Phoca groenlandica; harp seal

Japanese: タテゴトアザラシ（英語表記）Phoca groenlandica; harp seal

Order Carnivora, Suborder Pinnipedia, Family Phocidae, Genus Phoca. Males reach a body length of about 1.9 m and a weight of about 135 kg, while females reach a body length of about 1.8 m and a weight of about 120 kg. The length at birth is about 85 cm, and the birth weight is about 10 kg. The fur is silvery white, with a black band that runs diagonally from the center of the back to the tail in a V-shape, and the species name is derived from the resemblance of this shape to a lyre. The face looks like a black mask. The fur of the newborn is pure white, and it molts to gray about three weeks after birth. The body is long and wide. The head is small and rounded, the neck is thin, and the muzzle is long and slightly tapered. The nostrils are small and V-shaped at the tip of the snout. There are no ears, and the ear holes are relatively large and located slightly below the eyes. Its forelimbs are short and have webs between the toes, its hind limbs are fin-like, and its limbs are densely hairy. Its tail is short. It has six incisors on the upper jaw and four on the lower jaw, two canines on each side, and ten cheek teeth on each side. It mates in the water from mid- to late March, and gives birth from late February to mid-March. The young live in groups on the ice. To breed, it migrates south of the ice edge in late winter, and moves north to the ice edge of the Arctic Ocean in summer. During the migration, it preys on pelagic fish and crustaceans, and in summer on benthic fish. It has a wide distribution, living in the Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay, and Baffin Island, as far east as Cape Chelyuskin. It mainly lives near the ice edge, but may appear in waters away from the ice edge in summer.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

食肉目鰭脚亜目アザラシ科ゴマフアザラシ属。雄は体長約 1.9m，体重約 135kg，雌は体長約 1.8m，体重約 120kgに達する。出生体長は約 85cm，出生体重は 10kg程度である。体毛は銀白色で，背部中央から尾に向って斜めにV字型を呈する黒色帯があり，種名はこの形状が竪琴に似ていることに由来する。顔面部は黒色のマスクをかぶったようである。出生仔の毛色は純白で生後約3週間で灰色に換毛する。体は長く幅が広い。頭部は小さく丸みを帯び，頸部は細く，鼻口部は長く先が少し細い。鼻孔は小さく吻端にありV字状である。耳介はなく，耳孔は眼の後方やや下側に位置し比較的大きい。前肢は短く指間に蹼 (みずかき) があり，後肢は鰭 (ひれ) 状で，四肢には毛が密生する。尾は短い。門歯は上顎6本，下顎4本，犬歯は上顎と下顎に各2本，頬歯は上顎と下顎に各 10本である。3月中旬から下旬に水中で交尾を行い，2月下旬から3月中旬に出産する。幼獣は氷上で群れをなす。繁殖のため，晩冬に氷縁南側に回遊し，夏に北極海域の氷縁北側へ移動する。回遊中は外洋性の魚類や甲殻類を，夏は底生魚類を捕食する。分布は広く，北極海，ハドソン湾，バフィン島から東はチェリュスキン岬まで生息する。主として氷縁付近に生息するが，夏は氷縁から離れた海域に出現することもある。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

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