Enhydra lutris

• 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; Enhydra; Enhydra lutris; Canada; Kamchatka; Sakhalin; Alaska; Loutre
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/5714113; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5714113

32. Sea Otter Enhydra lutris French: Loutre de mer / German: Meerotter / Spanish: Nutria marina Taxonomy. Mustela lutris Linnaeus, 1758, Kamchatka, Russia. Three subspecies are recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. E. l. lutris Linnaeus, 1758 — NE Russia (Commander Is, Kamchatka, Kurile Is & Sakhalin I). E. l. kenyoni Wilson, 1991 — Aleutian Is through Alaska and W Canada (Vancouver I) to W USA (Washington). E. l. nereis Merriam, 1904 — USA (California). Descriptive notes. Head-body 100-120 cm, tail 25-37 cm; weight 21-45 kg (males), 14-33 kg (females). The Sea Otter is one of the largest species within the Mustelidae. Sea Otters have long bodies and short limbs. The pelage is reddish-brown to dark brown, with a gray or creamy-colored head, throat, and chest. The underfur is very dense, averaging 100,000 hairs per cm®. The head is wide and blunt, with long and thick vibrissae on the upper lips. The ears are small and set low to the sides, and capable of closing when the otter dives. The tail is slightly flattened dorso-ventrally, but uniform in thickness from the base to tip. All four feet are webbed and clawed. There is one pair of mammae. A fold of skin in the armpits enables the Sea Otter to transport prey at sea while foraging. The Sea Otter lacks anal glands. The skull is flat, broad and strong. Dental formula: 1 3/2, C 1/1, P 3/3, M 1/2 = 32. The molars are broad and flat, with rounded crowns. This is the only carnivore species with four (instead ofsix) lowerincisors. Habitat. Sea Otters are found in coastal marine habitats from sheltered and sandy bays to rocky shorelines exposed to rough seas. Although marine mammals, they rarely venture more than one km from shore. Typically, they live and forage in waters at depths of up to 100 m, but the highest densities of Sea Otters occur in waters less than 40 m deep. Food and Feeding. The diet is mostly marine invertebrates such as abalones, sea urchins, crabs, and molluscs. Other prey include squid, octopus, chitons, tubeworms, scallops, and, very ...