162 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 86 



Distinguishing characteristics. — Teeth 3/3, 1/1, 4/3, 1/2, = 36; size 

 large; body slender and elongated; head small, broad, and flattened; 

 ears and eyes small and rounded; nose broad and flat; tail long, about 

 a third of the total length of the animal, very heavy at the base and 

 tapering toward the tip; legs very short, ending in large feet with 

 webbed toes; pelage consisting of a dense underfur overlaid with silky 

 guard hairs; coloration a rich deep brown, generally somewhat paler 

 on the belly and often with a grayish mixture on the lips, chin, and 

 throat. The subspecies L. c. canadensis is similar to the above but 

 considerably darker in coloration. 



The combination of large size, flat, broad head, thick, heavy tail, and 

 webbed toes distinguish the otter from similar mammals in Maryland. 



Measurements, — No external measurements are available for the 

 Maryland and District of Columbia specimens in the National collec- 

 tions. Handley and I*atton (1947, p. 134) give the range of external 

 measurements in otters as follows: Total length 900-1,200; tail 300- 

 400; hind foot 100-120. 



A young male from Glen Echo, Montgomery County, and an un- 

 sexed (but apparently a male) old adult from Washington, D.C., have 

 the following cranial measurements : Basilar length 95.8, 101.6 ; zygo- 

 matic breadth 65.3, ; postorbital breadth 19.1, 20.7; mastoidal 



breadth 62.9, 66.7; length of maxillary toothrow 35.2, 38.8. Two un- 

 sexed (but apparently female) adults from Washington, D.C., measure 

 cranially : Basilar length 87.5, 90.6 ; zygomatic breadth 64.3, ; post- 

 orbital breadth 17.2, 19.2; mastoidal breadth 56.7, 59.9; length of 

 maxillary toothrow 32.9, 34.2. 



Habitat and habits. — The otter occurs along rivers, streams, and 

 lakes, and it appears to be quite common in the marshes that border the 

 Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It occurs on Assateague 

 Island, where Jacob Valentine, former manager of the Chincoteague 

 National Wildlife Kefuge, told me that as many as seven were living 

 in 1958. Most of these, however, were in the Virginia portion of the 

 island, on the Refuge. 



Maryland's Eastern Shore supports a large population of otter. 

 Audubon and Bachman (1851, p. 11) and Coues (1877, p. 211) re- 

 ported them as common there in the 19th century. Brayton (1882, 

 p. 58) says that the Eastern Shore of Maryland appears to have always 

 been a favorite resort of the otter. Another area where this species is 

 abundant is on the Proving Grounds near Edgewood Arsenal, Harford 

 County. 



Otters were at one time relatively common along the Potomac River 

 and its tributaries in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., and have often 

 been reported from the city proper. Bailey (1923, p. 125) records an 

 otter at the north end of Rock Creek Park in 1920 and one taken at 



