Earless seal

Earless Seals
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Pinnipedia Family: Phocidae
Genera
Cystophora Erignathus Halichoerus Hydrurga Leptonychotes Lobodon Mirounga Monachus Ommatophoca Phoca

The earless seals are one of the two distinct groups of mammals called "seals". They are the members of family Phocidae. They are also called true seals, or crawling seals, to disambiguate them from the fur seals of family Otariidae.

Phocids are the more highly specialized for aquatic life of the two groups and, unlike otariids, lack external ears and cannot bring their hind flippers under their body to walk on them.

They are somewhat more agile in the water than fur seals and sea lions. However, because they cannot turn their hind flippers downward, they are clumsy on land because they have to wriggle with their front flippers and abdominal muscles; this method of locomotion is called gallumphing[?].

See also: Crabeater Seal