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Otaria

Otaria

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Updated: May 13, 2011, 10:18 am
Topics: Marine Ecology Biodiversity
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This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: Marion McClary

 

South American sea lion. Source:Biopix/Encyclopedia of Life South American sea lion. Source:Biopix/Encyclopedia of Life

 

 Conservation Status

 

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Anamalia (Animals)
Phylum:--- Chordata
Class:------ Mammalia (Mammals)
Order:-------- Carnivora (Carnivores)
Family:-------- Otariidae (Eared Seals)
Genus:----------Otaria
Species:------------ I species

Otaria is a genus of just one species (a “monotypic” genus) within the eared seal family of sixteen species - the South American sea lion. Eared seals  include sea lions and fur seals. Together with the families of true seals and Walruses, Eared seals form the group of marine mammals known as pinnipeds.

Distribution of the South American sea lion. Source: Mirko Thiessen/Wikipedia. Distribution of the South American sea lion. Source: Mirko Thiessen/Wikipedia.

Eared seals  differ from the true seals in having small external earflaps and hind flippers that can be turned to face forwards. Together with strong front flippers, this gives them extra mobility on land and an adult fur seal can move extremely fast across the beach if it has to. They also use their front flippers for swimming, whereas true seals use their hind flippers.

South American sea lions are not presently threatened. They experienced a large population decline during the past 70 years in the Falkland Islands. The reason for this abrupt decline is unknown. Though they are not currently threatened, they are protected throughout most of their range.

For details see South American sea lion.

 

Further Reading 

  1. Otaria flavescens Encyclopedia of Life (accessed April 8, 2009)
  2. Otaria flavescens,Liu, S., 2000, Animal Diversity Web (accessed April 9, 2009)
  3. South American Fur Seal, Seal Conservation Society (accessed April 8, 2009)
  4. South American fur seal, MarineBio.org (accessed April 8, 2009)
  5. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses, Marianne Riedman, University of California Press, 1991 ISBN: 0520064984 
  6. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Bernd Wursig, Academic Press, 2002 ISBN: 0125513402
  7. Marine Mammal Research: Conservation beyond Crisis, edited by John E. Reynolds III, William F. Perrin, Randall R. Reeves, Suzanne Montgomery and Timothy J. Ragen, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005 ISBN: 0801882559
  8. Walker's Mammals of the World, Ronald M. Nowak, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN: 0801857899 
  9. Australian Sea Lion, MarineBio.org (accessed April 7, 2009)

Citation

Encyclopedia of Life (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Contributing Author);Marion McClary (Topic Editor) "Otaria". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth November 24, 2009; Last revised Date May 13, 2011; Retrieved May 24, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Otaria>

The Author

Encyclopedia of LifeThe Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an ambitious, even audacious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life present on Earth. At its heart lies a series of Web sites—one for each of the approximately 1.8 million known species—that provide the entry points to this vast array of knowledge. The entry-point for each site is a species page suitable for the general public, but with several linked pages aimed at more specialized users. The sites spark ... (Full Bio)

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