The Merlion (Malay: Singa-Laut) is a well known marketing icon of Singapore depicted as mythical creature with a lion's head and a body of a fish. It is widely used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.
Merlions do not feature in any local folklore or myths of Singapore, and was only used in Singapore initially as the logo for the tourism board. The Merlion is similar to the heraldic sea-lion which occurs in a number of different artistic traditions.