44° OTTERS 



other Otters. Specimens have been seen swimming fifteen miles 

 from land. The gait of the creature wlien on land is suggestive 

 of a marine animal ; the webbed hind-feet are doubled back upon 

 the knuckles during progression upon land, and locomotion is 

 effected by a series of short springs from these feet ; the Otter 

 does not walk " in ordinary acceptance of the term." The tail 

 is flattened, being twice as broad as it is thick, and ends in a 

 bluntish point. Enltydris feeds mainly upon crabs and sea-urchins, 

 but also upon fish. Its dental formula is peculiar by reason 

 chiefiy of the reduction of the lower incisors. The formula runs 

 as follows : 1 1 C 1 Pm ;} M |. 



The molar teeth of this creature, in accordance with its diet, 

 have lost the sharp points of the IMustelidae in general ; the 

 crowns are flattened, and the tubercles very blunt. In this it 

 contrasts with Lutra, and presents some resemblance to the 

 Crab-eating Kaccoon, Procyon cancrivoriis ; but the teeth are still 

 further blunted. Enliijdria feeds largely upon sea-nrchins and 

 shell-fish, and needs blunt teeth for the crushing of the hard 

 shells of its prey. It is interesting to notice that the habits of 

 this animal have been altered by the interference of man. The 

 creature has been hotly pursued for a long time on account 

 of its valuable fur. Instead of feeding and breeding upon 

 the shore in places readily accessible to its pursuers, the Sea- 

 Otter has now taken to the open sea in a greater degree. It 

 utilises masses of floating seaweed for those purposes, and hunts 

 for its food in the deeper water at a greater distance fi'om the 

 shore. In conjunction with the increasing rarity of the Sea- 

 Otter the price of its skin has enormously increased : whereas in 

 1888 the average price per skin was £21 : 10s., the value of a 

 fine skin now is at least £100, and as much as £200 and even 

 £250 has been given. The animal is captured by netting and 

 by clubbing and spearing.-' From the j\Iiocene Siwalik beds re- 

 mains of an allied form, Enhydridon, have been obtained, whose 

 teeth are somewhat intermediate in their crowns between Lutra 

 and Enhydris. 



Lutra, including the Otters, is widely distributed. Both 

 manus and pes are webbed. The ears are small and hairy. 

 The nose is not grooved, and the naked part is very circumscribed ; 



^ See an article by ilr. Lydekker in KiwivUdije, April 1898, from which many 

 of the above facts have been taken. 



