''Enhydrictis'' is a genus of extinct

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in t ...

, belonging to the subfamily Galictinae. The type species, and best known, is ''Enhydrictis galictoides'' from the Pleistocene of Sardinia and

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...

Taxonomy

The exact number of species of ''Enhydrictis'' has been a matter of debate. One species, '' Pannonictis'' ''pilgrimi'' has been classified as a belonging to ''Enhydictis'' (as ''Enydrictis ardea''), although this is unlikely. A 2019 study also suggests that the genus '' Oriensictis'' of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

should be considered a synonym of ''Enhydrictis'' as well. In 2016, a new species from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

was described. Known as ''Enhydrictis hoffstetteri'', it is the first member of the genus known from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Other scholars have considered the attribution of this species to ''Enhydrictis'' doubtful, and that the species should be placed in ''Pannonictis'' instead. In 2018 a new species, ''Enhydrictis praegalictoides'' was described from Middle Pleistocene aged sites on Sardinia, which is likely ancestral to ''E. galictoides''. ''Enhydrictis'' and its relatives are classified as belonging to the subfamily Galictinae. and to the tribe Galctini. While Galictini was widespread in Eurasia during the Pliocene and

Early Pleistocene The Early Pleistocene is an unofficial sub-epoch in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, being the earliest division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently estimated to span the time ...

, the only extant members of the tribe, the grisons (''

Galictis A grison , , also known as a South American wolverine, is any mustelid in the genus ''Galictis''. Native to Central and South America, the genus contains two extant species: the greater grison (''Galictis vittata''), which is found widely in So ...

'') and the Patagonian weasel ('' Lyncodon''), are endemic to Central and South America.

Description

''Enhydrictis galictoides'' was a fairly large, robust terrestrial mustelid. When first described, it was considered to be an otter-like species adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, but studies on the limb bones do not support such claims.

Paleoecology

Before the arrival of humans on the islands in about 8000 BC, Corsica and Sardinia had their own highly endemic depauperate terrestrial mammal fauna which included a species of dwarf mammoth (''

Mammuthus lamarmorai ''Mammuthus lamarmorai'' is a species of mammoth which lived during the late Middle and Upper Pleistocene (between 450,000 and perhaps 40,000 years) on the island of Sardinia. ''M. lamarmorai'' is a dwarf species, as it is estimated to have reac ...

''), the Tyrrhenian vole ('' Microtus henseli''), the Sardinian pika ('' Prolagus sardus''), the Tyrrhenian field rat (''

Rhagamys orthodon ''Rhagamys'' is an extinct genus of rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World mice and rats. The genus was established by the Swiss zoologist Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major to accommodate ''Rhagamys orthodon'', commonly known as Hensel's fi ...

'') one or two species of shrew belonging to the genus '' Asoriculus'', a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

('' Talpa tyrrhenica''), the Sardinian dhole (''Cynotherium sardous''), three species of

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 ...

('' Algarolutra majori, Sardolutra ichnusae,

Megalenhydris barbaricina ''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. The species is one of four extinct otter specie ...

'') and a deer ('' Praemegaceros cazioti''). All of these species are now extinct.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108030483 Pleistocene carnivorans Prehistoric mustelids Pleistocene mammals of Europe Prehistoric carnivoran genera