the.com/seal lion
The mashup of two pinnipeds, both of which judge your swimming form with contempt.
means A slip-up for 'sea lion,' the large, eared, barking pinniped that hauls out on rocks and docks — distinct from true seals by its visible ear flaps and ability to 'walk' on its flippers.
from A folk smush of 'sea lion,' itself a translation of older European names (Spanish 'lobo marino,' literally 'sea wolf,' and similar coinages) that compared these loud, maned, roaring beasts to land predators. The 'lion' part nods to the bull's manelike neck and his thunderous bark; the stray 'l' in 'seal lion' just borrows the cousin word 'seal' (from Old English 'seolh') and bolts it on, two pinnipeds colliding in one typo.
- likely sea lion
- Has visible ear flaps and walks on land
- versus seals
- True seals lack ear flaps, scoot belly-first
- loud talkers
- Sea lions bark; harbor seals mostly stay quiet
- clever performers
- Trained for circuses and naval missions alike
- front flippers
- Sea lions rotate them to walk upright-ish
sea lion — marine mammal with external ear flaps, found along pacific coasts from california to galápagos
california sea lion — most common species, ~250,000 individuals on us west coast, performs in zoos and circuses
steller sea lion — largest sea lion species weighing up to 2,500 lbs, endangered in alaska with ~60,000 remaining