| Megalenhydris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Photo of holotype in situ | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Lutrinae |
| Genus: | † Megalenhydris Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987 |
| Species: | †M. barbaricina |
| Binomial name | |
| †Megalenhydris barbaricina Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987 | |
Megalenhydris barbaricina is an extinct species of giant otter from the Late Pleistocene of Sardinia. It is known from a single partial skeleton, discovered in the Grotta di Ispinigoli near Dorgali, and was described in 1987. [1] It was larger than any living otter, exceeding the size of South American giant otters (Petrolutra), which can reach two meters in length. [2] [3] The species is one of four extinct otter species from Sardinia and Corsica. The others are Algarolutra majori , Lutra castiglionis [4] and Sardolutra ichnusae . [5] It is suggested to have ultimately originated from the much smaller European mainland species "Lutra" simplicidens [5] , which may be more closely related to Lutrogale than to modern Lutra species. [6] The structure of the teeth points to a diet of bottom dwelling fish and crustaceans. [5] A special characteristic of the species is the flattening of the first few caudal vertebrae (the remainder of the caudal vertebrae are not known). This might point to a slightly flattened tail.
