California sea lions have a slender body shape. The muzzle and ear pinnae are small. On the muzzle is a series of 20 to 30 whiskers or vibrissae. The vibrissae are a tactile sensory organ. Sea lions have large pectoral flippers that they can use to move about on land. The sea lion's hind limbs are used to help them steer in the water. They have visible nails on the ends of the middle three digits. When males reach the age of four or five, they reach sexual maturity. At that point they start to develop a bony bump on the top of their head called a sagittal crest. It is fully developed around the age of ten and can be up to 1.5 inches. The male sea lions at the US Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) are castrated before they reach sexual maturity. Therefore, the development of the sagittal crest is much slower.
Posted via web from Chris Ott
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