Ribbon seal

Ribbon seal[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Genus: Histriophoca
Gill, 1873
Species:
H. fasciata
Binomial name
Histriophoca fasciata
(Zimmermann, 1783)
Ribbon seal range (blue – summer, pink – maximal)

The ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae). A seasonally ice-bound species, it is found in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of the North Pacific Ocean, notably in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. It is distinguished by its striking coloration, with two wide white strips and two white circles against dark brown or black fur.

It is the only living species in the genus Histriophoca,[1] although a possible fossil species, H. alekseevi, has been described from the Miocene of Moldova.[3]

  1. ^ a b Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Lowry, L. (2016). Histriophoca fasciata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41670A45230946.en
  3. ^ Berta, A. & Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x.