How big does a Bearded seal get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) reaches an average size of 2.3 meter (7′ 7″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 31.42 years, they grow from 34.52 kg (76.1 lbs) to 280 kg (617.29 lbs). A Bearded seal has 1 babies at once. The Bearded seal (genus: Erignathus) is a member of the family Phocidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (eri and gnathos) that refer to its heavy jaw. The other part of its Linnaean name means bearded and refers to its most characteristic feature, the conspicuous and very abundant whiskers. When dry, these whiskers curl very elegantly, giving the bearded seal a “raffish” look.Bearded seals are the largest northern phocid. They have been found to weigh as much as 300 kg with the females being the largest. However, male and female bearded seals are not very dimorphic.The only member of the genus Erignathus, the bearded seal is unique in that it is an intermediate. Bearded seals belong to the family Phocidae which contains two subfamilies: Phocinae and Monachinae. The bearded seal possesses characteristics of both of these subfamilies.Fossils first described in 2002 indicated that, during the Pleistocene epoch, bearded seals ranged as far south as South Carolina.
Animals of the same family as a Bearded seal
We found other animals of the Phocidae family:
- Caribbean monk seal with a size of 2.29 meter (7′ 7″)
- Hooded seal with a size of 2.33 meter (7′ 8″)
- Ribbon seal with a size of 1.54 meter (5′ 1″)
- Ringed seal with a size of 1.29 meter (4′ 3″)
- Ringed seal with a size of 1.29 meter (4′ 3″)
- Baikal seal with a size of 1.28 meter (4′ 3″)
- Crabeater seal with a size of 2.27 meter (7′ 6″)
- Caspian seal with a size of 1.41 meter (4′ 8″)
- Northern elephant seal with a size of 3.72 meter (12′ 3″)
- Harp seal with a size of 1.73 meter (5′ 9″)
Animals with the same size as a Bearded seal
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Bearded seal:
- Crabeater seal with a size of 2.27 meter (7′ 6″)
- Bongo (antelope) with a size of 2.27 meter (7′ 6″)
- Spinner dolphin with a size of 2.13 meter (7′ 0″)
- Red deer with a size of 2.14 meter (7′ 1″)
- Dall’s porpoise with a size of 1.97 meter (6′ 6″)
- Pantropical spotted dolphin with a size of 2.14 meter (7′ 1″)
- Atlantic white-sided dolphin with a size of 2.29 meter (7′ 6″)
- South American sea lion with a size of 2.11 meter (7′ 0″)
- Mediterranean monk seal with a size of 2.6 meter (8′ 7″)
- Striped dolphin with a size of 2.3 meter (7′ 7″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Bearded seal
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Bearded seal:
- Malayan tapir
- Eastern rock elephant shrew
- Pig-tailed langur
- Masoala fork-marked lemur
- Lesser short-nosed fruit bat
- Fire-footed rope squirrel
- Four-striped ground squirrel
- Greater noctule bat
- Green bush squirrel
- Indian pipistrelle
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Bearded seal
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Bearded seal:
- Hooded seal with an average maximal age of 35 years
- Ring-tailed lemur with an average maximal age of 30 years
- Blainville’s beaked whale with an average maximal age of 27 years
- Bald uakari with an average maximal age of 27 years
- European wildcat with an average maximal age of 31 years
- Spotted seal with an average maximal age of 35.5 years
- Black crested mangabey with an average maximal age of 26.75 years
- Common brown lemur with an average maximal age of 37 years
- Mona monkey with an average maximal age of 30 years
- Red deer with an average maximal age of 26.75 years
Animals with the same weight as a Bearded seal
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Erignathus barbatus:
- Roan antelope with a weight of 262.09 kilos (577.81 lbs)
- Mountain zebra with a weight of 279.73 kilos (616.7 lbs)
- Dugong with a weight of 295 kilos (650.36 lbs)
- Anoa with a weight of 256 kilos (564.38 lbs)
- Common bottlenose dolphin with a weight of 281.02 kilos (619.54 lbs)
- Red deer with a weight of 240.43 kilos (530.06 lbs)
- Crabeater seal with a weight of 225 kilos (496.04 lbs)
- Okapi with a weight of 230 kilos (507.06 lbs)
- Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin with a weight of 280 kilos (617.29 lbs)
- Hooded seal with a weight of 278.95 kilos (614.98 lbs)