LACM 4321 is a virtually complete Enaliarctos mealsi skeleton from the Pyramid Hill Sandstone Member of the Jewett Sand, used for bounded comparisons of axial and limb locomotor capability rather than a direct pinniped-ancestor claim.
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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.
claim:taxon:enaliarctos:fossil-rangeBerta 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.
claim:taxon:enaliarctos:taxonomyThe 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.
claim:taxon:enaliarctos:biogeographyLACM 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.
claim:taxon:enaliarctos:morphologyComparative 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.
claim:taxon:enaliarctos:ecology