All the flippers are thick and cartilaginous, being thickest on the forward or leading edge, and all have five digits. The palms and soles are bare, rough, and warty for traction on ice. As in the Otariidae, the hind limbs can be turned forward and used together with the forelimbs for maneuvering on land. The baculum of the male walrus, up to 63 cm in length, is the largest of any mammal's in both absolute and relative size. The male also has a pair of pouches that arise from the pharynx and pass backward along the insides of the neck.
Females usually have four mammae, sometimes more.
The massive skull is approximately rectangular, and the halves of the lower jaw are solidly fused. The maximum number of teeth is 38, but more than half are rudimentary and occur with less than 50 percent frequency. The upper canines are an outstanding feature of the adult walrus. These teeth grow throughout life in both sexes, developing into tusks that may attain a length of over 100 cm in males and about 80 cm in females. About 80 percent of the tusk is exposed above the gumline.