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Taxonomy Together with the fur seal, they comprise the Otariidae family, collectively known as eared seals. Until recently, sea lions were grouped under a single subfamily called Otariinae to distinguish them from the fur seals Arcocephalinae, based on the most prominent common feature between all species, namely the lack of dense underfur characteristic of the latter. Recent genetic evidence, however, strongly suggests that the Callorhinus, the genus of the Northern fur seal is more closely related to some sea lion species than to the fur seal genus Arctocephalus. Therefore the fur seal/sealion subfamily distinction has been largely eliminated. Nonetheless, all sea lions have certain features in common, in particular the coarse, short fur, greater bulk and larger prey than fur seals.

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17y ago

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