# Bearded seal (*Erignathus barbatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-seal  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. The IUCN Red List classifies the bearded seal as Near Threatened, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 280 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 31 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 31.5 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 275 days – 335 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 5.42 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.945 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Phocidae
- genus: Erignathus
- species: *Erignathus barbatus* (Erxleben, 1777)

Synonyms: *Phoca barbata*, *Phoca lepechenii*, *Phoca leporina*, *Phoca parsonii*, *Phoca parsonsii*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bearded-seal