Lontra felina Gray 1843

• Main Authors: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Lynx Edicions 2009
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Carnivora; Mustelidae; Lontra; Lontra felina; Loutre
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5714107; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/038F87D4CA47FFA8CAB33B0EF993FBD4

29. Marine Otter Lontra felina French: Loutre chungungo / German: Stidamerikanischer Meerotter / Spanish: Chungungo Taxonomy. Mustela felina Molina, 1782, Chile. The Marine Otter was previously included in the genus Lutra. Monotypic. Distribution. Pacific coast from N Peru to S Chile, and extreme S of Argentine Patagonia. Descriptive notes. Head-body 53.3-78.7 cm, tail 30-36.2 cm; weight 3.2-5.8 kg. The smallest of the South American otters. The pelage is dark brown through-out except for a grayish neck and throat. Large vibrissae occur on each upperlip. All the feet are fully webbed. The skull is small and flat, with a broad rostrum. Habitat. Marine Otters are found in marine environments, along rocky coasts that harbor a high diversity of prey. They spend most of their time within 150 m of shore, but occasionally may venture into freshwater tributaries flowing into the sea. Food and Feeding. The diet is primarily crustaceans, molluscs, and fish, but also includes birds, small mammals, and fruit. Along the Chilean coast, the diet consists of crabs (69-8%), fish (19:9%), shrimp (6:4%), and molluscs (3-9%). On the Valdivian coast in the south of Chile, spraints contained 25 species: 52% crustaceans, 40% fish, and 8% molluscs. Marine Otters showed opportunistic feeding behavior, selecting prey seasonally according to their availability. Marine Otters fish by first swimming to a hunting area, where they then dive underwater for 6-64 seconds. Captured prey are consumed in the waterif they are small enough to be handled easily, or taken ashore if larger. Crabs are almost always taken ashore. Prey can be carried in the mouth, or carried on the belly while swimming dorsally. Unlike Sea Otters, Marine Otters do not use rocks as anvils to crack open bivalves or shellfish. At Isla Choros, northern Chile, Marine Otters spent more time foraging in a wave-protected site compared with a wave-exposed habitat. Successful dives reached 26-9% in the wave-exposed habitat and 38-2% in the wave-protected habitat. Foraging dives were ...