Grey seal
Scientific name: Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius, 1791)
Overview
The grey seal, or gray seal in the United States, is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus Halichoerus, it is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin, Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is also known as the horsehead seal, owing to its large head.
From the Wikipedia article “Grey seal”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China); North America; Western Atlantic Ocean.
Common names
Also known in English as Atlantic gray seal, Atlantic seal, Baltic gray seal, Gray Seal, horsehead, Horsehead Seal, Long-nosed Seal.
Names in other languages (10)
- Arabic
- فقمة رمادية
- Chinese
- 灰海豹
- French
- phoque gris
- German
- Kegelrobbe
- Indonesian
- Anjing laut abu-abu
- Japanese
- ハイイロアザラシ
- Persian
- فک خاکستری
- Russian
- Длинномордый тюлень
- Spanish
- Foca Gris
- Turkish
- Boz fok
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q27370, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Grey seal”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Lucc77, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026