Phoca largha Pallas 1811

Phoca largha Pallas 1811, Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica, Vol. 1: 113.

Type Locality: "quam quod observetur tantum ad orientale littus Camtschatcae" [Eastern coast of Kamchatka, Russia (Shaughnessy and Fay, 1977)].

Vernacular Names: Spotted Seal.

Synonyms: Phoca chorisii Lesson 1828; Phoca macrodens J. A. Allen 1902; Phoca nummularis Temminck 1844; Phoca ochotensis J. A. Allen 1902; Phoca pallasii Naumov and Smirnov 1936; Phoca petersi Mohr 1941; Phoca pribilofensis Allen 1902; Phoca tigrina Lesson 1827 .

Distribution: Associated with pack ice in coastal N Pacific of Canada, China (south to Fujian), Japan (south to Shikoku), Russia (Bering and Okhotsk Seas), USA (Alaska).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Scheffer (1958) considered largha as conspecific with vitulina; however, Shaughnessy and Fay (1977) and King (1983) separated the two.