Ommatophoca is a genus containing a single species, the Ross seal and is thus a “monotypic” genus. The genus Ommatophoca is contained within the true seal family of nineteen species. Together with the families of  Eared seals and Walruses, True seals form the group of marine mammals known as pinnipeds. Ross Seal is named after James Ross Clark, the commander of an expedition of exploration to Antarctica in the period 1840-43 AD. The Ross Seal was first described by Gray in the year 1844, with an associated scientific name Ommatophoca rossii. More detailed information on the genus Ommatophoca is found in the discussion on the species Ommatophoca rossii.

Ross seal. Source: NOAA

Conservation Status

Scientific Classification Kingdom: Anamalia (Animals) Phylum:--- Chordata Class:------ Mammalia (Mammals) Order:-------- Carnivora (Carnivores) Family:-------- Phocidae (True Seals) Genus:--------- Ommatophoca Species:-------- 1 species

Further Reading

1. Ommatophoca rossii Gray, 1844 Encyclopedia of Life (accessed April 17, 2009)
2. Ommatophoca rossii, Lundrigan, B. and A. Kamarainen, 2003, Animal Diversity Web (accessed April , 2009)
3. Ross Seal, Seal Conservation Society (accessed April 17, 2009)
4. Ommatophoca rossii, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (accessed April 17, 2009)
5. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses, Marianne Riedman, University of California Press, 1991 ISBN: 0520064984
6. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Bernd Wursig, Academic Press, 2002 ISBN: 0125513402
   
7. Marine Mammal Research: Conservation beyond Crisis, edited by John E. Reynolds III, William F. Perrin, Randall R. Reeves, Suzanne Montgomery and Timothy J. Ragen, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005 ISBN: 0801882559
8. Walker's Mammals of the World, Ronald M. Nowak, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN: 0801857899
9. Ross Seal, MarineBio.org (accessed April 17, 2009)