Weir's otter Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Mustelidae |
Genus: | Lontra |
Species: | †L. weiri
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Binomial name | |
†Lontra weiri Prassack (2016)
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Lontra weiri (Weir's otter) is a fossil species in the carnivoran family Mustelidae from the Hagerman Fossil Beds of Idaho. It shared its habitat with Satherium piscinarium, a probable ancestor of the giant otter of South America.[1] It is named in honor of musician Bob Weir, and is the oldest known member of its genus.[2] Prior to its discovery, Lontra was thought to have evolved from Lutra licenti, which dates from the Pleistocene of East Asia.[3]