Editing Bearded seal (section)

== Distribution ==
Bearded seals are extant in Arctic and [[subarctic]] regions. In the Pacific region, they extend from the [[Chukchi Sea]] in the Arctic, south into the [[Bering Sea]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lowry|first1=Lloyd F.|last2=Frost|first2=Kathryn J.|last3=Burns|first3=John J.|date=1980|title=Variability in the Diet of Ringed Seals, Phoca hispida, in Alaska|journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences|volume=37|issue=12|pages=2254–2261|doi=10.1139/f80-270|bibcode=1980CJFAS..37.2254L |issn=0706-652X}}</ref> where they span from [[Bristol Bay]] on the Alaskan coast to the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] on the Russian coast,<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|title=Erignathus barbatus: Kovacs, K.M.|date=2016-02-17|doi=10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-1.rlts.t8010a45225428.en|doi-access=free}}</ref> up to but not including the northern coast of Japan.<ref name=":02" /> In the [[Arctic Ocean]], they are found along the northern coasts of [[Russia]], [[Norway]], [[Canada]], and [[Alaska]],<ref name=":02" /> including the Norwegian Archipelago of [[Svalbard]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hjelset|first1=A. M.|last2=Andersen|first2=M.|last3=Gjertz|first3=I.|last4=Lydersen|first4=C.|last5=Gulliksen|first5=B.|date=1999-02-23|title=Feeding habits of bearded seals ( Erignathus barbatus ) from the Svalbard area, Norway|journal=Polar Biology|language=en|volume=21|issue=3|pages=186–193|doi=10.1007/s003000050351|bibcode=1999PoBio..21..186H |s2cid=25532134|issn=0722-4060}}</ref> and [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]].<ref name="Finley">{{Cite journal|last1=Finley|first1=K.J.|last2=Evans|first2=C.R.|date=1983-01-01|title=Summer Diet of the Bearded Seal (''Erignathus barbatus'') in the Canadian High Arctic|journal=Arctic|language=en-US|volume=36|issue=1|doi=10.14430/arctic2246|issn=1923-1245|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the Atlantic, Bearded seals are found along the northern coast of [[Iceland]], the east and west coasts of [[Greenland]] and the Canadian mainland as far south as [[Labrador]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nammco.no/topics/bearded-seal/#1475843212917-9abc9066-9674|title=Bearded Seal - NAMMCO|date=2017-01-16|work=NAMMCO|access-date=2018-06-07|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Although the range typically only extends down into subarctic areas bearded seals have been seen in Japan and China as well as extremely far south of their range in Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal.<ref name=":02" />