TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL RECORDS OF HOODED SEALS (CYSTOPHORA CRISTATA0 DISPEL THE MYTH OF EXTANT CARIBBEAN MONK SEALS (MONACHUS TROPICALIS)

摘要

Since the late 1950s, undocumented sightings of seals in the Caribbean have been reported. It has been suggested that the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) might not be extinct based on circumstantial evidence. We provide and explanation for recent sightings of seals in the tropical and subtropical Western North Atlantic as we present eight new extra-limital records of hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) from North Caro- lina south to the Caribbean.