Discover Top Posts Tagged with #pinnipedimorpha

Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Photo by Julien NKS

Source for Pleistocene semantorids plz

http://fossilworks.org/?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=77120

Necromites nestoris, known from the Calabrian stage of the Pleistocene (~1.8 - 0.8 Ma) in Azerbaijan!

It’s somewhat poorly studied and taxonomically “problematic” but appears to have been more aquatic than other semantorids (and possibly marine), and its phylogenetic position has been a little unstable, sometimes being classified as a true phocid instead of a semantorid. (Also some paleontologists still consider semantorids to be musteloids, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

If it was indeed a semantorid and a stem-pinniped it may have been one that was convergently getting more seal-like than otter-like!

#necromites #semantoridae #pinnipedimorpha #stem-seal #Anonymous #asks

Kangaroo Island: pioneering research examines health of sea lions – in pictures | The Guardian

For the first time, a colony of sea lions in Australia is being treated with a topical anti-parasitic and monitored for health and survival. The research, led by Dr Rachael Gray, from the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, is investigating the effects of hookworm, environmental pollutants and human-associated bacteria on the mortality of sea lions in the first 18 months of their lives. Photographer Louise Cooper accompanied the team as they set up the trial on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. ‘Populations will continue to decline if we don’t do something to save these charismatic and iconic marine mammals,’ says Gray.