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There are four species of American river otters, which range over virtually the whole of the New World. Lontra Canadensis, which is also called the northern river otter, the Canadian otter (after the place where the first specimen was collected), the land otter, and the fish otter, is the only one to occur in North America. Although referred to as river otters, they also live on seacoasts.
What a River Otter Looks Like
Body: The river otter's long, muscular body is almost cylindrical, barely thinning at the base of the skull. The skeleton is so flexible that an otter can form a complete circle, nose to tail, forward, sideways, or backward. The legs are short and powerful, the tail heavy and long, the head broad and flat. Their short, thick fur is brown, darkest on the upper body and paler and grayish on the belly.
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