Monachus

Monachus is a genus of true seal, family Phocidae, containing one living species, the Mediterranean monk seal, considered the worlds rarest pinniped species. Current populations survive in isolated groups across three main regions: the Mediterranean Sea, particularly the Aegean, the Madeira archipelago, and the Cabo Blanco area where Mauritania and Western Sahara meet on the northeastern Atlantic coast, with an estimated 800 to 1,000 individuals surviving across these fragmented subpopulations.