461 Oh the Irish Oder. 



LXll.— Th« Irish Otter. By Martin A. C. IIinton. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museuui.) 



Long ago Ogilby (P. Z. S. 1834, p. Ill) described tlio Irish 

 olter as a distinct specit^s, Lutra roensis, "on account of the 

 intensity of its colouring, which approaches nearly to black 

 both on the upper aiid under surface ; of the less extent of 

 tlie pale colour beneath the throat as compared with tlie 

 fonunon otter, L. vulgaris, Liiin., as it exists in England ; 

 and of some difference in the size of the ears and in the 

 proportions of other parts." Ogilby added that he had 

 " lonji considered the Irish otter as constitutintr a distinct 

 species/' 



The type of L. roenns was presented to the Zoological 

 Society by Miss Anna Moody of the Roe Mills, Newtown 

 Leniavaddy, near Londonderry ; later it passed into the 

 British Museum (reg. no. 57. 12. 14. 4), where it is now 

 preserved. The nearly black colour described by Ogilby 

 has become, from exposure, a nearly uniform deep reddish 

 brown. 



The Museum has just received three female otters from 

 Co. Galway, caught during the last wiuter. These, as regards 

 colour, accord perfectly with Ogilby's description ; they are 

 much darker (practically black above) than any English 

 s|)ecimens examined by me. In my opinion, therefore, the 

 Irish otter should be regarded as a distinct subspecies, for 

 which the name L. I. roensia is available. Such a variation 

 characterized by colour-saturation is, of course, exactly what 

 is to be expected in the more humid climate of Ireland. 



The following measurements will form a useful supplement 

 to those given in Miller's 'Catalogue of the Mammals of 

 Western Europe': — Females 1 and 2 : head and body 710, 

 6:55 mm. ; tail 430, 440 ; hind foot 114, 114 ; ear 25, 25. 



Skulls. 



Luira Intra roettsis. 



T-.-rvo Females, Co. Galway. 



^^P®- 1. 2. 3. 



Condylo-basal length .. 108-3 



Zygomatic breadth 647 65-8 65-3 



Mastoid breadth 68-4 60 612 60-4 



Postorbital constriction 14*5 ]4'2 .. ]3*8 



Interorbital constriction lG-9 18 194 187 



Breadth of rostrumover canines. 26'2 247 247 247 



Occipital depth . . . . HIT . . * 



Maxillary tooth-row (canine- »».). 331 337 33-2 328 



Mandible 66-6 68 68-2 66 



Upper carnassial 10-4x70 10-6x7-!» lO-r>x7-9 107x7-9 



Upper molar 77 X lO-G 77 x 10-6 7-i>X 107 7-8x 10-6 



Lower carnaesial length .... 12-6 12 129 11-8 



