crabeater seal

noun

crab·​eat·​er seal ˈkrab-ˌē-tər- How to pronounce crabeater seal (audio)
: an Antarctic hair seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) that feeds on krill and lives and breeds on pack ice

called also crabeater

Examples of crabeater seal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Going with the Floe by Tamara Stubbs While on a nine-week expedition in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, photographer Tamara Stubbs of the United Kingdom spotted these two crabeater seals taking a nap. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2024 Platinum blond crabeater seals lounged on divans of drifting ice, basking in the sun. Kate Wong, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2023 As the comparison between wolves, crabeaters and Janjucetus shows, the ancient whales generally had sharper teeth more similar in form — and therefore function — to wolves and other land predators than to modern toothed suction feeders like the crabeater seal. Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2017 Clumsy and laborious on land, crabeater seals are elegant and agile swimmers that spend their entire lives in the pack ice zone surrounding the frozen continent. Popular Science, 13 May 2020 The ethereal photograph, taken by French photographer Greg Lecouer underneath an iceberg, shows four crabeater seals drifting in the frigid waters. Fox News, 27 Feb. 2020 There is also a species of pinniped known as the crabeater seal, which lives in Antarctica. National Geographic, 24 Dec. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crabeater seal was in 1913

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Cite this Entry

“Crabeater seal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crabeater%20seal. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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