Mirounga leonina, Southern elephant seal : fisheries
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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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Image of Mirounga leonina (Southern elephant seal)
Mirounga leonina
Juvenile picture by Ryan, Paddy

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 Territories | 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 FAO species Identification Guide: Marine Mammals of the World. Rome, FAO. 320 p. + 587 figures. (Ref. 1394)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  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; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Trophic Ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Pictures
References
References

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

Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 71543)		 High to very high vulnerability (75 of 100).
Price category
(Ref. 80766):		 Unknown.