Pinniped

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of marine mammals with flipper-like appendages, typically residing in colder waters, that encompasses species such as seals, sea lions, and walruses
2. An assemblage of aquatic mammals distinguished by their specialized limbs for swimming, found mainly in chilly ocean ecosystems, which includes animals like sea lions and seals
3. A diverse group of aquatic mammals that possess flippers and are adapted for life in the ocean, primarily residing in colder climates and including seals, sea lions, and walruses

Etymology: "Pinniped" is a compound built from two Latin words: "pinna," meaning "fin" or "wing," and "pes," meaning "foot." Put together, the name describes an animal whose feet have become fins. That is exactly what seals, sea lions and walruses have: their limbs are flattened into flippers suited to swimming, though they still come ashore to breed and rest. The word is a scientific coinage rather than an ancient term. Classical Latin speakers had no name for a grouping of seals and walruses, so the label was built from classical roots by naturalists who needed one name for these animals as a single order-level group. Its modern sense is therefore a deliberate technical construction, and the parts of the word still show clearly what the animals look like.

Synonyms: seals, sea lions, walruses