Monachinae (known colloquially as "Southern seals") is a subfamily of Phocidae whose distribution is found in the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

and

polar region The polar regions, also called the frigid geographical zone, zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North Pole, North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high l ...

s of the southern hemisphere, though in the distant past fossil representatives have been found on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. The difference between members of this group and members of

Phocinae Phocinae (known colloquially as "Northern seals") is a subfamily of Phocidae whose distribution is found in the seas surrounding the Holarctic, with the Baikal seal (''Pusa sibirica'') being the world's only freshwater species of pinniped. What ...

is in monachines the hindclaws are greatly reduced in size. Furthermore, all species have 34

chromosomes A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

. There are three tribes recognized here: Monachini (monk seals), Miroungini (elephant seals), and

Lobodontini The true seal tribe Lobodontini, collectively known as the Antarctic seals or lobodontin seals, consist of four species of seals in four genera: the crabeater seal (''Lobodon carcinophaga''), the leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), the Weddell ...

(Antarctic seals and a handful of Afroamerican fossil genera). While today represented by eight extant and one recently extinct species, Monachinae had an incredibly enriched fossil diversity that went into decline soon to be replaced by southern species of sea lions and fur seals.

References

Pinnipeds Mammal subfamilies {{carnivora-stub