Mustelidae-Malinowski

Sea Otter  Family: Mustildae




 * ** Characteristics ** : Sea otters from the family mustelidae have long slim bodies and short limbs. They have muscular tails and very sharp paws. Males and females are different, but also similar.


 * ** Species **: Marine Otter, Oriental Otter, Southern Otter, and Eurasian Otter are all parts of this otter family!


 * ** Movement ** : Sea otters spend most their life in the wate. They dive in and move very fast with the rear end of their body. They move their tail from side to side to get a fast speed. When they are on the surface of the water they float on their backs. Sea otters can walk clumsily on land and run slowly.


 * ** Metabolism ** : Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to catch their food. They use there front paws to lift things, and throw rocks or hard objects to dislodge or open their prey. They usually eat sea urchings, mollusks, crutoceans, and lots of fish.


 * ** Growth and Development ** : The typical sea otter takes up to about three years to mature into a full adult. They usually grow up to 33-45 kg (49-73 lbs). Males way alot more than females, they are also very different in size and shape.Males are up to 1.2-1.5m long and females are 1.0-1.4 in length.


 * ** Response to stimuli ** : The sea otter can have many adaptions to it's surrondings. One is that their nostrils and ears can open and close. so if they don't like the sound or smell of something, it can be easily fixed. Another adaption is that they have fully webed and flattened hind feet. This helps them swim aster and easier. One last adaption is they have very sharp clasw, so they can catch their slippery prey.


 * ** Reproduction ** __:__ The sea otter can only have one pup at a time. Usually around the age of four or five. They are mammals, so their pup is not hatched from an egg. They can have many more babies throughout their lifetime. For sea otters gestation is up to 9 months, just like humans.


 * ** Males and Females ** : Overall males and females are pretty much similar. They only difference is that males are much bigger and much heavier.

Phylum- chordata Class- Mammilia Family- Mustelidae Genus- Fleming Species- E. lutris
 * ** Classification ** :
 * Kingdom- Animalia


 * ** Intresting facts ** : They can eat 25% of their body weight each day, the sea otter is the heaviest member in its family, and was hunted for their think, dense fur between 1741 and 1911.