WoRMS taxon details

Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius, 1791)

137080  (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137080)

accepted
Species
marine
(of Phoca grypus Fabricius, 1791) Fabricius, O. (1791). Udførlig Beskrivelse over de Grønlandske Sæle, Andet Hefte. <em>Skrivter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet.</em> 8: 73–169.
page(s): 167 (page 94 of the pdf) [details]  OpenAccess publication 
Distribution North America  
Distribution North America [details]

Distribution cold temperate to subarctic North Atlantic  
Distribution cold temperate to subarctic North Atlantic [details]
WoRMS (2024). Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius, 1791). Accessed at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137080 on 2024-03-19
Date
action
by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z
created
2010-05-20 10:05:06Z
changed
2010-05-20 10:09:49Z
checked
2018-09-14 07:45:32Z
changed

Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License


original description  (of Phoca grypus Fabricius, 1791) Fabricius, O. (1791). Udførlig Beskrivelse over de Grønlandske Sæle, Andet Hefte. <em>Skrivter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet.</em> 8: 73–169.
page(s): 167 (page 94 of the pdf) [details]  OpenAccess publication 

context source (BeRMS 2020) Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). European Seabirds at Sea - data collected by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). INBO Seabird distribution data (all trips). [details]   

basis of record van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, <B><I>in</I></B>: Costello, M.J. <i>et al.</i> (Ed.) (2001). <i>European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels,</i> 50: pp. 375-376 (look up in IMIS[details]   

additional source Linkletter, L. E. (1977). A checklist of marine fauna and flora of the Bay of Fundy. <em>Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, N.B.</em> 68: p. [details]   

additional source Thomas, M. L. H. (1983). Marine and coastal systems of the Quoddy Region, New Brunswick. <em>Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.</em> 64:1-306. [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 

additional source Waring, G.T., J.M. Quintal and C.P. Fairfield (eds.). 2002. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine mammal dtock assessments, 2002. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS- NE- 169. 318 p. [details]   

additional source Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (1993). Mammal species of the world. <em>Smithsonian Institution Press.</em> , available online at http://vertebrates.si.edu/mammals/msw/ [details]   

additional source Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. <em>Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France.</em> 307 pp., available online at http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/145561.pdf [details]   

additional source Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). , available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]   

additional source Jefferson, T.A.; Leatherwood, S.; Webber, M.A. (1993). Marine mammals of the world. <em>FAO Species identification guide.</em> FAO: Rome, Italy. ISBN 92-5-103292-0. VIII, 320 pp. (look up in IMIS[details]   

new combination reference Scheffer, V.B. (1958). Seals, sea lions, and walruses. <em>Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.</em> Pp. x + 179, 15 figs. (look up in IMIS[details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 

ecology source Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. <em>Scientific Data.</em> 10(1). (look up in IMIS), available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02745-4 [details]  OpenAccess publication 
 
 Present  Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio   Inaccurate  Introduced: alien  Containing type locality 
   

From regional or thematic species database
Introduced species vector dispersal in Black Sea (IHO Sea Area) : Individual release: accidental release by individuals (e.g. aquarium discards) [details]

From other sources
Biology Grey seals breed during winter. They are less shy and more curious than the harbour seal. Young, grey seals must stay out of water until they have gained weight and moulted and for this reason they remain in a raised location for the first few weeks of their life.


Grey seals feed mainly on mackerel, young cod and other round fish, but also on cephalopods and crustaceans, in contrast to harbour seals which eat more flatfish. [details]


Diet Fish, crustaceans, squid [details]

Dimensions Length: 245 cm (8') males, 215 cm (7') females; Weight: 450 kg (990 lb males, 270 kg (600 lb) females [details]

Distribution North America [details]

Distribution cold temperate to subarctic North Atlantic [details]

Importance They are considered pests to most fishing practices, especially herring weirs and Atlantic Salmon aquaculture sites. They are considered the primary host for the codworm. [details]

Morphology Distinguishing characteristics: medium size seal, long head ("horsehead"), W-shaped nostrils, coat is mottled, female has light coat with dark spots, male has dark coart with light spots (when wet looks grey or dark). [details]

Morphology Grey seal males attain 1.7 m in length and a weight of 120 kilos, whereas females are smaller reaching just 1.5 m and 90 kilos. Sexual dimorphism here is more pronounced than in any other seal species. The male is darker possessing light spots and an elongated snout. In contrast, females are lighter with darker spots. [details]

Reproduction Pupping: mid December to February on rocky ledges, white coat; Weaning: 16 days followed by moult [details]
LanguageName 
Danish gråsæl  [details]
Dutch kegelrobgrijze zeehond  [details]
English grey sealgray seal  [details]
French phoque gris  [details]
German Kegelrobbe  [details]
Hebrew יפעתן  [details]
Italian foca grigiaalichero  [details]
Lithuanian ilgasnukis ruonis  [details]
Modern Greek (1453-) Γκρίζα φώκια  [details]
Norwegian Bokmål havertgråsel  [details]
Norwegian Nynorsk havertgråsel  [details]
Polish foka szara  [details]
Russian или серый тюленьдлинномордый  [details]
Slovenian sivi tjulenj  [details]
Spanish foca gris  [details]
Swedish gråsäl  [details]
Turkish grifokgri fokboz fok  [details]
Ukrainian довгомордий тюлень  [details]
Welsh morlo llwyd  [details]