Pusa
| Pusa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Baikal seal | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Parvorder: | Pinnipedia |
| Family: | Phocidae |
| Subfamily: | Phocinae |
| Tribe: | Phocini |
| Genus: | Pusa Scopoli, 1771 |
| Type species | |
| Phoca foetica (now Pusa hispida) Schreber, 1775 | |
| Species | |
|
Pusa caspica | |
 | |
| Pusa distribution P. hispida in blue, P. caspica in green, P. sibirica in purple | |
Pusa is a genus of the earless seals, within the family Phocidae. The genus were split from the genus Phoca, and some sources still give Phoca as an acceptable synonym for Pusa.
The species in this genus are found in Arctic and subarctic regions, as well as around the Caspian Sea. This includes these countries and regions: Russia, Finland, Scandinavia, Britain, Greenland, Canada, the United States, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Japan. Due to changing local environmental conditions, the ringed seals found in the Canadian region has varied patterns of growth. The northern Canadian ringed seals grow slowly to a larger size, while the southern seals grow quickly to a smaller size. The International Union for Conservation of Nature recognizes three species of seals in Pusa, while other sources additionally recognize the Saimaa ringed seal as a distinct species rather than a subspecies of the ringed seal.
The Caspian seal and Saimaa ringed seal are endangered, while the Ladoga seal subspecies of the ringed seal is categorized as vulnerable.