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Enhydra

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A sea otter floating peacefully in Morro Bay, California.

Enhydra

Enhydra is a special group of animals that includes the sea otter. Sea otters are unique because they are the only living members of what scientists call "bunodont otters." This means they have special kinds of teeth.

Sea otters are thought to have separated from other otters a very long time ago, about 5 million years back, during a time called the Pliocene. They probably came from an ancient relative called Enhydritherium, which lived in North America even earlier, during times known as the late Miocene and early Pliocene.

The oldest known Enhydra species, named Enhydra reevei, lived in the Atlantic Ocean. Over time, the Enhydra family spread to the North Pacific. This is where we find the sea otter today and where an ancient relative, Enhydra macrodonta, also lived.

Images

A cute red panda sitting against a plain white background.
Illustration of a striped skunk from a historical natural history book.
Illustration of Bassaricyon alleni, a type of mammal, shown on a white background for educational purposes.
A simple line art drawing of a woodchuck, perfect for learning about forest animals!
An artist’s drawing of Chamitataxus avitus, an ancient badger that lived millions of years ago in what is now New Mexico.
A painted illustration of a sable, a type of wild carnivorous mammal.

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Sea otter

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

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