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Seals, sea lions and walrus are currently placed in the Suborder Pinnipedia in the Order Carnivora, which also includes the bears, dogs, racoons, and weasels (including otters). Three families of living pinnipeds are recognized, the Phocidae (earless seals or true seals), the Otaridae (eared seals or fur seals and sea lions) and the Odobenidae (walrus). The word pinnipedia translates from Latin as "fin foot," referring to their often large fin-like flippers. All pinnipeds must come ashore to breed, give birth and nurse their young, though some species are at sea for several months at a time while others return to the shore every day.  Phocid seals include elephant seals, several species of ice seals (some are found in fresh water lakes) and the harbor seal of temperate coastlines. Monk seals can be currently found in the Mediterranean Sea and Hawaii, although there is one species indigenous to the Caribbean Sea that is commonly believed to be extinct. Four phocid species inhabit the Antarctic ice pack. All of these seals have a vertical undulating motion when they move on land called "galluphing" because their pelvic bone does not provide a stable anchor point for the rear flippers to engage the ground for propulsion and the rear flippers are directed rearward.  The otariids, fur seals and sea lions, are found in temperate colder waters and are associated in tropical latitudes with cold water upwelling currents. They have external ear flaps (giving them the distinction of being called "eared seals"). The arm pit or axilla encloses the forelimbs to about the level of the forearm. In all the pinnipeds, the hing limbs are enclosed within the body to the level of the ankle. Sea lions and fur seals can rotate their hind feet forward and therefore use their pelvic bone to propel themselves forward with considerable speed.  The walruses, odobenids, are currently found in both Pacific and Atlantic Arctic ice pack areas, but in colonial times they were found as far south as Sable Island off Nova Scotia. Their mode of locomotion is similar to that in otariids. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act walruses are within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We recommend you visit that agency's Web site for more information.  SPECIES OF PINNIPEDS IN THE U.S. ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST  There are currently four species of pinnipeds in the United States on the endangered species list. These include the Caribbean monk seal (commonly believed to be extinct), the Guadalupe fur seal, the Hawaiian monk seal and the Steller sea lion. The Caribbean monk seal and the Hawaiian mink seal are listed as endangered, while the Guadalupe fur seal and Steller sea lion are currently listed as threatened.  Commercial hunting of seals in the 18th and 19th century and in the early years of this century played a large role in pinniped population declines. Other factors involved have been coastal development and competition with man for prey species. Caribbean Monk Seal: The Caribbean monk seal was listed as endangered throughout its range on April 10, 1979. The last reliable sighting of a Caribbean monk seal occurred in 1952. None were seen in aerial surveys in 1973, and no confirmed sightings have been reported since then. Many scientists believe that the species has been extinct since the early 1950s. No recovery effort is currently being made for this species.  Guadalupe Fur Seal: The major cause of the Guadalupe fur seal's decline was commercial hunting in the late 1700s and early 1800s, and this species was exterminated in southern California waters by 1825. Commercial sealing continued in Mexican waters through 1894. Currently the Guadalupe fur seal seems to be expanding its range, with regular sightings of animals on San Miguel and San Nicolas Islands off the southern California coast. Hawaiian Monk Seal: The Hawaiian monk seal was listed as endangered throughout its range on November 23, 1976. Counts have been made at the atolls, islands and reefs where they haul out in the northwest Hawaiian Islands since the late 1950s. NMFS estimates that there are approximately 1400 animals remaining. In 1982, the highest count for all atolls was about 50 percent of the highest counts made in 1957-58. The Hawaiian monk seal is most abundant on Kure Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysan Island, French Frigate Shoals, Necker Island and Nihoa Island. This species is vulnerable to human disturbance on pupping and haulout beaches, entanglement in marine debris, and incidental take in commercial fisheries, as well as possible die-offs from disease and naturally occurring biotoxins, male mobbing of female seals, and shark predation. Steller Sea Lions - The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) is the largest member of the Otariid (eared seal) family. Males typically are between 10 ft to 12 ft (3.04 m to 3.66 m) in length and can weigh up to 2,500 lbs (1,120 kg). Females are smaller than males and are typically 9 ft (2.74 m) in length and weigh 770 lbs. (350 kg). Males and females are light buff to reddish brown and slightly darker on the chest and abdomen but females are lighter in color; naked parts of the skin are black (King 1954). Pups are dark brown to black until 4 to 6 months old when they molt to a lighter brown. By the end of their second year, pups have taken on the same pelage color as adults. Steller sea lion are distributed across the North Pacific Ocean rim from northern Hokkaido, Japan, through the Kuril Islands and Okhotsk Sea, Aleutian Islands and central Bering Sea, southern coast of Alaska and south to the Channel Islands off California (Loughlin et al 1984). The number of Steller sea lions in most areas has shown a continous decline since the 1970s. The extent of this decline led the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the Steller sea lion as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in April 1990.   Photo credit: NMFS file photo, P. Michael Payne, NMFS, and NMFS Honolulu Laboratory *Material on this web page courtesy of the U. S. Dept. of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources URL http://www.nmfs.gov/prot_res/pinniped/pinniped.html

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