Acrophoca

Taxobox
name = "Acrophoca"
status=EX
status_system=iucn3.1
fossil_range = Late Miocene to Early Pliocene

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image_width = 275px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Carnivora
familia = Phocidae
genus = "Acrophoca"
species = "A. longirostris"
binomial = "Acrophoca longirostris"
binomial_authority = Muizon, 1981

"Acrophoca longirostris" is an extinct species of pinniped whose fossils have been discovered in Peru and Chile.

Description

The 1.5 m (5 ft) long creature was not as well-adapted to swimming as its descendants, possessing less developed flippers and a less streamlined neck, and spent a lot of time near the coast. "Acrophoca" was probably a fish eater. Its fossils have been found alongside those of the marine sloth "Thalassocnus" and tusked cetacean "Odobenocetops", as well as modern animals such as bottlenose dolphins, gannets and cormorants. "Acrophoca" is thought to have been the ancestor of the modern leopard seal.

References

* "World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures: The Ultimate Visual Reference To 1000 Dinosaurs And Prehistoric Creatures Of Land, Air And Sea ... And Cretaceous Eras (World Encyclopedia)" by Dougal Dixon