Pliophoca Temporal range: late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Partial fossil skeleton of Pliophoca etrusca
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Clade:	Pinnipedia
Family:	Phocidae
Genus:	†Pliophoca Tavani, 1941 [1]
Species
P. etrusca Tavani 1941 (type)

Pliophoca is an extinct genus of seal in the family Phocidae.

This genus is known from late Pliocene (Piacenzian) marine deposits in northern Italy. Numerous disassociated monachine remains from the Lee Creek Mine of North Carolina were assigned by Koretsky and Ray (2008), but Berta et al. (2015) rejected the referral and suggested that they may be distinct, which was confirmed by Dewaele et al. (2018), who erected Auroraphoca for two of the Lee Creek specimens that Koretsky and Ray (2008) assigned to Pliophoca.^[2][3]

This fossil species of seal, ancestor of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) has been found only in late Pliocene (Piacenzian) deposits at Orciano and Volterra in Tuscany. It was a species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea.^[4][5]

• G. Tavani. 1941. Revisione dei resti del pinnipede conservato nel museo di geologia di Pisa. Palaeontographica Italica 40:97-112
• T. A. Demere, A. Berta, and P. J. Adam. 2003. Pinnipedimorph evolutionary biogeography. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279:32-76
• Roberto Lawley. 1875. Pesci ed altri vertebrati fossili del pliocene toscano. Letta all'adunanza della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali. Pisa, Tipografia Nistri
• Roberto Lawley. 1876. Nuovi studi sopra ai pesci ed altri vertebrati fossili delle Colline Toscane. Firenze. Tipografia dell’Arte della Stampa.
• R. Ugolini. 1902. Il Monachus albiventer BODD. del pliocene di Orciano. Palaeontographia Italica. Volume VIII. pag. 1-20, tav. I-III [I-III], fig. 1.
• R. Ugolini. 1902. Resti di foche fossili italiane. Atti Soc. Tosc. di Sc. Nat. Pisa, Memorie, vol.XIX, 1902, pag.13, con 1 tav. -

v t e Genera of pinnipeds and their stem-allies
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Caniformia Infraorder: Arctoidea
Pan-Pinnipedia †Amphicynodontidae Allocyon Amphicticeps Amphicynodon Drassonax Kolponomos Pachycynodon Parictis Wangictis †Semantoridae Necromites Potamotherium Puijila Semantor Pinnipedimorpha †Enaliarctos Pinnipediformes †Pacificotaria †Pinnarctidion †Pteronarctos Pinnipedia Phocidae †Devinophoca Monachinae †Magnotherium Monachini †Afrophoca †Auroraphoca †Messiphoca Monachus Neomonachus †Eomonachus †Noriphoca †Palmidophoca †Pliophoca †Pontophoca †Pristiphoca †Terranectes Miroungini †Callophoca Mirounga Lobodontini †Acrophoca †Australophoca †Hadrokirus †Homiphoca Hydrurga Leptonychotes Lobodon Ommatophoca †Piscophoca †Properiptychus †Virginiaphoca Phocinae †Cryptophoca †Frisiphoca †Kawas †Leptophoca †Monachopsis †Monotherium †Phocanella †Prophoca †Sarmatonectes Erignathini Erignathus †Platyphoca Cystophorini Cystophora †Miophoca †Pachyphoca Phocini †Batavipusa †Gryphoca Halichoerus Histriophoca †Nanophoca Pagophilus Phoca †Planopusa †Praepusa Pusa Otarioidea see below↓
Otarioidea †Desmatophocidae Allodesmus Atopotarus Desmatophoca Eodesmus Odobenidae †Archaeodobenus †Imagotaria †Kamtschatarctos †Nanodobenus †Neotherium †Osodobenus †Pelagiarctos †Pontolis †Proneotherium †Prototaria †Pseudotaria †Titanotaria Neodobenia †Dusignathinae Dusignathus Gomphotaria Odobeninae †Aivukus Odobenus †Ontocetus †Pliopedia †Protodobenus †Valenictus Panotariidae †Eotaria Otariidae Callorhinae Callorhinus †Pithanotaria Otariinae †Thalassoleon Zalophini Eumetopias †Oriensarctos †Proterozetes Zalophus Otariini Arctocephalus Arctophoca †Hydrarctos Neophoca Otaria Phocarctos
Lists List of pinnipeds List of fossil pinnipedimorphs