UCT scientists shed new light on giant otters
OVER five million years ago, wolf-sized otters and leopard-sized relatives of living wolverines lived along the West Coast of South Africa, according to recent discoveries by scientists at UCT and Iziko Museums of SA.
These animals, known as mustelids – a family of carnivorans that include weasels, otters and badgers among others – represent the first mustelid specimens described from Langebaanweg in over 40 years.
In an article published in the journal PeerJ, Alberto Valenciano and Romala Govender of UCT’s Department of Biological Sciences, describe the teeth, forelimb and hind-limb skeletons of these giant mustelids: the wolf-sized otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi) and the leopard-sized wolverine (Plesiogulo aff. monspesulanus).
“Our work has led to important new data about the locomotion and diet of the rather poorly known giant otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi), that is unique to Langebaanweg.
“In addition, we confirm that Langebaanweg’s wolverine (Plesiogulo aff. Monspesulanus), is a different species to that of the large bodied Plesiogulo botori from Kenya and Ethiopia,” said Valenciano.
The team hypothesises that the wolf-sized otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi), that lived five million years ago, had a role similar to that of the living African clawless otter and the Asian smallclawed otter.
While less semi-aquatic, it could still have possibly been able to dig occasionally. Additionally, its robust dentition suggests a diet based on armoured catfishes, molluscs, crustaceans or even bones.
“This group of giant otters are all extinct,” said Valenciano.