Difference between revisions of "Template:POTD protected"

no edit summary
 
(130 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{| role="presentation" style="margin:0 3px 3px; width:100%; text-align:left; background-color:transparent; border-collapse: collapse; "
{| role="presentation" style="margin:0 3px 3px; width:100%; text-align:left; background-color:transparent; border-collapse: collapse; "
|style="padding:0 0.9em 0 0;" | [[File:Crabeater Pléneau Bay.jpg|300px]]
|style="padding:0 0.9em 0 0;" | [[File:Elephant Seal penguins.jpg|300px|thumb]]
|style="padding:0 6px 0 0"|
|style="padding:0 6px 0 0"|


The '''[[crabeater seal]]''' is a true seal with a circumpolar distribution around the coast of [[Antarctica]].  
The '''[[southern elephant seal]]''' is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.
 
They are medium- to large-sized (over 2 m in length), relatively slender and pale-colored, found primarily on the free-floating [[pack ice]] that extends seasonally out from the Antarctic coast, which they use as a platform for resting, mating, social aggregation and accessing their prey. They are by far the most abundant seal species in the world. While population estimates are uncertain, there are at least 7 million and possibly as many as 75 million individuals. This success of this species is due to its specialized predation on the abundant [[Antarctic krill]] of the [[Southern Ocean]], for which it has uniquely adapted, sieve-like tooth structure.
 
The crabeater seal is the official seal of [[Westarctica]], and a favored animal of [[Grand Duke Travis]].


The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in [[Antarctica]] occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.


<p><small>Photographer: Liam Quinn</small></p>
<p><small>Photographer: Liam Quinn</small></p>
[[:Category:Images|'''(More Featured Images)''']]
[[:Category:Images|'''(More Images)''']]
<div class="potd-recent" style="text-align:right;">
<div class="potd-recent" style="text-align:right;">