First confirmed record of a leucistic Antarctic fur seal pup born outside the Scotia Arc Islands
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Date
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.
Description
Keywords
Leucism, Arctocephalus gazella, Marion Island, Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)
Sustainable Development Goals
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.