Harbor Seal Against A Giant Octopus, Ogden Point, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

There are five subspecies of Phoca vitulina:
• Western Atlantic common seals, P. v. concolor (DeKay, 1842), inhabit eastern North America. The validity of this subspecies is questionable, and not supported by genetic evidence.
• Ungava seals, P. v. mellonae (Doutt, 1942), are found in eastern Canada in fresh water (included in P. v. concolor by many authors).
• Pacific common seals, P. v. richardsi (Gray, 1864), are located in western North America.