Bearded seal: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the bearded seal lives – recorded in 6 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Erignathus barbatus
Group	Seals, sea lions & walrus
Status	Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	6 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Class	Mammal
Order	Carnivora
Family	Phocidae

Where does the bearded seal live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the bearded seal in 6 countries and territories across Europe and North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the bearded seal endangered?

The bearded seal’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the bearded seal?

The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Phocidae, genus Erignathus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the bearded seal

The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), also known as the square-flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (eri and gnathos) that refer to its heavy jaw. The other part of its Linnaean name means bearded and refers to its most characteristic feature, the conspicuous and abundant whiskers. When dry, these whiskers curl elegantly, giving the bearded seal a "raffish" look.

Bearded seals are the largest northern phocid. They have been found to weigh as much as 300 kg (660 lb), with the females being the largest. However, male and female bearded seals are not very dimorphic.

The only member of the genus Erignathus, the bearded seal is unique in that it is intermediate in characteristics between the two subfamilies in the family Phocidae: Phocinae and Monachinae.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Bearded seal (revision 1380942193), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q149405 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).