Neophoca

Neophoca is a genus of eared seal, family Otariidae, whose only living species is the Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, the only pinniped endemic to Australia; its sole known congener is the extinct Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion, Neophoca palatina. Some taxonomists combine Neophoca with the closely related genus Phocarctos, the New Zealand sea lion. The Australian sea lion is distributed sparsely along the southern Australian coast, from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia to the Pages Islands in South Australia, has an estimated population of about 14,730 animals, and is listed as endangered, with unusually variable breeding cycles ranging from five to seventeen or eighteen months, compared to the twelve-month cycle typical of other pinnipeds.