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Anomalous lanugo coat colourations in sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups born on Marion Island

Anomalous lanugo coat colourations in sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups born on Marion Island
Anomalous lanugo coat colourations in sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups born on Marion Island

Anomalous pelage colourations are not uncommon amongst pinnipeds but have not been documented in sub-Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis). Fur seals (Arctocephalus spp.) have been monitored on Marion Island since 1973, and as part of the long-term monitoring programme, any atypical sightings of fur seals were recorded. Fourteen sub-Antarctic fur seal pups with anomalous lanugo coat colourations were observed on Marion Island between 2008 and 2018. Most of these pups were born to typically coloured sub-Antarctic fur seal mothers. The observed coat colourations are an anomaly of their natal (lanugo) black coats. While all pups had normal colour vibrissae and eyes, they had creamy muzzles and brown-to-blonde ventral and belly colouration. The fur on the flippers was a light tan to cream in colouration, darkening towards the border of the flipper. The dorsal side of the pups all appeared to be light grey in colour. All pups appeared to be healthy. Once moulted, these pups had normal adult pelage colourations. The frequency of occurrence of these anomalous lanugo coat colourations was low, suggesting that this is a particularly rare phenomenon. The causes for these anomalous coat colourations are unknown. These observations are the first records of sub-Antarctic fur seal pups with anomalous lanugo fur colourations from the Prince Edward Islands and represents the first of such observations in sub-Antarctic fur seals worldwide. It also represents the first report on anomalous colourations of pinnipeds that appears to exclusively influence the lanugo fur.

Anomalous coat colouration, Arctocephalus tropicalis, Marion Island, Sub-Antarctic fur seal
0722-4060
1053-1057
du Toit, Kate H.
9491fc2c-4300-4779-89dd-179e527a7411
Mole, Michael A.
9be10972-769d-4108-9953-7ed0f75e7106
Wege, Mia
d5c48d5b-9587-45e3-be59-273d1b59f938
Reisinger, Ryan R.
4eaf9440-48e5-41fa-853f-d46457e5444e
Oosthuizen, Chris W.
1b94648f-2c36-4d46-bc75-ca5b394a3f98
Shihlomule, Yinhla D.
5dd88ccd-e6a7-4b20-9fd9-77e654eb51bd
Jordaan, Rowan K.
4d8c99fa-ad76-4da5-a9f3-f9dd8a634ae4
van Tonder, André
2471ee47-3d55-498e-b899-7fe60cbbf26c
de Bruyn, P. J.Nico
3257867f-eda3-4ddf-baa3-aaf692de19bb
du Toit, Kate H.
9491fc2c-4300-4779-89dd-179e527a7411
Mole, Michael A.
9be10972-769d-4108-9953-7ed0f75e7106
Wege, Mia
d5c48d5b-9587-45e3-be59-273d1b59f938
Reisinger, Ryan R.
4eaf9440-48e5-41fa-853f-d46457e5444e
Oosthuizen, Chris W.
1b94648f-2c36-4d46-bc75-ca5b394a3f98
Shihlomule, Yinhla D.
5dd88ccd-e6a7-4b20-9fd9-77e654eb51bd
Jordaan, Rowan K.
4d8c99fa-ad76-4da5-a9f3-f9dd8a634ae4
van Tonder, André
2471ee47-3d55-498e-b899-7fe60cbbf26c
de Bruyn, P. J.Nico
3257867f-eda3-4ddf-baa3-aaf692de19bb

du Toit, Kate H., Mole, Michael A., Wege, Mia, Reisinger, Ryan R., Oosthuizen, Chris W., Shihlomule, Yinhla D., Jordaan, Rowan K., van Tonder, André and de Bruyn, P. J.Nico (2019) Anomalous lanugo coat colourations in sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups born on Marion Island. Polar Biology, 42, 1053-1057. (doi:10.1007/s00300-019-02487-3).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Anomalous pelage colourations are not uncommon amongst pinnipeds but have not been documented in sub-Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis). Fur seals (Arctocephalus spp.) have been monitored on Marion Island since 1973, and as part of the long-term monitoring programme, any atypical sightings of fur seals were recorded. Fourteen sub-Antarctic fur seal pups with anomalous lanugo coat colourations were observed on Marion Island between 2008 and 2018. Most of these pups were born to typically coloured sub-Antarctic fur seal mothers. The observed coat colourations are an anomaly of their natal (lanugo) black coats. While all pups had normal colour vibrissae and eyes, they had creamy muzzles and brown-to-blonde ventral and belly colouration. The fur on the flippers was a light tan to cream in colouration, darkening towards the border of the flipper. The dorsal side of the pups all appeared to be light grey in colour. All pups appeared to be healthy. Once moulted, these pups had normal adult pelage colourations. The frequency of occurrence of these anomalous lanugo coat colourations was low, suggesting that this is a particularly rare phenomenon. The causes for these anomalous coat colourations are unknown. These observations are the first records of sub-Antarctic fur seal pups with anomalous lanugo fur colourations from the Prince Edward Islands and represents the first of such observations in sub-Antarctic fur seals worldwide. It also represents the first report on anomalous colourations of pinnipeds that appears to exclusively influence the lanugo fur.

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More information

Published date: 21 March 2019
Keywords: Anomalous coat colouration, Arctocephalus tropicalis, Marion Island, Sub-Antarctic fur seal

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 455472
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/455472
ISSN: 0722-4060
PURE UUID: 3c0d0517-5c4a-4034-aaf4-68e62c1f4c72
ORCID for Ryan R. Reisinger: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8933-6875

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Mar 2022 17:42
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:08

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Contributors

Author: Kate H. du Toit
Author: Michael A. Mole
Author: Mia Wege
Author: Chris W. Oosthuizen
Author: Yinhla D. Shihlomule
Author: Rowan K. Jordaan
Author: André van Tonder
Author: P. J.Nico de Bruyn

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