COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Atlantic Walrus, Odobenus Rosmarus Rosmarus, in Canada

Résumé du livre

"Walruses are large gregarious pinnipeds with front flippers that can support them upright, like otariids, hind flippers that are structured and function like phocid seal hind flippers, upper canine teeth that grow into long tusks, and a moustache of quill-like vibrissae. They are about 120 cm long and 55 kg at birth; males can grow to about 315 cm and 1100 kg and females to about 277 cm and 800 kg. Their sparsely haired skin is cinnamon brown but can appear pink on a warm day or almost white after a long, cold dive. The Atlantic walrus, Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of two extant subspecies of the walrus, the other being the Pacific walrus (O. r. divergens). The taxonomic status of walruses inhabiting the Laptev Sea is uncertain"--Executive summary, Species information, p. iv.