This description is about the Mediterranean Monk Seal, a species of seal that is considered to be one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and is the only pinniped species in the Mediterranean. The species is characterized
The Mediterranean monk seal is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. As of 2015, it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Aegean Sea, the archipelago of Madeira, and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean spanning the border of Mauritania and southern Morocco. It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species. It is the only extant species in the genus Monachus, the other two monk seal species being in Neomonachus.