Acrophoca
Sign in to saveAcrophoca longirostris, also known as the swan-necked seal, is an extinct genus of Late Miocene pinniped. It was thought to have been the ancestor of the modern leopard seal; however, it is now thought to be a species of monk seal.
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6 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Paleoecology
- References
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Acrophoca longirostris, also known as the swan-necked seal, is an extinct genus of Late Miocene pinniped. It was thought to have been the ancestor of the modern leopard seal; however, it is now thought to be a species of monk seal.
==Taxonomy== thumb|left|Fossil in Peru The fossils of A. longirostris have been discovered in the Pisco Formation of Peru and the Bahía Inglesa Formation of Chile. When it was first described in 1981, it was thought to have been closely related to the lobodontine seals which includes the modern-day leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), the crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli) and the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii). However, it is now thought to be a basal species of monk seal of the subfamily Monachinae, closely related to the extinct seal Piscophoca.