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Lontra provocax

(Huill?n)

Overview

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Endangered

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Huillin, Southern River Otter

Common Names in French:

Huillin, Loutre du chili

Common Names in Spanish:

Huill?n, Huillín, Lobito patagonica, Nutria de chile

Description

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Habitat

Ecology: L. provocax is predominantly a freshwater species occurring in freshwater lakes and in rivers and streams . Rest and den sites are found in areas with dense vegetation and an abundance of above-ground roots , small rocks or broken stones , which provide suitable crevices from which the animal can view the adjacent water without being exposed. In the Nahuel Huapi National Park, there were significant heterogeneities in its distribution between river basins , between habitats , between lakes relative to dispersal routes and topography. Their distribution is governed by the distribution of crustacean prey , absence of human habitation, and the presence of introduced American mink Mustela vison, because although there was a positive relationship between the occurrence of mink and huillin in Lake Nahuel Huapi, there was a negative relationship in their occurrence between other lakes.

It also occurs in marine habitats along southern Chile (Sielfeld 1983). Habitat in the Patagonian archipelago consists mainly of rocky coasts and canals protected from waves, where coastal strips of vegetation such as Drimis winteri, Notofagus betuloides, and Maytenus magellanica are present; these features, as well as reduced human disturbance , are thought to be favorable for the establishment of dens (Chehebar et al. 1986; Medina 1996a, 1996b; Sielfeld 1983). In Argentina, L. provocax is associated with dense mature forest with thick undergrowth extending close to shore . Both the above-ground root systems of mature or fallen trees and the dense vegetation cover are important components of L. provocax habitat; absence of these key features may result in absence of otters , even if abundance of prey is not limiting (Chehebar et al. 1986).

The southern river otter diet consists mainly of fish including such species as Cheridon australe, Cyprinus carpio, Galaxias, Notothenia, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Percichthys trucha, Percillia gillissi, Salmo trutta, as well as some crustaceans including Aegla, Camilonotus, Lithodes antartica, Munida, Paralomis granulosa, Parastacus pugnax, and Sammastacus spinifrom. Opportunistic consumption of mollusks (Diplodon chilensis, Fissurela) and birds has also been reported (Chehebar 1982; Chehebar and Benoit 1988; Medina 1996a, 1996b, 1997; Sielfeld 1983).

Breeding is thought to occur in July and August, and young are born in September and October (Housse 1953). In parts of the species? southern range , young can be observed all year (Parera 1996). Litter size average one or two young, but may litters of up to four young have been observed (Sielfeld 1983). (Ref. 283957).

List of Habitats:

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Lutra provocax

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Aug-2007

Lontra provocax had been considered a subspecies of L. canadensis (Davis 1978). It was placed in the genus Lontra by van Zyll de Jong (1987). Koepfli and Wayne (1998) and Bininda-Emonds et al. (1999) supported the separation of New World otters into genus Lontra from Lutra, except Pteronura. [1].

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Lontra

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 8 species and subspecies in this genus:

L. canadensis (North American Otter) · L. canadensis canadensis (North American River Otter) · L. canadensis kodiacensis (Kodiak River Otter) · L. canadensis mira (Northern River Otter) · L. canadensis sonora (Southwestern Otter) · L. felina (Marine Otter) · L. longicaudis (South American River Otter) · L. provocax (Southern River Otter)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 14, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Sepulveda, M., Franco, M., Medina, G., Fasola, L. & Alvarez, R. 2008. Lontra provocax. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012