#siamogale

[paleochick]

THIS GIANT OTTER was described by my boss, Dr. Denise Su! #Repost @fossil_librarian ————————- It’s #WorldOtterDay!!! Do you think otters are totes ardorbs?? Well how about a 110lbs (50kg) otter with a crushing bite? In 2017, researchers published on a new giant otter they named “Siamogale melilutra”. The fossils were discovered in late Miocene (~6 mya) lignite beds of Shuitangba, Yunnan Province, China. This wolf-sized otter is larger than all living otters. The heaviest extant otter is the Sea Otter weighing in at 14-45kg. Researchers also compared the bite force of “S. melilutra” to ten other living otter species and found it had crushing teeth and robust jaws that were 6x sturdier than the extant otters. Possibly acquiring these traits to eat the abundance of big clams at this time. 1) cranium - image from Wang, X., Grohé, C., Su, D. F., White, S. C., Ji, X., Kelley, J., ... & Yang, X. (2018). A new otter of giant size, Siamogale melilutra sp. nov.(Lutrinae: Mustelidae: Carnivora), from the latest Miocene Shuitangba site in north-eastern Yunnan, south-western China, and a total-evidence phylogeny of lutrines. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 16(1), 39-65. 2) comparison of crania of Siamogale and Lutra (European Otter) - image from Tseng, Z. J., Su, D. F., Wang, X., White, S. C., & Ji, X. (2017). Feeding capability in the extinct giant Siamogale melilutra and comparative mandibular biomechanics of living Lutrinae. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 15225. ⚒ . . . #otter #giantotter #siamogale #china #yunnanprovince #cenozoic #miocene #biomechanics #paleontology #peerreview #publication #science #research #researchpaper

[patrickweck]

Marco, ship navigator Species: Siamogale melilutra The bear-otters have been sailors for centuries. Although their armada was said to be the best in Rodinia, most of them sold out to the Menagerie without a fight. Not Marco. #siamogale #giantotter #bearotter #inktober #inktober2018 #talesofrodinia #talesofthemobius #rodinia #steampunkfauna #steampunk #megafauna #steampunkmegafauna #patrickweck #bluemaskstudio #indiecomics #illustrator #illustration #instaart https://www.instagram.com/p/BpX60QnDjPS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4hvi6p56vnym

[taggthewanderer]

A massive, wolf-sized otter that lived about 6 million years ago may have been a dominant predator in its time, according to a new analysis of the animal's jaws. When scientists used computers to simulate how biting would strain S. melilutra's jaws, they concluded that the animal had much firmer jaw bones than expected, giving it a surprisingly strong bite.