Caribbean monk seal

The Caribbean monk seal (Neomonachus Tropicalis), also known as the West Indian seal, or sea wolf, was a seal native to the Caribbean sea and now believed to be extinct in 1952. It was hunted for its oil and it was first discovered at the end of the 15th century and its main predators were sharks and humans. This picture of a Caribbean monk seal was taken in the New York aquarium, California in 1910. Other monk seal species include the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and Mediterranean monk seal. The Caribbean monk seal was first described in 1850 by British zoologist John Edward Gray. Some believe that it survived until 1967. The last specimens of Texas were killed between 1926 and 1932. They were found in warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical waters of the Caribbean sea, Gulf of Mexico, and West Atlantic Ocean.