Clawed forelimbs allow northern seals to eat like their ancient ancestors

Royal Society Open Science
David P HockingAlistair R Evans

Abstract

Streamlined flippers are often considered the defining feature of seals and sea lions, whose very name 'pinniped' comes from the Latin pinna and pedis, meaning 'fin-footed'. Yet not all pinniped limbs are alike. Whereas otariids (fur seals and sea lions) possess stiff streamlined forelimb flippers, phocine seals (northern true seals) have retained a webbed yet mobile paw bearing sharp claws. Here, we show that captive and wild phocines routinely use these claws to secure prey during processing, enabling seals to tear large fish by stretching them between their teeth and forelimbs. 'Hold and tear' processing relies on the primitive forelimb anatomy displayed by phocines, which is also found in the early fossil pinniped Enaliarctos. Phocine forelimb anatomy and behaviour therefore provide a glimpse into how the earliest seals likely fed, and indicate what behaviours may have assisted pinnipeds along their journey from terrestrial to aquatic feeding.

References

Jul 1, 1961·The British Journal of Surgery·J B ROBERTS
Jul 4, 2006·Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution·Ulfur ArnasonRisto Väinölä
May 23, 2007·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Joy S Reidenberg
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Dec 10, 2015·PloS One·Lori L Timm-DavisChristopher D Marshall
Oct 5, 2016·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Frank E Fish
Mar 3, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·David P HockingAlistair R Evans
Sep 29, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·David P HockingAlistair R Evans
Oct 28, 2017·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Lori L Timm-DavisChristopher D Marshall

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Citations

Apr 23, 2019·Journal of Morphology·Mark C DeBlois, Ryosuke Motani
Jan 5, 2021·Royal Society Open Science·James P RuleErich M G Fitzgerald
May 8, 2021·Current Biology : CB·David P HockingAlistair R Evans

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Software Mentioned

Enaliarctos
Behaviour Observation Research Interactive Software

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