Above: A young North American river otter rests on a log.
(North American river otter, Leo Keeler, www.arkive.org) Lontra CanadensisAKA
|
Above: A European river otter emerges from the water.
(European river otter, Laurie Campbell, www.arkive.org) Lutra LutraAKA
|
North American River Otter
Lutra canadensis (previously used Latin name) North American otter Northern river otter *the bolded text will be the name referred to on our website (Serfass and Polechla, 2008) |
European River Otter
Eurasian otter European otter Old world otter Common otter *the bolded text will be the name referred to on our website (Ruiz-Olmo et al., 2008) |
Appearance
-Bears strong resemblance to Lutra lutra, however has a distinctly rounder face, larger nose, and longer neck
-The sexes both reach an approximate length of 1.25m Average female weight: 8 kg Average male weight: 9 kg (Kruuk, 2006) |
Appearance
-Dark brown in colour with distinctive patches on the throat
-Small in length, with males reaching approximately 1.2m from nose to tip of the tail Average female weight: 7 kg Average male weight: 10 kg (Kruuk, 2006) |
Conservation Status
Least Concern
(Serfass and Polechla, 2008) |
Conservation Status
Near Threatened
(Ruiz-Olmo et al., 2008) |
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Anamalia
Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Subfamily: Lutrinae Genus: Lontra (Serfass and Polechla, 2008) |
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Anamalia
Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Subfamily: Lutrinae Genus: Lutra (Ruiz-Olmo et al., 2008) |
Habitat
-Semi-aquatic (Reid et al., 1994)
-Size of home range can vary from 15.8 square km for a female with young to a 271.9 km squared range for a lone male (Reid et al., 1994) -Otters modify existing burrows dug by other creatures to suit their needs, rather than digging their own (Reid et al.,1994) -The most common dens utilized by the North American river otter are those of muskrats and beavers (Reid et al., 1994) -Natal dens are contrarily far from water to avoid flooding and protect the pups (Gorman et al., 2006) -Natal dens are usually dens of woodchucks or red foxes, as these structures are further from water (Gorman et al., 2006) |
Habitat
-Semi-aquatic (Ruiz-Olmo, 2009)
-Use freshwater and seawater as sources of fishing -Sources of fresh water are commonly found near holts for cleaning sea salt from their fur (Kruuk et al., 1989) -Holts are often made among the roots of individual trees (Kruuk et al., 1989) -Otter holt frequency decreases with increased human population density (Kruuk et al.,1989) -A significant correlation between otter population and pH of surrounding water sources, with otters being more common in areas of lower pH (6.3-9.9) (Madsen and Prang, 2001) -live in highly variable altitudes, from sea level to 4120m in Tibet (Kruuk, 2006) |
References
1. Arkive. 2015. Common otter (Lutra lutra). Available: http://www.arkive.org/common-otter/lutra-lutra. Accessed March 2, 2015.
2. Arkive. 2015. North American otter (Lontra canadensis). Available: http://www.arkive.org/north-american-otter/lontra-canadensis. Accessed March 2, 2015.
3. Gorman, T.A., J.D. Erb, B.R. McMillan, D.J. Martin, and J.A. Homyack. 2006. Site characteristics of river otter (Lontra canadensis) natal dens in Minnesota. Am. Midl. Nat. 156: 109-117.
4. Koepfli, K. P., K. A. Deere, G. J. Slater, C. Begg, K. Begg, L. Grassman, M. Lucherini, G. Veron, and R. K. Wayne. 2008. Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: Resolving relationships, tempo and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation. BMC. Biol. 6:10
5. Kruuk, H. 2006.Otters: Ecology, behaviour and conservation.Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
6. Kruuk, H., A. Moorhouse, J.W.H. Conroy, L. Durbin, and S. Frears. 1989. An estimate of numbers and habitat preferences of otters Lutra lutra in Shetland, UK. Biol. Cons. 49: 241-254.
7. Madsen, A.B., A. Prang. 2001. Habitat factors and the presence or absence of otters Lutra lutra in Denmark. Acta. Theriol. 46(2): 171-179.2.
8. Reid, D.G., T.E. Code, A.C.H. Reid, and S.M. Herrero. 1994. Spacing, movements, and habitat selection of the river otter in boreal Alberta. Can. J. Zool. 72: 1314-1324.
9. Ruiz-Olmo, J., A. Loy, C. Cianfrani, P. Yoxon, G. Yoxon, P.K. de Silva, A. Roos, M. Bisther, P. Hajkova, and B. Zemanova. 2008. Lutra lutra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
10. Serfass, T. and P. Polechla. 2008. Lontra canadensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2. Arkive. 2015. North American otter (Lontra canadensis). Available: http://www.arkive.org/north-american-otter/lontra-canadensis. Accessed March 2, 2015.
3. Gorman, T.A., J.D. Erb, B.R. McMillan, D.J. Martin, and J.A. Homyack. 2006. Site characteristics of river otter (Lontra canadensis) natal dens in Minnesota. Am. Midl. Nat. 156: 109-117.
4. Koepfli, K. P., K. A. Deere, G. J. Slater, C. Begg, K. Begg, L. Grassman, M. Lucherini, G. Veron, and R. K. Wayne. 2008. Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: Resolving relationships, tempo and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation. BMC. Biol. 6:10
5. Kruuk, H. 2006.Otters: Ecology, behaviour and conservation.Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
6. Kruuk, H., A. Moorhouse, J.W.H. Conroy, L. Durbin, and S. Frears. 1989. An estimate of numbers and habitat preferences of otters Lutra lutra in Shetland, UK. Biol. Cons. 49: 241-254.
7. Madsen, A.B., A. Prang. 2001. Habitat factors and the presence or absence of otters Lutra lutra in Denmark. Acta. Theriol. 46(2): 171-179.2.
8. Reid, D.G., T.E. Code, A.C.H. Reid, and S.M. Herrero. 1994. Spacing, movements, and habitat selection of the river otter in boreal Alberta. Can. J. Zool. 72: 1314-1324.
9. Ruiz-Olmo, J., A. Loy, C. Cianfrani, P. Yoxon, G. Yoxon, P.K. de Silva, A. Roos, M. Bisther, P. Hajkova, and B. Zemanova. 2008. Lutra lutra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
10. Serfass, T. and P. Polechla. 2008. Lontra canadensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Banner: North American river otter, Thomas D. Mangelsen, www.arkive.org; North American river otter, Tom and Pat Leeson, www.arkive.org; North American river otter, John Cancalosi, www.arkive.org; Common Otter, Laurie Campbell, www.arkive.org; Common otter, Henry Ausloos, www.arkive.org; Common otter, Laurie Campbell, www.arkive.org; Common Otter, Jorg and Petra Wegner, www.arkive.org; Common otter, Wild Wonders of Europe, Campbell, www.arkive.org; North American river otter, Gordon and Cathy Illg, www.arkive.org