Lutra
Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra )
The Altweltotter (Lutra ) are a predator species of the subfamily of the Otter ( Lutrinae ) within the marten family ( Mustelidae ). The genus includes three species: living in Europe, the Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra ), the Japanese otter (Lutra nippon). and the hair nose viper ( Lutra sumatrana ).
General
Altweltotter have an elongated, cylindrical body with short legs and a thick, muscular tail. The head is rounded, the muzzle blunt; the small ears and nostrils can be closed under water. Her thick, water-resistant coat is brownish in color, the underside is lighter and the throat may be whitish. These animals can reach a body length 50-82 cm, a tail length of 33 to 50 centimeters and a weight of 5 to 14 kg, the males are heavier than females.
These animals are instructed in their habitat on the proximity of water, most often they are found on freshwater, rarely also in estuaries of rivers or seacoasts. You can be day or nocturnal, but are rather at night in search of food. During the day they hide in their building on the shore, they are excellent swimmers and divers.
Their diet consists of fish, frogs, crustaceans, sometimes they also take water birds and small mammals to himself.
System
The genus includes three species:
- The Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra )
- Japanese otter ( Lutra nippon)
- The hair nose viper ( Lutra sumatrana ) in Southeast Asia
The Spotted-necked Otter ( Hydrictis maculicollis ) is sometimes also placed in this genus, but currently run as a separate monotypic genus.