Occurrence of the "southern elephant seal" Mirounga leonida Linnaeus, 1758 (Carnivora: Pinnipedia: Phocidae) in the coast of El Salvador

Abstract

During the month of January 2021, there was the visit of a “southern elephant seal” Mirounga leonida [Linnaeus, 1758] on the coast of El Salvador, Central American Pacific Ocean, specifically observed in the western zone between January 15 and 16 in the Natural Protected Area and Ramsar Site Complejo Los Cóbanos and the Ramsar Site Complejo Barra de Santiago. Morphological characteristics, geographical coordinates of each occurrence site, dates and permanence time as well as interactions with humans were collected with the support of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources rangers. It was a subadult male of 3.38 m of total length in the process of molting season that made resting phases on the beaches El Faro/ El Amor, Metalío and Barra de Santiago to then to move beaches of Guatemala and Mexico. This note constitutes the first record of the occurrence of the species in the country.