The Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a hypercarnivorous bear found within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear species, as well as the largest extant land...
The Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is a cetacean adapted to life in the Arctic, with anatomical and physiological characteristics that differentiate it from other cetaceans. Amongst these are its all-white color and the absence of a dorsal...
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in cold environments and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is...
The Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a...
The Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the Southern elephant seal). Its only natural predator is the orca. It is the only species in the genus Hydrurga. Its closest relatives are the Ross...
The Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent. This is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the Emperor penguin, is...
The Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a tern in the family Laridae. These amazing birds perform the longest migrations known in the animal world. They have a circumpolar breeding distribution and see two summers each year. Arctic terns nest once...
The Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. In Greek, its scientific name translates to "ice-lover from Greenland," and its taxonomic synonym, Phoca...
The Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii ) is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expeditions led by British sealing captain...
The Hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) is a large phocid found only in the central and western North Atlantic. Hooded seal pups are known as "blue-backs" because their coats are blue-grey on the back with whitish bellies, though this coat is shed...
Bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) are known as ‘ice seals’. They are members of a group of four Arctic seal species that live in Alaskan waters and use sea ice for feeding, resting, and pupping. Bearded seals get their generic name from two Greek...
Crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga) are considered to be the most abundant seals in the world. It is believed by some scientists that there are more of them than all the other seal species combined. Crabeater seals are "true" or "earless" seals...
The Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii ) is a true seal (family Phocidae) with a range confined entirely to the pack ice of Antarctica. It is the only species of the genus Ommatophoca. First described during the Ross expedition in 1841, it is the...
The spotted seal (Phoca largha ), also known as the larga seal or largha seal, is a member of the family Phocidae, and is considered a "true seal". It inhabits ice floes and waters of the north Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. It is primarily found...
The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia ) is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies Uria lomvia arra is also called...
