Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction to Carnivora
- 2 Phylogeny of the Carnivora and Carnivoramorpha, and the use of the fossil record to enhance understanding of evolutionary transformations
- 3 Phylogeny of the Viverridae and ‘Viverrid-like’ feliforms
- 4 Molecular and morphological evidence for Ailuridae and a review of its genera
- 5 The influence of character correlations on phylogenetic analyses: a case study of the carnivoran cranium
- 6 What's the difference? A multiphasic allometric analysis of fossil and living lions
- 7 Evolution in Carnivora: identifying a morphological bias
- 8 The biogeography of carnivore ecomorphology
- 9 Comparative ecomorphology and biogeography of Herpestidae and Viverridae (Carnivora) in Africa and Asia
- 10 Ecomorphological analysis of carnivore guilds in the Eocene through Miocene of Laurasia
- 11 Ecomorphology of North American Eocene carnivores: evidence for competition between Carnivorans and Creodonts
- 12 Morphometric analysis of cranial morphology in pinnipeds (Mammalia, Carnivora): convergence, ecology, ontogeny, and dimorphism
- 13 Tiptoeing through the trophics: geographic variation in carnivoran locomotor ecomorphology in relation to environment
- 14 Interpreting sabretooth cat (Carnivora; Felidae; Machairodontinae) postcranial morphology in light of scaling patterns in felids
- 15 Cranial mechanics of mammalian carnivores: recent advances using a finite element approach
- Index
- Plates
- References
12 - Morphometric analysis of cranial morphology in pinnipeds (Mammalia, Carnivora): convergence, ecology, ontogeny, and dimorphism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2014
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction to Carnivora
- 2 Phylogeny of the Carnivora and Carnivoramorpha, and the use of the fossil record to enhance understanding of evolutionary transformations
- 3 Phylogeny of the Viverridae and ‘Viverrid-like’ feliforms
- 4 Molecular and morphological evidence for Ailuridae and a review of its genera
- 5 The influence of character correlations on phylogenetic analyses: a case study of the carnivoran cranium
- 6 What's the difference? A multiphasic allometric analysis of fossil and living lions
- 7 Evolution in Carnivora: identifying a morphological bias
- 8 The biogeography of carnivore ecomorphology
- 9 Comparative ecomorphology and biogeography of Herpestidae and Viverridae (Carnivora) in Africa and Asia
- 10 Ecomorphological analysis of carnivore guilds in the Eocene through Miocene of Laurasia
- 11 Ecomorphology of North American Eocene carnivores: evidence for competition between Carnivorans and Creodonts
- 12 Morphometric analysis of cranial morphology in pinnipeds (Mammalia, Carnivora): convergence, ecology, ontogeny, and dimorphism
- 13 Tiptoeing through the trophics: geographic variation in carnivoran locomotor ecomorphology in relation to environment
- 14 Interpreting sabretooth cat (Carnivora; Felidae; Machairodontinae) postcranial morphology in light of scaling patterns in felids
- 15 Cranial mechanics of mammalian carnivores: recent advances using a finite element approach
- Index
- Plates
- References
Summary
Introduction
Pinnipeds are a clade of secondarily aquatic arctoid carnivorans, including 34 extant species dispersed across most of the world's oceans. Extant species are separated into three families (Figure 12.1): Odobenidae (walruses, 1 species), Phocidae (seals, 19 species), and Otariidae (sea lions and fur seals, 14 species) and display a wide range of ecological diversity (Reeves et al., 2002). Predominantly, pinnipeds are generalist feeders. They are opportunistic, and their diets may vary annually, between colonies and between individuals within a colony (King, 1983; Sinclair and Zeppelin, 2002; Williams et al., 2007). However, several species have evolved more specialist feeding techniques: (1) Odobenus rosmarus is a suction feeder, using powerful facial musculature to produce forces large enough to extract molluscs from their shells (Adam and Berta, 2002); Erignathus barbatus (Phocidae) also uses suction feeding (King, 1983; Marshall et al., 2008); (2) Lobodon carcinophagus (Phocidae) is a filter feeder; it uses multicuspidate teeth to sieve out krill as water is expelled from the mouth; (3) Hyrdrurga leptonyx (Phocidae) feeds on large, warm-blooded prey such as penguins and seal pups (Adam and Berta, 2002).
Reproductive strategies of the pinnipeds are also diverse. Otariids are universally dimorphic with large harems. Their young are weaned over long periods of up to 2 years whilst learning to forage (Kovacs and Lavigne, 1992; Schulz and Bowen, 2004). On the other hand, phocid young are relatively precocial (4–50 days weaning) and learn foraging skills after leaving their mothers. Phocids also show a diversity of mating strategies and degree of dimorphism (Schulz and Bowen, 2004). It has been hypothesised that this shorter time spent on land has allowed phocids to exploit a broader range of habitats, including polar regions (Kovacs and Lavigne, 1992; Schulz and Bowen, 2005). Odobenids show extremely long lactation times of three years. During this period, young walruses often accompany mothers on foraging trips.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Carnivoran EvolutionNew Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function, pp. 342 - 373Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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