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Arctocephalus tropicalis (Gray, 1872) Subantarctic fur seal; Gypsophoca

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Higher taxa:  Life   Vertebrata   Mammalia   Otariidae   Arctocephalus   Global map IDnature guides: Mammalia_species, Marine_Mammals We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. Image, Natural Environment Image, Australian Government MarineBio Animal Diversity FIGIS

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« Previous Photo | Next Photo » Arctocephalus tropicalis Subantarctic Fur Seal  [ + ] Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Otariidae Genus: Arctocephalus species: tropicalis +ITIS +WoRMS Description & Behavior Subantarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus tropicalis (Gray, 1872), like all fur "seals" are actually sea lions ( Family Otariidae ). These seals were formerly known as the Amsterdam Island fur seal. The adult coat of the subantarctic fur seal is dark brown on the dorsal side, yellow on the chest. Adult males are usually darker than females and have a characteristic crest on top of the head that stands erect when they are excited. This species is also characterized by the pale coloring on the face that forms a "mask." Adult males measure up to 1.8 m in length and weigh up to 165 kg, while adult females measure about 1.5 m in length and weigh 50- 55 kg. Males of the species are known to live over 18 years, females over 23 years. World Range & Habitat The subantarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis , is found on temperate islands in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans north of the Antarctic Polar Front . The largest colonies are found at Gough, Amsterdam and the Prince Edward Islands. Colonies have also recently been established at Tristan da Cunha, St Paul, Îles Crozet and Macquarie Islands. Wandering individuals, mostly juvenile males, have been sighted as far north as Brazil, the Juan Fernández Islands, the Comoro Islands, Angola, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. At least 80,000 pups are born annually, and the total population is estimated between 277,000 and 356,000. » GBIF occurrence data in Google Earth [ Tips ] | Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) (World Distribution) [about] Feeding Behavior (Ecology) Subantarctic fur seal's, Arctocephalus tropicalis , tend to dive in shallow waters at night when myctophid fish swim near to the surface. Squid is also a part of the subantarctic fur seal diet. Sharks and orca (killer whales) are known predators. Life History Subantarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis , females reach sexual maturity at 4-6 years of age, males at 4-8 years, although males do not achieve territorial status until 10-11 years of age. Breeding males arrive at the breeding grounds prior to the females in November to form territories on rocky shores that will usually contain between 4-12 females. They defend their territories by fighting and vocalization. Females give birth shortly after arriving to pups measuring 65 cm in length and weighing 4- 5 kg. Pups are born with a black coat, which will be molted at about 3 months of age. The females mate about a week after giving birth, then begin the feeding cycle beginning foraging trips at sea for about 5 days, (foraging trips of one month have been reported) then returning to nurse for 2-3 days. The milk that the mothers feed their pups is approximately 39% fat, which helps pups to continue growing for approximately 7 months, after which they begin to lose weight until they wean at about 9 months. Recent research shows that lactating females in Amsterdam Island breeding colonies spend an average of 11-23 days at sea from summer to winter and up to 4 days on shore nursing. Because of the long foraging trips, lactating females have been known to travel up to 530 km from their breeding islands near oceanographic frontal zones where food availability may be greater. Subantarctic fur seal breeding colonies overlap with the Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus gazelle , habitat and there is evidence of some inter-breeding between these species at Marion and Macquarie Islands. Conservation Status/Additional Comments The subantarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis , was hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century for its fur. All colonies are now protected, and subantarctic fur seals have begun colonizing new locations and growth rates are estimated at 13-15%. There appear to be no major threats currently facing the species. Subantarctic fur seals on World Heritage listed Macquarie Island were afforded additional protection in 2000 by the 16 million hectare Marine Park on the eastern side of the island. Also on Macquarie Island, the Tasmanian government announced plans to extend the island's nature reserve to cover all Tasmanian waters out to 3 nautical miles surrounding the island. A recent genetic study investigated the impact of commercial sealing on genetic variation and population structure of subantarctic fur seals, which revealed that high levels of genetic diversity and population structure are still present in the species. Three genetic lineages, or clades, exist none of which represents fixed geographic distributions. Subantarctic fur seals from Gough, Prince Edward, and Amsterdam Islands all differ significantly in the ratio each lineage is represented in their populations. References & Further Research BioOne ~ CITES ~ Discover Life ~ GBIF ~ Google Scholar ~ ITIS ~ IUCN RedList ~ MarineBio Network ~ NCBI ~ SCIRIS ~ SIRIS ~ Tree of Life Web Project ~ Wikipedia Seal Conservation Society (SCS): Subantarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis Search the Web for Subantarctic Fur Seal » ARKive ~ Ask.com ~ Ask Jeeves ~ bing ~ deviantART ~ dmoz ~ Dogpile ~ Google Images ~ MySpace Images ~ OceanFootage ~ Picsearch ~ StumbleUpon ~ Yahoo! Images ~ YouTube Feedback? Are you an expert concerning the above species? Please send us your feedback! Something missing or incorrect in the above? Let us know! Citation: Arctocephalus tropicalis , Subantarctic Fur Seal - MarineBio.org. Retrieved , from . 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Overview  News  Technology  Conditions of Use  Privacy Policy  Partners & Contributors  Awards & Recognition  ADW Staff  Contact Us  Spinning Skulls  About Mammals  Frog Calls  Resources for College Instructors  Resources for K-12 Instructors  Contribute to ADW  What's in a Scientific Name?  Authority Lists: Where We Get Our Names  Name, Rank, and Serial Number  Organismal classification: evolutionary relationships & ranks  Glossary  Search Guide  Related Links  Contact Us  Report an Error Structured Inquiry Search — preview Home Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Mammalia Order Carnivora Suborder Caniformia Family Otariidae Species Arctocephalus tropicalis Arctocephalus tropicalis Subantarctic fur seal Information Classification 2010/02/07 01:47:49.606 US/Eastern By Cortney Hiller Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Caniformia Family: Otariidae Genus: Arctocephalus Species: Arctocephalus tropicalis Geographic Range Arctocephalus tropicalus, the Subantarctic Fur Seal, can be found on islands near the South Pole just north of the Antarctic Convergence. These include the islands of Amsterdam, Crozet, Grough, Marion, Prince Edward, St. Paul, and Tristan (King, 1983). ( King, 1983 ) Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian ( native ); neotropical ( native ); australian ( native ); oceanic islands ( native ); atlantic ocean ( native ); pacific ocean ( native ). Habitat The males of the species spend most of the year out at sea, hauling out on the rookeries only during the mating season. Females spend much of their time close to the rookeries, hauling out at regular intervals for nursing and again during the breeding season. Breeding occurs on land and rocky coastal areas are preferred for the rookeries (King, 1983; Riedman, 1990). Aquatic Biomes: coastal . Physical Description Mass 50 to 140 kg; avg. 95 kg (110 to 308 lbs; avg. 209 lbs) Subantarctic fur seal males measure between 1.5 and 1.8 meters in length and weigh from 95 to 140 kilograms (King, 1983: 46). The coat on the male is a dark gray or brown in color dorsally while the underside and face area are paler and a little more orange. The males also have a crest of slightly longer and rougher white tipped hairs on top of their head. The females of the species are slightly smaller, measuring between 1.2 and 1.3 meters in length and weighing approximately 50 kilograms (King, 1983: 46). The female's coat is very similar to the male's, the notable difference being their lack of the white tipped crest. Both males and females have long white whiskers (King, 1983: 46). Subantarctic fur seal pups are colored differently from their parents. Pups are black with pale orange fur on the underside. Their whiskers are also black. This coat is replaced by an adult coat during the pups' first molt between 8 and 12 weeks of age (King, 1987: 47). Some key physical features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry . Reproduction Gestation period 357 days (average) [ External Source: AnAge ] Birth Mass 4420 g (average) (155.58 oz) [ External Source: AnAge ] The breeding season for A. tropicalus begins in September when the males haul out on shore at the breeding grounds, or rookeries, to establish territories by displays, sparring, or actual battle. The females come ashore in October and November and choose male territories within which to bear their young. They later mate with the male possessing that territory. It is also at this time that immature animals begin avoiding the rookeries. Pups are born beginning in late November through January. Most pups are born in early December. Cows give birth to a single pup and begin lactation almost immediately. Lactation is almost continuous for the next 8-12 days, after which the cow mates and begins returning to the sea. She will spend increasing amounts of time at sea over the next year, returning only to nurse her pup. Lactation continues throughout the pup's first year or until the cow's next pup is born. Copulation occurs between 8 and 12 days after the cow gives birth, but there is a delay of about 4.3 months in the implantation of the blastocyst (Riedman, 1990: 250). The pups are approximately 4.5 kilograms and 60 centimeters at birth, the males being slightly larger than the females. Females reach sexual maturity between 4 and 6 years of age while males reach sexual maturity earlier, between 3 and 4 years of age (Riedman, 1990: 237). Key reproductive features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual . Behavior While the Subantarctic fur seal is basically nonmigratory it does exhibit seasonal movements. Males spend most of their year at sea, hauling out at the rookeries only during the mating season. Females, while they will go to sea in order to find food, remain close to the rookery in order to continue nursing their pups throughout the year. The rookery is never fully evacuated because the mothers and pups return to it continually. Males at sea often travel in small feeding groups. Interestingly, some individuals have been found in colonies of other species of seals, including A. pusillus, A. forsteri, A. gazella and A. australis. Most of these individuals are male. While A. tropicalus is distinguishable by its coloring and the male's crest, some variation in these traits have been noted in areas where mixed species groups of seals have been reported. For this reason it is postulated that interbreeding does occur (Riedman, 1990; King, 1983). Arctocephalus tropicalus is facultatively polygynous, meaning that they are solitary most of the year but come together during the mating season. At this time they form harems where one male mates with several females. Arctocephalus tropicalus exhibits what is called a "pup call." When the mother returns from sea to feed her pup, she emits a loud call. Upon hearing this all of the pups on land come to her, but she responds only her own pup. This same call is used by cows in other species, such as the northern fur seal, South American fur seal, New Zealand fur seal and others. It is suggested that the mother uses smell, not sight, to distinguish her pup from the others (Riedman, 1990). Key behaviors: motile . Food Habits The Subantarctic fur seal's diet consists mainly of squid and is supplemented by krill, fish and, at times, penguins or other birds (Riedman, 1990; King, 1987). Like most marine mammals, A. tropicalus finds at least some of its food in the ocean. Economic Importance for Humans: Positive In the past, these seals were hunted for their fur. Conservation Status IUCN Red List: [link] : Lower Risk - Least Concern. CITES: [link] : Appendix II. Much of the subantarctic fur seal populations had been taken by sealers by the 1830s, but enough of the animals survived in order to make a comeback. A majority of the population, which was estimated at 214,000 individuals in 1983, is located on Gough Island (King, 1983: 46). In 1990 the population was estimated at 300,000 individuals (Riedman, 1990: 60). More recently the population was estimated at 310,000 individuals and rising. Currently there are no recognized threats to the subantarctic fur seal population. For More Information Find Arctocephalus tropicalis information at Encyclopedia of Life Contributors Cortney Hiller (author), University of Michigan. Phil Myers (editor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. References Seal Conservation Society, "Suabantarctic Fur Seal" (On-line). Accessed December 5, 1999 at http://www.greenchannel.com/tec/species/subfursl.htm . King, J. 1983. Seals of the World . Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates. Riedman, M. 1990. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses . Berkeley: University of California Press. 2010/02/07 01:47:50.606 US/Eastern To cite this page: Hiller, C. 2000. "Arctocephalus tropicalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 09, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Arctocephalus_tropicalis.html. Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control. Other formats: OWL Home   ¦   About Us   ¦   Special Topics   ¦   Teaching   ¦   About Animal Names   ¦   Help Structured Inquiry Search — preview Sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative, the Homeland Foundation and the University of Michigan   Museum of Zoology . This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151. The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support. Report Error — Comment ©1995-2008, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors. All rights reserved.

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