wider head, and a short snout. They also
have a small mouth and the shortest hair of any
seal. Instead of being spotted like many other seal
species, Ross seals have a streaked pattern on the
sides of the neck and down the throat. Sometimes
the streaked pattern resembles a mask. |
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| SIZE: |
May
reach lengths of 2.5 m (ft.) |
| FEMALE |
Females
are typically larger than males |
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| WEIGHT: |
Weigh
as much as 200 kg (lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Mainly
feeds on squid; also includes krill (shrimp-like
crustaceans) and fishes |
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| GESTATION: |
Approximately
11 months; includes a 2.5 to 3 month period of delayed
implantation |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
Typically
at the end of lactation |
| NURSING
DURATION |
Approximately
28 days (wean) |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Averages
4 years |
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| RANGE: |
In
and around Antarctica |
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| HABITAT: |
Mainly
found deep within heavy pack ice. Also found on
island coasts in the winter (during the Astral summer). |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Lower
Risk/least concern |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Ross
seals belong to the scientific order Pinnipedia,
which includes seals, sea lions, and walruses. |
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| 2. |
Seals
differ from sea lions in a number of ways, including
having no visible earflaps. |
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| 3. |
Antarctic
seals tend to have longer, more pointed foreflippers
than northern phocids. |
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| 4. |
Ross
seals are named for James Clark Ross, the commander
of the H.M.S. Erebus, a British exploration ship
that entered the Ross Sea during a period of Antarctic
exploration from 1839 to 1843. |
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| 5. |
Ross
seals are known to make distinctive warbling and
trilling calls in displays to attract mates and
as a threat. |
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| Ross
seals are thought to number the fewest among Antarctic
seal species.
Antarctic
seals, including the crabeater, leopard, Weddell,
Ross, southern elephant, and Antarctic fur seals,
are protected by the Convention for the Conservation
of Antarctic Seals.
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|
|
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| |
|
|
| Bonner,
N. Seals and Sea Lions of the World. New
York. Facts on File, Inc. 2004. |
|
| Byrum,
J. Pinnipeds From Pole to Pole: Seals, Sea Lions
and Walruses. SeaWorld Education Department
Publication. San Diego. SeaWorld, Inc. 2000. |
|
|
Jefferson,
T.J. Leatherwood, S. and M.A. Webber. FAO Species
Identification Guide. Marine Mammals of the World.
Rome. FAO, 1993.
|
|
| Nowak,
Ronald M. (ed.). Walker's Marine Mammals of the
World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
2003. |
|
| Parker,
S. (ed.). Grizmek's Encyclopedia of Mammals.
Vol. IV. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.,
1990. |
|
| Reeves,
R. R., Stewart, B.S., Clapman, P.J., and J.A. Powell
(Peter Folkens illustrator). National Audubon
Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.
New York: Random House, 2002. |
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| Reeves,
R.R., Stewart, B.S. and S. Stephen. The Sierra
Club Handbook of Seals and Sirenians. San Francisco:
Sierra Club Books, 1992. |
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| Ridgway,
S.H. and R.J. Harrison (Eds). Handbook of Marine
Mammals: Volume 2: Seals. London. Academic Press,
1981. |
|
| Riedman,
M. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses.
Berkeley and Los Angeles. University of California
Press. 1990. |
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