Features of this earless seal include square front flippers and thick bristles on its muzzle. Adults are greyish-brown in colour, darker on the back. Occasionally the face and neck are reddish-brown. Bearded seal pups are born with a greyish-brown fur with scattered patches of white on the back and head. The bearded seal is unique in the subfamily Phocinae in having two pairs of teats. This is a feature it shares with monk seals.