Seal and sea cat: What is the difference between them? Characteristic distinctive features of sea cats and seals

In this article, we will consider the difference between seals and sea cats.

Content

Sea cats and seals are representatives of exotic animals, about which most of us have a rather vague idea. What do we know about these marine inhabitants? And how do they differ from each other? Let's try to figure it out.

How do zoologists classify seals - eared and real?

So, naughty people belong to the group of mammals (previously brought it into a separate detachment consisting of seals and walruses), which includes families of walrus, eared seals (sea seals and sea lions) and real seals (seals, sea leopard, seal-kraboed, sea elephants).

All nastysters are predators (eat fish, mollusks and even birds), living in water, with a spindle -shaped body, with limbs in the form of fins with fingers equipped with claws and swimming membranes.

Some of them move in land, others - relying on the rear fins and even crossing them.
Their head and tail are small compared to the body, the muzzle is rounded, with tough mustache bristles.
In order to avoid getting water, the nostrils when swimming are closed with special valves-valves.
The eyes stand out brightly on the face - expressive, large and very smart, but not all varieties of nastysts have ears - often they are replaced by auditory holes.

A separate description deserves a fat layer located under the skin - it is it that provides reliable protection against ice water and retains heat. Like thick elastic skin - sometimes almost bald, sometimes coated with wool, mainly yellowish.

As you can see, there are a lot in common in cats and seals - and this is not very surprising, because they are representatives of one zoological group. But with general similarity, sea seals and seals have significant distinctive features sufficient for their identification. And then we will consider them in detail.

Seals and sea cats - what's the difference between them?

According to experts, these animals are very simple to distinguish visually.

The difference between seals and sea cats is as follows:

The seals are included in the family of real seals, which instead of ears have only auditory holes. But sea cats, like their land namesakes, have very noticeable ears and are members of the family of eared seals.
They also have completely different babies: in real seals they are called “underwear”-due to white color, and in sea cats, the cubs, as a rule, are parental copies.
In addition, their limbs differ in them: the seals have small flippers, the front are armed with claws, in the cats the flippers, on the contrary, are large and almost without claws.

In this regard, they differ a lot of “gait” - both on the shore and in the water: the cats directly walk with the help of fins on the ground and swim, waving the front “paws”, and the seals are almost crawling along the hard surfaces and swim, quickly Sortering to the front fins and give themselves the direction with the back and tail.

Differences are not only physiological, but also social:

Lastogeny live in flocks - sometimes quite large. But at the same time, sea cats really need society and spend time, huddled in whole heaps and crawling to each other. From the side, the resting herd looks like a lazy moved pile of small. The seals are not so striving for tactile proximity with relatives, but still live not entirely separate.