marine mammal

English

A baby seal being breastfed. Marine mammals, like terrestrial mammals, breastfeed their young.

One marine mammal (a killer whale), hunting another (a Weddell seal). Seals are not closely related to whales; the two groups became marine independently.

Noun

marine mammal (plural marine mammals)

1. A mammal which lives partly or wholly in the ocean, or at least is heavily dependent on the ocean for its lifestyle; such as whales, sirenians, seals, the sea otter or the polar bear.
   • 1857 April, Philippe de Kerhallet, “The Atlantic Ocean”, in Edinburgh Review‎^[1], volume CV, number CCXIV, page 371:

     The influence of the temperature of the Gulf-stream upon animal life in the ocean is very curious. The whale so sedulously shuns its warm waters, as almost to indicate their track by its absence ; while yet abundantly found on each side of it. The physical reasons are doubtless the same which prevent this great marine mammal from ever crossing the equator from one hemisphere to the other — a fact now well ascertained.

Synonyms

• sea mammal

Hypernyms

• fish (obsolete), mammal, animal

Translations

mammal living in seawater

• Albanian: gjitar detar m
• Breton: bronneg mor m, morvronneg m
• Czech: mořský savec m
• Danish: havpattedyr (da) n
• Dutch: zeezoogdier (nl) n
• Faroese: havsúgdýr n
• Finnish: merinisäkäs
• French: mammifère marin m
• Galician: mamífero mariño m
• German: Meeressäuger (de) m, Meeressäugetier (de) n
• Greek: θαλάσσιο θηλαστικό (el) n (thalássio thilastikó)
• Hebrew: יוֹנֵק יַמִּי (he) m (yonéq yamí)
• Icelandic: sjávarspendýr (is) n
• Ingrian: merizveeri
• Italian: mammifero marino m
• Japanese: 海獣 (ja) (kaijū)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sjøpattedyr n

  Nynorsk: sjøpattedyr n

• Polish: ssak morski m
• Portuguese: mamífero marinho m
• Romansch: mamifer da la mar m
• Spanish: mamífero marino m
• Swedish: havsdäggdjur n
• Welsh: mamal morol m
• West Frisian: wettersûchdier n