Jump to content

Lutra euxena

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lutra euxena
Temporal range: 2.588 to 0.012 Ma
Extinct (0.012 Ma)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Lutra
Species:
L. euxena
Binomial name
Lutra euxena
Willemsen, 2006
Synonyms

Nesolutra euxena Bate 1935

Lutra euxena is an extinct species of otter that was endemic to Malta during the middle to late Pleistocene. The species likely went extinct because of human activity.[1][2]

Evolutionary history

[edit]

The species lived in Malta between 2.588 and 0.012 Ma.,[3] having a relatively equal size to its mainland counterpart.[2] It along with its Mediterranean counterparts colonized islands by crossing sea channels that were up to 30 km across. Over time, these otters adopted a more land-based lifestyle, eating small mammals on islands alongside fish and shellfish.[1] It was discovered by Dorothea Bate.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Alcover, Josep Antoni; McMinn, Miquel (1994). "Predators of Vertebrates on Islands". BioScience. 44 (1): 12–18. doi:10.2307/1312401. ISSN 0006-3568. JSTOR 1312401.
  2. ^ a b Lyras, George A.; van der Geer, Alexandra A. E.; Rook, Lorenzo (2010). "Body size of insular carnivores: evidence from the fossil record". Journal of Biogeography. 37 (6): 1007–1021. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02312.x. ISSN 0305-0270. JSTOR 40731389. S2CID 53700369.
  3. ^ "Nesolutra euxena". Palaeobiology Database. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  4. ^ "Lutra euxena - The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database". recentlyextinctspecies.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.