''Pusa'' is a genus of the earless seals, within the family Phocidae. The three species of this genus were split from the genus '' Phoca'', and some sources still give ''Phoca'' as an acceptable synonym for ''Pusa''. The three species in this genus are found in Arctic and subarctic regions, as well as around the Caspian Sea. This includes these countries and regions: Russia, Finland, Scandinavia, Britain, Greenland, Canada, the United States, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Due to changing local environmental conditions, the ringed seals found in the Canadian region has varied patterns of growth. The northern Canadian ringed seals grow slowly to a larger size, while the southern seals grow quickly to a smaller size. Only the Caspian seal species of ''Pusa'' is endangered, while two subspecies of the ringed seal are vulnerable and endangered,

Ladoga seal The Ladoga ringed seal (russian: Ладожская нерпа; ''Pusa hispida ladogensis''), is a freshwater subspecies of the ringed seal (''Pusa hispida'') which are found entirely in Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The subspecies evolve ...

and

Saimaa ringed seal The Saimaa ringed seal (''Pusa hispida saimensis'', Finnish: ''Saimaannorppa'') is a subspecies of ringed seal (''Pusa hispida''). They are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 400 individuals. The ...

Taxonomy

Species

References