# Leopard seal (*Hydrurga leptonyx*)

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

The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is a mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia. It falls in the giant size class, with an adult body mass of 360 kg and up to 375.7 kg reported. It is a marine, diurnal invertivore with a trophic level of carnivore, and checklists record it in Australia. The leopard seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 360 kg – 375.7 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 26 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 289 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 0.98 |
| Age at maturity | 3.64 years – 3.99 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.1 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Phocidae
- genus: Hydrurga
- species: *Hydrurga leptonyx* (de Blainville, 1820)

Synonyms: *Ogmorhinus leptonyx*, *Phoca leptonyx*, *Stenorhynchus leptonyx*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### How heavy is a leopard seal?

An adult Leopard seal weighs 360 kg, with up to 375.7 kg reported by sources.

### What does a leopard seal eat?

The leopard seal is classed as an invertivore, with a trophic level of carnivore.

### Is the leopard seal endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a leopard seal live?

Sources give a lifespan of 26 years for the leopard seal.

### What kind of animal is the leopard seal?

The leopard seal is a marine mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora.

### Which countries is the leopard seal recorded in?

Checklists record the leopard seal in Australia.

### How long is the leopard seal's gestation period?

The gestation period is 289.1 days, with 0.98 young per litter and 1.1 litters per year.

## 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: Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/leopard-seal