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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 . Otariids are adapted ...
The 34 extant species of Pinnipedia are split into 22 genera within 3 families: Odobenidae, comprising the walrus; Otariidae, the eared seals, split between the sea lions and fur seals; and Phocidae, the earless or true seals.
Otariids are also known as eared seals due to their pinnae. These animals swim mainly using their well-developed fore-flippers. They can also "walk" on land by shifting their hind-flippers forward under the body. [12] The front end of an otariid's frontal bone protrudes between the nasal bones, with a large and flattened supraorbital foramen.
The earless seals, phocids, or true seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal lineage, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae (/ ˈ f oʊ s ɪ d iː /). They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae.
The South American sea lion is among the largest of and most sexually dimorphic of the eared seals. Males measure up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length with a weight of 350 kg (770 lb) while females reach a length 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and reach 150 kg (330 lb) in weight.
Crabeater seals can raise their heads and arch their backs while on ice, and they are able to move quickly if not subject to overheating. Crabeater seals exhibit scarring either from leopard seal attacks around the flippers or, for males, during the breeding season while fighting for mates around the throat and jaw. [3]
Fur seals and sea lions are pinnipeds comprised in the taxonomic family Otariidae. Together, they are known as the "eared seals" or "otariids", and are distinguished from the " true seals " or "earless seals" in the family Phocidae.
Otariids, also known as eared seals, differ from true seals in having external ear flaps, and proportionately larger foreflippers and pectoral muscles. Along with the Galapagos sea lion and the extinct Japanese sea lion , the California sea lion belongs to the genus Zalophus , which derives from the Greek words za , meaning "intensive", and ...