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Phoca

Phoca

Creative commons credit: Tomomori Creative commons credit: Tomomori
Published:
Updated: May 13, 2011, 10:30 am
Topics: Marine Ecology Species
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: C Michael Hogan

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Anamalia (Animals)
Phylum:--- Chordata
Class:------ Mammalia (Mammals)
Order:-------- Carnivora (Carnivores)
Family:-------- Phocidae (True Seals)
Genus:--------- Phoca
Species:-------- 2 species
 Conservation Status

Phoca is a genus comprised of two species 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.

The Harbor seal has five subspecies based on geographic location:

  • Eastern Atlantic Harbor seal - Phoca vitulina vitulina (Linnaeus, 1758) 
  • Western Atlantic Harbour seal - Phoca vitulina concolor (De Kay, 1842) 
  • Seal Lake seal or Ungava seal - Phoca vitulina mellonae (Doutt, 1942) 
  • Eastern Pacific Harbor seal - Phoca vitulina richardii (Gray, 1864) 
  • Western Pacific Harbour seal or Kuril seal - Phoca vitulina stejnegeri (J. A. Allen, 1902) 
 

For details regarding the two component species of this genus, see Spotted seal and Harbor seal

 
Harbor seal. Source: Petr Baum/BioLib/Encyclopedia of Life Harbor seal. Source: Petr Baum/BioLib/Encyclopedia of Life
 
Harbor seal. Source: Petr Baum/BioLib/Encyclopedia of Life Harbor seal. Source: Petr Baum/BioLib/Encyclopedia of Life

 

Further Reading

  1. Phoca largha Pallas, 1811 Encyclopedia of Life (accessed July 20, 2010)
  2. Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 Encyclopedia of Life (accessed July 20, 2010)
  3. Phoca largha, Abar, R., 2002, Animal Diversity Web (accessed July 20, 2010)
    Phoca vitulina,Steinway, M., 2003, Animal Diversity Web (accessed July 20, 2010)
  4. Spotted seal, Seal Conservation Society (accessed July 20, 2010)
  5. Harbor seal, Seal Conservation Society (accessed July 20, 2010)
  6. Phoca largha, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (accessed July 20, 2010)
  7. Phoca vitulina, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (accessed July 20, 2010)
  8. Spotted seal, MarineBio.org (accessed July 20, 2010)
  9. Harbor Seal, MarineBio.org (accessed July 20, 2010)
  10. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses, Marianne Riedman, University of California Press, 1991 ISBN: 0520064984
  11. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Bernd Wursig, Academic Press, 2002 ISBN: 0125513402
  12. 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
  13. Walker's Mammals of the World, Ronald M. Nowak, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN: 0801857899

 

Citation

Encyclopedia of Life (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Contributing Author);C Michael Hogan (Topic Editor) "Phoca". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth July 20, 2010; Last revised Date May 13, 2011; Retrieved May 18, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Phoca>

The Author

Encyclopedia of LifeThe Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an ambitious, even audacious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life present on Earth. At its heart lies a series of Web sites—one for each of the approximately 1.8 million known species—that provide the entry points to this vast array of knowledge. The entry-point for each site is a species page suitable for the general public, but with several linked pages aimed at more specialized users. The sites spark ... (Full Bio)

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