The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), also known as the
West Indian Monk seal and the West Indian seal, is a species
that is believed to have become extinct in the 1950s (although
there are unconfirmed sightings.) It is one of nineteen species
of marine mammals in the family of true seals. Together with the
families of Eared seals and Walruses, True seals form the group
of marine mammals known as pinnipeds. Christopher Columbus was
the first to note this species in his accounts. This species is
likely one of the many megafaunal extinctions triggered by the
migration of humans into the Americas in the very early
Holocene. Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Caribbean monk seals were
known to be beautiful animals. They had brown pelage, lightly
frosted with gray, fading to a pale yellow on the stomach. They
had hoodlike rolls of fat that surround their necks. Their hair
was very short and stiff. The nails on the anterior digits were
well developed, and nails on the posterior digits were simple.
Their soles and