86 L0TEINX. 



Sub-fam. LuiniNiE, Otters. 

 Of large size ; feet webbed ; tail flattened. 



Gen. Ltjtra, Eay. 



4 4 



Char. — Dental formula according to Owen, prsemolars 5 — ^ ; molars 



o — o 



^ — ^. The upper flesh-tooth very large, with a large accessory tubercle 



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 fiu* beneath, and a layer of smooth 

 glossy hairs above. The eyes are provided with a nyctitating 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 

 skUl. 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 difficult of 

 determination, and require to be further studied and nlore elaborately 

 described with reference to their distinctions one from another." 



100. Lutra nair. 



P. CuviEE.— i. chinensis and L. indica, Gray. — L. tarayeiisis, 

 Hodgson. — Elliot, Cat. 15 — Blyth, Cat. 214 — Pani hita, H. — Nir-mxi, 

 Can. Neeru-Jcuka, Tel., all signifying water-dog. — Jal manjer, Mahr., 

 i. e. water-cat. — Ud or Hud, Udni, TJd billau, Hindi. 



The Commok Indian Otter. 

 Descr. — Above hair brown, or Kght chesnut-brown, in some grizzled 

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



