- Who
- Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus gazella
- What
- 48 centimetre(s)
- Where
- Antarctica ()
Pinnipeds – comprising seals, sea lions and walruses – have the longest whiskers, aka vibrissae, of all mammals. Among them, the pinniped with the longest whiskers is the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) with an individual whisker length of 48 centimetres (18.8 inches) from base to tip recorded in a bull described in British Antarctic Survey Scientific Reports in 1968; the full span of the whiskers was 106.5 cm (41.9 inches). More typical lengths for males are 35 centimetres (13.7 inches), and for females that drops to 13–22 centimetres (5.1–8.6 inches). This species of fur seal is native to Antarctica and subantarctic islands (an estimated 95% of the global population resides on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia).
In adult males, the growth rate of Antarctic fur seals has been estimated to be 3.9 mm per month.
The pinniped with the most whiskers is the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), which has 400–700 whiskers on its face, taking the form of a bushy moustache.
