#0174 · 🦊 mammals

Mediterranean Monk Seal

🇳🇱 Gewone Monniksrob ·Monachus monachus

VUvulnerable 🦊 Mammals 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Yiannis Banakakis · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Александр Гончаров · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Rafi Amar · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Fábio Olmos · CC BY 4.0
5. © Maximilian Wagner · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Shai Ben Ami · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Александр Гончаров · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Croatia:© Maximilian Wagner · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Lebanon:© Nils · CC BY 4.0
10. South Aegean, Aegean, GR:© Yiannis Banakakis · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The Mediterranean monk seal ( Monachus monachus ) is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. As of 2015, it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean (especially in the Aegean Sea), the archipelago of Madeira and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 354iNaturalist observations
threat VUvulnerable

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
354 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johann Hermann in 1779 (247 years ago).
Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.