MUSTELID.E. MAMMALIA. MUSTELID.E. 



95 



British Museum, this species is denominated Lataxina 

 mollis. 



THE BRAZILIAN OTTEE (Lutra BrazlUensis] is, 

 in point of mere size, very similar to the foregoing; 

 the female examples, however, procured by the natu- 

 ralist D'Azara, did not exceed four feet in length, 

 including the tail, which measured twelve inches in the 

 largest specimen. The fur has a fulvous yellow colour, 

 generally, approaching to a chestnut hue on the limbs 

 and tail. According to D'Azara, aa quoted by Mr. 

 Ogilby, this " species lives in troops, which sometimes, 

 rising to the surface of the water, lift their heads and 

 bark like dogs, with a hoarse voice in a menacing and 

 snapping manner, without, however, injuring voyagers 

 or swim mere. Each family seems to possess a separate 

 domain. It spends nearly as much time upon the \vater 

 as it does upon the land, where it devours the fish 

 which it has taken, and rears its young in holes which 

 it excavates in the banks. The same author was 

 informed by the Payaguas Indians, who sail continually 

 up and down the river, and are better acquainted with 

 this animal than others, that the female brings forth 

 two at a birth, covered with hair, and that many females 

 bring forth and rear their young at the same time and 

 in the same place their usual resort throughout the 

 year. The motions of this otter are generally slow, 

 and it drags, as it were, its belly and muzzle along the 

 ground; when it runs, it is not at all swift," By the 

 Portuguese colonists of South America, the Brazilian 

 otter is called Loto de Rio, or River-wolf. In the Bri- 

 tish Museum Catalogue, it is termed the ' Lutra.' 



THE JAVANESE OTTEE (Aomyx Leptonyx) is also 

 known by the names of the simung and the wergul. It is 

 a small species comparatively, the body measuring very 

 little more than two feet, exclusive of the tail, which is 

 about half that length. The character and texture of 

 the fur is very similar to that of our cornmon European 

 species, but the brown colour has a much less rich tint, 

 approaching more to a tawny aspect ; the lower part of 

 the face, throat, neck, and breast, being of a light dusky 

 yellow. The whiskers are strongly developed in a 

 double series on either side, one set of bristly hairs 

 arising immediately below the nose, and the other from 

 the posterior region of the cheek. Dr. Horsfield states 

 that " the Javanese otter agrees in its manners with 

 the common otter. It inhabits the banks of rivers, and 

 lives on fishes. Its disposition, when found at large, is 

 extremely ferocious ; If attacked, it defends itself with 

 courage. It is with great difficulty taken in its adult 

 state; but,if obtained when young, it ismildand tractable. 

 In this state it is occasionally seen in dwellings, but I 

 never observed it to continue long in confinement. 

 The natives distinguish two varieties of the Jnvanese 

 otter, to ope of which the name of wergul, to the other 

 that of welingsang, is applied. The former is of a 

 grey colour, and is said to be solitary, while the latter 

 lives gregariously ; but these statements require confir- 

 mation." The species, under consideration is found in 

 parts of the Indian Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, their 

 adjacent isles, and the Continent of Siam. Its voice 

 is said to bear some resemblance to that of a person 

 crying. The female exhibits much solicitude and 

 affection for her offspring. 



THE SEA OTTEE (Enhydra marina), or kalan of 

 the Kamtschatkadales, is a very remarkable animal, 

 approximating closely to the pinnigrade seals in its 

 habits and haunts. The length of the body is rather 

 more than three feet, exclusive of the tail, which gives 

 an additional seven or eight inches in a full-grown 

 specimen. The head is rounded posteriorly, the out- 

 line, in a profile view, seen passing insensibly, as it 

 were, into that of the strong, thick, muscular ueck. 

 The ears are remarkably small, and placed on a much 

 lower level than the eyes. The whiskers are strongly 

 developed. The limbs are short, more especially the 

 anterior pair, and the hinder feet are comparatively 

 more bulky than the fore ones, being also situated very 

 far back. The toes are covered with hair, almost con- 

 cealing the claws, and the outermost digit of the pos- 

 terior feet is longer than any of the others. The fur 

 varies in colour at different seasons of the year, and 

 likewise according to the animal's age. Ordinarily, it 

 is of a deep, sooty brown, or sometimes of a rich jet- 

 black colour; but in young specimens it is lighter. 

 There are two kinds of hair as usual ; the longer are 

 whitish, and overlap the more numerous soft, downy 

 hairs, which lie partly concealed beneath. The fur 

 has a beautiful, glossy, velvety texture ; and, according 

 to Captain Cook's account, is softer and finer than that 

 of any other species. In early times, the skins appear 

 to have fetched an extraordinary price; for Pallas 

 states that single skins were sold at Kiachta, by the 

 Russian furriers, at the rate of one hundred roubles a 

 sum of money equivalent to twenty pounds sterling. 

 Even now, the sea otter's fur is highly prized, especially 

 as its numbers have been so considerably reduced by the 

 competition of Russian, Anglo-Indian, and American 

 traders. This animal was formerly abundant on the 

 islands skirting the north-eastern shores of Asia, 

 Kamtschatka, the Kurile, and the Aleutian isles, but 

 it is now almost limited to the western coasts of North 

 America, extending as far south as California. The 

 fur is purchased principally by the inhabitants of China 

 and Japan. In a morphological point of view, the sea 

 otter may be looked upon as an intermediate form 

 between the fresh-water otters and the true maritime 

 seals ; and we also find that in its capacity for capturing 

 fish, it appears to combine the special facilities of 

 either species. It is essentially a marine animal, living 

 very constantly in the open sea, and only frequenting 

 the rocks for repose, and for the occasional purpose of 

 rearing its young. The Russian traveller, Von Kotze- 

 bue, has given the following interesting account of the 

 habits and mode of hunting the sea otter: "They 

 are often seen on the surface of the water, many miles 

 from land, lying asleep on their backs, with their 

 young, of which two are produced at a birth, resting 

 upon them and sucking. The young cannot swim 

 until they are several months old; but the mother, 

 when she goes out to sea in search of food, carries 

 them on her back, and brings them home to her hole 

 in the rocks when she has duly satisfied her hunger. 

 If seen by the hunters during these excursions, the 

 female falls a sure prey to them ; for she never forsakes 

 her offspring however much they embarrass her swim- 

 ming, but, in common with the male, defends them 



