Australian sea lion

Australian sea lion
Australian sea lions on the beach at the Seal Bay Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Parvorder: 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. It is currently monotypic in the genus Neophoca, with the extinct Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion Neophoca palatina the only known congener. 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. 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.