Editing Fur seal (section)

{{short description|Subfamily of mammals}}
{{Hatnote|'Fur seal' is a common name that does not correspond to a single taxonomic unit. For a more comprehensive discussion of all eared seals, including the [[sea lion]]s, see [[Otariid]].}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2013}}
{{automatic taxobox
| name = Fur seal 
| image = Arctocephalus Pusillus Pusillus.jpg
| image_caption = A group of [[brown fur seal]]s (''Arctocephalus pusillus'')
| taxon = Arctocephalinae
| authority = Scheffer & Rice 1963
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision =
''[[Arctocephalus]]''<br/>
''[[Callorhinus]]''
}}

'''Fur seals''' are any of nine species of [[pinniped]]s belonging to the subfamily '''Arctocephalinae''' in the family [[Otariidae]]. They are much more closely related to [[sea lion]]s than [[Earless seal|true seals]], and share with them external ears  ([[Pinna (anatomy)|pinnae]]), relatively long and muscular foreflippers, and the ability to walk on all fours.  They are marked by their dense [[pelage|underfur]], which made them a long-time object of commercial [[Seal hunting|hunting]]. Eight species belong to the genus ''[[Arctocephalus]]'' and are found primarily in the Southern Hemisphere, while a ninth species also sometimes called fur seal, the [[Northern fur seal]] (''Callorhinus ursinus''), belongs to a different genus and inhabits the North Pacific. The fur seals in ''Arctocephalus'' are more closely related to sea lions than they are to the Northern fur seal, but all three groups are more closely related to one another than they are to true seals.