Fur seals make up one of the two distinct groups of mammals called "seals". Both the fur seals and the true seals are members of the Pinnipedia, which is usually regarded as a suborder of the orderCarnivora but sometimes as an independent order. However, the fur seals, like their close relatives the sea lions, retain some ability to walk on land as their hind limbs can be brought forward under the body to bear the animal's weight, and retain small but visible external ears.
The fur seals and the sea lions as a group make up the family Otariidae, and are called eared seals or walking seals to distinguish them from the earless true seals of the family Phocidae. The fur seals alone make up the Arctocephalinae subfamily.
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