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- Aonyx capensis Schinz, 1821
Aonyx capensis Schinz, 1821
Order: Carnivora > Family: Mustelidae > Genus: Aonyx > Species: Aonyx capensis Schinz, 1821
Common Name: African Clawless Otter [English]
Type Description
In G. Cuvier, Das Thierreich, 1:211.
Type Locality
'Capischer otter. . Afrika' [South Africa, (former) Cape Province].
Measurements
Head and body: 720-910 mm
Tail length: 400-710 mm
Weight: 13-28 kg
Tail length: 400-710 mm
Weight: 13-28 kg
Description
This otter has unwebbed digits on the feet and very small nails. The light coloration on the chin is not mottled, unlike the spot-necked otter.
Distribution
Very patchy distribution throughout Africa south of the Sahara except in the central Congo basin from sea-level to 3,000 m, Aonyx capensis inhabits swamps, rivers, streams, lakes, marshes, and dams where prey is abundant, as well as estuaries and inshore sea near mangroves or tall cliffs. (Kingdon, 1989, 1997)
Key References
1. Kingdon, J. 1989. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Carnivores). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 3A:122-129.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 234-236. 3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:704-705, 743-745.
4. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 234-236. 3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:704-705, 743-745.
4. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.