Seals Seals Seals belong to the group of mammals called Pinnipeds, which means feather footed. Within this group are the true seals which belong to the Phocidae group, and the Otariidae which include fur seals and sea lions. The ancestors of these two groups are thought to be quite different. All seals have torpedo-like body shapes that enable them to swim swiftly through the water. Seals inhabiting icy regions have long sharp claws which dig into the ice to help them climb out of the water.
True seals have no external ear flap.
Instead, they have a small flap of skin that closes over the ear opening when they dive. Their front flippers are short and haired and equipped with large claws, while the hind flippers are webbed and directed backward. The rear flippers propel the seal through the water by side to side sculling. On land these seals crawl along clumsily by humping the body like an inchworm, but they are swift and agile in the water, often covering long distances during migration and in search of prey. Their long flexible front flippers and versatile hind flippers enable these mammals to actually run on land and their long agile necks give them the ability to catch objects on their nose as seen in aquariums.