Freshwater Seal

Phoca vitulina mellonae Doutt 1942

Phoca vitulina mellonae (Freshwater Seal) is a subspecies of mammals in the family earless seals. They are listed as endangered by COSEWIC. Individuals can grow to 186 cm. They rely on lift powered swimming to move around.

URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/endangered
Definition: A taxon is Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the \r\ncriteria A to E for Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Source: https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/species

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.

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EOL has data for 11 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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auditory system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0016490
- Definition: the sensory system for the sense of hearing
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otoliths
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q591800
- Definition: Inner-ear structure in vertebrates which detects acceleration and may detect acoustic signals
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body length
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CMO_0000013
- Definition: A measurement of the longest dimension of a body, typically between two distinct ends of the body.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: Dorland:Dorlands_Illustrated_Medical_Dictionary--31st_Ed] [database_cross_reference: ISBN:978-1416049982]
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186 cm
body mass
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/VT_0001259
- Definition: The amount of matter in the body of an organism.
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87 kg
cellularity
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001992
- Definition: An organismal quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting cells. [ PATOC:GVG ]
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multicellular
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001993
- Definition: A cellularity quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting of more than one cell. [ PATOC:GVG ]
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conservation status
- URI: http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#ConservationStatus
- Definition: degree of conservation concern as assessed by a government agency or other recognized authority such as IUCN or CITES
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endangered
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/endangered
- Definition: A taxon is Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the \r\ncriteria A to E for Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- Attribution: http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/categories-and-criteria
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habitat
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_0002303
- Definition: x has habitat y if: x is an organism, y is a habitat, and y can sustain and allow the growth of a population of x
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harbor
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000463
- Definition: A place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored.
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locomotion
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0040011
- Definition: Self-propelled movement of a cell or organism from one location to another.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: GOC:dgh]
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lift powered swimming
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
- Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.
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mineralized skeleton contains
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/mineralizedSkeletonContains
- Definition: Component found in mineralized skeletal tissue, (a specialized form of biogenic tissue in which the extracellular matrix is mineralized, and which functions in mechanical and structural support.)
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apatite
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CHEBI_52254
- Definition: A phosphate mineral with the general formula Ca5(PO4)3X where X = OH, F or Cl
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visual system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0002104
- Definition: The sensory system subserving the sense of vision.
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apposition eyes
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/IDOMAL_0002229
- Definition: A compound eye with no separation between the crystalline-cone layer and the retinula, each rhabdom receiving light only from its own corneal lens.
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