86 LUTRINiE. 



Sub-fam. LuTRiN^, Otters. 

 Of large size ; feet webbed ; tail flattened. 



Gen. LuTRA, Ray. 



4 4 



Char. — Dental formula, according to Owen, prsemolars ; molars 



o — o 



The upper flesb-tootli very large, with a large accessory tubercle 



^ — Ji 



internally, the lower one tuberculated posteriorly ; otherwise as in the 

 Weasels. Ears small, remote ; feet palmate^ short ; body lengthened ; 

 tail longish, stout at the base, round, depressed towards the tip, and flat 

 beneath. 



Otters are a well-marked group of animals, distinguished by their 

 elongated and somewhat flattened form, short and stout limbs, with the 

 toes well webbed and spreading, and with naked soles. The fur is close, 

 fine, and short, consisting of a woolly fur beneath, and a layer of smooth 

 glossy hairs above. The eyes are provided with a nictitating membrane, 

 or additional half-transparent eyelid like that of birds, as a defence to 

 them under water. The teeth are strong and sharp, and the tubercles of 

 the molars very pointed, to secure their prey, which is almost entirely fish, 

 which they hunt for and capture under water with wonderful activity and 

 skill. The skull is said to have something in common with Seals in the 

 short muzzle and wide and flat cranium ; the suborbital foramen is 

 large. The articulations of the extremities are such as to admit of great 

 freedom of motion. The intestines are about six times longer than the 

 head and body. 



Mr. Blyth remarks, " The species of this genus are most difiicult of 

 determination, and require to be further studied and more elaborately 

 described with reference to their distinctions one from another." 



100. Lutra nair. 

 F. CuviER. — Z. chinensis and L. indica, Gray. — Z. tarayensis, 

 Hodgson. — Elliot, Cat. 15. — Blyth, Cat. 214. — Panikuta, H. — Nir- 

 nai, Can. — N'eeru-kuJca, Tel., all signifying water-dog. — Jal manjer, 

 Mahr., i.e. water-cat. — Ud or Hud, Vdni, Ud billau, Hiiidi. 



The Common Indian Otter. 



Descr. — Above, hair brown, or light chestnut-brown, in some grizzled 

 with hoary tips, in others with a tinge of isabella-yellow; beneath yellowish- 



