Lutra

Lutra
Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Lutrinae
Genus: Lutra
Brisson, 1762
Type species
Mustela lutra
Linnaeus, 1758
Subgenera

Lutra is a genus of otters.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

A 2022 study proposed treating the genera Aonyx, Amblonyx, and Lutrogale as synonyms of Lutra in order to simplify the classification of the subfamily Lutrinae and align them with the New World otter genus Lontra in terms of divergence times and morphological diversity. This proposal has been adopted by the Mammal Diversity Database.

The classification of extant species and species that have gone extinct since 1500 is presented.

Phylogeny

The following phylogenetic tree is based on de Ferran et al. (2022).

Lutra
Lutra (Lutra)

L. lutra

L. sumatrana

Lutra (Lutrogale)

L. perspicillata

Lutra (Amblonyx)

L. cinerea

Lutra (Aonyx)

L. congica

L. capensis

References

  1. ↑ de Ferran, V; Figueiró, HV; de Jesus Trindade, F; Smith, O; Sinding, MS; Trinca, CS; Lazzari, GZ; Veron, G; Vianna, JA; Barbanera, F; Kliver, S; Serdyukova, N; Bulyonkova, T; Ryder, OA; Gilbert, MTP; Koepfli, KP; Eizirik, E (2022). "Phylogenomics of the world's otters". Current Biology. 32 (16): 3650–3658.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.036. hdl:10923/24167. PMID 35779528.
  2. ↑ "Mustelidae". Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2026-08-14.