| Japanese River Otter | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification |
The Japanese river otter is an extinct subspecies of otter formerly widespread in Japan. Dating back to the 1880s, it was even seen in Tokyo. The population suddenly shrank in the 1930s, and the mammal nearly vanished.
Taxonomy[]
Description[]
The population of the species has shrant at 1930's, and the mammal nearly vanished. Since then, it has only been spotted several times, in 1964 in the Seto Inland Sea, and in the Uwa Sea in 1972 and 1973. The last official sighting was in the southern part of Kōchi Prefecture in 1979, when it was photographed in the mouth of the Shinjo River in Susaki. It was subsequently classified as a "Critically Endangered" species on the Japanese Red List. On August 28, 2012, the Japanese river otter was officially declared extinct by the Ministry of the Environment. [1]
Ecology and biology[]
Cause of extinction[]
Efforts to prove its existence[]
Genetic studies[]
Gallery[]
