very complex (McLaren, 1966, and references 

 cited by him; Chapskii, 1967). 



The taxonomy of the genus Phoca is com- 

 plicated by three main factors: (1) Individual 

 variation in pelage pattern is great. (2) Some 

 populations now isolated have not been iso- 

 lated long in geologic timie, and as a conse- 

 quence they show only slight differences in 

 skull characters. (3) Rapid evolution is ap- 

 parently taking place among the seals near 

 the edge of the ice in the North Pacific and 

 adjacent seas. We tentatively follow McLaren 

 (1966) in recognizing three species, 



Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 (harbor seal). 

 Shores of North America and Europe 

 from about lat. 30° N. to the edge of 

 arctic ice. Gives birth on land in May- 

 August; the pup sheds its white coat in 

 utero. Two races are certainly valid. 

 The Atlantic race (P. v. vitulina ) is 

 distinguishable from the Pacific race 

 (P. V. richardi Gray, 1864) by skull 

 characters. Western North Atlantic seals 

 are often called _P. v. concolor DeKay, 

 1842, but Doutt (1942) could find no 

 differences between seals of the eastern 

 and western Atlantic. _P. v. mellonae 

 Doutt, 1942, is said to be confined to 

 the Seal Lakes complex of the Ungava 

 Peninsula, though Mansfield ( 1967) doubted 

 the validity of the race. 



Phoca kurilensis Inukae, 1942 (Kuril seal). 

 Breeds among the Kuril Islands and at 

 northern Hokkaido. Sympatric with Phoca 

 largha . Pupping occurs on shore in May; 

 the white coat is shed in utero; the suck- 

 ling period is prolonged--about 3 months 

 (versus 3-4 weeks in _P. vitulina and 

 P. largha ) (Belkin, 1964). We do 

 know the identity of Phoca seals 

 casionally seen 

 even to China. 



south of Hokkaido 



not 

 oc- 



and 



Phoca largha Pallas, 1811 (largha seal). 

 Edge of ice in Chukchi Sea and innorthern 

 Bering, Okhotsk, and Japan Seas. Gives 

 birth on ice in late winter or spring and 

 the pup retains its white coat for a week 

 or more after birth. McLaren (1966) and 

 Chapskii (1967), among others, regard 

 this form as a full species. 



Genus PUSA Scopoli, 1777 



Pusa hispida Schreber, 1775 (ringed seal). 

 Throughout the Arctic Ocean and adjacent 

 seas, chiefly in fast ice, and in several 

 Finnish lakes. Four geographically iso- 

 lated peripheral populations are fairly 

 well defined subspecies, one each from 

 the Okhotsk Sea (P. h. ochotensis Pallas, 

 1811); the Baltic Sea (P. h. botnica Gmelin, 

 1788); Lake Ladoga (P. h. ladogensis 

 Nordquist, 1899); and Lake Saimaa 

 and adjacent lakes (P. h. saimensis 



Nordquist, 1899). Geographical variation 

 in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea 

 populations, tentatively referable to the 

 nominate race, requires much further 

 study. 



Pusa sibirica Gmelin, 1788 (Baikal seal). 

 Only in Lake Baikal, U.S.S.R., a fresh- 

 water body which freezes in winter. 



Pusa caspica Gmelin, 1788 (Caspian seal). 

 Only in Caspian Sea, U.S.S.R., the north- 

 ern end of which freezes in winter. 



Genus HALICHOERUS Nilsson, 1820 



Halichoerus grypus Fabricius, 1791 (gray 

 seal). Temperate coasts of the North 

 Atlantic. There are three breeding popu- 

 lations: one in the western Atlantic from 

 Newfoundland to Massachusetts, another 

 in the eastern Atlantic from the British 

 Isles (rarely France) and Iceland to the 

 White Sea, and a third in the Baltic Sea. 

 Seals of the western Atlantic and Baltic 

 populations pup in February and March, 

 seals of the eastern Atlantic in Septem- 

 ber to December. 



Genus HISTRIOPHOCA Gill, 1873 



Histriophoca fasciata Zimmermann, 1783 

 (ribbon seal). North Pacific Ocean, 

 chiefly in pack ice, from northern 

 Hokkaido and the Okhotsk Sea to north- 

 western Alaska. 



Genus PAGOPHILUS Gray, 1844 



Pagophilus groenlandicus Erxleben, 1777 

 (harp seal). North Atlantic Ocean, in 

 pack ice from northern shores of Europe 

 to eastern Canada. Breeds on pack ice in 

 three main areas: the White Sea, north 

 of Jan Mayen, and Newfoundland. (The 

 Newfoundland seals breed in two centers: 

 the "Front" north of the island and the 

 "Gulf" west of it.) Seals of the three 

 areas differ in size, cranial features, 

 and body coloration (Khuzin, 1963, 1967; 

 Yablokov and Sergeant, 1963; Yablokov 

 and Etin, 1965). Racial names have been 

 given to the Newfoundland stock (P. g. 

 groenlandicus) and that of the White Sea 

 (P. g] oceanicus Lepechin, 1778), but 

 not to the Jan Mayen stock (Smirnov, 

 1927). 



Genus ERIGNATHUS Gill, 1866 



Erignathus barbatus Erxleben, 1777 (bearded 

 seal; ugruk). Circumboreal at edges of 

 ice; along all coasts and islands of north- 

 ern Eurasia and northern North America. 

 North Atlantic and North Pacific races 

 have been described (E^. h_, barbatus and 

 E. b. nauticus Pallas, 1811). 



