Phoca largha and P. vitulina

Shaughnessy and Fay (1977) recognized the spotted seal (Phoca largha) and the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) as sibling species that are superficially similar and obviously closely related. Both species are found to be morphologically, ecologically, socially, and reproductively distinct (Burns et al., 1984; Shaughnessy and Fay, 1977). P. v. richardsi* is the subspecies of North Pacific harbor seal most similar to P. largha (Burns et al., 1984). The slight craniological differentiation between these species can be used as an aid for identification, and are summarised in the table below.

*The spelling richardsi, as opposed to richardii, follows that of Shaughnessy and Fay (1977).

Subspecies Type Locality
Phoca vitulina richardii (Gray)

Literature Cited

  • Burns, J. J., Francis H. Fay, and G. A. Fedoseev, 1984. Craniological analysis of harbor and spotted seals of the North Pacific Region. In: Soviet-American Cooperative Research on Marine Mammals. Volume 1 - Pinnipeds. (Eds: F. H. Fay and G. A. Fedoseev) U. S. Department of Commerces, NOAA Technical Report NMFS 12.
  • Shaughnessy, P. D., and F. H. Fay, 1977. A review of the taxonomy and nomenclature of North Pacific harbour seals. Journal of Zoology (Lond.) 182: 385-419.