SEA OTTER. 
mixture of grey and black, is as £ne as, velvet. 
The feet resemble those of water-fowl ; and 
it's flesh is extremely good and delicate.' I 
begin," says BufFon, ''with the above pas- 
sage, because the animal is unknown to the 
naturalists under this name : and because thev 
know not, that the Carigueibeju of Brasil, 
which is the same animal, lias membranes 
. between the toes. Marcgrave, indeed, who 
gives a description of it, mentions not this 
character ; which is an essential one, since it 
brin(;s this species as near as possible to that ot 
the Otter. Besides, I believe that the animal 
mentioned bv Gumilla, under the name of 
Guachi, may be the same with the Sarico- 
vienne ; which is a species of Otter conimon 
throughout all South America. From the 
description of it given by Marcgrave and 
Desmarchais, it appears that this ampliibious 
animal is as large as a middle-sized Dog ; that 
the top of it's head is round, like that of the 
Cat ; that it's muzzle is somc\rhat h^ng, like 
that of the Dog : that it has the teeth and 
whiskers of a Cat , small, round, black eyes ; 
ears rouudi.sh, nnd placed low ; and five toes 
on each ioot, with the thumb shorter than the 
other 
