Phoca groenlandica Erxleben, 1777. Syst. Regni Anim., 1:588.

TYPE LOCALITY: "in Groenlandia et Newfoundland."

DISTRIBUTION: N Atlantic and Arctic oceans from E Canada to the White Sea (Russia).

SYNONYMS: albicauda Desmarest, 1822; albini Alessandrini, 1851; dorsata Pallas, 1811; leucopla Thienemann, 1824; oceanica Lepechin, 1778; semilunaris Boddaert, 1785.

COMMENTS: Placed in Pagophilus Gray, 1844, followed by Scheffer (1958) and Muizon (1982a).