Arctocephalus townsendi

C. H. Merriam, 1897

Guadalupe Fur Seal

Taxonomy

Subclass : Theria
Infraclass : Placentalia
Magnorder : Boreoeutheria
Superorder : Laurasiatheria
Order : Carnivora
Suborder : Caniformia
Infraorder : Arctoidea
Superfamily : Phocoidea
Family : Otariidae
Genus : Arctocephalus

Species status

Living
Found in the wild
Listed in MSW3 2005

Authority citation

Merriam, C.H. 1897-07-01. A new fur-seal or sea-bear (_Arctocephalus townsendi_) from Guadalupe Island, off Lower California. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 11:175-178.

Authority publication link

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2263500

Original name as described

Arctocephalus townsendi

Other common names

Lower Californian Fur Seal

Type material

USNM:MAMM:83617

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3ebef1a91-af6b-42ef-852e-a336f6f1d55a

Type locality

"Guadalupe Island, off Lower California…collected on the beach on west side of Guadalupe" (Mexico).

Biogeographic realm

Marine

Country distribution

United States · Mexico

Subregion distribution

USA(CA,OR?,WA?)

Taxonomy notes

has been moved to Arctophoca by a number of molecular studies using mtDNA, which found that Arctocephalus pusillus was not related to other members of the genus, but the paraphyly presented in earlier studies is likely a result of mitonuclear discordance and the genus Arctocephalus is now retained following recent studies using nuclear and mitochondrial markers

Taxonomy notes citation

Berta, A., & Churchill, M. (2012). Pinniped taxonomy: review of currently recognized species and subspecies, and evidence used for their description. Mammal Review, 42(3), 207-234. · Lopes, F., Oliveira, L. R., Kessler, A., Beux, Y., Crespo, E., Cárdenas-Alayza, S., ... & Bonatto, S. L. (2021). Phylogenomic Discordance in the Eared Seals is best explained by Incomplete Lineage Sorting following Explosive Radiation in the Southern Hemisphere. Systematic Biology, 70(4), 786-802.

IUCN Red List status

Least Concern

Species Permalink

https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1005901

Country distribution map

The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.

Names and synonyms

Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.

Arctocephalus townsendi

C. H. Merriam, 1897

Family

Otariidae

Root name

townsendi

Validity status

species

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:83617

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3ebef1a91-af6b-42ef-852e-a336f6f1d55a

Authority page

178

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2263500

Authority publication

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington

Name usages

  1. Corbet & Hill (1980:106) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63069)
  2. Honacki, Kinman & Koeppl (1982:284) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63071)
  3. Wozencraft (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8533)
  4. Mittermeier & Wilson (2014:34) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67175)
  5. Mammal Diversity Database (2018:ID #400000047) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67336)
  6. Mammal Diversity Database (2019:ID #400000047) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67337)
  7. Mammal Diversity Database (2024, https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1005901) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67250)
  8. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2024, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2061/45224420) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67246)

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