Otter Species

There are 13 known species of otters. Maxwells' Otter, considered by some to be a sub-species of SmoothCoated Otter, is believed extinct since the 1970s.

 

 

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General Information

(Information on each species will be presented as follows)

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Common Name

Genus species

(The common name and currently accepted scientific name of each species
is listed first on the page designated for each type of otter.) 

Species Photo/ Photo Gallery/ Illustrations

 

Identification

Description: A picture of the otter follows the name, these pictures come from a variety of sources (*please see note along the bottom of the Species pages).

Size: Total length and length of tail are given. Otters range in size from 65 (oriental small clawed otter) to 180 (giant otter) cm long.

Color: Otters are varying brown tones, frequently with lighter undersides.

Nose: Otter's noses are one of the ways of distinguishing the species from each other. Some of the otters even have hairy noses!

Feet: An otter's feet can tell you a lot about how and where they live. Most otters have a lot of webbing on their feet, and claws.

Fur: Otters have very dense, and usually very silky, fur composed of guardhairs and underhairs.

Track/Sign: Even if you don't see an otter, you may see signs of an otter, telling you where that otter has been and what it has been up to!

Ecology

Habitat: Otters love the water! They are never too far from a good source of fresh water, whether that be a river, lake, stream, or pond. They are occasionally found in the ocean, where it is close to fresh water so they can rinse off.

Range/Distribution: Otters were traditionally found throughout the Americas, in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Otters are still found on all of these continents, but many of the populations are threatened. Otters are not found in Australia or the surrounding islands, or Antarctica. See map for distribution of specific species.

Threats: Otters have some natural predators, but the greatest current threat to otters is competition from man for food, habitat, and their furs.

Conservation Status: Conservation status ranges from ------ to ------. 

 

Food: Though preferences change, otters tend to eat similar things worldwide: fish, amphibians, crustaceans, mollusks, and small birds.

 

Behavior

Life Cycle:  Depending on the species, otters may have between one and five offspring, called pups. Males may or may not assist in raising the pups, also depending on the species. Other details of the life cycle may also vary greatly with species.

Social: Some otter species are very social, relying on their social group for hunting and play, and some otters are solitary, coming together only to mate.

Individual: All otters (even the solitary ones) are very playful, and very curious. They each may express this in any number of more species-specific ways!

 

About: Species-specific facts that do not fall into any other categories will go into the about section.

Names: Alternate names or names in other relevant languages.

Subspecies: Some species of otters have subspecies. A subspecies is a  grouping more specific than species, used to differentiate animals that are capable of interbreeding but present distinct variations that distinguish them from other groups. Usually there is some physical separation between them, like distance or a natural barrier.

Links: Links to other websites or sources of information about a particular species. For more information please visit the links page!