The Orient al
Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinerea), also known as Asian Small-clawed
Otter, is the smallest otter species in the world.
The Oriental Small-clawed Otter is found in mangrove swamps and
freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan,
Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It
prefers to live near water.
The full grown otters measure approximately 0.9m from nose to tail
tip, and can weigh up to 5kg. It feeds on fish, frogs, crabs, crayfish
and shellfish.
This otter is especially distinct for its forepaws, as the claws do
not extend above the fleshy end pads of its toes and fingers. These
attributes give it human-like proficiency and coordination to the point
which it can use its paws to feed on mollusks, crabs and other small
aquatic animals.
The Oriental Small-clawed Otter lives in extended family groups with
only the alpha pair breeding and previous offspring helping to raise the
young.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, pollution and hunting in some areas, the
Oriental Small-clawed Otter is evaluated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species.This species was formerly thought to be the only member of the genus Amblonyx, however it has recently been confirmed as Aonyx after
mitochrondrial DNA analysis (Koepfli and Wayne, 1998).
Aonyx cinerea
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum : Chordata Subphylum : Vertebrata Class :
Mammalia Order : Carnivora Suborder : Caniformia Family : Mustelidae
Subfamily : Lutrinae Genus : Aonyx Species : Aonyx cinerea Common name :
Asian Small-clawed Otter, Oriental Small-clawed Otter, Small-clawed
Otter |
