Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 155 
Hog Badger near Pekin. The Chinese race, A. c. albogularis, 
occurs in Fukien and north of Hopei. An extremely large race, 
A. c. dictator, is found in Siam, Laos, Annam, and probably in 
the Malay Peninsula. 
THE OTTERS (SUBFAMILY LUTRIN^) 
The Otters are moderately large, slim, glossy- furred weasel- 
like mammals with flat, broad heads, well-developed whiskers, 
small ears, long thick muscular tails, large hind feet more or 
less webbed, poorly developed foot pads, and claws small or very 
small. Practically all the external structures of Otters are 
modified to aid in swimming and in catching fish. The gait on 
land, though rapid, is clumsy. 
Otters eat rats, frogs, water birds, and some fish. They breed 
in burrows near water, producing two or three "kittens." In 
America, at least, they make the well-known Otter-slides, down 
which they slide on the chest into the water. They are distributed 
throughout the world except in Madagascar, Australia, and 
Oceania. In eastern Asia three genera, Lutra, the Common 
Otters, Lutrogale, the Smooth Otters, and Amblyonyx, the 
Small-clawed Otters, are found. The Common and Smooth 
Otters have comparatively large webbed forefeet and moder- 
ately well-developed claws; the Small-clawed Otters have the 
forefeet proportionately smaller, less webbed, and the claws 
very small. The great degree of uniformity of color and pattern 
throughout the Otter family is noteworthy. The Common Otters 
have the head lower and flatter and the muzzle less extremely 
short than the Smooth Otters. - 
The Common Otters, genus Lutra, typified by the European 
Otter, are distributed through Eurasia, North Africa, North 
America, and a large part of South America. They are dark 
brown above, paler beneath. There are two species in Asia, 
L. lutra with several races, and the tropical L. sumatrana. The 
