Sea-lion


In heraldry, the term sea-lion refers to a legendary creature that has the head and upper body of a lion, but with webbed forelimbs and a fish tail. These occur most frequently as supporters, but also occur as crests and occasionally as charges. Sea-lions are frequently found in "sejant" or "sejant-erect" attitudes, but may also be found "naiant" or "assurgeant".

In the Philippines

The sea-lion is prominent in the heraldic tradition of the Philippines, where it denotes state power and authority. It features on the coats of arms of the capital, the Roman Catholic [Archdiocese of Manila|primatial see], the seal of the navy, the presidential seal, the seals of the Department of Finance, the Department [of Education |Department of Education] and other various government offices. It can also be found on the medal of the Philippine Legion of Honor.
The heraldic device comes from Manila's colonial arms, where the sea-lion represents the islands as an ultramar possession of Spain; the lion is ultimately derived from the Arms of Castile and León.
On May 30, 1596, Philip II of Spain gave Manila its own specific coat of arms:

In other countries