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[[File:Mount moulton field site.jpg|300px|left]]
[[File:Crabeater Pléneau Bay.jpg|250px|left]]
'''[[Mount Moulton]]''' is a broad, [[ice]]-covered shield volcano standing 16 km (10 mi) E of [[Mount Berlin]] in the [[Flood Range]] of [[Westarctica]].
The '''[[crabeater seal]]''' is a true seal with a circumpolar distribution around the coast of [[Antarctica]]. They are 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.


Mount Moulton was discovered on aerial flights by the United States [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] Service in 1940, and named for Richard S. Moulton, chief dog driver at West Base and a member of the survey party which sledged to the western end of the Flood Range in December 1940.
Despite its name, crabeater seals do not eat crabs. As well as being an important [[krill]] predator, the crabeater seal is an important component of the diet of [[leopard seal|leopard seals]], which consume about 80% of all crabeater pups.


Lengthy ice cores have recently been extracted from Moulton, yielding an age of about a half million years by dating the various tephra layers embedded within the ice. These cores are being used to reconstruct a climatic record stretching back for 480,000 years which can be compared to that from ice cores in the main [[East Antarctic Ice Sheet]].
'''([[crabeater seal|Full Article...]])'''
 
In 2005, Jon-Lawrence Langer, a long-time supporter of Westarctica and member of the [[Grand Ducal Cabinet]], was granted the combined duchies of Mount Moulton and [[Mount Berlin]].  His new title, [[Duke of Moulton-Berlin]], gave him control over the entire mountain range.
 
'''([[Mount Moulton|Full Article...]])'''

Latest revision as of 13:37, 19 March 2026

Crabeater Pléneau Bay.jpg

The crabeater seal is a true seal with a circumpolar distribution around the coast of Antarctica. They are 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.

Despite its name, crabeater seals do not eat crabs. As well as being an important krill predator, the crabeater seal is an important component of the diet of leopard seals, which consume about 80% of all crabeater pups.

(Full Article...)