Harp Seal
Pagophilus groenlandicus
- Class
- Mammal
- Rarity
- Rare
- Observations
- 564
- Most observed in
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Conservation
- Near Threatened
Description
The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), also known as the saddleback seal or Greenland seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus Phoca with a number of other species, it was reclassified into the monotypic genus Pagophilus in 1844. In Greek, its scientific name translates to "Greenlandic ice-lover", and its taxonomic synonym, Phoca groenlandica translates to "Greenlandic seal".
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Harp seal”.