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Pinniped
Pinnipeds (from Latin pinna, wing or fin, and ped-, foot) or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the familiesOdobenidae (the walrus), Otariidae (eared seals, including sea lions and fur seals), andPhocidae (earless seals).
Formerly classified as a separate biological suborder, Pinnipedia is now sometimes considered a superfamily within Caniformia, a suborder in the Carnivora order.
Formerly classified as a separate biological suborder, Pinnipedia is now sometimes considered a superfamily within Caniformia, a suborder in the Carnivora order.
- Family Odobenidae
- Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus
- Imagotaria downsi (extinct)
- Family Otariidae
- Genus Arctocephalus
- Antarctic Fur Seal, A. gazella
- Guadalupe Fur Seal, A. townsendi
- Juan Fernández Fur Seal, A. philippii
- Galápagos Fur Seal, A. galapagoensis
- Brown Fur Seal, A. pusillus
- South African Fur Seal, A. pusillus pusillus
- Australian Fur Seal, A. pusillus doriferus
- Australasian Fur Seal, A. forsteri
- Subantarctic Fur Seal, A. tropicalis
- South American Fur Seal, A. australis
- Genus Callorhinus
- Northern Fur Seal, C. ursinus
- Genus Eumetopias
- Steller Sea Lion, E. jubatus
- Genus Neophoca
- Australian Sea Lion, N. cinerea
- Genus Otaria
- South American Sea Lion, O. flavescens
- Genus Phocarctos
- New Zealand Sea Lion, P. hookeri
- Genus Zalophus
- California Sea Lion, Z. californianus
- Japanese Sea Lion, Z. japonicus – extinct (1950s)
- Galápagos Sea Lion, Z. wollebaeki
- Genus Arctocephalus
- Family Phocidae
- Subfamily Monachinae
- Tribe Monachini
- Monachopsis (extinct)
- Pristiphoca (extinct)
- Properiptychus (extinct)
- Messiphoca (extinct)
- Mesotaria (extinct)
- Callophoca (extinct)
- Pliophoca (extinct)
- Pontophoca (extinct)
- Hawaiian Monk Seal, Monachus schauinslandi
- Mediterranean Monk Seal, Monachus monachus
- Caribbean Monk Seal, Monachus tropicalis (probably extinct around 1950)
- Tribe Miroungini
- Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris
- Southern Elephant Seal, Mirounga leonina
- Tribe Lobodontini
- Monotherium wymani (extinct)
- Ross Seal, Ommatophoca rossi
- Crabeater Seal, Lobodon carcinophagus
- Leopard Seal, Hydrurga leptonyx
- Weddell Seal, Leptonychotes weddellii
- Swan-necked Seal, Acrophoca longirostris (extinct)
- Piscophoca pacifica (extinct)
- Homiphoca capensis (extinct)
- Tribe Monachini
- Subfamily Phocinae
- Kawas benegasorum (extinct)
- Leptophoca lenis (extinct)
- Preapusa (extinct)
- Cryptophoca (extinct)
- Bearded Seal, Erignathus barbatus
- Hooded Seal, Cystophora cristata
- Tribe Phocini
- Common Seal or Harbor Seal, Phoca vitulina
- Spotted Seal or Larga Seal, Phoca largha
- Ringed Seal, Pusa hispida (formerly Phoca hispida)
- Baikal Seal or Nerpa, Pusa sibirica (formerly Phoca sibirica)
- Caspian Seal, Pusa caspica (formerly Phoca caspica)
- Harp Seal, Pagophilus groenlandica (formerly Phoca groenlandicus)
- Ribbon Seal, Histriophoca fasciata (formerly Phoca fasciata)
- Phocanella (extinct)
- Platyphoca (extinct)
- Gryphoca (extinct)
- Gray Seal, Halichoerus grypus
- Subfamily Monachinae
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Superfamily: | Pinnipedia |
lupus familiaris
The gray wolf or grey wolf (Canis lupus), often known simply as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family. Though once abundant over much of Eurasia, North Africa andNorth America, the gray wolf inhabits a reduced portion of its former range due to widespread destruction of its territory, human encroachment, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation. Even so, the gray wolf is regarded as being of least concern for extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, when the entire gray wolf population is considered as a whole. Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others, or may be subject to population control or extermination as threats to livestock, people, and pets.
Canidae (pronounced /ˈkænɨdiː/[2]) is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes the wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and the domestic dog; a member of this family is called a canid (/ˈkeɪnɨd/). The Canidae family is divided into the "wolf-like" and "dog-like" animals of the tribe Canini and the "foxes" of the tribe Vulpini. The two species of the basal Caninae are more primitive and do not fit into either tribe.
Canidae (pronounced /ˈkænɨdiː/[2]) is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes the wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and the domestic dog; a member of this family is called a canid (/ˈkeɪnɨd/). The Canidae family is divided into the "wolf-like" and "dog-like" animals of the tribe Canini and the "foxes" of the tribe Vulpini. The two species of the basal Caninae are more primitive and do not fit into either tribe.
Eocene epoch
Carnivorans evolved from miacoids about 55 million years ago during the late Paleocene.[4] Then, about 50 million years ago, the carnivorans split into two main divisions: caniforms (dog-like) andfeliforms (cat-like). By 40 million years ago the first clearly identifiable member of the dog family Canidae had arisen. It was called Prohesperocyon wilsoni and was found in what is now southwestern Texas.
The Miacidae (miacids) evolved into the modern Caniformes (dogs, bears, raccoons and weasels), while the Viverravidae evolved into the Feliformes (cats, hyaenas and mongooses), both of the order Carnivora.
The creodonts are an extinct order of mammals that lived from the Paleocene to the Mioceneepochs. They shared a common ancestor with the Carnivora.
Creodonts were an important group of carnivorous mammals from 55 to 35 million years ago in the ecosystems of Africa, Eurasia and North America. In Oligocene Africa, they were the dominant predatory group. They competed with the Mesonychids and the Entelodonts and ultimately outlasted them by the start of the Oligocene and by the middle of the Miocene respectively, but lost ground to the carnivorans. The last genus went extinct 8 million years ago, and carnivorans now occupy their ecological niches.
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Family: | Canidae |
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