Spotted-necked otter
Spotted-necked Otter ( Hydrictis maculicollis )
The Spotted-necked Otter ( Hydrictis maculicollis; Syn: Lutra maculicollis ) is the only species of the monotypic genus Hydrictis within the Otter. It is common in many parts of Africa south of the Sahara.
Features
The Spotted-necked Otter reached a total length of about 44-68 cm and a tail length of 13.5 to 19.0 centimeters. The weight is about 3 to 5 kg.
The body is slender and long with a long, dorsoventrally flattened tail. The head is large with a wide neck and narrows to a broad and short snout. The coat varies from chocolate brown to reddish brown and is largely unmarked. The throat and the neck have white to cream-colored spots that are missing only rarely. The spots can be very individual. Rarely, albinos and partial albinos.
Dissemination
The Spotted-necked otter is widespread in many parts of Africa south of the Sahara. Its range extends from Guinea- Bissau in West Africa to the south-western Ethiopia and to the south in the west to the northern border of Namibia, northwestern Botswana and Zimbabwe and to the east over Kenya and Tanzania, Malawi and parts of Mozambique to the east of South Africa.
System
The Spotted-necked otter is the only species of the monotypic genus Hydrictis within the Otter. He is, however, by numerous authors still belongs to the genre of Altweltotter (Lutra ), but this would be paraphyletic.
As a sister species of the Spotted-necked Otters Indian otter ( Lutrogale perspicillata ) is considered.