Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sea Lion
A sea lion is any of several marine mammals of the family Otariidae. Sea lions are characterized by the presence of external ear pinnae or flaps, long front flippers, and the ability to walk on four flippers on land. Sea lions are generally found in coastal waters of the temperate to subpolar regions of both northern and southern hemispheres.
Sea lions are often a popular attraction at zoos and aquariums, performing tricks such as throwing and catching balls on their noses and clapping.
Sea lions of many species have seen a severe and rapid decrease in numbers in recent years. Many factors including overfishing of other species and pollution have probably contributed to the decline. The population of Steller's sea lions in Alaska has declined as much as 80% since the 1970s.
Related Stories
1
2
Plants & Animals News
August 7, 2026
Aug. 6, 2026 A landmark study of nearly 4,000 babies found that acetaminophen and ibuprofen were equally safe during infancy. Neither medicine was linked to eczema or bronchiolitis, and no serious side effects ...
Aug. 6, 2026 Glyphosate was long thought to be safe for honeybees because they lack the enzyme the chemical targets in weeds. However, researchers found that exposed bees foraged 13 percent less after only three days and showed changes in brain chemicals linked ...
Aug. 4, 2026 Animal bones preserved in South Australia’s underwater caves reveal distinctive clues shaped by darkness, algae, bacteria, and other environmental conditions. The findings give scientists a powerful new way to reconstruct how ancient megafauna ...
Aug. 3, 2026 Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing ancient carbon into the ocean, raising fears that microbes could turn it into greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change. But sediment cores collected near ...
Aug. 3, 2026 Scientists have figured out how two famously poisonous plants create chemicals with surprising medical potential. After tracking thousands of genes in wolfsbane and larkspur, they identified six enzymes needed to build a complex compound called ...
Aug. 2, 2026 An AI analysis of 1.2 million satellite images shows that floating algae blooms are spreading across the global ocean. The rapid growth of massive seaweed mats could reshape marine habitats while bringing foul-smelling decay, ecological damage, and ...
July 29, 2026 Songbirds appear to have evolved through rare explosions of change separated by long periods of slower development. Many of those bursts lined up with major climate shifts, suggesting that environmental upheaval can reshape life in powerful ...
July 29, 2026 Bumblebees naturally have short lives, but extreme heat and human activity are making survival harder. Pesticides can poison bees or destroy the flowers they depend on, while habitat loss leaves them with fewer safe places to live and feed. ...
July 26, 2026 Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed ...
July 26, 2026 A notorious snake invasion that devastated Guam’s native birds may have succeeded because the reptiles carried hidden genetic advantages. Using advanced long-read DNA sequencing, researchers uncovered more than 19,000 large genetic differences in ...
July 21, 2026 Scientists studying decades of pygmy sperm whale strandings have uncovered three previously unknown types of Helicobacter bacteria hiding in the animals’ stomachs. All four infected whales showed ...
July 18, 2026 A catastrophic asteroid breakup may have triggered a huge wave of impacts across the inner solar system about 800 million years ago. The debris was launched from near a gravitational gateway controlled by Jupiter, sending fragments toward Earth, the ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Aug. 7, 2026 More than 5,000 years after his death, Ötzi the Iceman is still hosting a remarkable mix of ancient and modern microorganisms. Researchers separated microbes that lived in his body during his ...
Aug. 6, 2026 Several enormous Megalodon vertebrae thought to have been destroyed in 1989 were found sitting unnoticed on a museum shelf. Their analysis strengthens evidence that the giant shark could exceed 24 ...
Aug. 6, 2026 Millions of sperm do not always compete alone—some species send them into action as coordinated teams. A sweeping evolutionary study found that this cooperation is widespread among arthropods and ...
Aug. 5, 2026 A spectacular fossil site in Canada contains 567-million-year-old creatures that may represent some of the earliest animals to move, reproduce sexually, and develop recognizable body plans. The ...
Aug. 5, 2026 An exceptionally preserved snake fossil from Brazil reveals that early snakes were far more diverse than scientists once thought. Detailed brain reconstructions show that Tametara mirim was adapted ...
Aug. 5, 2026 A massive crocodilian capable of attacking dinosaurs has been brought back to life as the first scientifically accurate mounted skeleton of Deinosuchus schwimmeri. The 31-foot replica at Georgia’s ...
Aug. 4, 2026 Fossilized dinosaur bones from Wyoming are offering a rare glimpse into the feeding behavior of Tyrannosaurus rex. Researchers examined more than 3,000 bones dating back 72 to 66 million years and ...
Aug. 4, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising way that “jumping genes” may move between species and speed up evolution. While these mobile genetic elements were thought to travel mainly inside viruses ...
Aug. 4, 2026 A tiny 518-million-year-old sea creature has revealed the earliest known evidence of the structures that eventually became spiders’ fangs. Hidden inside the fossil were pincerlike limbs and ...
Aug. 3, 2026 Scientists have named a newly discovered beetle genus Luffy, inspired by the stretchy hero of the manga and anime One Piece. The insects have unusually long, slender mandibles, antennae, and ...