Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Arctocephalus townsendi

Arctocephalus townsendi

9.9
A seal with very thick fur that lives on Pacific coasts, often on rocky shores
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Arctocephalus townsendi
  • A colony of Arctocephalus townsendi can often be seen resting on rocky shores during breeding season.

Examples

  • Researchers studied the migration patterns of Arctocephalus townsendi to understand how climate change affects marine mammals.

  • The endangered Arctocephalus townsendi is under strict protection along parts of the Baja California coastline.

  • The Arctocephalus townsendi is often seen basking on the rocks.

  • Have you ever spotted an Arctocephalus townsendi in the wild?

  • A colony of Arctocephalus townsendi can often be seen resting on rocky shores during breeding season.

  • The endangered Arctocephalus townsendi is under strict protection along parts of the Baja California coastline.

  • Researchers studied the migration patterns of Arctocephalus townsendi to understand how climate change affects marine mammals.

Synonyms

Guadalupe fur seal
vsArctocephalus townsendi
  • US
7.9

A seal with thick fur that lives on rocky Pacific coasts near California and Mexico

omits precise country range and any mention of historical hunting

Surface Forms

Arctocephalus townsendi singular
Arctocephalus townsendis plural

Morphology

Arctocephalus + townsendi

This is a taxonomic binomial made of a genus name (Arctocephalus, a genus of fur seals) plus a specific epithet (townsendi). If a learner knows the constituents and the convention that Latin binomials name species, they can readily infer it refers to a particular species of Arctocephalus (a fur seal); although 'townsendi' is a non-lexical proper-name epithet, the overall meaning is compositionally clear within biological naming conventions.

Etymology

The name Arctocephalus townsendi comes from older words: Arctocephalus means 'bear head' because the seal's thick fur and round face look a little like a bear, and townsendi is the surname of a scientist named Townsend who studied the animal. So this scientific name tells both about the seal's look and the person who helped identify it.