Finger otters

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Finger otters
Dwarf otters

Dwarf otters

Systematics
Order : Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination : Canine (Caniformia)
Superfamily : Marten relatives (Musteloidea)
Family : Marten (Mustelidae)
Subfamily : Otter (Lutrinae)
Genre : Finger otters
Scientific name
Aonyx
Lesson , 1827
Dwarf otter; the front paws are easy to see.

The finger otters ( Aonyx ) are a species of carnivore living in Africa and Asia from the subfamily of the otter (Lutrinae) within the family of the marten (Mustelidae). The genus comprises a total of two types.

General

The name-giving feature of the finger otters are the front paws, in which the claws are strongly receded or completely absent and thus resemble human fingernails . This impression is reinforced by the receding webbed feet and the relatively high mobility of the individual toes. The fur of these animals is brownish in color, the underside is lighter; There may be white spots on the face, throat, and chest. Like all otters, they have an elongated body with short legs and a muscular tail. Finger otters reach a head trunk length of 60 to 100 centimeters, a tail length of 40 to 71 centimeters and a weight of 13 to 34 kilograms, so they are significantly heavier than the dwarf otter or the European otter .

Finger otters are predominantly crepuscular or nocturnal, but they also look for food during the day in regions untouched by humans. Due to their regressed claws, they do not dig their own burrows, but rather retreat to rest under tree trunks or in dense vegetation. They live rather solitary, but the territories of several animals can completely overlap and sometimes these animals defend the territorial boundaries together or go looking for food together.

After a gestation period of around 63 days, the female gives birth to two or three young animals, which stay with the mother for around a year.

Systematics

There are two types of finger otters:

  • The capotter ( Aonyx capensis ) is native to large parts of Africa south of the Sahara, its distribution area extends from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to South Africa . It inhabits a number of habitats including rainforests, coastal regions, and even semi-deserts, but is always found near bodies of water. It prefers lakes and muddy rivers, but also occurs in brackish water and along the sea coasts. When foraging for food, unlike other otters, it does not take its prey with its mouth but with its front paws. Its hard, broad molars indicate that it mainly lives on mollusks and crustaceans . It is one of the more common species of otter and is not threatened. The small-clawed or Congo finger otter ( Aonyx capensis congicus ), a subspecies of the capotter, is restricted to central Africa, its distribution area extends from southeastern Nigeria to Uganda . Its habitat are wetlands and small rivers in the tropical rainforest . Its teeth are more pointed and sharper than those of the capotter, presumably it feeds more on small vertebrates and eggs. Little is known about his way of life.
  • The pygmy otter ( Aonyx cinerea ), sometimes referred to as the short-clawed otter, is a species of predator that is widespread in Southeast Asia. It was previously placed in its own genus as Amblonyx cinerea .

Hazard and protection

Both species of the genus finger otter are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN in the Red List of Endangered Species . The capotter and the small-clawed or Congo finger otter are seen as not endangered ( least concern ); the pygmy otter is judged to be endangered ( Vulnerable ).

The otter genus finger otter is placed under protection in various stages. In the Washington Convention on CITES, only the populations of Cameroon and Nigeria of the subspecies Aonyx capensis microdon are listed in Appendix I. They are thus banned from trading as stocks that are directly endangered. All other populations as well as all species of the subfamily Lutrinae are included in Appendix II. Limited commercial law applies to them.

Analogous to this and with the same consequence, the European Union lists the finger otters in Annex A and B of the EU Species Protection Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 and the amendment by EC Regulation 407/2009.

This continues in the Federal Nature Conservation Act of the Federal Republic of Germany. Here the subspecies Aonyx capensis microdon is designated as strictly protected, all other species are designated as specially protected.

Web links

Commons : Aonyx  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The CITES Appendices. CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, accessed on September 9, 2012 (English, The Appendixes of the Washington Convention, CITES).
  2. ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 and Regulation (EC) No. 407/2009 on the protection of animal and plant species by monitoring trade.