Caribbean Monk Seal (Monachus tropicalis)

	Caribbean Monk Seal (Monachus tropicalis) Photo: New York Zoological Society, 1910; courtesy of Monachus.org
	Did You Know? · The last confirmed sighting of the Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 on Seranilla Bank between Honduras and Jamaica. · Columbus first sighted the animals in 1494 and called them "sea wolves." · Caribbean monk seals were the only seals ever known to be native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

Status
ESA Endangered - throughout its range
MMPA Depleted - throughout its range

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Phocidae
Genus: Monachus
Species: tropicalis

Key Documents
(All documents are in PDF format.)

Title	Federal Register	Date
ESA Listing Rule	44 FR 21288	04/10/1979
5-Year Status Review Initiated	71 FR 69100	11/29/2006

More Information

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Caribbean Monk Seal Species Profile
• Monachus Guardian Caribbean Monk Seal Fact Files 
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Species Information