Editing Caribbean monk seal (section)

{{Short description|Extinct species of seal native to the Caribbean}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Caribbean monk seal
| image = Cms-newyorkzoologicalsociety1910.jpg
| image_upright = 1.1
| image_caption = Specimen in the [[New York Aquarium]], {{circa}} 1910
| status = EX
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| extinct = 1952
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Lowry, L. |date=2015 |title=''Neomonachus tropicalis'' |volume=2015 |page=e.T13655A45228171 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T13655A45228171.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = GX
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106297/Neomonachus_tropicalis |website=explorer.natureserve.org |access-date=29 March 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Neomonachus
| species = tropicalis
| authority = ([[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1850)
| synonyms =
''Monachus tropicalis'' <small>(Gray, 1850)</small><ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021" /><br />
''Phoca tropicalis'' <small>Gray, 1850<ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021" /></small>
| range_map = Monachus tropicalis history distribution before 1952 A.D.png
| range_map_caption = Former range map of ''Neomonachus tropicalis''
}}

The '''Caribbean monk seal''' ('''''Neomonachus tropicalis'''''), also known as the '''West Indian seal''' or '''sea wolf''', is an extinct [[species]] of [[Pinniped|seal]] native to the [[Caribbean]]. The main natural predators of Caribbean monk seals were large [[shark]]s, such as [[great white shark|great whites]] and [[tiger shark]]s, and possibly transient [[orca]]s (though killer whales are not often sighted in the Caribbean); however, humans would become their most lethal enemy.<ref name="King" />  Overhunting of the monk seals for oil and meat, as well as [[overfishing]] of their natural prey, are the likely reasons for the seals' extinction.<ref name="King" /> 

The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952, at [[Serranilla Bank]], in the waters west of [[Jamaica]] and off the eastern coast of [[Nicaragua]].<ref name="Rice" /> In 2008, the species was officially declared extinct by the United States, after an exhaustive five-year search. This analysis was conducted by the [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA).<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Kyle Baker|author2=Jason Baker|author3=Larry Hanse|author4=Gordon T. Waring|title=Endangered Species Act 5-Year Review Caribbean Monk Seal (''Monachus tropicalis'')|journal=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service|date=March 2008}}</ref> The Caribbean monk seal is closely related to the endangered [[Hawaiian monk seal]], a species which is restricted to the central [[Pacific Ocean]] surrounding the [[Hawaiian Islands]], and the [[Mediterranean monk seal]], a vulnerable species, predominantly found in the waters off of [[Greece]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/whats-latest-hawaiian-monk-seals|title=What's the Latest on Hawaiian Monk Seals? &#124; NOAA Fisheries|first=NOAA|last=Fisheries|date=March 8, 2018|website=NOAA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mom.gr/displayITM1.asp?ITMID=31 |title=MOm Website |access-date=2011-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316102405/http://www.mom.gr/displayITM1.asp?ITMID=31 |archive-date=2012-03-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>