In this article, we discussed the similarities and differences between the seal and the sea lion. Many people hesitated when they described the difference between the two animals.
Table of Contents
What Are Seals
Seals are aquatic animals. Their scientific name is pinnipeds which means “fin-footed”. The seal is an aquatic animal and usually lives in cold water.
Scientific classification of seals
Seals belong to kingdom Animalia,
Phylum- Chordata
Class- Mammalia,
Order- Carnivore and
Class- Pinnipedimorpha.
There are 33 species of the pinniped present in the world. Sea lions and walruses also belong to the pinniped.
Types of the seals
There are two types of seals.
- Eared seals:
Eared seals belong to the family Otaridae.
- Earless seals:
Earless seals belong to the family Phocidae.
Size of seals
Ringed seals are the smallest seals in the world. Its length is about 5 feet, and its weight is almost 50 to 70 kilograms. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ringed seals are common Seals in the Arctic. The Southern Elephant seal is the largest and heaviest seal. Its weight is nearly 3,855.5 kg. The size of female elephant seals is relatively smaller than male seals. The weight of female elephant seals is 907 kg.
Habitat
Seals are aquatic animals and usually live in cold water. Some seals, like the Crabeater seals, live in Antarctica.
Diet
Seals are carnivores. Meat is their favorite food. They usually eat fish, but some seals like leopard seals also hunt for penguins and eat other seals.
Age
The life of common male seals is 20 to25 years, while the life of females is more than male seals—the age of females is about 30 to 35 years.
Sea lion
Sea lions also belong to the pinniped. They are walking on all fours on land. Sea lions run quite fast, and they are good swimmers. They are covered with small hair and have a large chest and belly.
Scientific classification of sea lion:
They belong to the kingdom Animalia.
Phylum – Chordata
Class- Mammalia
Clade – Pinnipedia
Order- Carnivora and the Family – Otariidae.
Habitat of sea lions
They are found in aquatic regions as well as on sandy and rocky beaches.
Diet: Difference between seal and sea lion
Sea Lions consume food in a large quantity. They eat various kinds of seafood. Sea lions have very delicate beards called Vibrissae. With the help of the hair sea, lions find their prey in the sea.
Age
Sea lions live almost from the age of 20 to 30 years.
Types of the sea lion: Difference between seal and sea lion
There are six species of sea lions
- Australian sea lion
- Galapagos sea lion
- New Zealand sea lion
- Steller sea lion
- California sea lion
- South America sea lion
Australian sea lion, Galapagos sea lion, and New Zealand sea lion are recorded as endangered species.
A few Difference between seal and sea lion
Both seals and sea lions are Pinnipedia. They are mammals and belong to the same order Carnivore. Apparently, fur seals are relatively similar to sea lions.
The main difference between the seal and Sea lion
- Both seals and sea lions are quite different from one another. Seals belong to the Phocidae family, while the sea lions belong to the family Otariidae. Seals have no external ears, while sea lions have small external ears.
- The Seals used their anterior flippers to move on land. while sea lions used their posterior flippers to move on land.
- On the body of seals, patches and ring spots are present, while the sea lions have such kinds of marks and spots.
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