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Lontra

Genus of carnivores

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated April 11, 2026
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Lontra is a genus of otters from the Americas.

01Species

These species were previously included in the genus Lutra, together with the Eurasian otter, but they have now been moved to a separate genus. The genus comprises five living and one known fossil species:

Extant species

Genus Lontra , Gray, 1843, five species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
North American river otter Lontra canadensis
(Schreber, 1777)

Seven subspecies
  • L. c. canadensis (Schreber, 1777)
  • L. c. kodiacensis (Goldman, 1935)
  • L. c. lataxina (Cuvier, 1823)
  • L. c. mira (Goldman, 1935)
  • L. c. pacifica (J. A. Allen, 1898)
  • L. c. periclyzomae (Elliot, 1905)
  • L. c. sonora (Rhoads, 1898)
North America
 Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  LC 

Southern river otter Lontra provocax
(Thomas, 1908)		 Chile and Argentina
 Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  EN 

Neotropical otter Lontra longicaudis
(Olfers, 1818)

Four subspecies
  • L. l. enudris
  • L. l. incarum
  • L. l. longicaudis
  • L. l. raferrous
South America and the Caribbean island of Trinidad
 Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  NT 

Northern neotropical otter Lontra annectens
(Forsyth Major, 1897)

Two subspecies
  • L. a. annectens
  • L. a. colombiana
Central America, South America Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  NE 

Marine otter Lontra felina
(Molina, 1782)		 South America
 Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  EN 

Extinct species

Scientific nameCommon nameDistribution
†Lontra weiriWeir's otterPliocene North America
Fossil Lontra remains from the Miocene of Florida (FLMNH). The oldest Lontra fossils known.
Fossil Lontra remains from the Miocene of Florida (FLMNH). The oldest Lontra fossils known.
Watch videos about LontraExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Lontra”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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