# Caspian seal (*Pusa caspica*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-seal  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is a mammal of the family Phocidae in the order Carnivora. It falls in the large size class, with a representative adult body mass of 62.33 kg and up to 86.66 kg reported. The caspian seal is a diurnal, marine piscivore at the carnivore trophic level. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has one young per litter and one litter per year.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 62.3 kg – 86.7 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 43.5 years |
| Diet | Piscivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 50 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | rocky |
| Gestation | 289 days – 365 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 4 years – 4.18 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Phocidae
- genus: Pusa
- species: *Pusa caspica* (Gmelin, 1788)

Synonyms: *Phoca caspica*, *Phoca vitulina caspica*, *Pusa capsica*

## Common questions

### How heavy is the caspian seal?

The caspian seal has a representative adult body mass of 62.33 kg, with values up to 86.66 kg reported.

### What does the caspian seal eat?

The caspian seal is a piscivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.

### Is the caspian seal endangered?

Yes. The caspian seal is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does the caspian seal live?

The caspian seal has a lifespan of 43.5 years, with values up to 50 years reported.

### What kind of animal is the caspian seal?

The caspian seal is a mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora and genus Pusa.

### How many young does the caspian seal have?

The caspian seal has 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 288.9 days.

### Who named the caspian seal?

The caspian seal, Pusa caspica, was named by Gmelin in 1788, written as (Gmelin, 1788).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Caspian seal (Pusa caspica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-seal