Belongs within: Phocidae.
The Phocinae are the northern seals, characterised by the presence of claws on the fore and hind flippers.
<==PhocinaeAG06 |--Erignathus [Erignathini]FS15 | `--E. barbatusR76 `--+--Cystophora [Cystophorini]FS15 | `--C. cristataFS15 `--PhociniAG06 |--HistriophocinaAG06 | |--*Histriophoca fasciata (Zimmermann 1783)H48, FS15, H48 [=Phoca fasciataH48] | `--Pagophilus groenlandicusAG06 `--+--+--Halichoerus grypusFS15 [=Phoca grypaAG06] | `--PusaFS15 [incl. Pontophoca Alekseev 1924G76] | |--P. sibiricaFS15 [=Phoca sibiricaAG06] | `--+--P. hispidaFS15 [=Phoca hispidaAG06] | | |--P. h. hispidaG88 | | |--P. h. ladogensis [=Phoca (Pusa) hispida ladogensis]G88 | | `--P. h. saimensis [=Phoca (Pusa) hispida saimensis]G88 | `--+--‘Phoca’ sarmatica [=Pontophoca sarmatica]G76 | `--+--P. caspica Gmelin 1788FS15, M01 [=Phoca vitulina var. caspicaM01] | `--P. pontica (see below for synonymy)G76 `--Phoca Linnaeus 1758FS15, L58 [Phocina] |--P. bessarabicaR76 |--P. foetidaM01 |--P. groenlandicaR76 |--P. holitschensisG76 |--P. largha Pallsa 1811FS15, S56 (see below for synonymy) |--P. novorossicaG76 |--P. rosmarus Linnaeus 1758L58 |--P. rugosidensR76 |--P. ursina Linnaeus 1758L58 |--P. vindobonensisR76 |--P. vitulina Linnaeus 1758L58 | |--P. v. vitulinaS69 | |--P. v. concolorMSG86 | |--P. v. mellonaeG88 | |--P. v. richardiiS69 | `--P. v. stejnegeriI92 `--P. vitulinoidesR76 Phocinae incertae sedis: Leptophoca True 1906R76, SM93 |--L. lenis True 1906BDR85 `--L. proxima [=Prophoca proxima]R76 Platyphoca vulgarisR76 Gryphoca similisR76 Phocanella Van Beneden 1876R76, SM93 |--P. minorR76 `--P. pumilaR76 Prophoca rousseauiR76 Miophoca vetusta Zapfe 1937R76, G76 Inorganic: Phoca vitulina protominilorientalis Okamura 1987O87
Phoca largha Pallsa 1811FS15, S56 [=P. vitulina larghaS56; incl. P. uochotensis (l. c. for ochotensis) var. kurilensis Inukai 1942S56]
Pusa pontica [=Monachus ponticus, Phoca (Pusa) pontica; incl. *Pontophoca simionescui Alekseev 1924]G76
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AG06] Arnason, U., A. Gullberg, A. Janke, M. Kullberg, N. Lehman, E. A. Petrov & R. Väinölä. 2006. Pinniped phylogeny and a new hypothesis for their origin and dispersal. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41 (2): 345–354.
[BDR85] Barnes, L. G., D. P. Domning & C. E. Ray. 1985. Status of studies on fossil marine mammals. Marine Mammal Science 1 (1): 15–53.
[FS15] Faurby, S., & J.-C. Svenning. 2015. A species-level phylogeny of all extant and late Quaternary extinct mammals using a novel heuristic-hierarchical Bayesian approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 14–26.
[G88] Gray, J. 1988. Evolution of the freshwater ecosystem: the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 62: 1–214.
[G76] Grigorescu, D. 1976. Paratethyan seals. Systematic Zoology 25 (4): 407–419.
[H48] Hershkovitz, P. 1948. The technical name of the Virginia deer with a list of the South American forms. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 61: 41–45.
[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.
[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.
[MSG86] McLaren, S. B., D. A. Schlitter & H. H. Genoways. 1986. Catalog of the Recent marine mammals in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Annals of Carnegie Museum 55 (11): 237–296.
[M01] Méhely, L. 1901. Emlősök [Säugethiere]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 1–19. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.
[O87] Okamura, C. 1987. New facts: Homo and all Vertebrata were born simultaneously in the former Paleozoic in Japan. Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory 15: 347–573.
[R76] Ray, C. E. 1976. Geography of phocid evolution. Systematic Zoology 25 (4): 391–406.
[S69] Sarich, V. M. 1969. Pinniped origins and the rate of evolution of carnivore albumins. Systematic Zoology 18 (3): 286–295.
[S56] Scheffer, V. B. 1956. Little-known reference to name of a harbor seal. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 46 (11): 352.
[SM93] Stucky, R. K., & M. C. McKenna. 1993. Mammalia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 739–771. Chapman & Hall: London.