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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Weddell
seal |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Pinnipedia |
| FAMILY: |
Phocidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Leptonychotes
weddellii |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
Weddell seal is a large seal with a bulky body,
a relatively small head, and a short, wide snout.
The adults are dark gray to brown with dark and
light patches on the ventral side and silvery white
dorsally. The front flippers are small relative
to body size. Pups are born with light gray or occasionally
golden fur. |
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| SIZE: |
May reach lengths of 2.9 m (9.5 ft.) |
| FEMALE |
Females
grow slightly larger than males |
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| WEIGHT: |
Weigh
up to 400-600 kg (881-1323 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Feeds
mainly on fishes; diet also includes cephalopods
and crustaceans (including krill) |
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| GESTATION: |
10.25 months (with 1.6 months delayed implantation) |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
Typically
during late lactation |
| NURSING
DURATION |
45-50
days (wean) |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
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| MALE |
3-6
years |
| FEMALE |
2-6
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 30 years |
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| RANGE: |
Live
in and around the Antarctic; has the southernmost
distribution of any pinniped |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Lower
Risk/least concern |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Weddell
seals belong to the scientific order Pinnipedia,
which includes seals, sea lions, and walruses. |
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| 2. |
Seals
differ from sea lions in a number of ways, including
having no visible earflaps. |
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| 3. |
Antarctic
seals tend to have longer, more pointed foreflippers
than northern phocids. |
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| 4. |
Weddell
seals are named for Captain James Weddell, an explorer
in the 1820's whose book described and illustrated
Weddell seals. |
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| 5. |
Weddell
seals often dive to depths of 300-400 m (984-1312
ft.), and may dive to depths of 600 m (1968 ft.). |
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| 6. |
Most
dives average 15 minutes long, but a 73 minute dive
has been recorded. |
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| Antarctic
seals, including the crabeater, leopard, Weddell,
Ross, southern elephant, and Antarctic fur seals,
are protected by the Convention for the Conservation
of Antarctic Seals. |
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| |
|
|
| Bonner,
N. Seals and Sea Lions of the World. New
York. Facts on File, Inc. 2004. |
|
| Byrum,
J. Pinnipeds From Pole to Pole: Seals, Sea Lions
and Walruses. SeaWorld Education Department
Publication. San Diego. SeaWorld, Inc. 2000. |
|
|
Jefferson,
T.J. Leatherwood, S. and M.A. Webber. FAO Species
Identification Guide. Marine Mammals of the World.
Rome. FAO, 1993.
|
|
| Nowak,
Ronald M. (ed.). Walker's Marine Mammals of the
World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
2003. |
|
| Parker,
S. (ed.). Grizmek's Encyclopedia of Mammals.
Vol. IV. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.,
1990. |
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| Reeves,
R. R., Stewart, B.S., Clapman, P.J., and J.A. Powell
(Peter Folkens illustrator). National Audubon
Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.
New York: Random House, 2002. |
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| Reeves,
R.R., Stewart, B.S. and S. Stephen. The Sierra
Club Handbook of Seals and Sirenians. San Francisco:
Sierra Club Books, 1992. |
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| Ridgway,
S.H. and R.J. Harrison (Eds). Handbook of Marine
Mammals: Volume 2: Seals. London. Academic Press,
1981. |
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| Riedman,
M. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses.
Berkeley and Los Angeles. University of California
Press. 1990. |
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