Spotted-necked otter [1] | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Mustelidae |
Genus: | Hydrictis Pocock, 1921 |
Species: | H. maculicollis |
Binomial name | |
Hydrictis maculicollis (Lichtenstein, 1835) | |
Distribution of spotted-necked otter | |
Synonyms | |
Lutra maculicollis |
The spotted-necked otter (Hydrictis maculicollis), or speckle-throated otter, is an otter native to sub-Saharan Africa.
The spotted-necked otter is usually chocolate to reddish brown and marked with creamy or white blotches over the chest and throat. The head is broad with a short muzzle, small rounded ears, and a hairless nose pad. The teeth are adapted for consuming fish, with large sharp upper canine teeth, curved lower canines, and sharp carnassial teeth. The jaws are similarly adapted, with the mandibular fossa fitting so snugly into the condyle on the lower jaw that the latter cannot move sideways, making it easier to capture and hold fish. It is a relatively small species, with males measuring 71 to 76 cm (28 to 30 in) from nose to rump, and weighing 5.7 to 6.5 kg (13 to 14 lb), while females are 57 to 61 cm (22 to 24 in) and 3.0 to 4.7 kg (6.6 to 10.4 lb). The tail is long and muscular, measuring 39 to 44 cm (15 to 17 in) in both sexes. It is sleek and has webbed paws. Females have two pairs of teats, and while males have a large scrotum, the penis is hidden beneath the skin, to reduce drag while swimming. [3]
Up to five subspecies have previously been identified, these most likely represent a natural variation in appearance between individuals, and no subspecies are currently recognised. [3]
The spotted-necked otter inhabits lakes and larger rivers throughout much of Africa south of 10°N. It is common in Lake Victoria and across Zambia, but is absent in the Zambezi below Victoria Falls, Zambia. [4] It does not venture into salt water. [3]
The spotted-necked otter is very vocal, uttering high, thin whistles and rapid, shrill chatters. [5] It sometimes lives in family groups, but appears to be social only under certain conditions. Males and females are separated for at least part of the year. [4] They normally hunt alone, except when mothers are training their young, and are not territorial, sheltering through the night in short burrows, rock crevices, or patches of dense vegetation. On land, they travel mainly over regular paths, and rarely move more than 10 m (33 ft) from river or lake banks. [3] Both mark these paths by "sprainting" sites, in which they habitually defecate and urinate. [6]
The spotted-necked otter is diurnal and appears to hunt entirely by sight using short dives of less than 20 seconds each in clear water with good visibility. [3] It carries larger prey ashore, but eats smaller prey while treading water. [6] It primarily eats fish, typically less than 20 cm (7.9 in) in length, but also frogs and small crustaceans, especially when fish is in short supply. [6]
The female bears a litter of up to three young after a gestation period around two months. The young are born blind and helpless, and the mother cares for them for almost a year. [5] [3]
Known predators of the spotted-necked otter include lions, crocodiles and African fish eagles. [3]
The spotted-necked otter is in decline, mostly due to habitat destruction and pollution of its clear-water habitats. It is hunted as bushmeat. [2]
The hippopotamus or hippo, further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus. Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among other animals.
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The giant otter shrew is a semiaquatic, carnivorous afrotherian mammal. It is found in the main rainforest block of central Africa from Nigeria to Zambia, with a few isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda. It lives in streams, wetlands and slow flowing larger rivers. It is the only species in the genus Potamogale. Otter shrews are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar.
The Eurasian otter, also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of the weasel family (Mustelidae), it is found in the waterways and coasts of Europe, many parts of Asia, and parts of northern Africa. The Eurasian otter has a diet mainly of fish, and is strongly territorial. It is endangered in some parts of its range, but is recovering in others.
Lutra is a genus of otters, one of seven in the subfamily Lutrinae.
The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which occur directly north and south of this species' range. Its head-and-body length can range from 36–66 centimetres (14–26 in), plus a tail of 37–84 centimetres (15–33 in). Body weight ranges from 5–15 kilograms (11–33 lb). Otters are members of the family Mustelidae, the most species-rich family in the order Carnivora.
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