Enhydra
Enhydra is a genus of mustelid that contains the sea otter and two extinct relatives. It is the only extant genus of the bunodont otters group, referring to otters with non-blade carnassials with rounded cusps.
Species
Sea Otter
Genus
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderCarnivora
- FamilyMustelidae
Habitatmarine
Observations16,821
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Article
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Enhydra is a genus of mustelid that contains the sea otter and two extinct relatives. It is the only extant genus of the bunodont otters group, referring to otters with non-blade carnassials with rounded cusps.
Sea otters probably diverged from other otters during the Pliocene, approximately 5 mya. They probably arose from the closely related Enhydritherium, a bunodont otter endemic to North America during the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs.