Monachus tropicalis

– Extinct

Taxonomy

Kingdom:

ANIMALIA

Phylum:

CHORDATA

Class:

MAMMALIA

Order:

CARNIVORA

Family:

PHOCIDAE

Scientific Name:

Monachus tropicalis

Species Authority:

(Gray, 1850)

Common Name/s:

English	—	CARIBBEAN MONK SEAL, WEST INDIAN MONK SEAL, WEST INDIAN SEAL
Spanish	—	FOCA FRAILE DEL CARIBE

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

EX ver 2.3 (1994)

Year Assessed:

1996

Annotations:

Needs updating

Assessor/s:

Seal Specialist Group

Justification:

The last reliable records of Monachus tropicalis are of a small colony at Seranilla Bank in 1952. An aerial survey in 1973, conducted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, found extensive fishing activity throughout the former range of this seal. A later cruise through the Gulf of Mexico and around the Yucatan Peninsula failed to find any M. tropicalis in the area.

History:

1965	-	"Very rare and believed to be decreasing in numbers" (Scott 1965)
1982	-	Endangered (Thornback and Jenkins 1982)
1986	-	Extinct? (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1988	-	Extinct? (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1990	-	Extinct? (IUCN 1990)
1994	-	Extinct (Groombridge 1994)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	M. tropicalis was known from the Caribbean Sea.
Countries:	Regionally extinct: Bahamas; Colombia (Colombian Caribbean Is.); Cuba; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; United States

Population

Population:

The species was first discovered by Columbus in 1449, but it was not until 1850 that a specimen was collected and a scientific description made. By 1887, the species was rare, and the last reliable records are of a small colony at Seranilla Bank in 1952.

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:	The species occupied a marine environment, with rocky or sandy coastline and islands being used for shelter and breeding areas.
System:	Terrestrial; Marine

Threats

Threats:

Intensive European exploitation began during the voyages of Columbus as the seals were killed for their skins and oil. In more recent years, the seal was subject to persecution from the fishing industry.

Citation:	Seal Specialist Group 1996. Monachus tropicalis. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 August 2008.
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