1963 is identical to that shown by data collected 

 earlier in the eastern Pacific, 



Fetal sex ratio and uterine horn of preg- 

 nancy .--Among pregnant females collected 

 during 6 years of study, 1958 through 1963, 

 pregnancies occurred most often in the left 

 horn in 5 of the years as shown in table 8. 



-Fetal sex ratios and uterine horn of 

 pregnancy, 1958-63 



The percentages given for 1963 are based 

 on only 65 fetuses. 



Anomalies 



Gooseneck barnacles ( Lepas pectinaia ) were 

 found attached to the guard hairs on the back 

 of a 7-year-old female fur seal taken on 

 13 July 1963 about 48 miles southeast of 

 St. George Island. Thirty- seven barnacles 

 were found, the capitulum of the largest 

 being only 5 mm. long. 



Food Habits 



When compared with seals of the family 

 Phocidae, the fur seal is a selective feeder, 

 feeding exclusively on fish and cephalopods. 

 In contrast, Pusa hispida (ringed seal), Phoca 

 vitulina (harbor seal), and Erignathus barbatus 

 (bearded seal) feed on a wide variety of fish, 

 cephalopods, Crustacea, mollusca, and other 

 invertebrates. However, the species of fish 

 and cephalopods consunned by the fur seal 

 apparently is governed by their abundance 

 and availability rather than by a tendency 

 for the seals to be selective. 



Mallotus villosus (capelin) and Ammodytes 

 hexapterus (sand lance), two major food items 

 in Alaskan waters, are relatively small, rang- 

 ing in length from 5 to 12 cm. F\ir seals are 

 not limited to feeding on small fish, but are 

 adaptable to a wide range in the size of prey 

 that they capture and consume, Theragra 

 chalcogrannmus (walleye pollock) and Gonatus 



magister (squid) are among the larger fish 

 and squids consistently eaten by fur seals in 

 Alaskan waters. Specimens of Theragra from 

 12 to 45 cm. and specimens of Gonatus 

 magister up to 20 cm. in mantle length have 

 been recovered from fur seal stomachs. 



As an example of extreme length of prey, 

 in 1959 a Trachipterus trachypterus (king-of- 

 the-salmon) 171.5 cm, long was recovered 

 after a fur seal had brought the fish to the 

 surface and was eating it. Except for digestive 

 action, small fish are usually found in seal 

 stomachs undamaged. 



As is usually true, the Theragra and salmon 

 specimens identified in 1963 were found broken 

 into chunks and frequently the head was 

 missing. 



Specimens were identified by (1) comparing 

 them with known skeletal remains or preserved 

 specimens on file in the laboratory and (2) 

 using keys by Berry (1912), Clemens and Wilby 

 (1961), Evermann and Goldsborough (1906), 

 Sasaki (1929), Schultz (1953), and Wilimovsky 

 (1958)^ 



As in previous years, a few species of fish 

 and cephalopods comprised the major portion 

 of the stomach contents examined in 1963. 

 The following were identified: 



Clupea harengus pallasi (herring) 



Oncorhynchus sp. (salmon) 



Mallotus villosus (capelin) 



Bathylagidae (deepsea smelts) 



Myctophidae (lanternfishes) 



Lampanyctus nannochir (lanternfish) 



Gadidae (cods) 



Theragra chalcogrammus (walleye pollock) 



Sebastodes sp. (rockfish) 



Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Atka mack- 

 erel) 



Cottidae (sculpin) 



Cyclopteridae (lumpsuckers) 



Trichodontidae (sandfishes) 



Trichodon trichodon (sandfish) 



Ammodytes hexapterus (sand lance) 



Pleuronectidae (righteye flounders) 



Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Greenland 

 halibut) 



Gonatidae (squid) 



Gonatus fabricii (squid) 



Gonatus magister (squid) 



Gonatopsis sp. (squid) 



For the first time since collecting began in 

 1958, Reinhardtius hippoglossoides , Lamp- 

 anyctus nannochir , and Bathylagidae were iden- 

 tified in fur seal stomachs. 



Observations at sea and stomach examina- 

 tions for the past 5 years have shown that fur 

 seals are primarily night and early morning 

 feeders. The 1963 stomach collection verifies 

 the results of previous years (fig. 6). Usually 

 the number of stomachs containing food is 



N. J. Wilimovsky. 1958. Provisional keys to the fishes 

 of Alaska. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological 

 Laboratory, Auke Bay, Alaska, 113 p. (Processed report.) 



