The spotted-necked otter (''Hydrictis maculicollis''), or speckle-throated otter, is an

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...

native to

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

Description

The spotted-necked otter is a relatively small species, with males measuring from nose to rump, and weighing , while females are and . The tail is long and muscular, measuring in both sexes.Arkive.org
(2011). Like many other otters, it is sleek and has webbed paws for swimming. Females have two pairs of

teat A teat is the projection from the mammary glands of mammals from which milk flows or is ejected for the purpose of feeding young. In many mammals the teat projects from the udder. The number of teats varies by mammalian species and often corr ...

s, and while males have a large

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum co ...

, the

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

is hidden beneath the skin, to reduce drag while swimming. Although considerable variation exists among individuals, their fur is usually reddish to chocolate brown and marked with creamy or white blotches over the chest and throat. The head is broad with a short muzzle, small rounded ears, and a hairless nose pad. The teeth are adapted for consuming fish, with large sharp upper canine teeth, curved lower canines, and sharp

carnassial Carnassials are paired upper and lower teeth modified in such a way as to allow enlarged and often self-sharpening edges to pass by each other in a shearing manner. This adaptation is found in carnivorans, where the carnassials are the modified f ...

teeth. The jaws are similarly adapted, with the

mandibular fossa The mandibular fossa, also known as the glenoid fossa in some dental literature, is the depression in the temporal bone that articulates with the mandible. Structure In the temporal bone, the mandibular fossa is bounded anteriorly by the art ...

fitting so snugly into the

condyle A condyle (;Entry "condyle"
in
Victoria Falls Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...

. No evidence of spotted-necked otters venturing into salt water has been found.

Behavior and biology

Spotted-necked otters feed primarily on fish, typically less than in length, but also eat frogs and small crustaceans, especially when fish are in short supply. They are diurnal, and appear to hunt entirely by sight using short dives of less than 20 seconds each in clear water with good visibility. Larger prey items are carried ashore, while smaller items are eaten while treading water. Known predators on the otters include

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant me ...

s and

African fish eagle The African fish eagle (''Haliaeetus vocifer'') or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Na ...

s. The otters are sometimes found in family groups, but appear to be social only under certain conditions. Males and females are separated for at least part of the year. They normally hunt alone, except when mothers are training their young, and are not territorial, sheltering through the night in short burrows, rock crevices, or patches of dense vegetation. On land, they travel mainly by the use of regular paths, and rarely move more than from river or lake banks. As with many other otters, these paths are marked by "sprainting" sites in which they habitually defecate and urinate. Spotted-necked otters are very vocal, uttering high, thin whistles and rapid, shrill chatters. The female bears a litter of up to three young after a gestation period around two months. The young are born blind and helpless, and the mother cares for them for almost a year.

Conservation

The spotted-necked otter is in decline, mostly due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and pollution of its clear-water habitats. It is hunted as

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...

References

External links

ITIS Standard Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:otter, spotted-necked spotted-necked otter Mammals of Sub-Saharan Africa spotted-necked otter