The common seal [1] (an armor. Phoca vitulina ) - the representative of family of the present seals . Circumpolar and common in all seas adjacent to the Arctic Ocean .
| Common seal |
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| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
| Nadotryad : | Laurasiotherium |
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| International Scientific Name |
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Phoca vitulina Linnaeus , 1758 |
| Area |
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 Water surface Spread Land |
| Security status |
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Least concernIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 17013 |
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Two subspecies are found in the Red Book (the European subspecies and the Steineger seal or the island seal).
Inhabit the coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Baltic and North Seas. Harbor seals are brown, reddish or gray in color and have characteristic V-shaped nostrils. Adults reach 1.85 m in length and 132 kg mass. Females live up to 30–35 years, and males live up to 20–25 years. Harbor seals usually inhabit rocky places where predators cannot reach them. The global population of seals ranges from 400 thousand to 500 thousand individuals. Some subspecies are endangered; subspecies Phoca vitulina vitulina is protected under the Agreement on the Wadden Sea .
Content
The coastal forms of the common seal for genera reach the shallows formed during low tides. Under these conditions, newborns should be able to swim within a few hours after birth. Unlike other seals giving birth on ice, puppies at coastal forms are born, losing white embryonic fur in the last days of uterine development.
