What is "earless seal"

n. Any of the seals in the taxonomic family Phocidae characterized by lacking external ear flaps; true seals.

n. any of several seals lacking external ear flaps and having a stiff hairlike coat with hind limbs reduced to swimming flippers [syn: true seal, hair seal]

The earless seals or true seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal superfamily, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae . They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae. Seals live in the oceans of both hemispheres and, with the exception of the more tropical monk seals, are mostly confined to polar, subpolar, and temperate climates. The Baikal seal is the only seal found exclusively in fresh water.