|
As Paul Chanin explains in What Is an Otter?, "Nature rarely invents new structures but is adept at improving old ones, and most of the aquatic adaptations of otters can be seen as modifications of the basic design of carnivores in general and mustelids in particular." These remarkable adaptations are described in detail in Otters, Inside and Out.
Otter taxonomy (classification) is confusing, but it has most recently been agreed that worldwide there are thirteen species: eight of river otter, three of clawless otter, the sea otter, and the giant otter. With the exception of the aptly named sea otter, which lives only in the ocean, otters inhabit all types of freshwaters, as well as estuaries and marine coves. All otters are listed on Appendix II (threatened) of CITES, a treaty monitoring international trade in endangered species, unless otherwise noted. (Click here to learn more about CITES.)
|