Taxonomy (6)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordate
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Genus: Pusa
Species: P. caspica
Description: Caspian seals are distinguished by the spots on their body. On average, adults can reach 1.5 meters and 86 kilograms. The males generally are larger than the females and the females have lighter spots on their body. These seals reside with many other seals in colonies. The can dive, on average, 50 meters down. Caspian seal pups are born with hair, also known as pelage. All this hair falls out when the pup reaches about three months old. (6)
Photo:http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/mammals/Phoca%20(Pusa)%20caspica/main.htm
Habitat: The only place where the Caspian seal can be found is within the lands which surround the Caspian Sea. These seals can not only be found on the shorelines of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan (4) but also on the is sheets and the islands located throughout the sea (6).
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordate
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Genus: Pusa
Species: P. caspica
Description: Caspian seals are distinguished by the spots on their body. On average, adults can reach 1.5 meters and 86 kilograms. The males generally are larger than the females and the females have lighter spots on their body. These seals reside with many other seals in colonies. The can dive, on average, 50 meters down. Caspian seal pups are born with hair, also known as pelage. All this hair falls out when the pup reaches about three months old. (6)
Habitat: The only place where the Caspian seal can be found is within the lands which surround the Caspian Sea. These seals can not only be found on the shorelines of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan (4) but also on the is sheets and the islands located throughout the sea (6).
Diet: A Caspian seal's diet consists of a variety of fish species. These mostly include roach, zander, gobies, and bream among others. (4)
Why can the seal only live in areas surrounded by the caspian sea?
ReplyDeleteDo you know why the Caspian Seals can only exist around the Caspian Sea? Is there something special about the water? Have people tried to introduce Caspian Seals into other habitats?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that they are born with hair because from the picture it doesn't look like they have hair. I also don't see many sea animals that have fur.
ReplyDeleteThats an amazing animal! It can dive down so deep. Is that because the fish it eats are so far down? I know that the Caspian sea is a wonder of the world, its the biggest landlocked body of water. (Planet Earth) Also, what made them endangered?
ReplyDeleteThe information was thorough, but as an american i do not know the metric system, if you could put them in feet, inches, miles etc. It would help me visualize the animal and its habitat.
ReplyDeleteIt is not known exactly why Caspian seals are confined to the landlocked Caspian Sea. One inference is that the seals came to the Caspian Sea in the Quaternary period* when there were ice sheets were developing.
ReplyDelete*The Quaternary period is the
"most recent geologic period: the current period of geologic time, beginning 1.6 million years ago and characterized by the appearance and dominance of humans" (http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861697935/Quaternary.html)