PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Arctocephalus (fur seal)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Otariidae

Taxonomy

Arctocephalus was named by Cuvier (1826) [Sepkoski's age data: Q Plei R Sepkoski's reference number: 746]. It is extant. It is the type genus of Arctocephalini.

It was synonymized subjectively with Callotaria by Allen (1902).

It was assigned to Phocidae by Gray (1850); to Arctocephalina by Gray (1866) and Gray (1871); to Arctocephalini by Mitchell (1968); to Carnivora by Sepkoski (2002); to Otariinae by Barnes (1989), Vidal (1991) and Koretsky and Barnes (2006); to Otariidae by Gill (1866), Allen (1880), Trouessart (1898), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Turner (1912), Zittel (1925), Repenning and Tedford (1977), Carroll (1988), Rice (1998), Bergqvist et al. (1999), Berta (2002), Berta et al. (2006), Berta (2009), Werdelin and Peigne (2010), Berta and Churchill (2012), Boessenecker and Churchill (2015) and Berta (2018); to Otariidae by Wilson and Reeder (2005), Berta et al. (2018) and Tsuzuku and Kohno (2020); and to Arctocephalinae by Scheffer and Rice (1963), Muizon (1978), Berta and Deméré (1986), Riedman (1990), McKenna and Bell (1997), Deméré et al. (2003) and Pereyra and Magnussen (2021).

Synonyms

Halarctus was named by Gill (1866). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Arctocephalus by Gray (1871), Trouessart (1898), Trouessart (1904) and Berta and Churchill (2012).

It was assigned to Otariidae by Gill (1866).
Arctophoca was named by Peters (1866). It is extant.

It was reranked as Otaria (Arctophoca) by Peters (1866); it was synonymized subjectively with Arctocephalus by Trouessart (1898), Trouessart (1904), McKenna and Bell (1997), Rice (1998) and Lopes et al. (2021).

It was assigned to Otaria by Peters (1866); to Zalophina by Gray (1871); to Phocidae by Ameghino (1889); to Otariidae by Berta and Churchill (2012); and to Otariidae by Tsuzuku and Kohno (2020).
Gypsophoca was named by Gray (1866). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Arctocephalus by Trouessart (1898) and McKenna and Bell (1997); it was synonymized subjectively with Arctophoca by Berta and Churchill (2012).

It was assigned to Otariidae by Palmer (1904).
Euotaria was named by Gray (1869). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Arctocephalus by Trouessart (1898); it was synonymized subjectively with Arctophoca by Berta and Churchill (2012).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1826	Arctocephalus Cuvier p. 554
1850	Arctocephalus Gray p. 39
1866	Halarctus Gill
1866	Arctocephalus Gill p. 7
1866	Halarctus Gill p. 7
1866	Arctocephalus Gray p. 47
1866	Gypsophoca Gray p. 235
1866	Arctophoca Peters
1866	Otaria (Arctophoca) Peters
1869	Euotaria Gray
1871	Arctocephalas Gray p. 4
1871	Arctophoca Gray p. 12
1880	Arctocephalus Allen p. 210
1889	Arctophoca Ameghino p. 342
1898	Arctocephalus Trouessart p. 372
1904	Arctocephalus Palmer p. 117
1904	Gypsophoca Palmer p. 304
1904	Arctocephalus Trouessart p. 279
1912	Arctocephalus Turner p. 173
1925	Arctocephalus Zittel p. 78
1963	Arctocephalus Scheffer and Rice p. 2
1968	Arctocephalus Mitchell p. 1897
1977	Arctocephalus Repenning and Tedford p. 57
1978	Arctocephalus Muizon p. 184
1986	Arctocephalus Berta and Deméré p. 122
1988	Arctocephalus Carroll
1989	Arctocephalus Barnes p. 23
1990	Arctocephalus Riedman p. 58 figs. Table 2
1991	Arctocephalus Vidal p. 6
1997	Arctocephalus McKenna and Bell p. 253
1998	Arctocephalus Rice
1999	Arctocephalus Bergqvist et al. p. 31
2002	Arctocephalus Berta p. 923
2002	Arctocephalus Sepkoski
2003	Arctocephalus Deméré et al. p. 49 figs. Fig. 3.3
2005	Arctocephalus Wilson and Reeder
2006	Arctocephalus Berta et al. p. 496
2006	Arctocephalus Koretsky and Barnes p. 145
2009	Arctocephalus Berta p. 863
2010	Arctocephalus Werdelin and Peigne p. 646
2012	Arctocephalus Berta and Churchill
2012	Arctophoca Berta and Churchill p. 212
2015	Arctocephalus Boessenecker and Churchill figs. Fig. 2
2018	Arctocephalus Berta p. 713 figs. Fig. 2
2018	Arctocephalus Berta et al. p. 210 figs. Fig. 5
2020	Arctocephalus Tsuzuku and Kohno p. 6
2020	Arctophoca Tsuzuku and Kohno p. 6
2021	Arctocephalus Pereyra and Magnussen p. 2

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
—	Theriamorpha	(Rowe 1993)

Rank	Name	Author
—	Theriiformes	()
—	Trechnotheria
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Laurasiatheria
—	Scrotifera
—	Ferae	()
—	Carnivoramorpha	Wyss and Flynn 1993
—	Carnivoraformes	Flynn et al.
order	Carnivora
suborder	Caniformia	Kretzoi 1943
infraorder	Canoidea	(Simpson 1931)
superfamily	Arctoidea	Flower 1869
—	Panpinnipedia	Wolsan et al. 2020
—	Pinnipedimorpha
—	Pinnipedia	()
superfamily	Otarioidea
family	Otariidae	()
genus	Arctocephalus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Arctocephalus Cuvier 1826 [fur seal]

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Subg. Arctocephalus (Arctocephalus) Trouessart 1898

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Arctocephalus (Arctocephalus) argentata Philippi 1892

Arctocephalus (Arctocephalus) brachydactyla Philippi 1892

Arctocephalus (Arctocephalus) gracilis Nehring 1887

Arctocephalus (Arctocephalus) leucostoma Philippi 1892

Subg. Arctocephalus (Callotaria) Palmer 1892

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Arctocephalus (Callotaria) alaskanus Jordan and Clark 1899

Arctocephalus (Callotaria) kurilensis Jordan and Clark 1899

Arctocephalus australis Zimmerman 1783 [South American fur seal]

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Invalid names: Arctophoca tropicalis Gray 1872 [synonym]

Arctocephalus californianus Gray 1866

Arctocephalus doriferus Wood Jones 1925

Arctocephalus elegans Peters 1875

Arctocephalus falklandicus Shaw 1800

†Arctocephalus fischeri Gervais and Ameghino 1880

Arctocephalus forsteri Lesson 1828

Arctocephalus forsteri Wood Jones 1922

Arctocephalus galapagoensis Heller 1904

Arctocephalus gazella Peters 1875

Arctocephalus nigriscens Gray 1859

Arctocephalus nivosus Gray 1868

Arctocephalus philippii Peters 1866

Arctocephalus pusillus Schreber 1778 [brown fur seal]

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Invalid names: Arctocephalus antarcticus Thunberg 1811 [synonym]

Arctocephalus tasmanica Scott and Lord 1926

Arctocephalus townsendi Merriam 1897 [Guadalupe fur seal]

Arctocephalus tropicalis Gray 1872

Invalid names: Arctophoca Peters 1866 [synonym], Halarctos Gill 1866 [synonym]

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

hydroxyapatiteuc

Ontogeny:

modification of partsuc

Environment:

marineuc

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Life habit:

amphibiousuc

Diet:

piscivoret

Reproduction:

viviparousuc

Created:

2005-06-08 10:11:09

Modified:

2005-06-08 12:11:09

Source: t = tribe, c = class, uc = unranked clade

References: Hendy et al. 2009, Carreño and Cronin 1993, Gingerich 2003, Nowak 1991

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Zanclean to the top of the Holocene or 5.33300 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 3.6 Ma

Collections (109 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	South Africa	Arctocephalus sp. (100313)
Piacenzian	3.6 - 2.588	USA (California)	Arctocephalus sp. (52218)
Piacenzian	3.6 - 2.588	Peru	Arctocephalus sp. (219058)
Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.0117	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (21695 21916 21929 21953 115191 115205)
Pleistocene - Holocene	2.588 - 0.0	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (21951 21952)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (115185 115188)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (21709 90070 96974 113858 114988 115184 115225)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	New Zealand (South Island)	Arctocephalus forsteri (87999)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)	0.129 - 0.0117	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (115167)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)	Arctocephalus sp. (59978)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene	0.129 - 0.0	Mexico (Baja California)	Arctocephalus townsendi (191984)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene	0.129 - 0.0	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (21922)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)	Arctocephalus galapagoensis (230264)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Argentina	Arctocephalus sp. (168596)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	India	Arctocephalus sp. (168597)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Antarctica	Arctocephalus gazella (177180) Arctocephalus sp. (168599)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Japan	Arctocephalus sp. (168598)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	USA (California)	Arctocephalus townsendi (162157 168826 168827 168828 168829 168830 168831 168832 168833 168834 168835 168836 168837 168838 168839 168840 168841 168842 168843 168844 168845 168846 168847 168848 168849 168850 168851 168852 168853 168854 168855 168856 168857 168858 168859 168860 168861 168862 168864 168865 168866 168867 168868 168869 168870 168871 168872 168873 168874 168875 168876 168877 168878 168879 168880 168881 168882 168883 168884 168885)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	New Zealand	Arctocephalus forsteri (81666)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Chile ( Valparaíso)	Arctocephalus philippii (230265)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Argentina (Buenos Aires)	Arctocephalus australis (220444)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	New Caledonia	Arctocephalus forsteri (83454) Arctocephalus sp. (83455)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	South Africa	Arctocephalus pusillus (21706 21708 21862 21917 21918 21919 21921) Arctocephalus pusillus, Arctocephalus gazella (96973) Arctocephalus pusilus (199568) Arctocephalus tropicalis (230266)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Mexico	Arctocephalus sp. (168600)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Chile	Arctocephalus sp. (168595 215543)