Editing Leopard seal (section)

{{short description|Macropredatory species of Antarctic seal}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Leopard seal<ref name=MSW>{{cite book |editor1-last= Wilson |editor1-first= Don E. |editor2-last= Seeder |editor2-first= Dee Ann M. |title= Mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference |date=2005 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location= Baltimore |isbn= 978-0-8018-8221-0 |edition= 3rd |chapter-url= http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14001042|chapter=Species: Hydrurga leptonyx}}</ref>
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|5|0}}<small>Early [[Pliocene]] – Recent</small>
| image = Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx).jpg
| image_caption = <!--Switched to an image that clearly depicts the animal's entire body-->
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Hückstädt, L. |date=2015 |title=''Hydrurga leptonyx'' |page=e.T10340A45226422 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T10340A45226422.en |access-date=20 February 2022}}</ref>
| display_parents = 3
| genus = Hydrurga
| parent_authority = [[Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel|Gistel]], 1848
| species = leptonyx
| authority = ([[Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville|Blainville]], 1820)
| range_map = Hydrurga leptonyx distribution.png
| range_map_caption = ''Hydrurga leptonyx'' range map
| synonyms = {{collapsible list
|''Phoca leptonyx'' de Blainville, 1820&nbsp;([[basionym]])
|''Stenorhynchus leptonyx'' (Lesson, 1827)
|''Phoca Homei'' (Lesson, 1828)
|''Phoca leptonix'' (McMurtrie, 1831)
|''Stenorhincus Leptonyx'' (C. H. Smith, 1842)
|''Stenorynchus leptonyx'' (Lesson, 1842)
|''Ogmorhinus leptonyx'' (J. A. Allen, 1880)
|''Hydrurga leptonyx'' (J. A. Allen, 1905)
|''Hydrurga leptonyz'' (Wozencraft, 2005)
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="MDD">{{cite web |title=Hydrurga leptonyx (de Blainville, 1820) Leopard Seal |url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1005915/ |website=mammaldiversity.org |publisher=The MDD Team |access-date=23 May 2025}}</ref><ref name=IRMNG>{{IRMNG|1031821|Hydrurga Gistl, 1848}}</ref>
}}

The '''leopard seal''' ('''''Hydrurga leptonyx'''''), also referred to as the '''sea leopard''',<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Leopard seal|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=1998|url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/leopard-seal}}</ref> is the second largest species of [[Pinniped|seal]] in the [[Antarctic]] (after the [[southern elephant seal]]). It is a [[Apex predator|top order predator]], feeding on a wide range of prey including [[cephalopods]], other [[pinnipeds]], [[Antarctic krill|krill]], [[Wildlife of Antarctica#Fish|fish]], and [[Wildlife of Antarctica#Birds|birds]], particularly [[penguins]], and its only natural [[Predation|predator]] being the [[orca]].<ref name=Aus/> It is the [[Monotypic taxon|only species]] in the [[genus]] '''''Hydrurga'''''. Its closest relatives are the [[Ross seal]], the [[crabeater seal]] and the [[Weddell seal]], which are all Antarctic seals of the [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Lobodontini]].