Common Seal vs Grayish Button Lichen

Phoca vitulina compared with Diplotomma alboatrum

Key Differences

Common Seal is Near Threatened while Grayish Button Lichen is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Seal	Grayish Button Lichen
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Pinnipedia (Seals & Sea Lions)	Caliciales (Caliciales)
Family	Phocidae (True Seals)	Caliciaceae
Genus	Phoca (Harbor Seals)	Diplotomma
Species	Phoca vitulina	Diplotomma alboatrum

Conservation Status

Common Seal

NT — Near Threatened

Population: ~500.0K

Trend: Stable →

Grayish Button Lichen

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Seal	Grayish Button Lichen
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	30 years	—
Average Length	1.7 m	—
Average Weight	80.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Seal

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries) and North America (United States). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Grayish Button Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and United States.

Common Seal

O pinípede de distribuição mais ampla, a foca-comum (Phoca vitulina) habita as costas temperadas e subárticas do Atlântico Norte e do Pacífico Norte. Os adultos atingem até 130 kg e passam tempo aproximadamente igual no mar caçando peixes, lulas e crustáceos e descansando em praias ou rochas. Seus grandes e expressivos olhos são adaptados para a visão subaquática em pouca luz. A foca-comum é uma fonte de alimento fundamental para orcas, tubarões e ursos-polares.