Name
Lutra lutra
Eurasian otter
Framing
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Lutra
Species: lutra
Habitat
Linked to freshwater environments, from rivers and streams to more or less stagnant waters. Sometimes even occurs in coastal areas.
Feeding
Carnivorous (catches fish, crabs and other prey)
Distribution
Europe, Asia and North Africa. It occupies the entire Iberian Peninsula, although it is absent in some areas of the Mediterranean coastal strip.
Conservation status
Near Threatened (NT) with a tendency for populations to decline globally (IUCN, 2015). In Spain it is included in the List of Species under Special Protection Regime (Royal Decree 139/2011).
Additional information
Very slender body. Broad, flattened head, with the eyes, ears and nostrils set towards the top of the head. Long vibrissae on muzzle. Very short legs. The five toes are joined by an interdigital membrane (on both front and hind feet). Tail long, broad and flattened at the base and pointed at the end. Chestnut coloured with a lighter area on the neck and chest.
Additional information
Bibliography
- Kruuk, H. (2006). Otters Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation. Oxford University Press. Disponible en biblioteca UGR.
- Martín López, J. M., & Jiménez Pérez, J. (Eds). (2009). La nutria en España: veinte años de seguimiento de un mamífero amenazado. Sociedad Española para la Conservación y Estudio de los Mamíferos SECEM. Disponible en biblioteca UGR
- Ruiz-Olmo, J. (2007). Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758). En Atlas y Libro Rojo de los Mamíferos terrestres de España (pp. 312-314). Palomo, L. J., Gisbert, J., & Blanco, J. C. (eds). Dirección General de Biodiversidad – SECEM-SECEMU. Accesible en: https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/biodiversidad/temas/inventarios-nacionales/ieet_mami_lutra_lutra_tcm30-99817.pdf
- Ruiz-Olmo, J. (2016). La Nutria. En El libro de los Carnívoros (pp. 193-219). Lozano, J., & Lacasa, M. (Eds). Editorial Photodigiscoping.