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Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly.Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals.
Caniformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "dog-like" carnivorans. They include dogs (wolves, foxes, etc.), bears, raccoons, and mustelids. [1] The Pinnipedia (seals, walruses and sea lions) are also assigned to this group.
An eared seal, otariid, or otary is any member of the marine mammal family Otariidae, one of three groupings of pinnipeds.They comprise 15 extant species in seven genera (another species became extinct in the 1950s) and are commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the walrus ().
California sea lion. Z. californianus (Lesson, 1828) Pacific North American coast (dark blue indicates breeding grounds) Size: 165–220 cm (65–87 in) long; 275–390 kg (606–860 lb) [23] Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine [24] Diet: A variety of fish and squid [24] LC 180,000 [24] Galápagos sea lion
The lineages of the California and Japanese sea lion appear to have split off 2.2 million years ago during the Pliocene. [6] The California sea lion differs from the Galapagos sea lion in its greater sexual dimorphism. [4] The Steller sea lion is the closest extant relative of the Zalophus sea lions, being a sister taxon. [7]
Z. californianus: California sea lion [2] western coast and islands of North America, from southeast Alaska to central Mexico. Z. wollebaeki: Galápagos sea lion [3] Galapagos islands and Ecuadorian coast, north to Isla Gorgona in Colombia. Z. japonicus: Japanese sea lion † [4]
Fur seal ranges. Fur seals and sea lions make up the family Otariidae. Along with the Phocidae and Odobenidae, ottariids are pinnipeds descending from a common ancestor most closely related to modern bears (as hinted by the subfamily Arctocephalinae, meaning "bear-headed").
The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion, is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Northwest regions of North America, from north-central California to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to Alaska.