Lontra felina

– Endangered

Taxonomy

Kingdom:

ANIMALIA

Phylum:

CHORDATA

Class:

MAMMALIA

Order:

CARNIVORA

Family:

MUSTELIDAE

Scientific Name:

Lontra felina

Species Authority:

(Molina, 1782)

Synonym/s:

Lutra felina Molina, 1782

Common Name/s:

English	—	MARINE OTTER, SEA CAT
French	—	CHUNGUNGO, LOUTRE DE MER
Spanish	—	CHICHIMEN, CHINCHIMEN, CHINGUNGO, CHUNGUNGO, GATO DE MAR, GATO MARINO, HUALLACA, NUTRIA DE MAR

Taxonomic Notes:

Was listed in the 1996 IUCN Red List under Lutra.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

EN A3ce ver 3.1 (2001)

Year Assessed:

2004

Assessor/s:

Vogel, G.M.

Evaluator/s:

Hussain, S.A. & Reuther, C. (Otter Red List Authority)

Justification:

The greatest threats to the marine otter are accelerating habitat destruction, degradation, competition for prey and terrestrial refuges with man (locals), accidental kill in crab pots and poaching throughout the species' range. These threats are estimated to potentially lead to a future reduction in population size of around 50% over the next 10 years.

History:

1982	-	Vulnerable as Lutra felina (Thornback and Jenkins 1982)
1986	-	Vulnerable as Lutra felina (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1988	-	Vulnerable as Lutra felina (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1990	-	Vulnerable as Lutra felina (IUCN 1990)
1994	-	Vulnerable as Lutra felina (Groombridge 1994)
1996	-	Endangered as Lutra felina (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
1999	-	Endangered (Hilton-Taylor 2000)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	The marine otter is distributed along the Pacific coast from northern Peru along the Chilean coast to Cape Horn and Isla de Los Estados in Argentina.
Countries:	Native: Argentina; Chile; Peru

Population

Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:	It inhabits marine areas exposed to heavy seas, strong wind, and a high diversity of rock fishes, molluscs, and crustaceans. Only rarely found in freshwater habitats.
System:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats

Threats:

There are two major threats in Latin America: habitat destruction and water pollution. The original range of the marine otter has decreased considerably as a result of excessive hunting, and the species has been nearly exterminated from some regions, becoming patchy in its distribution. The largest populations of marine otters remain along the west coast of Chiloé Island and in southern parts of Chile. In this region, however, there is very little information about hunting, habitat conservation and the status and distribution of otter populations. As the diet of the marine otter is composed mostly of invertebrates, including crabs and molluscs also exploited by humans, there is direct competition with humans. Overexploitation of crabs and molluscs and pollution of some regions of the coast may be the most important threats to this species. Poaching may be also another important threat south of Chiloé Island since there is very little control of such activities in this area.

Citation:	Vogel, G.M. 2004. Lontra felina. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 September 2008.
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