Mediterranean Monk Seal
Monachus monachus
- Class
- Mammal
- Rarity
- Rare
- Observations
- 182
- Most observed in
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- Conservation
- Vulnerable
Description
The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. As of 2026, it is estimated that between 800 and 1000 individuals survive in isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Aegean Sea, the archipelago of Madeira, and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean spanning the border of Mauritania and Western Sahara. It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species. It is the only extant species in the genus Monachus, the other two monk seal species being in Neomonachus.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mediterranean monk seal”.