pinniped
PIN-ih-ped
Definition
A carnivorous aquatic mammal that belongs to the group Pinnipedia, characterized by having flippers instead of feet, such as seals, sea lions, and walruses.
Etymology
The word comes from the Latin 'pinna' (meaning 'fin' or 'wing') and 'pes' (meaning 'foot'), literally describing these animals as 'fin-footed'.
In the news
The article uses the term when noting that a record-breaking dive by an elephant seal was, at the time of its documentation, the deepest ever recorded for any species of pinniped.
A single female elephant seal was fitted with a depth logger and sent back to sea, and it turned out she was diving more than a mile straight down into darkness so complete it has never seen sunlight, holding her breath for the better part of two hours, again an
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com