. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 176 THE BEASTS OF PREY. THE OTTERS. The third sub-order of the Martens is formed by the Otters {Lutridce), which number about twenty distinct species that are distinguished by a long, flat body resting on short legs, a flat head with a blunt snout, small, prominent eyes and short, round ears ; very well developed webs between the toes; a long, tapering, flattened tail, and short, coarse, sleek, glossy hair. The paws are five-toed, the two middle toes being but slightly shorter than the outer ones. Otters do not possess a scertt-pou
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 176 THE BEASTS OF PREY. THE OTTERS. The third sub-order of the Martens is formed by the Otters {Lutridce), which number about twenty distinct species that are distinguished by a long, flat body resting on short legs, a flat head with a blunt snout, small, prominent eyes and short, round ears ; very well developed webs between the toes; a long, tapering, flattened tail, and short, coarse, sleek, glossy hair. The paws are five-toed, the two middle toes being but slightly shorter than the outer ones. Otters do not possess a scertt-pouch, but have two scent- glands terminating at the root of the tail. The structure of the teeth and skeleton resembles that of the other Martens. The most peculiar feature is. THE CAPE ZOBILLA, While our own American animals of the Skunk' group have no rivals in the faculty of emitting offensive odors^ the Zorillas Of Africa have great ability in that way. The Cape Zorilla is a prettily marked animal with. white stripes extending along its body and a long, bushy tail. It hunts and kills alh small mammals and birds, and is an accomplished Chicken-thief, so that the picture appropriately shows it with featnered prey. {Rhabdogale musielina.) the strikingly flat skull, with its wide cerebral part, its narrow facial area, and a short snout, these char- acteristics appearing in all the various species. Aquatic Otters inhabit rivers and oceans, and Nature of the range over nearly all parts of the globe. Otters. with the exception of Australia and very high latitudes. They leave the water only when compelled to do so, and then solely with a view of finding some other body of water. They swim and dive in a masterly manner, being able to stay under water a very long time ; they run tolerably well, in spite of their short legs, and are strong, cou- rageous animals. They are capable of domestica- tion. Their relations to Man are always strained, for the damage they do is far in excess of th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
