| Megalenhydris | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photo of holotype in situ | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Lutrinae |
| Genus: | †Megalenhydris Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987 |
| Species: | †M. barbaricina
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Megalenhydris barbaricina Willemsen & Maletesta, 1987
| |
Megalenhydris barbaricina is an extinct species of giant otter from the Late Pleistocene of Sardinia. It is known from a single partial skeleton, discovered in the Grotta di Ispinigoli near Dorgali, and was described in 1987.[1] It was larger than any living otter, exceeding the size of South American giant otters (Petrolutra), which can reach two meters in length.[2][3] The species is one of four extinct otter species from Sardinia and Corsica. The others are Algarolutra majori, Lutra castiglionis[4] and Sardolutra ichnusae.[5] It is suggested to have ultimately originated from the much smaller European mainland species "Lutra" simplicidens[5], which may be more closely related to Lutrogale than to modern Lutra species.[6] The structure of the teeth points to a diet of bottom dwelling fish and crustaceans.[5] A special characteristic of the species is the flattening of the first few caudal vertebrae (the remainder of the caudal vertebrae are not known). This might point to a slightly flattened tail.
