What is the difference between sea lion, seal, and a fur seal???

Question

it's obvious that walrus is different from sea lion, seal, and a fur seal, but what is the difference between them, and which one eat the penguins.

Answer 1

Sealions and fur seals belong to the family Otariidae, or 'eared seals', so called because they have external ear-flaps. They are able to rotate their hind flippers forwards to help them walk on land, and the males have a thickened area of fur about the neck (hence the allusion to lions). When swimming, they propel themselves using their front flippers.

Seals belong to the family Phocidae, or 'true seals'. They are more adapted to an aquatic lifestyle than the eared seals. They lack external ear-flaps, and cannot bring their hind flippers beneath them for movement on land - instead, they must heave themselves along with their front flippers. When swimming, they propel themselves using the hind flippers.

There are several species in each family. The one best known for eating penguins is the leopard seal, which is a true seal.

Answer 2

I liked Serena's answer.

"penguins are at risk at sea from predators such as the leopard seal."

Sea Lions & Fur Seals are in the same family. The difference between two animals of the same family are a lot less than the differences between animals of different families.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lions

Nonetheless, all sea lions have certain features in common, in particular the coarse, short fur, greater bulk and larger prey than fur seals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_seal#Ph...

Fur seals are generally smaller than sea lions. At under 1 m, the Galapagos fur seal is the smallest of all pinnipeds. However, their flippers tend to be proportionately longer, their pelage tends to be darker and the vibrissae more prominent. Males are often more than five times heavier than the females, making them among the most sexually dimorphic of all mammal groups.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_seals#...

Phocids are more highly specialized for aquatic life than otariids, although they still return to dry land or pack ice in order to breed and give birth. They lack external ears and have sleek, streamlined bodies. To further aid streamlining, their nipples can be retracted, their testicles are internal, and the p***s lies in an internal sheath. A smooth layer of blubber lies underneath the skin, and phocids are able to divert blood-flow to this layer to help control their temperature.

Their fore-flippers are used primarily for steering, while their hind flippers are bound to the pelvis in such a way that they cannot bring them under their body to walk on them. Phocids swim by sideways movements of their bodies, using their hind-flippers to their fullest effect.

They are more streamlined than fur seals and sea lions and can therefore swim more effectively over long distances. However, because they cannot turn their hind flippers downward, they are very clumsy on land, having to wriggle with their front flippers and abdominal muscles.

Phocid respiratory and circulatory systems are adapted to allow diving to considerable depths, and they can spend a long time underwater between breaths. Air is forced from the lungs during a dive and into the upper respiratory passages, where gases cannot easily be absorbed into the bloodstream. This helps protect the seal from the bends. The middle ear is also lined with blood sinuses that inflate during diving, helping to maintain a constant pressure.

True seals do not communicate by "barking" like otariids. Instead, they communicate by slapping the water and grunting.

Otariidae Family vs Phocidae Family

Here's what Sea World says...

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info...

FAMILY - OTARIIDAE

1. Otariids, also referred to as "eared seals", include all sea lions and fur seals. Otariids are characterized by having external ear pinnae (ear flaps) and long flippers.

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info...

FAMILY - PHOCIDAE

1. Phocidae includes all "true" seals. True seals lack external ear flaps; have a stout, round body; and are unable to rotate their hind flippers forward.

Here's what answers.com says...

http://www.answers.com/topic/otariidae-v...

Thumbnail description

Medium- to large-sized pinnipeds that have large front flippers for underwater propulsion, a dog-like head, and the ability to walk or run on all fours on land

http://www.answers.com/topic/phocidae-ve...

Thumbnail description

Large marine mammals that are fusiform in shape; crawls on its stomach on land or ice using either a caterpillar movement (on land) or swishing its rear end from side to side (on ice); propels itself in water by thrusting rear flippers from side to side, fanning the leading flipper and closing the trailing one; foreflippers are short and not used as rudders much in aquatic or terrestrial movement, other than to push off the ground on land; coloration varies from solid color to mottling or spotted with dark on light background or the reverse

Here's what Wikipedia says...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnipeds#O...

Otariidae

Eared seals, also called "walking seals" and "otariids", include the animals commonly known as sea lions and fur seals. These are vocal, social animals that are somewhat better adapted to terrestrial habitats with rear flippers that can turn forward such that they can move on all fours on land. Their foreflippers are larger than those of earless seals and are used as a primary source of maneuverablity in the water. Eared seals have external ears, as their name suggests, and more dog-like snouts, further distinguishing them from the true seals. While sea lions are generally larger than fur seals and lack the dense underfur of the latter, the long-standing division into subfamilies (Arctocephalinae and Otariinae for fur seals and sea lions respectively) has been shown to be unjustified in light of recent genetic evidence suggesting that several fur seal species are more closely related to some sea lions than other fur seals. The iconic ball-balancing circus seal is generally some species of sea lion, most commonly a California sea lion.

Phocidae

Earless seals, also called “true seals" or "phocids" are the most diverse and widespread of the pinnipeds. They lack external ears and more streamlined snouts and are generally more aquatically adapted. They swim with efficient undulating whole body movements using their more developed rear flippers. The efficiency of their swimming and an array of other physiological adaptations make them better built for deep and long diving and long distance migrations. They are, however, very cumbersome on land, moving by wriggling their front flippers and abdominal muscles. True seals generally communicate by slapping the water and grunting, rather than vocalizing.

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/si...

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/si...

Answer 3

Fur seals are seals, and since seal is a group of differant specific species, then you can't compare the two.

Seals and Sea Lions are often easily confused. Sea Lions are much more mobile on land, using their flippers and tail to move. The seals move very much like worms on the land, wiggling. They have much shorter front flippers than a sea lion.

Sea lions are the ones that are seen often in shows, balancing balls and standing on their flippers. They also have longer necks than most seals, slimmer, and then bulky in the chest area.

If you get close enough, you'd see that sea lions have their ears on the outside, while seals have holes where their ears are, inside.

And it is the Leapard seal that eats penguins.