First confirmed record of a leucistic Antarctic fur seal pup born outside the Scotia Arc Islands

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Authors

Wege, Mia
Postma, Martin
Tosh, Cheryl A.
De Bruyn, P.J. Nico
Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

A leucistic Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) pup was born on subantarctic Marion Island during the austral summer of 2010/2011. This is the first confirmed record of a leucistic fur seal pup born outside the Scotia Arc islands. Additionally, we report on a leucistic adult female Antarctic fur seal producing typical black pups for five non-consecutive summers on Marion Island. The birth of a leucistic pup, together with the multiple black pups produced by the leucistic female, suggests that the recessive genes responsible for leucism are now entrenched within the Marion Island population.

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Keywords

Leucism, Arctocephalus gazella, Marion Island, Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)

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Citation

Wege, M, Postma, M, Tosh, CA, De Bruyn, PJN & Bester, MN 2015, 'First confirmed record of a leucistic Antarctic fur seal pup born outside the Scotia Arc Islands', Polar Biology, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 569-571.