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For other uses of the term "sea lion", see Sea lion (disambiguation)
Sea lion (disambiguation)

Sea lion may refer to:In biology:*Sea Lion, an animal generally found in shallow waters.In music:*Sea Lion , the second studio album by New Zealand based indie rock band The Ruby Suns...
.

Sea lions are any of seven species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in six genera
Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a Fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with Lisp Machines, Inc....
 of modern pinniped
Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae ....
s including one extinct (the Japanese sea lion
Japanese Sea Lion

Japanese Sea Lion is thought to have become extinct in the 1950s. Prior to 2003 it was considered to be a subspecies of California Sea Lion as Zalophus californianus japonicus....
). Sea lions are characterized by the presence of external ear pinnae or flaps, long front flippers
Flipper (anatomy)

A flipper is typically flat Limb evolved for movement through water. Various creatures have evolved flippers, for example most fish , as well as certain mammals , reptiles , and birds ....
, and the ability to walk on four flippers on land. Their range extends from the subarctic
Subarctic

The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang....
 to tropical waters of the global ocean
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 in both the northern
Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator....
 and southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator....
s with the notable exception of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
.

ther with the fur seal
Fur seal

Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere....
s, they comprise the Otariidae family, collectively known as eared seals.






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Encyclopedia


For other uses of the term "sea lion", see Sea lion (disambiguation)
Sea lion (disambiguation)

Sea lion may refer to:In biology:*Sea Lion, an animal generally found in shallow waters.In music:*Sea Lion , the second studio album by New Zealand based indie rock band The Ruby Suns...
.

Sea lions are any of seven species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in six genera
Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a Fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with Lisp Machines, Inc....
 of modern pinniped
Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae ....
s including one extinct (the Japanese sea lion
Japanese Sea Lion

Japanese Sea Lion is thought to have become extinct in the 1950s. Prior to 2003 it was considered to be a subspecies of California Sea Lion as Zalophus californianus japonicus....
). Sea lions are characterized by the presence of external ear pinnae or flaps, long front flippers
Flipper (anatomy)

A flipper is typically flat Limb evolved for movement through water. Various creatures have evolved flippers, for example most fish , as well as certain mammals , reptiles , and birds ....
, and the ability to walk on four flippers on land. Their range extends from the subarctic
Subarctic

The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang....
 to tropical waters of the global ocean
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 in both the northern
Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator....
 and southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator....
s with the notable exception of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
.

Taxonomy

Together with the fur seal
Fur seal

Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere....
s, they comprise the Otariidae family, collectively known as eared seals. Until recently, sea lions were grouped under a single subfamily called Otariinae to distinguish them from the fur seals Arcocephalinae, based on the most prominent common feature between all species, namely the lack of dense underfur characteristic of the latter. Recent genetic evidence, however, strongly suggests that the Callorhinus, the genus of the Northern fur seal
Northern Fur Seal

The Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus, is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily and the only species in the genus Callorhinus....
  is more closely related to some sea lion species than to the fur seal genus Arctocephalus. Therefore the fur seal/sealion subfamily distinction has been largely eliminated. Nonetheless, all sea lions have certain features in common, in particular the coarse, short fur, greater bulk and larger prey than fur seals.

Interactions with humans

Some species of sea lions are readily trainable and are often a popular attraction at zoos and aquariums. The archetypal circus seal performing behaviors such as throwing and catching balls on its nose and clapping is almost always a sea lion.

The government of Japan has set a quota of 116 kills per year in Hokkaido, as sea lions are seen as a threat to commercial fisheries. International environmentalists and local fishery advocates continue to debate the issue.

Sea lions have been trained by the U.S. Navy's Marine Mammal Program
U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program is a program administered by the United States Navy which studies the military use of marine mammals  ? principally Bottlenose Dolphins and California Sea Lions  ? and trains animals to perform tasks such as ship and harbor protection, naval mine detection and clearance, and equipment recovery....
, based in San Diego, to detain scuba divers.

Sea lion attacks on humans are rare. In a highly unusual attack in 2007 in Western Australia
Western Australia

Western Australia is a States and territories of Australia occupying the entire western third of the Australia . The nation's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.1 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state....
 a sea lion leapt from the water and seriously mauled a 13-year old girl surfing behind a speedboat. The sea lion appeared to be preparing for a second attack when the girl was rescued. An Australian marine biologist opined the sea lion may have viewed the girl "like a rag doll toy" to be played with. In San Francisco where an increasingly large population of California sea lion
California Sea Lion

The California Sea Lion is a coastal sea lion of the northern Pacific Ocean. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand at a rate of approximately 5.0% annually....
s crowds docks along San Francisco Bay, there have been incidents in recent years of swimmers being bitten on the leg by large aggressive males, possibly as a territorial act.

The Moche
Moche

The 'Moche' civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 C.E. to 800 C.E., during the Cultural periods of Peru. While still the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state but rather as a group of autonomous polities that shared a common elite cu...
 people of ancient Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
 worshipped the sea and its animals. They often depicted sea lions in their art.

Species

  • SUBORDER PINNIPEDIA
  • Family Otariidae
    • Genus Arctocephalus
      Arctocephalus

      The genus Arctocephalus consists of eight of the nine species of fur seal. For details see the fur seal article, or the individual species articles....
       (southern fur seal species)
    • Genus Callorhinus (northern fur seal)
    • Genus Eumetopias
      • Steller Sea Lion, E. jubatus
    • Genus Neophoca
      • Australian Sea Lion
        Australian Sea Lion

        The Australian Sea Lion is a species of sea lion that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia. Today there are about 10,000 Australian Sea Lions following the introduction of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1972 which prohibited a harvest that began in earnest as soon as European ethnic groupss colonised the c...
        , N. cinerea
    • Genus Otaria
      • South American Sea Lion
        South American Sea Lion

        The South American Sea Lion , also called the Southern Sea Lion and the Patagonian Sea Lion, is a sea lion found on the Chilean, Peruvian, Uruguayan and Argentina coasts....
        , O. flavescens
    • Genus Phocarctos
      • New Zealand Sea Lion
        New Zealand Sea Lion

        The New Zealand Sea Lion also known as Hooker's Sea Lion or Whakahao in Maori language is a species of sea lion that breeds around the coast of New Zealand's South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura to some extent, and to a greater extent around New Zealand sub-antarctic islands, especially the Auckland Islands....
         or Hooker's Sea Lion, P. hookeri
    • Genus Zalophus
      • California Sea Lion
        California Sea Lion

        The California Sea Lion is a coastal sea lion of the northern Pacific Ocean. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand at a rate of approximately 5.0% annually....
        , Z. californianus
      • Japanese Sea Lion
        Japanese Sea Lion

        Japanese Sea Lion is thought to have become extinct in the 1950s. Prior to 2003 it was considered to be a subspecies of California Sea Lion as Zalophus californianus japonicus....
        , Z. japonicus - extinct (1950s)and they like to eat lots of meat
      • Galapagos Sea Lion
        Galápagos Sea Lion

        The Gal?pagos Sea Lion is a species of mammal in the Otariidae family. It exclusively breeds on the Gal?pagos Islands and ? in smaller numbers ? on Isla de la Plata ....
        , Z. wollebaeki
  • Family Phocidae: true seals
  • Family Odobenidae: Walrus


Hybrid

A probable hybrid sea lion from a cross between the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) and the South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) was reported in the a 2002 issue of the Journal of Mammology, according to the French National Center for Scientific Research.

Images

Cal Sea Lions On Pier 39
Sea lions at Moss Landing, California
Moss Landing, California

Moss Landing is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, California, United States. As of the 2005, the CDP population was 782....
.		 Hundreds of California Sea Lion
California Sea Lion

The California Sea Lion is a coastal sea lion of the northern Pacific Ocean. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand at a rate of approximately 5.0% annually....
s sunbathing on Pier 39
Pier 39

Pier 39 is a Shopping mall and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, Performance, an interpretive center for the Marine Mammal Center, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of California sea lions hauled out on docks on Pier 39's mari...
 in San Francisco in the United States.		 GiGi, a sea lion trained by the U.S. Navy for underwater recovery, nuzzles merchant mariner Capt. Arne Willehag of the USNS Sioux during a 1983 training session.

See also

  • Otariids
  • Pinniped
    Pinniped

    Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae ....
  • Marine mammal
    Marine mammal

    Marine mammals are a diverse group of roughly 120 species of mammal that are primarily ocean-dwelling or depend on the ocean for food. They include the cetaceans , the sirenians , the pinnipeds , and several otters ....


External links