Skeletal morphology and locomotor capabilities of the archaic pinniped Enaliarctos mealsi

LACM 4321 preserves enough cranial and postcranial anatomy to test locomotor capability in a stem pinniped; inferred swimming strokes and terrestrial performance remain comparative functional models.

The Enaliarctos profile is anchored by the virtually complete Enaliarctos mealsi skeleton LACM 4321 from the Jewett Sand at an explicitly approximate age of 23 Ma; its swimming and terrestrial capabilities are comparative models, not a global genus range or direct pinniped ancestor claim.

Berta and Ray describe LACM 4321 as Enaliarctos mealsi and test pinniped relationships from its skeletal anatomy; their sampled topology is not a direct-ancestor assertion or a universal pinniped phylogeny.

The profiled Enaliarctos mealsi skeleton comes from the Pyramid Hill Sandstone Member of the Jewett Sand in central California; this occurrence does not establish a genus-wide Pacific distribution or pinniped dispersal route.

LACM 4321 preserves a virtually complete skeleton, including lumbar vertebrae and flipper-like limbs with developed bony processes and muscle-attachment areas documented in the anatomical description.

Comparative axial and limb morphology is used to infer aquatic and terrestrial locomotor capability for LACM 4321, but the study does not directly observe diet, habitual habitat, swimming strokes or a feeding guild.