Editing Bearded seal (section)

{{Short description|Species of Arctic dwelling marine mammal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Bearded seal<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id = 14001032}}</ref>
| image = Bearded Seal.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Kovacs, K.M. |date=2016 |title=''Erignathus barbatus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T8010A45225428 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T8010A45225428.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Erignathus
| parent_authority = [[Theodore Nicholas Gill|Gill]], 1866
| species = barbatus
| authority = [[Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben|Erxleben]], 1777
| range_map = Erignathus barbatus map.svg
| range_map_caption = Distribution of bearded seal
}}

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]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rkHQpToi9sC&q=bearded+seal&pg=PP1|title=Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals|last1=Perrin|first1=William F.|last2=Würsig|first2=Bernd|last3=Thewissen|first3=J. G. M.|date=2009-02-26|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=9780080919935|language=en}}</ref> It gets its [[Genus|generic]] name from two [[Greek language|Greek]] words (''eri'' and ''gnathos'') that refer to its heavy jaw. The other part of its [[Linnaean taxonomy|Linnaean]] name means bearded and refers to its most characteristic feature, the conspicuous and very abundant whiskers. When dry, these whiskers curl very elegantly,<ref name=":4" /> giving the bearded seal a "raffish" look.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

Bearded seals are the largest northern phocid. They have been found to weigh as much as {{cvt|300|kg}} with the females being the largest. However, male and female bearded seals are not very [[Sexual dimorphism|dimorphic]].<ref name=":4" />

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.<ref name=":4" />

Fossils first described in 2002 indicate that, during the [[Pleistocene]] epoch, bearded seals ranged as far south as [[South Carolina]].<ref name=Berta2012>{{cite journal |author1=Berta, A.  |author2=Churchill, M.  |name-list-style=amp | year = 2012 | title = Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies | journal = Mammal Review | volume = 42 | issue = 3 | pages = 207–234 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x}}</ref>