Lontra

Lontra
North American river otters (Lontra canadensis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Lutrinae
Genus: Lontra
Gray, 1843
Type species
Lutra canadensis
Gray, 1843[1]
Species

L. canadensis
L. felina
L. longicaudis
L. provocax
L. weiri

Lontra range

Lontra is a genus of otters from the Americas.[1]

Species

[edit]

These species were previously included in the genus Lutra, together with the Eurasian otter, but they have now been moved to a separate genus. The genus comprises four living and one known fossil species:

Extant species

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Genus Lontra Gray, 1843 – four species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
North American river otter

Lontra canadensis
(, )

Seven subspecies
  • L. c. canadensis (Schreber, 1777)
  • L. c. kodiacensis (Goldman, 1935)
  • L. c. lataxina (Cuvier, 1823)
  • L. c. mira (Goldman, 1935)
  • L. c. pacifica (J. A. Allen, 1898)
  • L. c. periclyzomae (Elliot, 1905)
  • L. c. sonora (Rhoads, 1898)
North America
Map of range
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Southern river otter

Lontra provocax
(Thomas, 1908)
Chile and Argentina
Map of range
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 EN 


Neotropical otter

Lontra longicaudis
(Olfers, 1818)

Six subspecies
  • L. l. annectens
  • L. l. colombiana
  • L. l. enudris
  • L. l. incarum
  • L. l. longicaudis
  • L. l. raferrous
Central America, South America and the Caribbean island of Trinidad
Map of range
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 NT 


Marine otter

Lontra felina
(Molina, 1782)
South America
Map of range
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 EN 




Extinct species

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Scientific name Common name Distribution
Lontra weiri Weir's otter Pliocene North America[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Prassack, K.A. (July 2016). "Lontra weiri, sp. nov., a Pliocene river otter (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae, Lutrinae) from the Hagerman Fossil Beds (Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument), Idaho, USA". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (4): e1149075. Bibcode:2016JVPal..36E9075P. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1149075. S2CID 87404097.