Age and growth of the South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens (Shaw, 1800), in southern Brazil

Abstract

A high correlation was found between the ages estimated from teeth and those estimated by cranial suture closure. The oldest males and females were 16 and 14 yr, respectively. Ages 3-5 years were the most frequent. The Bertalanffy growth parameters adjusted with the Marquardt's algorithm were L∞ = 254.4 cm, K = 0.305, t0 = -1.6 yr for males, and L∞ = 194.4 cm, K = 0.306, t0 = -2.0 yr for females. -from Authors