Marine Mammals

Approximately 200 million years ago, another

group of air-breathing vertebrates, the
mammals, evolved from now-extinct reptiles
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Mammalia
Long overshadowed by the dinosaurs until
~65 million years ago
 Class Mammalia
All mammals share the following
characteristics:
Warm-blooded (endothermic and homeothermic)
Four-chambered heart
Fur or hair (not feathers) to retain heat
Mammary glands to produce milk for young
 Marine Mammals
Like the marine reptiles and birds before them,
several different types of land animals
successfully invaded the ocean:
Seals, sea lions, and the walrus (order Pinnipedia)
Sea otter and the polar bear (order Carnivora)
Manatees and dugongs (order Sirenia)
Whales, dolphins, and porpoises (order Cetacea)
120 species altogether
 Marine Mammals
All marine mammals arose from land
ancestors and have become adapted to a
marine existence
Streamlined body shapes reduce drag
Limbs have been modified into flippers
Evolved means of retaining large quantities of
oxygen to facilitate long dives
Concentrated (highly saline) urine
 Marine Mammals
In the United States, marine mammals are
protected by the Endangered Species Act of
1985 and the Marine Mammal Protection
Act of 1972
Prohibits the capture, harming and/or
killing of any marine mammal

Photographs are property of the

Riverhead Foundation
 Seals, Sea Lions, and Walrus
Members of the order Pinnipedia are nearly
exclusively marine
Pinnipeds include:
Seals
Sea lions and
fur seals
Walruses
 Seals, Sea Lions, and Walrus
Pinnipeds (fin-footed) evolved from a
terrestrial carnivore
They are predators, feeding mainly on fish and
squid
Streamlined bodies for swimming
Thick layer of fat, or blubber for
insulation, food reserves, and
buoyancy
 Sea lions and fur seals vs. Seals

Sea lions and fur seals Seals (Phocidae)

(Otariidae)
 Seals
Seals (earless pinnipeds; family Phocidae)
have 19 representative species
Rear flippers cannot be moved forward
No external ear flap
Claws (and fur) on flippers
Short, robust neck

Photograph is property of the Riverhead Foundation

Crabeater seal
Weddell seal
 Leopard seal

Crabeater seal
 Sea lions and fur seals
Sea lions and fur seals (eared pinnipeds;
family Otariidae) have 15 representative
species
Rotatable hind flippers
External ear flap
Long, flexible neck
No fur or claws on flippers
New Zealand fur seal
 Seals Found in Long Island waters

Harbor Seal Harp Seal Hooded Seal

All photographs are property of

the Riverhead Foundation Gray Seal Ringed Seal
 Sea Lions found in Long Island waters

X
http://www.atlantismarineworld.com/exhibit-outdoor-sealion.html

There are NO sea lions in the Atlantic Ocean, and

therefore no sea lions on Long Island
(except at local aquariums)
 Walrus
Walrus (family Odobenidae) are large
pinnipeds with a distinctive pair of tusks
Both male and female have tusks; can reach 1
meter in length!
Used for defense, and anchoring onto ice
Strictly Arctic!
Benthic-feeder; feeds
primarily on clams
 Sea Otters and Polar Bears
Sea otters and polar bears are marine
mammals belonging to order Carnivora
The sea otter is the smallest marine mammal,
which lacks a layer of blubber
Instead, the sea otter has extremely dense fur,
which traps air against the body for insulation
Hunted extensively for fur nearly to extinction
 Sea Otters and Polar Bears
Sea otters are found only in the Pacific Ocean,
and have the densest fur of all animals
Sea otters inhabit nearshore environments
and dive to the sea floor to forage on
mollusks, crustaceans and echinoderms (sea
stars and urchins)
Must eat ~25-30% of their body weight per day
Sea Otters
Sea otter as a keystone species
 Polar Bear
Polar bears are semi-aquatic mammals that
spend a good deal of their life drifting on sea
ice in the Arctic
They feed primarily on seals, which they stalk
at breathing holes
Worlds largest land carnivore
Thick blubber; translucent fur, black skin!
Threatened by the loss of Arctic sea ice!
Kodak, Fuji, Infrared?

http://coe.berkeley.edu/engnews/fall02/3S/polarbear.html
 The Truth about Christmas
Polar bears are found
exclusively in the
Northern Hemisphere

Where are penguins

found???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3JLKfmq-M&feature=related
 Manatees and Dugong
Sirenians (order Sirenia) include the manatees
and dugong
Sirenians, also known as sea cows, have a pair
of front flippers, but no rear limbs
Swim with up-and-down strokes of their
paddle- (manatee) or V- (dugong) shaped tails
Closest land relative is the elephant!
Manatees
The Florida Manatee
Dugong
 Manatees and Dugong
Sirenians are the only herbivorous marine
mammals; feed on aquatic plants and algae
Some species live in fresh and/or brackish
water
Inhabit temperate or subtropical waters
Severely threatened by motor boat collisions,
harmful algal blooms, pollution, and severe
winters
 Stellars Sea Cow
(the sirenian youll never see)
The Stellar Sea Cow was a large, herbivorous
marine mammal formerly abundant in the
North Pacific
Described by naturalist Wilheim Stellar in
1741; hunted to extinction within 27 years of
discovery!
8 meters long
Fed on kelp
Did otter hunting
play a role?