The Champlain sea existed from the Pleistocene to early Holocene epochs during the Cenozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Champlain sea was a large inlet of the Atlantic ocean. Fossils and other traces of life from the Champlain sea can be found in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, as well as the American states of New York and Vermont. Bones, teeth and fully articulated skeletons of large marine mammals, such as Cetaceans and Pinnipeds are often found during frequent underground excavations of the areas where the Champlain sea once existed. The known Cetaceans that lived in the Champlain sea are the Beluga whale, Bowhead whale, Humpback whale and Fin whale. Ringed seals, Harp seals, Bearded seals and Harbour seals are all known to have lived in and on the Champlain Sea. Arctic species of fish such as Capelin and Sculpin are often found preserved in Pleistocene nodules in Ontario, Canada. The presence of Arctic and other cold water organisms in the Champlain sea seems to indicate that this Atlantic ocean inlet was a cold water environment.