Mirounga leonina   (Linnaeus, 1758)

Southern elephant seal

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Mirounga leonina  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Mirounga leonina

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Mammalia | Carnivora | Phocidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - 8000 m (Ref. 1394), usually 1000 - 5000 m.  Polar; 0°N - 90°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and the Antarctic: Circumpolar in the Southern Hemisphere, Skeleton coast of Namibia around the Cape to Ilha Bazaruto in Mozambique. Polar, temperate.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 685 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 99323); 300 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 5.0 t (Ref. 99323); max. published weight: 5.0 t

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Prefers sandy and cobble beaches, but will haul out on ice, snow or rocky terrace); they venture inland into tussock grass and other vegetation, and frequently lie in mud wallows. Feeds on 75% cephalopods and 25% fish. Maximum measurements for female species based from Ref. 1394. Reported from 0 m- m (Ref. 1394) but is observed to occur at greater depths based on more recent data (Kaschner, K. pers. comm., 20/10/14). Prefers sandy and cobble beaches, but will haul out on ice, snow or rocky terraces; they venture inland into tussock grass and other vegetation, and frequently lie in mud wallows. Feeds on 75% cephalopods and 25% fish (Ref. 1394).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber. 1993. (Ref. 1394)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 12 December 2014

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: species profile | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: species profile; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.1 - 1.6, mean 0.8 (based on 16947 cells).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.