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Enhydra

Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience

A sea otter floating peacefully in Morro Bay, California.

Enhydra

Enhydra is a special group of animals that includes the sea otter and two extinct relatives. It is the only living group of what scientists call "bunodont otters." This means otters with certain kinds of teeth.

Sea otters likely separated from other otters around 5 million years ago during a time called the Pliocene. They probably came from a close relative called Enhydritherium, which lived in North America during earlier times known as the late Miocene and early Pliocene.

The oldest known species of Enhydra, named Enhydra reevei, originated in the Atlantic Ocean. Fossil evidence shows that the Enhydra family became separated in the North Pacific about 2 million years ago. This led to the creation of an extinct species called Enhydra macrodonta and the sea otter we know today.

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This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Enhydra, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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