CreatureData

Spotted seal

Phoca largha Pallas, 1811

LCLeast Concernmammals

The spotted seal (Phoca largha) is a species in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora. Recorded adults weigh 93.1 kg to 150 kg and live up to 35 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Spotted seal (Phoca largha)
Photo: NOAA Fisheries · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the spotted seal

Weight
93.1 kg – 150 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
35 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Piscivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
47.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forest, shrublandsrc for Habitat
Gestation
271 days – 320 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3.97 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Marinesrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the spotted seal live?

Not recorded

What is the spotted seal?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The spotted seal (Phoca largha), also known as the larga seal or largha seal, is a species of earless seal (or true seal, Phocidae). It inhabits ice floes and waters of the north Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. It is primarily found along the continental shelf of the Beaufort, Chukchi, Bering and Okhotsk Seas and south to the northern Yellow Sea and it migrates south as far as northern Huanghai and the western Sea of Japan. It is also found in Alaska from the southeastern Bristol Bay to Demarcation Point during the ice-free seasons of summer and autumn when spotted seals mate and have pups. Smaller numbers are found in the Beaufort Sea. It is sometimes mistaken for the harbor seal to which it is closely related and spotted seals and harbor seals often mingle together in areas where their habitats overlap.

The reduction in arctic ice floes due to global warming led to concerns that the spotted seal was threatened with extinction. Studies were conducted on its population numbers, with the conclusion, as of 15 October 2009, that the spotted seal population in Alaskan waters is not currently to be listed as endangered by NOAA. However, as of 2026, the NOAA considers the distinct population group of southern spotted seals to be threatened.

From the Wikipedia article “Spotted seal” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spotted_seal&oldid=1384197454), 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 spotted seal endangered?

The spotted seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the spotted seal classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyPhocidae
  6. genusPhoca
  7. SpeciesPhoca largha Pallas, 1811

Synonyms Phoca chorisii, Phoca nummularis, Phoca ochotensis, Phoca ochotensis macrodens, Phoca petersi, Phoca vitulina, Phoca vitulina largha, Phoca vitulina largha

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • Larga sealEnglish
  • Largha sealEnglish
  • فقمة مرقطةArabic
  • Reunig brizhBreton
  • Foca tacadaCatalan
  • tuleň pacifickýCzech
  • LarghasælDanish
  • Largha-RobbeGerman
  • Largha-SeehundGerman
  • Nordamerikanischer SeehundGerman
  • Στικτή ΦώκιαGreek
  • foca manchadaSpanish
  • LargaEstonian
  • täplähyljeFinnish
  • LarghaFrench
  • Phoque tachetéFrench
  • Veau marin du PacifiqueFrench
  • pettyes fókaHungarian
  • Foca maculataItalian
  • ゴマフアザラシJapanese
  • 점박이물범Korean
  • Dėmėtasis ruonisLithuanian
  • FlekkselNorwegian Bokmål
  • LarghazeehondDutch
  • Foka pstraPolish
  • foka plamistaPolish
  • Foca-pintadaPortuguese
  • пёстрая нерпаRussian
  • Пятнистый тюленьRussian
  • Foka me njollaAlbanian
  • LargasälSwedish
  • Benekli FokTurkish
  • ЛаргаUkrainian
  • 斑海豹Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the spotted seal

Other species in the same genus Phoca.

CompareSpotted seal vs Harbor seal

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the spotted seal?

An adult spotted seal weighs 93.1 kg – 150 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the spotted seal endangered?

The spotted seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the spotted seal live?

The spotted seal has a recorded lifespan of 35 years.

How long is the spotted seal pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 271 days – 320 days.

What kind of animal is the spotted seal?

The spotted seal (Phoca largha) belongs to the family Phocidae in the order Carnivora.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spotted seal (Phoca largha). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-seal

MLA

“Spotted seal (Phoca largha).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-seal.

BibTeX
@misc{spotted_seal_2026,
  title = {Spotted seal (Phoca largha)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-seal},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}