地中海モンク海豹

Japanese

Kanji in this term
地	中	海	海	豹
ち Grade: 2	ちゅう Grade: 1	かい Grade: 2	あざらし
			Grade: 2	Jinmeiyō
on’yomi			jukujikun

Alternative spelling
地中海モンク海豹 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

地中海 (Chichūkai, “Mediterranean Sea”) +‎ モンク (monku, “monk”) +‎ 海豹 (azarashi, “earless seal”), calque of English Mediterranean monk seal. 海豹 is jukujikun (熟字訓).

Noun

地(ち)中(ちゅう)海(かい)モンク海豹(あざらし) or 地中海(チチュウカイ)モンク海豹(アザラシ) • (Chichūkai monku azarashi) 

1. a Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as チチュウカイモンクアザラシ.