Otter belongs to the family of gametophytes, under the order of carnivores that fall under the class Mammalia, under the phylum Chordata, which belongs to the animal kingdom.
The family of gametes includes ot
Otter belongs to the family of gametophytes, under the order of carnivores that fall under the class Mammalia, under the phylum Chordata, which belongs to the animal kingdom.
The family of gametes includes otters, weasels, minks, badgers, and marmots. As for otters, s they are small to medium-sized animals with short legs, long and slender bodies, and long, tapering tails. Their bodies, except for the feet and snout, are covered with soft fur. They are distinguished by their developed senses and sharp instincts that help them hunt. They are semi-aquatic animals that get their food from water, and they can live in marine and freshwater environments.
There are 13 species of 7 genera spread worldwide except Antarctica: otter, spotted-necked, periodic, New World otter, wing-tailed, small-clawed, and sea otter.
Lutra includes the following species:
1. European Otter: (scientific name Lutra Lutra)
The European or Eurasian otter lives in freshwater, and in some cases, it may reach the sea in search of food. Still, it quickly washes the salt off its body when it returns to fresh water, and it is the most common type, as it spreads in parts of Asia, Africa, and throughout Europe. The European otter is nocturnal in general and loves isolation. Still, it may live in a family, and its diet consists of fish, crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles, birds, eggs, insects, and worms.
2. Hairy-nosed otter: (scientific name Lutra sumatrana)
The main characteristics of the hairy nosed are the abundant hair in its nostrils and a white upper lip. Its diet consists mainly of fish, and it eats frogs, lizards, swamp turtles, water snakes, crustaceans, and insects that live in swamps and shallow coastal waters. The hairy nosed that live in Southeast Asia are a rare and endangered species.
Many dangers threaten it within the limits of its natural environment, so it is now preserved and multiplied under the supervision of humans outside the scope of its environment until its numbers stabilise and it becomes possible to transfer it to natural reserves.
3. Spotted-necked Otter
It includes one species, also called Spotted-necked, or Speckle-throated, scientifically known as Hydrictis maculicollis. The individuals of this species are spread throughout Africa, specifically south of the Sahara Desert. Despite the wide geographical range that constitutes the limits of its environment, the numbers of individuals of this species are very few.
Due to the increase in the rate of pollution and the loss of the habitats in which it lives, and because it is very demanding regarding the environment suitable for its living, it lives only in areas where fresh water is available throughout the year,
It does not live in marine or coastal environments that contain salty water. On the other hand, its areas must include dense vegetation because it provides a cover that protects them from predators during rest and gives him a safe place to build dens, which are usually equipped with an entrance that can be accessed from under the water.
4. Periodic Otter
The periodic or (Lutrogale) includes one species, the smooth-coated, scientifically known as (Lutrogale Perspicillata). Individuals of this species spread throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia. Their presence has been confirmed in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, southwest China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. As for the Middle East, they only exist in Iraq, where individuals of this species existed as a partial community.
Although soft-furred live mainly in the plains, they can also live in semi-arid regions in northwestern India and the Deccan Plateau. Peat, mangrove forests, and rice fie