First record of the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) extralimital presence in the Mediterranean Sea

• Published in: Marine Biodiversity Records
• Main Authors: Bellido, Juan Jesús, Cabot, José, Castillo, Juan José, Báez, José Carlos, Martín, J. J., Mons, José Luis, Larios, J., Rubia, J., Real, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2009
• Subjects: Harp seal; Mediterranean Sea; stranding; epibionts; Arctic; Harp Seal; Pagophilus groenlandicus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/50119; https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755267209990959

The stranding of a harp seal on the beach in the municipality of Motril (southern Spain) represents the first record of this species in the Mediterranean Sea and the southernmost known report. It was a male which reached the beach very tired and sick, dying after two hours on the sand. The specimen presented three species of epibionts. This is the second species of Arctic seal recorded in the Mediterranean Sea Peer reviewed