Otaria flavescens (Shaw 1800)

[Phoca] flavescens Shaw 1800, Gener. Zool., 1 (2a parte): 260.

Type Locality: "Strait of Magellan".

Vernacular Names: South American Sealion.

Synonyms: Otaria aurita (Bechstein 1800); Otaria byronia (de Blainville 1820); Otaria chilensis Muller 1841; Otaria chonotica Philippi 1892; Otaria fulva Philippi 1892; Otaria godeffroyi Peters 1866; Otaria hookeri Schlater 1866; Otaria leoninus (F. G. Cuvier 1827); Otaria minor Gray 1874; Otaria molossina Lesson and Garnot 1826; Otaria molossinus (Lesson 1827); Otaria pernettyi Lesson 1828; Otaria pygmaea Gray 1874; Otaria rufa Philippi 1892; Otaria ulloae Tschudi 1844; Otaria uraniae (Lesson 1827); Otaria velutina Philippi 1892 .

Distribution: South American coasts of Argentina, Brazil (south from Recife dos Tôrres), Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Falkland Isls. Vagrant populations occasionally in Columbia, Ecuador (Galapagos Isls), Panama.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: There is some controversy regarding the validity of O. byronia (de Blainville, 1920) or O. flavescens (Shaw, 1800) (King, 1978) . Rodriguez and Bastida (1993) reviewed the information and concluded that flavescens was a valid name with priority. Also see Oliva (1988) who argued for O. byronia . Synonyms allocated according to Cabrera (1957).