Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/750

 736 OTTER OTTERBEIN of the muzzle is bare, and the nostrils are large and open; the eyes very small and very far forward ; the neck long ; legs short and stout. The color above is dark glossy brown, slightly lighter beneath, lower surface and sides of the head and neck dusky white. Rather awkward on land, it is a very expert diver and rapid swimmer, and very voracious ; it often remains more than a minute under water, retiring with its fishy prey to a half-sunken log or the shore to devour it ; it frequents clear and rapid streams or large ponds, and makes a burrow in the banks, lined with leaves and grasses, the entrance being under water. Otters have a singular habit of sliding down wet and muddy banks or icy slopes, apparently for sport, of which the hunters take advantage by setting traps at the foot of the slide; they are also taken in sunken traps baited with fish ; when killed in the water, the body sinks from the solidity of the bones. When taken young, they are easily domesticated. They bring forth a litter of two or three, between February and April, according to latitude. They are found over almost the whole of North America, and perhaps a portion of South America ; rare in the Atlantic states, they are not abundant any- where in the settled regions, but most so in the British possessions, whence several thou- sand skins are annually carried to England ; the fur is of two kinds, like that of the beaver, one being short, soft, and dense, the other longer, coarser, and scattered through the first, and it is much esteemed for caps and gloves. The L. Brasiliensis (Ray), the loutra or river wolf of South America, has the muzzle entirely hairy except around the nostrils ; the color is yellowish brown, and the throat whitish ; the length is about 3 ft. ; they live in troops, rising frequently to the surface of the streams, and snapping like dogs. The European otter (L. vulgaris, Erxl.) is about 3J ft. long, of which the tail is 15 in., resembling in colors and in habits the Canada otter ; its fur is valu- able, and its flesh, like that of several other aquatic mammals, may be eaten by Catholics during Lent. It is found throughout Europe and northern and temperate Asia, and its hunting affords great sport. The Pondicherry otter, a variety of the common species, is fre- quently domesticated, and taught to drive fish into the nets, or even to catch them in the teeth and bring them to its master. In the genus pteronura (Gray) the muzzle is hairy : the feet large and widely webbed ; the tail elongated, subcylindrical, with a fin-like dila- tation on each side of the hinder half ; it seems intermediate between lutra and enhydra. The P. SambacJiii (Gray), from Demerara, is of liver-brown color, with chin and throat yel- lowish ; the length is about 28 in., of which the tail is 12 ; the genus is peculiar to South America, and may be distinguished from enhy- dra by the greater size of the fore and the lesser of the hind feet. Delalande discovered at the Cape of Good Hope an otter which has no claws on the fore feet, and mere vestiges of them on the hind in the adult condition ; of this Lesson formed the genus aonyx. The clawless otter (A. inunguis, Less.) is larger than the European otter, with longer legs and less palmated feet ; the color is chestnut brown above, grayish on the head and shoulders, and whitish below. The sea otter (enhydra ma- otter (Enhydra marina). rina, Flem.) resembles a seal more than an ot- ter ; the head is short and very broad, the ears very small, the nose with a naked muffle ; the toes of the fore feet very short, bound in a thickened membrane, densely haired and cov- ering the claws ; in the hind feet the outer toe is the longest, and these extremities are far backward as in the seals ; there is one premo- lar less on each side of the upper jaw, and the adults are said to have only four lower inci- sors ; in Audubon and Bachman's " Quadru- peds of North America," the dental formula is given as : incisors, canines f i|-, molars fif^ = 38. The body is very long, covered with a thick glossy fur; tail less than a quarter the length of the body, strong and depressed. The length in the adult is more than 5 ft., of which the tail is 1 ; there are two ventral mammae. The color is chestnut brown, but black in the adult in the proper season ; there is a grayish tint about the head and neck ; the fur is exceedingly fine and long. It inhabits the coasts and islands of the north Pacific and about Kamtchatka, coming down on the Amer- ican coast as far as Monterey ; it is essen- tially marine in its habitat, generally keeping near the coast ; it is shy and timid, and hunted from boats. The skins used to form an impor- tant article of commerce between the Russians and the Chinese and Japanese. It is found on the N. W. coast of America, principally between lat. 49 and 60 N. ; but the animal is now comparatively rare. The food consists of fish, lobsters, and cephalopods. It is stu- pid and inoffensive, and trusts for escape from its pursuers only to its speed in swimming; it produces on land a single young one at a birth. The habits of this animal are little known, and perfect skins and skulls are rare either in public or private collections. OTTERBEm, Philip William, founder of the church of the United Brethren in Christ, born in Dillenburg, Germany, June 4, 1Y26, died in Baltimore, Md., Nov. 17, 1813. He was or-