Megalenhydris
| Megalenhydris | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photo of holotype in situ | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | †Megalenhydris Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987 |
| Species: | †M. barbaricina
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Megalenhydris barbaricina Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987
| |
Megalenhydris barbaricina is a Late Pleistocene giant otter from Sardinia. It is known from a single skeleton, discovered in the Grotta di Ispinigoli near Dorgali, and was described in 1987.[1] The species is one of four extinct otter species from Sardinia. The others are Algarolutra majori, Cyrnolutra castiglionis[2] and Sardolutra ichnusae.[3] This otter was large, much larger than the other species. The structure of the teeth points to a diet of shellfish and/or crustaceans. A special characteristic of the species is the flattening of the first few caudal vertebrae (the remainder of the caudal vertebrae are not known). This might point to a slightly flattened tail.
References
- ^ G. F. Willemsen & A. Malatesta (1987). "Megalenhydris barbaricina sp. nov., a new otter from Sardinia". Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, B. 90: 83–92.
- ^ Pereira, E., and M. Salotti. "Cyrnolutra castiglionis, a new otter (Mustelidae, Lutrinae) from the Middle Pleistocene'Castiglione 3CG'deposit (Oletta, Corsica)." Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Séries IIA 331.1 (2000): 45-52. [1]
- ^ Gerard F. Willemsen (2006). "Megalenhydris and its relationship to Lutra reconsidered" (PDF). Hellenic Journal of Geosciences. 41: 83–87.
External links
- Darren Naish (December 20, 2007). "Islands of otters and strange foxes". Tetrapod Zoology. ScienceBlogs.
- Lesley Wright (July 22, 2007). "Questions and Answers: In-Depth Responses". IUCN Otter Specialist Group.
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