Cystophora cristata (Erxleben 1777)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 532-628 : 595

Cystophora cristata (Erxleben 1777)

[Phoca] cristata Erxleben 1777 , Systema Regni Animalis, Vol. 1: 590.

Type Locality: "Habitat in Groenlandia australiori et Newfoundland". [S Greenland and Newfoundland].

Vernacular Names: Hooded Seal.

Synonyms: Cystophora borealis Nilsson 1820 ; Cystophora cristata Nilsson 1841 ; Cystophora cucullata ( Boddaert 1785) ; Cystophora isidorei (Lesson 1843) ; Cystophora leucopla (Thienemann 1824) ; Cystophora mitrata (G.[Baron] Cuvier 1823) .

Distribution: N Atlantic and Arctic ocean coastal regions of Canada (Newfoundland), Denmark (vagrant), France (vagrant), Great Britain (vagrant), Greenland, Iceland, Portugal (vagrant), Puerto Rico (vagrant), Russia ( Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya), Spain (vagrant), USA (vagrant: California and Florida), Virgin Isls (vagrant).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Reviewed by Kovacs and Lavigne (1986) who placed it in subfamily Phocinae . Synonyms allocated according to Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951) and Kovacs and Lavigne (1986). No subspecies are recognized.