Harbor seal
Phoca vitulina
CommonPhoto: Andreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Mammalcarnivore
The common seal is a chubby, whiskered swimmer found along chilly northern coastlines. These true seals paddle through both the Atlantic and Pacific, from rocky shores to icy Arctic waters. They hold the record for the widest range of any seal species.
- Their natural range stretches across the entire northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- They thrive in both icy Arctic waters and milder temperate seas.
- Unlike sea lions, they lack external ear flaps and scoot on land like caterpillars.
OceanPolarArcticEuropeNorth America
Read more on WikipediaAt a glance
- Classification
- Mammal
- Scientific name
- Phoca vitulina
- Habitat
- Ocean, Polar
- Regions in this directory
- Arctic, Europe, North America
- Diet
- carnivore
- Relative size
- medium
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern (LC)