---
title: "Grey Seal"
description: "Halichoerus grypus — Mamíferos. The grey seal, or gray seal in the United States, is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as \"true seals\" or \"earless seals\"."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/grey-seal
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Grey Seal

> Halichoerus grypus — Mamíferos. The grey seal, or gray seal in the United States, is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals".

- Scientific name: *Halichoerus grypus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mamíferos)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 22395
- Wikidata: [Q27370](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27370)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41733](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41733)

## Names

- en: Grey Seal
- de: Kegelrobbe
- es: Foca gris
- fr: Phoque gris
- nl: Grijze zeehond
- pl: Szarytka morska

## Countries with the most observations

GB (5428), US (3463), CA (2430), DE (1099), IE (889), NL (834), FR (771), PL (230), RU (226), IS (204), DK (198), NO (131)

## Summary

The grey seal, or gray seal in the United States, is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus Halichoerus, it is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin, Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is also known as the horsehead seal, owing to its large head.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_seal

## Photo

![Grey Seal](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/grey-seal/medium.jpg)

Photo: Christian Kahle · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/314137117

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/grey-seal?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).