Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
May 19, 1807
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 23
Additional Source Text:
Aurora. General Advertiser, 12 Oct 1807 adds: "called Elephant Seal."
Notes:
The Museum evidently had one of the two species of elephant seal, either the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) from the Pacific coast of North America, or the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), from the Southern Hemisphere. They are the largest extant carnivorans, weighing up to 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb). Given that at the same time the Museum received from Capt. Ferris a leopard seal, it is likely that the elephant was the southern, pictured here.
Specimen Type:
Dead/preserved
Peale's Common Name:
Elephant seal
Current Common Name:
Southern elephant seal
Current Scientific Name
Mirounga leonina
