Taxa

Phoca

Genus

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Phoca." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/genus-phoca.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Phoca. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/genus-phoca

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-phoca,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Phoca},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/genus-phoca},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

Phoca is a genus of true seal, family Phocidae, currently containing two species, the common or harbor seal and the spotted seal. Several species formerly listed under this genus have since been split into the genera Pusa, Pagophilus and Histriophoca, and taxonomic work continues: the spotted seal, once considered a subspecies of the common seal, is now treated as its own species.

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