South American sea lion
Amazing fact
South American sea lions sometimes enter fresh water in rivers and around glaciers.
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
South American sea lions sometimes enter fresh water in rivers and around glaciers.
THE REAL WORLD
The real South American sea lion
- Scientific name
- Otaria byronia
- Japanese name
- オタリア
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Otariidae
- Genus
- Otaria
It lives along the coasts of South America, from the middle of the continent southward.
How the South American sea lion lives
Males defend territories during the breeding season. Mothers locate their pups by calls, then confirm their identity by smell. At sea, they eat fish, squid, octopus and jellyfish, among other prey. They may float at the sea surface alone or in groups.
釧路市動物園Naturalis Biodiversity CenterBasic data
- Range
- Coasts of central and southern South America
Where the South American sea lion has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オタリア
- 简体中文
- 南美海狮
- 繁體中文
- 南美海獅
- 한국어
- 남아메리카바다사자
- Español
- Lobo marino de un pelo
- Français
- Otarie à crinière
- Deutsch
- Mähnenrobbe
- Português (Brasil)
- Leão-marinho-da-patagónia
- Italiano
- Leone marino sudamericano
- العربية
- أسد البحر أمريكا الجنوبية
- Русский
- Южный морской лев
- Türkçe
- Yeleli deniz aslanı
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — オタリアChecked: 2026-11-04
- 釧路市動物園 — オタリアChecked: 2026-11-07
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center — Otaria byroniaChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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