| Home |
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
South American Sea lion, Islas Ballestas © Stefan Austermühle / Mundo Azul |
At present there are 33 pinniped species, while the Caribbean monk seal has been extinct by humans.
The present species belong to three families:
- Phocaidea: 18 species
- Otariidea: 14 species
- Odobenidea: 1 specie
On a global scale, it is estimated that there are approximately 50 million pinnipeds. About 90 % of them are seals. Of these, just one species, the crab eater seal in the Antarctic, is estimated to be 30 million specimens, therefore making up about 60% of the global total of pinnipeds. All other species do exist in much smaller numbers with the Mediterranean monk seal (500 specimens left) and the Hawaiian monk seal (1,500 specimen left, being the most worrying cases. Both species are in great danger of being extinct in the near future.
 |
|
South American Sea lion, Islas Ballestas © Stefan Austermühle / Mundo Azul |
The family "otariidea" is divided into two subfamilies: Arctocephalinae (fur seals) and Otariinae (sea lions). Both groups were separated in their evolutionary development probably two million years ago.
In Peru, we have one species of each subfamiliy:
- The Southern fur seal, Arctocephalus australis
- The South American sea lion, Otaria byronia