Sea Otter Skull Replica

$151.00

Sea Otters inhabit the seas and kelp beds of North America. The Sea Otter is a highly intelligent, playful, and inquisitive mammal. It is most famous for swimming on its back and using stones as tools to break open the hard shells of mollusks.

Description

Sea Otter Skull Replica measures 5.7 inches. Sea Otter Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Made in USA. Cast from original specimen. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

The Sea Otter or Enhydra lutris is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 31 and 99 lb., making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals.

Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter’s primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the Sea Otter or Enhydra lutris lives mostly in the ocean.

The Sea Otter inhabits nearshore environments, where it dives to the sea floor to forage. It preys mostly on marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various molluscs and crustaceans, and some species of fish.

The Sea Otter or Enhydra lutris use of rocks to dislodge prey and to open shells makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools.

In most of its range, it is a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations which would otherwise inflict extensive damage to kelp forest ecosystems.

The Sea Otter or Enhydra lutris does not have blubber and relies on its exceptionally thick fur to keep warm. With up to 150,000 strands of hair per square centimeter, its fur is the densest of any animal.

The fur consists of long, waterproof guard hairs and short underfur; the guard hairs keep the dense underfur layer dry. Cold water is kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited.

The Sea Otter or Enhydra lutris fur is thick year round, as it is shed and replaced gradually rather than in a distinct molting season. As the ability of the guard hairs to repel water depends on utmost cleanliness, the sea otter has the ability to reach and groom the fur on any part of its body, taking advantage of its loose skin and an unusually supple skeleton.

The coloration of the fur is usually deep brown with silver-gray speckles, but it can range from yellowish or grayish brown to almost black. In adults, the head, throat, and chest are lighter in color than the rest of the body.

The Sea Otter or Enhydra lutris can be found in the Pacific littoral of lower California to the Aleutians, Kurile and Kamchatka.

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Additional information

Weight 5 lbs
Dimensions 5.7 in
Sea Otter Facts:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Lutrinae
Genus: Enhydra
Species: E. lutris
Binomial name: Enhydra lutris
Conservation status: Endangered. An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct in the near future.