The Cretan otter ''(Lutrogale cretensis)'' is an extinct

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

that was endemic to

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

Taxonomy

It was a close relative of the

smooth-coated otter The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is a freshwater otter species from regions of South and Southwest Asia, with the majority of its numbers found in Southeast Asia. It has been ranked as " vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List since ...

''(L. perspicillata)'', whom today lives only in southern Asia but had a wider distribution in the past. The Cretan otter is the only

carnivoran Carnivora ( ) is an order of placental mammals specialized primarily in eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the sixth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species. Carnivor ...

known from the Pleistocene of Crete. Its remains are known from only one locality (Liko Cave).

Description

The Cretan otter was similar in length to the smooth-coated otter, around long, but was more robustly built and slightly heavier. The Cretan otter shows more terrestrial adaptations than both the smooth-coated otter and the

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

, though not to the extent seen in otters of the genus ''

Aonyx ''Aonyx'' is a genus of otters, containing three species, the African clawless otter, the Congo clawless otter, and the Asian small-clawed otter. The word ''aonyx'' means "clawless", derived from the prefix '' a-'' ("without") and '' onyx'' ( ...

''. Its skeleton combines a number of adaptations to terrestrial locomotion (e.g. the position of the teres major and the sacropelvic angle), with clear aquatic adaptations (e.g. the ratio of ilium and ischiopubis length, the large feet and somewhat flattened tail to facilitate fast underwater swimming). This change in lifestyle likely arose due to the special conditions (such as lack of rivers) on Crete.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107994795 Otters Prehistoric mustelids Pleistocene carnivorans Prehistoric Crete Prehistoric mammals of Europe Pleistocene mammals of Europe Mustelidae