The long-necked seal (Phoca mutica) is a hypothetical species of earless seals. It was first described in 1681 by Nehemiah Grew, based on a skin of unknown provenance in the museum of the Royal Society.[3] An illustration of this specimen was published by James Parsons in 1751.[4] In 1792, Robert Kerr gave it the scientific name Phoca mutica.[1] In 1800, George Shaw proposed the alternate scientific name Phoca longicollis.[2] The skin has not been relocated since then, so the existence of the species remains unconfirmed.[5][6]
^ abKerr, R. (1792). The Animal Kingdom, or Zoological System, of the Celebrated Sir Charles Linnaeus. Class I. Mammalia: Containing a Complete Systematic Description, Arrangement, and Nomenclature, of All the Known Species and Varieties of the Mammalia, or Animals Which Give Suck to Their Young; Being a Translation of That Part of the Systema Naturae, as Lately Published, with Great Improvements, by Professor Gmelin of Goettingen. Edinburgh, UK: A. Strahan, T. Cadell, & W. Creech. p. 127. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.57940.
^ abShaw, G. (1800). General Zoology or Systematic Natural History. Volume I. Part II. Mammalia. London, UK: G. Kearsley. p. 256. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.1593.
^Grew, N. (1681). Musaeum Regalis Societatis. Or a Catalogue & Description of the Natural and Artificial Rarities Belonging to the Royal Society and Preserved at Gresham College. London, UK: Nehemiah Grew. p. 95. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.105136.