Australian sea lion

Australian sea lion
Male with harem at Seal Bay Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Male Australian sea lion with a harem at Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Female with pup at Seal Bay Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Female Australian sea lion with pup at Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Otariidae
Genus: Neophoca
Species:
N. cinerea
Binomial name
Neophoca cinerea
(Péron, 1816)
Australian sea lion range

The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia.[2] It is currently monotypic in the genus Neophoca, with the extinct Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion Neophoca palatina the only known congener.[3] With a population estimated at 14,730 animals, the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia (1950) has listed them as "in need of special protection". Their Conservation status is listed as endangered. These pinnipeds are specifically known for their abnormal breeding cycles, which are varied between a 5-month breeding cycle and a 17-18 month aseasonal breeding cycle, compared to other pinnipeds which fit into a 12-month reproductive cycle.[2] Females are either silver or fawn with a cream underbelly and males are dark brown with a yellow mane and are bigger than the females.

  1. ^ Goldsworthy, S.D. (2015). "Neophoca cinerea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T14549A45228341. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T14549A45228341.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Gales, NJ; Cheal, AJ; Pobar, GJ; Williamson, P (1992-01-01). "Breeding biology and movements of Australian sea lions, Neophoca cinerea, off the west coasst of Western Australia". Wildlife Research. 19 (4): 405–415. doi:10.1071/wr9920405.
  3. ^ Churchill, Morgan; Boessenecker, Robert W. (16 June 2016). "Taxonomy and biogeography of the Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion Neophoca palatina (Carnivora: Otariidae)". Journal of Paleontology. 90 (2): 375–388. doi:10.1017/jpa.2016.15. S2CID 88990647.