What is "fur seal"

Seal \Seal\ (s[=e]l), n. [OE. sele, AS. seolh; akin to OHG. selah, Dan. s[ae]l, Sw. sj["a]l, Icel. selr.] (Zo["o]l.) Any aquatic carnivorous mammal of the families Phocid[ae] and Otariid[ae].

Note: Seals inhabit seacoasts, and are found principally in the higher latitudes of both hemispheres. There are numerous species, bearing such popular names as sea lion, sea leopard, sea bear, or ursine seal, fur seal, and sea elephant. The bearded seal ( Erignathus barbatus), the hooded seal ( Cystophora cristata), and the ringed seal ( Phoca f[oe]tida), are northern species. See also Eared seal, Harp seal, Monk seal, and Fur seal, under Eared, Harp, Monk, and Fur. Seals are much hunted for their skins and fur, and also for their oil, which in some species is very abundant.

Harbor seal (Zo["o]l.), the common seal ( Phoca vitulina). It inhabits both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific Ocean, and often ascends rivers; -- called also marbled seal, native seal, river seal, bay seal, land seal, sea calf, sea cat, sea dog, dotard, ranger, selchie, tangfish.

alt. A marine mammal of either of the genera (taxlink Arctocephalus genus noshow=1) or (taxlink Callorhinus genus noshow=1) of the eared seal family Otariidae, differing from the true seals in having small, visible ears and the ability to walk on land. n. A marine mammal of either of the genera (taxlink Arctocephalus genus noshow=1) or (taxlink Callorhinus genus noshow=1) of the eared seal family Otariidae, differing from the true seals in having small, visible ears and the ability to walk on land.

1. n. fur seal of the northern Pacific

2. eared seal of the southern hemisphere; the thick soft underfur is the source of sealskin

Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears ( pinnae), relatively long and muscular foreflippers, and the ability to walk on all fours. They are marked by their dense underfur, which made them a long-time object of commercial hunting.