176 COMMON OTTER. 



an elongated inner process ending in a flattened 

 knob. In the lower jaw the incisors are smaller, 

 and the second placed a little behind the line of tht 

 rest ; the canine more curved ; the first grinder 

 very small, conical, and compressed, as are the 

 second and third, the fourth large, with three com- 

 pressed points, the last transverse. In an individual 

 of three feet six inches long, the oesophagus measured 

 thirteen inches, the stomach eight inches in its 

 transverse diameter, four between its orifices, the 

 intestine ten feet ten inches, its average diameter 

 ten-twelfths of an inch. The mouth is small, the 

 tongue soft, with its terminal margin thin and 

 jagged. The right lung is composed of four lobes, 

 the left of two. The liver has two large lobes on 

 the right side, two smaller on the left, and a very 

 small intermediate lobe ; the gall-bladder large; the " 

 kidneys of eleven distinct lobules. 



The fur is short ; the woolly hairs extremely fine, 

 the longer flattened, acuminate, and glossy, on the 

 tail stiffish ; the mystachial bristles numerous and 

 strong ; the aperture of the ear closed by hairs, as 

 well as an anterior flap or valve. The colour of the 

 upper parts is dark-brown, sometimes blackish- 

 brown ; the sides of the head, and the fore part of 

 the neck, are brownish-grey ; the breast and abdomen 

 not much lighter than the back. The claws in old 

 individuals are generally blunted, or even worn to 

 near the base, especially on the hind feet. The 

 following are some of the measurements of three in- 

 dividuals : 



