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Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Carnivora > Family: Phocidae > Genus: Monachus > Species: Monachus monachus

Mediterranean monk seal - Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779)

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Quick facts

Threat status Europe	Critically Endangered (IUCN)
Protected by	EU Habitats Directive and 12 other international agreements
Natura 2000 sites	24 are designated for this species
Most preferred habitats	coastal marine inlets and transitional waters
Natura 2000 species code	1366

Distribution

The distribution map is currently disabled. A new map solution will soon become available. In the meantime, please consult other species distribution map providers listed in the Other resources panel below.

Threat and conservation status

IUCN Red List status of threatened species

The IUCN Red List threat status assesses the risk of extinction.

World

Endangered

Europe

Critically Endangered

IUCN Red List Category

Not Evaluated	Near Threatened	Regionally Extinct
Not Applicable	Vulnerable	Extinct in the Wild
Data Deficient	Endangered	Extinct
Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Sources:

EU conservation status

Conservation status assesses every six years and for each biogeographical region the condition of habitats and species compared to the favourable status as described in the Habitats Directive. The map shows the 2013-2018 assessments as reported by EU Member State. Assessments are further detailed in the summary document available behind the link below.

Good: the species is viable and maintaining itself on a long-term basis, its natural range is not reduced, and it has a sufficient large habitat.
Poor: the species is not as critical as being unfavourable-bad, but still requires significant conservation and restoration measure to make it viable in the long-term, or to enlarged its current range, or to improve the quality and availability of its habitat.
Bad: the species is either not maintaining itself on a long-term basis and is not viable, or its natural range as been or is being drastically reduced, or its habitat is largely insufficient; the species requires major conservation and restoration measures.
Unknown: the information available for the species is scarce and does not allow a proper assessment of its conservation status.

Natura 2000 sites

Protected in the following Natura 2000 sites

Sitecode	Country	Site name	Action
ES0000336	Spain	Isla de Alborán	Map
ITA010002	Italy	Isola di Marettimo	Map
ITA010020	Italy	Isola di Pantelleria - Area Costiera, Falesie e Bagno dell'Acqua	Map
PTDES0001	Portugal	Ilhas Desertas	Map
PTMAD0003	Portugal	Ponta de S. Lourenço	Map
PTMAD0004	Portugal	Ilhéu da Viúva	Map
IT9150002	Italy	Costa Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca	Map
ITA010024	Italy	Fondali dell'Arcipelago delle Isole Egadi	Map
IT3341002	Italy	Aree Carsiche della Venezia Giulia	Map
ITA010027	Italy	Arcipelago delle Egadi - area marina e terrestre	Map
CY3000005	Cyprus	KAVO GKREKO	Map
ITB020014	Italy	Golfo di Orosei	Map
ES6110015	Spain	Alborán	Map
IT3340006	Italy	Carso Triestino e Goriziano	Map
ES6300001	Spain	Islas Chafarinas	Map
ITA010030	Italy	Isola di Pantelleria e area marina circostante	Map
CY4000010	Cyprus	CHERSONISOS AKAMA	Map
CY4000023	Cyprus	ZONI EIDIKIS PROSTASIAS CHERSONISOS AKAMA	Map
ESZZ16005	Spain	Espacio marino de Alborán	Map
CY3000002	Cyprus	SPA KAVO GKREKO	Map
PTZPE0063	Portugal	Ilhas Desertas	Map
PTZPE0064	Portugal	Ponta de S. Lourenço	Map
PTMMD0001	Portugal	Cetáceos da Madeira	Map
CY4000024	Cyprus	OCEANID	Map

Protected sites

Please note the site map takes a while to display.

Legal status

Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements

Legal text	Annex	Conditions	More information
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - consolidated version 01/01/2007 (EU Habitats Directive)	Annex II: animal and plant species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation.		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm
	Annex IV: animal and plant species of community interest in need of strict protection.
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Annex II: strictly protected fauna species		http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cul.../bern/default_en.asp
	Revised Annex I of Resolution 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention listing the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures (year of revision 2011)		https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc....ckColorLogged=FDC864 Resolution No. 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention lists the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures [and the designation of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) forming for the Emerald network]
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. (Bonn Convention)	Annex I: migratory species which are endangered and must be protected by Parties	Synonym for this species is listed in Appendix I of the Bonn Convention (CMS). See there for more details.	http://www.cms.int/
	Annex I: migratory species which are endangered and must be protected by Parties
	Annex II: migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved by an international agreement.	Synonym for this species is listed in Appendix II of the Bonn Convention (CMS). See there for more details.
	Annex II: migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved by an international agreement.
Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for the Eastern Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) - under Bonn Convention (MSeal)	Monachus monachus		http://www.cms.int/monk-seal/
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.	Synonym for this species is listed in CITES. See there for more details.	http://www.cites.org/eng
	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.
Commission regulation (EU) No 1320/2014, of 1 December 2014, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (EU regulation of trade of fauna and flora)	Annex A includes: All CITES Appendix I species, except where EU Member States have entered a reservation; Some CITES Appendix II and III species, for which the EU has adopted stricter domestic measures; Some non-CITES species		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...s/legislation_en.htm
Barcelona Convention Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol)	Annex II: Endangered or threatened species that the Parties shall manage with the aim of maintaining them in a favourable state of conservation. They shall ensure their maximum possible protection and recovery.	Synonym for this species is listed in Appendix II of the Barcelona Convention Protocol. See there for more details.	http://rac-spa.org/protocol http://rac-spa.org/sites/def...sion_ig_19_12_en.pdf
	Annex II: Endangered or threatened species that the Parties shall manage with the aim of maintaining them in a favourable state of conservation. They shall ensure their maximum possible protection and recovery.		http://rac-spa.org/protocol http://rac-spa.org/sites/def...sion_ig_19_12_en.pdf

Common names and synonyms

Common Name	Language	Reference
Akdeniz foku	Turkish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Bumerin	Maltese	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Foca monaca	Italian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Foca monje	Spanish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Foca monje del Mediterráneo	Spanish	EC-DGXI.d2, ETC/NC
Foca-episcop	Romanian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Foca-monge	Portuguese	EC-DGXI.d2, ETC/NC
Foka e Mesdheut	Albanian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Lobo-marinho	Portuguese	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Mediterrán barátfóka	Hungarian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Mediterranean monk seal	English	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Middelhavsmunkesel	Norwegian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Mittelmeer Mönchsrobbe	German	EC-DGXI.d2, ETC/NC
Mönchsrobbe	German	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Monka	Maltese	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Monniksrob	Dutch	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Munkaselur	Icelandic	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Munkesæl	Danish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Munkhüljes	Estonian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Munkkihylje	Finnish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Munksäl	Swedish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Phoque moine	French	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Sredozemna medvjedica	Croatian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Sredozemska medvedjica	Slovenian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.

Synonym	Author
Phoca monachus	Hermann, 1779
Phoca albiventer	Boddaert, 1785
Phoca atlantica	Gray, 1854
Phoca bicolor	Shaw, 1800
Phoca hermannii	Lesson, 1828
Phoca leucogaster	Peron, 1817
Monachus mediterraneus	Nilsson, 1838
Heliophoca atlantica	Gray, 1854

Other resources

CoL (accepted name)	Catalogue of Life
EoL	Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea	Fauna Europaea
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Habitats Directive Art. 17-2006 summary
ITIS (Valid name)	Interagency Taxonomic Information System
NCBI	National Center for Biotechnology Information
PESI (Accepted)	Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure
Species+	Species+ by UNEP-WCMC
Wikipedia	Wikipedia
WoRMS	World Register of Marine Species

External data

Reportnet deliveries

Files delivered through Reportnet with relevance to this species.

9 items found, displaying all items.1

Released	Coverage	Envelope	File
2015-07-31	Greece	Habitats Directive Article 17 29_12_2014 submission GR	GR_species_reports-15723-10453.xml
2014-02-17	Cyprus	Article 17 Reporting 2007 - 2012	Species Reports
2013-12-04	Italy	3rd Italian national report 2013	IT_species_reports.xml
2013-09-18	Portugal	Relatorio nacional sobre a implementacao da Directiva Habitats 2013	PT_species_reports.xml
2013-09-11	Spain	Habitats Directive: Report Art.17 2007-2012	ES_species_reports
2008-07-07	Spain	Spain's delivery of 3 July	Monachus monachus
2008-03-05	Italy	Italy	Monachus monachus
2008-02-25	Cyprus	Article 17 Reporting 2001 - 2006	Species questionnaire for Monachus monachus
2008-02-22	Greece	Hellas	Species questionnaire for Monachus monachus

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