Arctic Tern vs Hooded seal

Sterna paradisaea compared with Cystophora cristata

Key Differences

• Arctic Tern is Least Concern while Hooded seal is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Tern	Hooded seal
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)	Pinnipedia (Seals & Sea Lions)
Family	Laridae	Phocidae (True Seals)
Genus	Sterna	Cystophora
Species	Sterna paradisaea	Cystophora cristata

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic Tern and Hooded seal share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Arctic Tern

LC — Least Concern

Hooded seal

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Tern	Hooded seal
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Tern

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador).

Hooded seal

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Portugal. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway