NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Galapagos Fur Seal
Arctocephalus galapagoensis Heller, 1904
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Galápagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis) is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus. It is the smallest of all eared seals. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific. The total estimated population as of 1970 was said to be about 30,000, although the population has been said to be on the decline since the 1980s due to environmental factors such as pollution, disease, invasive species, and their limited territory. Due to the population having been historically vulnerable to hunting, the Galápagos fur seal has been protected by the Ecuadorian government since 1934.
Wikipedia contributors, Galápagos fur seal; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:03.957128+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Arctocephalus galapagoensis Heller, 1904
- Name authority
- Heller, 1904
- Common name
- Galapagos Fur Seal
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Otariidae
- Genus
- Arctocephalus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
- suborderCaniformia Kretzoi, 1938
- familyOtariidae Gray, 1825
- genusArctocephalus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier, 1826
- speciesArctocephalus galapagoensis Heller, 1904
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Arctocephalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Juan Fernández Fur SealArctocephalus philippii (Peters, 1866) | OtariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Antipodean fur sealArctocephalus forsteri (Lesson, 1828) | OtariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South American Fur SealArctocephalus australis (Zimmermann, 1783) | OtariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Antarctic Fur SealArctocephalus gazella (Peters, 1875) | OtariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown Fur SealArctocephalus pusillus (Schreber, 1775) | OtariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Amsterdam fur sealArctocephalus tropicalis (J. E. Gray, 1872) | OtariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180634 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5VS2R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.