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Male okapi displaying his striking horizontal stripes. The okapi is a medium-sized giraffid, standing 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder. Its average body length is about 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) and its weight ranges from 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb). [25] It has a long neck, and large and flexible ears.
Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walruses clade) is a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals which is closely related to an extinct group of pinnipeds, Enaliarctos. While support for the monophyly of pinnipeds is strong, the relationship of pinnipeds to terrestrial mammals is still unclear.
While sea lions and fur seals have historically been considered separate subfamilies (Otariinae and Arctocephalinae respectively), genetic and molecular evidence has refuted this, indicating that the northern fur seal is basal to other otariids and the Australian sea lion and New Zealand sea lion are more closely related to Arctocephalus than ...
Elephants, sea cows, and hyraxes were grouped together in the clade Paenungulata, while the aardvark has been considered as either a close relative to them or a close relative to sengis in the clade Afroinsectiphilia. [13] This is a striking example of convergent evolution. [14]
The most common pinniped species kept in captivity is the California sea lion as it is abundant and easy to train. [153] These animals are used to perform tricks and entertain visitors. [154] Other species popularly kept in captivity include the grey seal and harbor seal. Larger animals like walruses and Steller sea lions are much less common ...
Otarioidea is a superfamily of pinnipeds that includes the families Odobenidae, Otariidae and their stem-relatives. [1] [2] In the past when the pinnipeds were considered to be a polyphyletic group of marine mammals, a few points of cranial and dental morphology suggested that the otarioids originated from a line of bears. [3]
The California sea lion differs from the Galapagos sea lion in its greater sexual dimorphism. [4] The Steller sea lion is the closest extant relative of the Zalophus sea lions, being a sister taxon .
A male California sea lion weighs on average about 300 kg (660 lb) and is about 2.4 m (8 ft) long, while the female sea lion weighs 100 kg (220 lb) and is 1.8 m (6 ft) long. The largest sea lions are Steller's sea lions , which can weigh 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) and grow to a length of 3.0 m (10 ft).