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The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean.Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (30 and 100 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among [3] the smallest marine mammals.
Most have sharp claws on their feet and all except the sea otter have long, muscular tails. The 13 species range in adult size from 0.6 to 1.8 m (2.0 to 5.9 ft) in length and 1 to 45 kg (2.2 to 99.2 lb) in weight. The Asian small-clawed otter is the smallest otter species and the giant otter and sea otter are the largest.
They are found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia, and are a diverse family; sizes range, including tails, from the widespread 17 cm (7 in) least weasel to the 1.8-meter (6 ft) giant otter of Amazonian South America. Habitats vary widely as well, from the arboreal marten to the fossorial European badger to the marine sea otter.
This list follows the Society's taxonomy regarding and subspecies. Conservation status codes listed follow the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 19 January 2015 [ 2 ] ) and are clickable to link to IUCN Red List species pages.
Enhydra is a genus of mustelid that contains the sea otter and two extinct relatives. It is the only extant genus of the bunodont otters group, referring to otters with non-blade carnassials with rounded cusps. [1] Sea otters probably diverged from other otters during the Pliocene, approximately 5 mya. [2]
Of the 13 different otter species in the world, only sea otters have been spotted making rafts by holding paws. River otters , for example, don’t sleep in the water but find shelter on land ...
"The sea otters, they're like an assistant manager for us," she said. The pattern is striking. “When the otter population was the lowest back in 2003-2004, we thought the green crabs were going ...
The sea otter, which has the densest fur of any animal, [15] narrowly escaped the fate of the sea mink. The discovery of large populations in the North Pacific was the major economic driving force behind Russian expansion into Kamchatka , the Aleutian Islands , and Alaska , as well as a cause for conflict with Japan and foreign hunters in the ...