Mediterranean monk seal

Mediterranean monk seal
Alonnisos Marine Park, Greece
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Genus: Monachus
Fleming, 1822
Species:
M. monachus
Binomial name
Monachus monachus
(Hermann, 1779)

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. As of 2015, it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Aegean Sea, the archipelago of Madeira and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.[3] It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species.[1] This is the only species in the genus Monachus.

  1. ^ a b Karamanlidis, A.A.; Dendrinos, P.; Fernandez de Larrinoa, P.; Kıraç, C.O.; Nicolaou, H. & Pires, R. (2023). "Monachus monachus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T13653A238637039. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T13653A238637039.en. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ Karamanlidis, A.A.; et al. (April 2016). "The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus: status, biology, threats, and conservation priorities". Mammal Review. 46 (2): 92–105. doi:10.1111/mam.12053. S2CID 86285100.