Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 16, 2026

Neomonachus

Neomonachus is a genus of earless seals, within the family Phocidae. It comprises two species: the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, and the extinct Caribbean monk seal. Prior to 2014, all three species of monk seals were placed in the genus Monachus. Scheel et al. (2014) found that the Caribbean and Hawaiian monk seals were sister species and deeply divergent from the Mediterranean monk seal, and therefore placed them in the newly erected genus Neomonachus.

Last revised
Jul 16, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
226 w
Citations
2
Source
Neomonachus
Hawaiian monk seal, Neomonachus schauinslandi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Parvorder: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Tribe: Monachini
Genus: Neomonachus
Slater & Helgen, 2014
Type species
Monachus schauinslandi1
Matschie, 1905
Species

Neomonachus is a genus of earless seals, within the family Phocidae. It comprises two species: the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, and the extinct Caribbean monk seal. Prior to 2014, all three species of monk seals were placed in the genus Monachus. Scheel et al. (2014) found that the Caribbean and Hawaiian monk seals were sister species and deeply divergent from the Mediterranean monk seal, and therefore placed them in the newly erected genus Neomonachus. 1

Species

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
N. schauinslandi Hawaiian monk seal Hawaiian Islands and United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States
N. tropicalis Caribbean monk seal Once ranged throughout the Caribbean Sea (in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico) and the Southeastern United States; extinct
References

References

  1. Scheel, D.-M.; Slater, G. J.; Kolokotronis, S.-O.; Potter, C. W.; Rotstein, D. S.; Tsangaras, K.; Greenwood, A. D.; Helgen, K. M. (May 2014). "Biogeography and taxonomy of extinct and endangered monk seals illuminated by ancient DNA and skull morphology". ZooKeys (409): 1–33. Bibcode:2014ZooK..409....1S. doi:10.3897/zookeys.409.6244. PMC 4042687. PMID 24899841.