| Earless Seals | ||||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Genera | ||||||||||||||
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Monachus Mirounga Lobodon Leptonychotes Hydrurga Ommatophoca Erignathus Phoca Halichoerus ''Cystophora | ||||||||||||||
The true seals or earless seals are one of the two main groups of mammals within the seal suborder, 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 family Otariidae.
Phocids are the more highly specialized for aquatic life of the two groups and, unlike otariids, lack external ears and cannot bring their hind flippers under their body to walk on them.
They are even more agile in the water than fur seals and sea lions. However, because they cannot turn their hind flippers downward, they are very clumsy on land because they have to wriggle with their front flippers and abdominal muscles; this method of locomotion is called gallumphing.