New Zealand sea lion is a relative newcomer
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 - 18:32
in Paleontology & Archaeology
The modern New Zealand sea lion is a relative newcomer to the mainland, replacing a now-extinct, unique prehistoric New Zealand sea-lion that once lived here, according to a new study. A team of biologists estimates that this prehistoric mainland sea-lion population became extinct as recently as 600 years ago, and was then replaced by a lineage previously limited to the waters of the cold subantarctic.