|
Lutrinae:
The aquatic (sometimes marine) carnivorous mammals known as otters form part of the large and diverse family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers, and others. With 13 species in 7 genera, otters have an almost worldwide distribution. Otters have a dense layer (1,000 hairs/mm˛, 650,000 hairs per sq. in) of very soft underfur which, protected by their outer layer of long guard hairs, keeps them dry under water and traps a layer of air to keep them warm. All otters have long, slim, streamlined bodies of extraordinary grace and flexibility, and short limbs; in most cases they have webbed paws. Most have sharp claws to grasp prey, but the short-clawed otter of southern Asia has only vestigial claws, and two closely-related species of African otter have no claws at all: these species live in the often muddy rivers of Africa and Asia and locate their prey by touch. |
