Scientists unearth sea lion fossil first near TaiwanFILLING A GAP: The researchers said the mammals were known to live around Japan before going extinct, but their presence near Taiwan was not known beforeBy Rachel Lin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA team of Taiwanese and Japanese scientists has identified sea lion fossils in waters around Taiwan proper in a breakthrough discovery that raises new questions. The mammals once lived in the seas surrounding Japan before being hunted into extinction by humans, but their presence near Taiwan proper had not been known until now, it said. Sea lion fossils discovered by a joint Taiwanese and Japanese research team are pictured in an undated photograph. The presence of Zalophus japonicus around Taiwan proper aligns with global fossil evidence pointing to the spread of sea lions to low-latitude regions such as the Galapagos and California, it said. The study — “The Southernmost Zalophus in the Western North Pacific: The First Pinniped (Carnivora, Pinnipedia) fossil from Taiwan” — was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on March 16.

Source: Taipei Times April 04, 2026 18:34 UTC