Hooded seal  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:
navigation, search Hooded seal[1] Conservation status Scientific
classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class:
Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Phocidae Genus: Cystophora
Nilsson, 1820 Species: C. cristata Binomial name Cystophora
cristata (Erxleben, 1777) Distribution of the hooded seal.
Breeding grounds indicated in blue.  The hooded seal (Cystophora
cristata) is an arctic pinniped. It is found only in the central
and western North Atlantic. It ranges from Svalbard in the east
to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west.  The male has a
peculiar inflatable bladder on the head. This bladder hangs
between his eyes and down over his upper lip in the deflated
state. In addition, he can inflate a large balloon-like sac from
one of his nostrils.[3] The bulge develops when the seal is four
years old. The male can blow up this bulge, so that it is the
size of its head.  The hooded seal can live to about age 30 to
35.  Size[change | change source]