Bearded seal
Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben, 1777)
The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), also called Ugruk or Squareflipper, is a mammal of the family Phocidae in the order Carnivora. It is a giant, marine, diurnal invertivore with an adult body mass of 280 kg, and up to 283.3 kg reported.
Quick facts about the bearded seal
The IUCN Red List classifies the bearded seal as Near Threatened, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 280 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 31 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 275 days – 335 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 5.42 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.945src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the bearded seal
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the bearded seal live?
Not recorded
What is the bearded seal?
The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), also known as the square-flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (eri and gnathos) that refer to its heavy jaw. The other part of its Linnaean name means bearded and refers to its most characteristic feature, the conspicuous and abundant whiskers. When dry, these whiskers curl elegantly, giving the bearded seal a "raffish" look.
Bearded seals are the largest northern phocid. They have been found to weigh as much as 300 kg (660 lb), with the females being the largest. However, male and female bearded seals are not very dimorphic.
The only member of the genus Erignathus, the bearded seal is unique in that it is intermediate in characteristics between the two subfamilies in the family Phocidae: Phocinae and Monachinae.
Fossils first described in 2002 indicate that, during the Pleistocene epoch, bearded seals ranged as far south as South Carolina.
From the Wikipedia article “Bearded seal” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bearded_seal&oldid=1384684200), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the bearded seal sound like?
Is the bearded seal endangered?
The bearded seal is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the bearded seal classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyPhocidae
- genusErignathus
- SpeciesErignathus barbatus (Erxleben, 1777)
Synonyms Phoca barbata, Phoca lepechenii, Phoca leporina, Phoca parsonii, Phoca parsonsii
Other names and names in other languages (45)
- SquareflipperEnglish
- UgrukEnglish
- فقمة ملتحيةArabic
- عجل البحر الملتحيArabic
- tuleň vousatýCzech
- morlo barfogWelsh
- Morloi BarfogWelsh
- remmesælDanish
- BartrobbeGerman
- Γενειοφόρα ΦώκιαGreek
- foca barbudaSpanish
- partahyljeFinnish
- GranarkópurFaroese
- phoque barbuFrench
- BiardselagNorthern Frisian
- ròn feusagachScottish Gaelic
- ròin fheusagachScottish Gaelic
- כלב ים מזוקןHebrew
- Szakállas fókaHungarian
- UgyukInuktitut
- KampurIcelandic
- GranselurIcelandic
- KampselurIcelandic
- foca barbataItalian
- foca barbutaItalian
- アゴヒゲアザラシJapanese
- UssukKalaallisut
- 턱수염물범Korean
- jūrų kiškisLithuanian
- blåselNorwegian Bokmål
- storkobbeNorwegian Bokmål
- baardrobDutch
- fokowąs brodatyPolish
- Foca-barbudaPortuguese
- Морской заяцRussian
- лахтак или морской заяцRussian
- jiegisNorthern Sami
- áhpenjuorjuNorthern Sami
- jiehkisNorthern Sami
- brkati tjulenjSlovenian
- storsälSwedish
- sakallı fokTurkish
- ЛахтакUkrainian
- Морський заєцьUkrainian
- 髯海豹Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the bearded seal
Other species in the same family Phocidae.
Harbor seal
Phoca vitulina
Grey seal
Halichoerus grypus
Leopard seal
Hydrurga leptonyx
Mediterranean monk seal
Monachus monachus
Ringed seal
Pusa hispida
Baikal seal
Pusa sibirica
CompareBearded seal vs Harbor sealBearded seal vs Grey sealBearded seal vs Leopard sealBearded seal vs Mediterranean monk seal
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the bearded seal?
The bearded seal is a mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora. It is a marine, diurnal animal.
How heavy is a bearded seal?
An adult Bearded seal weighs 280 kg, with up to 283.3 kg reported, placing it in the giant size class.
What does the bearded seal eat?
The bearded seal is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the bearded seal endangered?
No. The bearded seal is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a bearded seal live?
The bearded seal has a lifespan of 31 years, with up to 31.45 years reported.
How many young does a bearded seal have?
A bearded seal has 1 young per litter, with 0.945 litters per year, after a gestation period of 275.2 days.
When does a bearded seal reach sexual maturity?
A bearded seal reaches sexual maturity at 1,979 days, or 5.4 years.
Who named the bearded seal?
The scientific name Erignathus barbatus is credited to (Erxleben, 1777).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-seal
“Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-seal.
@misc{bearded_seal_2026,
title = {Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-seal},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}