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Caspian seal is the only known mammal confined to caspian sea, the largest lake in the
world.
Twenty five carcasses were collected along Anzali shore (Gilan Province) during 1995-1999. Sex determination in most cases was impossible due to severe scavenging activities of gulls and domestic dogs.
Total length, tail length, anterior and posterior flipper lengths were measured on collected specimens. Body length ranged from 69 to 148 cm and mean tail length was 6.64 cm. Anterior and posterior flipper lengths ranged from 13 to 21 and 15 to 27 cm respectively.
Fifteen variables were measured on the skulls of collected specimens. The greatest length of skull ranged from 14.8 to 18.4 cm and the Mastoid breadth and zygomatic width varied form 7.99 to 9.93 and 7.5 to 10.26 cm respectively.
Descriptive satistics of all variables are presented in the paper. Also, principal component
analysis was carried out on skull varia_les and results are given.
Necropsy of collected specimens showed that seals mostly fed on fishes of cyprinidae and
clupeiidae.