- Megalenhydris
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Megalenhydris barbaricina Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Subfamily: Lutrinae Tribe: Lutrini [1] Genus: Megalenhydris
Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987Species: M. barbaricina Binomial name Megalenhydris barbaricina
Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987Megalenhydris barbaricina is a Late Pleistocene giant otter from Sardinia.[2] It is known from a single skeleton, discovered in the Grotta di Ispinigoli near Dorgali, and was described in 1987.[1] It is one of three extinct otter species from Sardinia. The others are Algarolutra majori and Sardolutra ichnusae. This otter was large, much larger than the other two species. The structure of the teeth points to a diet of shellfish and/or crustaceans. A special characteristic of the species are the flattened first few caudal vertebrae (the rest of the caudal vetrebrae are not known). This might point to a slightly flattened tail.
External links
- Darren Naish (December 20, 2007). "Islands of otters and strange foxes". Tetrapod Zoology. ScienceBlogs. http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/12/island_endemic_otters_canids.php.
- Lesley Wright (July 22, 2007). "Questions and Answers: In-Depth Responses". IUCN Otter Specialist Group. http://www.otterspecialistgroup.org/Library/QandA/QA_20070722.html.
References
- ^ a b Gerard F. Willemsen (2006). "Megalenhydris and its relationship to Lutra reconsidered" (PDF). Hellenic Journal of Geosciences 41: 83–87. http://www.hellenjgeosci.geol.uoa.gr/41/willemsen.pdf.
- ^ G. F. Willemsen & A. Malatesta (1987). "Megalenhydris barbaricina sp. nov., a new otter from Sardinia". Proceedings of the Proceedings Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, B 90: 83–92.
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