Ashley's Sea Otter Page
Kingdom:
Animalia
Characteristics
that place it here:
- multicelluar with
specialized eukartyotic cells
- rely on other
organisms for nourishment
- ingest food and digest
food in an internal cavity
- have there own means
of locomotion
Phylum:
Chordata
Characteristics
that place it here:
- bilaterally
symmetrical bodies (the right & left side of the body
are a mirror image of each other)
- at some point of the
life cycle they have a pair of slits or pouches used to
obtain oxygen in a liquid environment
- have a notochord at
some phase of their life cycle
- Members often have a
head, tail and a digestive system with openings at both
ends of the body
Class:
Mammalia
Characteristics
that place it here:
- conceive their young
within the reproductive tract of the mother
- nourish young with
milk produced by the mother's mammary glands
- are endothermic (that
means warm blooded)
- they have hair and
sweat glands
- they have 4 chambered
heart
- they have a complex
nervous system
- they have large brains
Order:
Carnivora
Characteristics
that place it here:
- medium sized animals
- acute senses
- vision and hearing are
excellent
- large brains, simple
stomachs
Family:
Mustelidae
Characteristics
that place it here:
- feet have 5 toes
- hands and feet are
webbed
- males have a well
developed baculum
- Also have well
developed anal glands (use of defense)
- tails are usually very
long
- ears small and rounded
Genius:
Enhydra
Species:
Enhydra Lutris
Characteristics
& Interesting Facts
- use tools such as
rocks to open their prey (such as shells of abalone)
- live along the North
American coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean
- Dark brown fur, medium
sized
- hands and feet webbed
- VERY CUTE!!!!!
Refrences:
December 10, 2000; http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/ ,
Classification Of Sea Otters: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/cgi-bin/htsearch?config=trishfiles&restrict=&exclude=&words=classification+order+of+the+sea+otter&Submit=Search&method=and&format=short&sort=score&matchesperpage=20
January 3,
2000; http://www.yahoo.com/, http://www.silcom.com/~njhua/otter/otter.html, Art
gallery
