Harp seal
Pagophilus groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777)
The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), also called the Greenland seal or saddleback seal, is a mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora. It is a large, marine, diurnal piscivore with an adult body mass of 132.2 kg, and up to 141.1 kg reported.
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Quick facts about the harp seal
Its lifespan is given as 30 years, with up to 42 years reported, and the IUCN lists it as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 132.2 kg – 141.1 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 30 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Piscivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 42 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 243 days – 350 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 5.1 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.05src 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 harp seal
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
,_Greenland_Sea_IMG_5006.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the harp seal live?
Not recorded
What is the harp seal?
The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), also known as the saddleback seal or Greenland seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus Phoca with a number of other species, it was reclassified into the monotypic genus Pagophilus in 1844. In Greek, its scientific name translates to "Greenlandic ice-lover", and its taxonomic synonym, Phoca groenlandica translates to "Greenlandic seal".
From the Wikipedia article “Harp seal” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harp_seal&oldid=1383453403), 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 harp seal endangered?
The harp 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 harp seal classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyPhocidae
- genusPagophilus
- SpeciesPagophilus groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777)
Synonyms Pagophilus groenlandicus groenlandicus, Pagophilus groenlandicus oceanicus, Phoca albicauda, Phoca albini, Phoca groenlandica, Phoca groenlica, Phoca leucopla, Phoca oceanica, Phoca semilunaris
Other names and names in other languages (57)
- Greenland sealEnglish
- Saddleback sealEnglish
- فقمة قيثاريةArabic
- فقمة غرينلاندArabic
- فقمة سرجية الظهرArabic
- Гренландски тюленBulgarian
- Grenlаndski tyulenBulgarian
- Reunig GreunlandBreton
- Foca de GroenlàndiaCatalan
- tuleň grónskýCzech
- Morlo CyfrwyogWelsh
- Morloi CyfrwyogWelsh
- GrønlandssælDanish
- SattelrobbeGerman
- Φώκια της ΓροιλανδίαςGreek
- foca píaSpanish
- foca arpaSpanish
- foca de GroenlandiaSpanish
- Grööni hüljesEstonian
- GrönlanninhyljeFinnish
- phoque du GroenlandFrench
- ròn clàrsaichScottish Gaelic
- ròn chlàrsaichScottish Gaelic
- Grönlandi fókaHungarian
- VöðuselurIcelandic
- Foca dalla sellaItalian
- foca della GroenlandiaItalian
- タテゴトアザラシJapanese
- გრენლანდიური სელაპიGeorgian
- AataaqKalaallisut
- 하프물범Korean
- Grenlandinis ruonisLithuanian
- zadelrobDutch
- grønlandsselNorwegian Nynorsk
- foka GrenlandzkaPolish
- Lodofoka grenlandzkaPolish
- Foca-da-GronelândiaPortuguese
- Foca-da-GroenlândiaPortuguese
- foca-de-GroenlandaRomanian
- ЛысунRussian
- гренландский тюленьRussian
- oaiduNorthern Sami
- dealljáNorthern Sami
- ruoššanjuorjuNorthern Sami
- suvjádealljáNorthern Sami
- sedlasti tjulenjSlovenian
- grenlandski tjulenSlovenian
- grenlandski tjulenjSlovenian
- grönlandssälSwedish
- แมวน้ำลายพิณThai
- semer fokuTurkish
- Grönland focuTurkish
- Grönland fokuTurkish
- semer sırtlı fokTurkish
- ЛисунUkrainian
- Тюлень гренландськийUkrainian
- гренландський тюленьUkrainian
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the harp 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
CompareHarp seal vs Harbor sealHarp seal vs Grey sealHarp seal vs Leopard sealHarp 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 harp seal?
The harp seal is a mammal in the family Phocidae, part of the order Carnivora and suborder Caniformia.
How heavy is a harp seal?
An adult harp seal has a body mass of 132.2 kg, with up to 141.1 kg reported. This places it in the large size class.
What does the harp seal eat?
The harp seal is a piscivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the harp seal endangered?
No. The IUCN lists the harp seal as Near Threatened (NT), which is not a threatened category.
How long does a harp seal live?
The harp seal's lifespan is given as 30 years, with up to 42 years reported.
How many young does a harp seal have?
A harp seal has 1 young per litter, with 1.05 litters per year, after a gestation period of 242.9 days.
Who named the harp seal?
The harp seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus, was named by (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). Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/harp-seal
“Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/harp-seal.
@misc{harp_seal_2026,
title = {Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/harp-seal},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}