The South American fur seal (''Arctocephalus australis'') breeds on the coasts of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The total population is around 250,000. However, population counts are sparse and outdated. Although Uruguay has long been considered to be the largest population of South American fur seals, recent census data indicates that the largest breeding population of A. a. australis (that breeds in Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay) are at the Falkland Islands (estimated pup abundance ~36,000) followed by Uruguay (pup abundance ~31,000). The population of South American

fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively lon ...

s in 1999 was estimated at 390,000, a drop from a 1987 estimate of 500,000 - however a paucity of population data, combined with inconsistent census methods, makes it difficult to interpret global population trends.

Description

South American fur seals have a dark grey or brown coat of

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

. Adult males are much larger than females, with thicker necks and larger shoulders. Males also develop manes of longer guard hairs on their neck and shoulders. Size of the seals varies based on region, but on average, adult males measure up to 2 m long and weigh 150–200 kg and females measure up to 1.5 m long and weigh 30–60 kg. Newborns are 60 to 65 cm and 3.5 to 5.5 kg.

Distribution and habitat

The South American fur seal is found on

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

ocean coasts from the

Paracas Peninsula The Paracas Peninsula is a desert peninsula within the boundaries of the Paracas National Reserve, a marine reserve that extends south along the coast of Peru. The only marine reserve in the country, it is a designated UNESCO The United Nat ...

of southern Peru south to

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

on the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

, and northward to southern

on the Atlantic coast. They are also found on the

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, and Escondida Island. ''A. australis'' seals prefer rocky shores and islands, particularly those with steep slopes. They have been found in sea caves in Peru, where some climb up to 15 m to find a spot to rest. There have been isolated records from continental

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

, and the Gorgona Island (

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

). Anatomical information for the southern fur seals, ''Arctocephalus'' spp., is scant.William Pérez, Helena Katz, Martin Lima. Gross heart anatomy of ''Arctocephalus australis'' (Zimmerman, 1783)Anatomical Science International (OnlineEarly Articles). In addition, little is known about the foraging ecology of South American fur seals. Recent tracking studies reveal that South American fur seals breeding at the Falkland Islands use a vast area of the Patagonian Shelf.Baylis AMM, et al. (2018) Habitat use of adult male South American fur seals and a preliminary assessment of spatial overlap with trawl fisheries in the South Atlantic. Mammalian Biology 93: 76-81

Subspecies

Two subspecies are currently recognised: * ''A. a. australis'' - Falkland Islands * ''A. a. gracilis'' - South America The

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

is sometimes considered a subspecies of ''A. australis''. SAFS Falklands

References

External links

Fur seal preys on penguin
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q649127 Arctocephalus Pinnipeds of South America Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Chile Mammals of Peru Mammals of Patagonia Carnivorans of South America Least concern biota of South America Mammals described in 1783 Taxa named by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann