Crabeater seal
Lobodon carcinophaga (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1842)
The crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) is a mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia. It is a large, marine invertivore with an adult body mass of 225 kg, and up to 238.3 kg reported by our sources.
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Quick facts about the crabeater seal
The IUCN Red List lists the crabeater seal as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 225 kg – 238.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 37.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 39 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 270 days – 335 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.49 years – 4 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.945src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the crabeater seal
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the crabeater seal live?
Not recorded
What is the crabeater seal?
The crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), also known as the krill-eater seal, is a true seal with a circumpolar distribution around the coast of Antarctica. They are the only member of the genus Lobodon. They are medium- to large-sized (over 2 m (6.6 ft) in length), relatively slender and pale-colored, found primarily on the free-floating pack ice that extends seasonally out from the Antarctic coast, which they use as a platform for resting, mating, social aggregation and accessing their prey. They are by far the most abundant seal species in the world. While population estimates are uncertain, there are at least 7 million and possibly as many as 75 million individuals. This success of this species is due to its specialized predation on the abundant Antarctic krill of the Southern Ocean, for which it has uniquely adapted, sieve-like tooth structure. Indeed, its scientific name, translated as "lobe-toothed (lobodon) crab eater (carcinophaga)", refers specifically to the finely lobed teeth adapted to filtering their small crustacean prey.
Despite its name, the crabeater seal does not eat crabs.
As well as being an important krill predator, the crabeater seal's pups are an important component of the diet of leopard seals (H. leptonyx).
From the Wikipedia article “Crabeater seal” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crabeater_seal&oldid=1381341588), 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.
Is the crabeater seal endangered?
The crabeater seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the crabeater seal classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyPhocidae
- genusLobodon
- SpeciesLobodon carcinophaga (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1842)
Synonyms Lobodon cancrivora, Lobodon carcinophagus, Phoca carcinophaga, Stenorhynchus serridens
Other names and names in other languages (20)
- فقمة آكلة السرطانArabic
- tuleň krabožravýCzech
- KrillsælDanish
- KrabbenfresserGerman
- Καβουροφάγος ΦώκιαGreek
- Foca CangrejeraSpanish
- krillihyljeFinnish
- Phoque crabierFrench
- Rákevő fókaHungarian
- Foca cancrivoraItalian
- カニクイアザラシJapanese
- 게잡이물범Korean
- KrabbeeterselNorwegian Bokmål
- KrabbeneterDutch
- krabojad foczyPolish
- Foca-caramujeiraPortuguese
- Foca-caranguejeiraPortuguese
- Тюлень-крабоедRussian
- KrabbätarsälSwedish
- Тюлень-крабоїдUkrainian
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the crabeater 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
Bearded seal
Erignathus barbatus
Ringed seal
Pusa hispida
CompareCrabeater seal vs Harbor sealCrabeater seal vs Grey sealCrabeater seal vs Leopard sealCrabeater 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 crabeater seal?
The crabeater seal is a mammal in the family Phocidae, within the order Carnivora. It is a marine animal.
How heavy is a crabeater seal?
An adult crabeater seal has a body mass of 225 kg, with up to 238.3 kg reported by our sources. This places it in the large size class.
What does the crabeater seal eat?
The crabeater seal is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the crabeater seal endangered?
No. The crabeater seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a crabeater seal live?
The crabeater seal has a lifespan of 37.5 years, with up to 39 years reported by our sources.
How many young does a crabeater seal have?
The crabeater seal has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 269.8 days.
When does a crabeater seal reach sexual maturity?
The crabeater seal reaches sexual maturity at 4 years, with values from 2.5 years reported by our sources.
Who named the crabeater seal?
The crabeater seal, Lobodon carcinophaga, was named by Hombron & Jacquinot in 1842.
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
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CreatureData. (2026). Crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crabeater-seal
“Crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crabeater-seal.
@misc{crabeater_seal_2026,
title = {Crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crabeater-seal},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}