Arctocephalus

Arctocephalus
	New Zealand fur seal
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Clade:	Pinnipedia
Family:	Otariidae
Subfamily:	Arctocephalinae
Genus:	Arctocephalus; É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier in F. Cuvier, 1826
Type species
	Arctocephalus pusillus; Schreber, 1775
Species
	Arctocephalus gazella; Arctocephalus townsendi; Arctocephalus philippii; Arctocephalus galapagoensis; Arctocephalus pusillus; Arctocephalus forsteri; Arctocephalus tropicalis; Arctocephalus australis
A. townsendi A. galapagoensis A. philippii A. australis	A. gazella A. tropicalis A. pusillus A. forsteri
Synonyms
	Arctophoca; Cynophoca;

The genus Arctocephalus consists of the southern fur seals. Arctocephalus translates to "bear head."

Taxonomy[]

The number of species within the genus has been questioned, primarily based on limited molecular data. The issue is complicated because some of the species are able to produce fertile hybrids. A recent review recommended the retention of seven species, deprecating the New Zealand fur seals to a subspecies of the South American fur seal, while also questioning the status of the Guadalupe fur seal.^[1] Other recent studies have indicated the genus may be paraphyletic, and some taxonomic reshuffling was previously done to account for this; however, more recent studies support it being monophyletic, with the alleged paraphyly being a consequence of incomplete lineage sorting.^[2]^[3]

Extant Species[]

Image	Name	Distribution
	Antarctic fur seal, A. gazella
	Guadalupe fur seal, A. townsendi
	Juan Fernández fur seal, A. philippii
	Galápagos fur seal, A. galapagoensis
	Brown fur seal (or Cape fur seal), A. pusillus
	New Zealand fur seal, A. forsteri
	Subantarctic fur seal, A. tropicalis
	South American fur seal, A. australis

References[]

^ Berta, A.; Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x.
^ Yonezawa, T.; et al. (2009). "The monophyletic origin of sea lions and fur seals (Carnivora; Otariidae) in the Southern Hemisphere". Gene. 441 (1–2): 89–99. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2009.01.022. PMID 19254754.
^ Lopes, Fernando; Oliveira, Larissa R; Kessler, Amanda; Beux, Yago; Crespo, Enrique; Cárdenas-Alayza, Susana; Majluf, Patricia; Sepúlveda, Maritza; Brownell, Robert L; Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Páez-Rosas, Diego (2020-12-26). "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. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa099. ISSN 1063-5157.

[Berta2012-1] Berta, A.; Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x.

[Yonezawa2009-2] Yonezawa, T.; et al. (2009). "The monophyletic origin of sea lions and fur seals (Carnivora; Otariidae) in the Southern Hemisphere". Gene. 441 (1–2): 89–99. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2009.01.022. PMID 19254754.

[3] Lopes, Fernando; Oliveira, Larissa R; Kessler, Amanda; Beux, Yago; Crespo, Enrique; Cárdenas-Alayza, Susana; Majluf, Patricia; Sepúlveda, Maritza; Brownell, Robert L; Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Páez-Rosas, Diego (2020-12-26). "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. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa099. ISSN 1063-5157.

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