Japanese sea lion

The stuffed specimen in the Tennoji Zoo, Osaka, Japan.

The Japanese Sea Lion (Zalophus japonicus ) is an extinct Pacific seal pelts.

Dissemination

The Japanese Sea Lion came in the Sea of ​​Japan on the east coast of Korea, the West and East coast of Japan, around the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin to the southern coast of the Russian Far East and on the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the northern Ryukyu Islands off.

Features

The Japanese Sea Lion was very similar to its close relative, the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus ). Males were dark gray to dark brown, 2.30 to 2.50 meters long and were weighed 450-560 kg. Thus, they were slightly larger than the males of the California sea lions. Old males were given a nearly black fur. Females were significantly smaller in length from 1.40 to 1.64 m. They were brightly colored.

Way of life

Japanese sea lions lived near the coast and were rarely more than 16 miles from the nearest coast encountered away at sea. For reproduction, they sought to flat, sandy coastline.

System

The Japanese sea lion was classified as a subspecies of Zalophus californianus long time japonicus of the California sea lions. Only studies of skull morphology in 2003 spoke for the species status. The skull of the Japanese sea lion is larger and wider than that of his relatives in California, behind the upper canines he had six more teeth, the California sea lions there are only five. The classification as a separate species was later confirmed by genetic analysis.

Extinction

The main reason for the extinction of the Japanese sea lion is hunting and persecution by fishermen. In the mid-19th century, the population is said to have been as high as 30,000 to 50,000 copies. Despite an extensive search of the animals in their original habitat has been around since the late 1950s, no documented sightings more. The last credible reports of 50 to 60 copies of the Liancourt Rocks are from the year 1951. Sightings of individual animals from the 1970s could not be confirmed and may be based on confusion with escaped copies of the California sea lions.