Biology:Lutra euxena
From HandWiki
Short description: Extinct species of otter
| Lutra euxena Temporal range: 2.588 to 0.012 Ma
| |
|---|---|
Extinct (0.012 Ma)
| |
Scientific 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
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 John Bate.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alcover, Josep Antoni; McMinn, Miquel (1994). "Predators of Vertebrates on Islands". BioScience 44 (1): 12–18. doi:10.2307/1312401. ISSN 0006-3568. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1312401.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40731389.
- ↑ "Nesolutra euxena". https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=157306.
- ↑ "Lutra euxena - The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database" (in en-gb). https://recentlyextinctspecies.com/carnivora-carnivores/lutra-euxena.
Wikidata ☰ Q3267918 entry
 |  |
