ribbon seal
histriophoca fasciata latin

The ribbon seal almost never comes to land.

During the summer and autumn, the ribbon seal lives in open water, though some move north as the ice recedes with warmer temperatures.

The ribbon seal lives in the Arctic parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Since they do not form herds, ribbon seals were more difficult to catch than harp seals.

Seal species include ringed, spotted, bearded and ribbon seals, with occasional walruses.

Newborn ribbon seal pups have white natal fur.

The ribbon seal has a large inflatable air sac that is connected to the trachea and extends on the right side over the ribs.

In March 2008 the US government agreed to study Alaska's ribbon seal population and considered adding it to the endangered species list.

Overview pages on ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata) hosted by:

Young ribbon seals look like young harp seals, and like these, they were hunted for their fur.

Histriophoca fasciata (Ribbon seal)

The ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae).

Predators of the ribbon seal include the orca, the Pacific sleeper shark, the polar bear and the Arctic sleeper shark.

"Ribbon seals" use thin strips of molybdenum foil bonded directly to the glass, which are very durable, but are limited in the amount of current that can pass through.

Further north, walruses and bearded seals can be encountered on the Pacific side, and ribbon seals reproduce on the ice of Karaginsky Bay.

Together with the remaining northern latitude ice seals (ribbon seal, bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal), these seals constitute the subfamily Phocinae.

Thus far, there have been only two acknowledged instances where ribbon seals have been found as far south as Seattle, Washington and even further south at Morro Bay, California.

The diet of ribbon seal consists almost exclusively of pelagic creatures: fish like pollocks, eelpouts, the Arctic Cod and cephalopods such as squid and octopus; young seals eat crustaceans as well.

Histriophoca fasciata (Ribbon seal)

The ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae).