Aonyx

Aonyx[1]
Aonyx cinereus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Lutrinae
Genus: Aonyx
Lesson, 1827[2]
Type species
Aonyx delalandi[a][1]
Lesson, 1827
Synonyms[3][1]

Aonyx is a genus of otters, containing three species, the African clawless otter, the Congo clawless otter, and the Asian small-clawed otter. The word aonyx means "clawless", derived from the prefix a- ("without") and onyx ("claw/hoof").

Species

Three species are currently recognised:[10][11]

Genus Aonyx – Lesson, 1827 – three species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
African clawless otter also known as the Cape clawless otter

Aonyx capensis
Schinz, 1821

Five subspecies
  • A. c. capensis (Schinz, 1821)
  • A. c. hindei (Thomas, 1905)
  • A. c. meneleki (Thomas, 1903)
  • A. c. microdon (Pohle, 1920)
  • A. c. philippsi (Hinton, 1921)
sub-Saharan Africa
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


Congo clawless otter, also known as the Cameroon clawless otter, and formerly considered a subspecies of the African clawless otter

Aonyx congicus
Lönnberg, 1910 		Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Uganda, and possibly Burundi and Nigeria
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


Asian small-clawed otter, also known as the oriental small-clawed otter

Aonyx cinereus
(Illiger, 1815) 		South and Southeast Asia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 VU 




Zoologists differ as to whether or not to include the Asian small-clawed otter in this genus, or in its own genus Amblonyx.[12][13] They also differ as to whether the Congo clawless otter is a species, or is conspecific with the African clawless otter.[14][15]

Notes

  1. ^ Type species by subsequent designation (Palmer 1904).

References

  1. ^ a b c Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Genus Aonyx". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 601–602. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Lesson, Réné-Primeverre (1827). "XCIIe Genre. Aonyx, Aonyx". Manuel de mammalogie, ou histoire naturelle des mammifères. Paris: Roret. p. 157. BHL page 54207625.
  3. ^ Palmer, T. S. (1904). Index generum mammalium. North American Fauna. Vol. 23. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 111, 830. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.39809.
  4. ^ Rafinesque, C. S. (1832). "Description of a New Otter, Lutra Concolor from Assam in Asia". Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge. 1 (2): 62. BHL page 33519569.
  5. ^ Murray, Andrew (1860). "Contributions to the Fauna of Old Calabar—Mammals". Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh. 2: 156–159.
  6. ^ Agassiz, L. (1846). Nomenclatoris Zoologici: Index Universalis. Solodurum: Jent et Gassmann. pp. 24, 27.
  7. ^ Lesson, R. P. (1842). "S.-Genre: Leptonyx, Less.". Nouveau Tableau du Règne Animal: Mammifères. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. p. 72.
  8. ^ Allen, J. A. (1919). "Preliminary Notes on African Carnivora". Journal of Mammalogy. 1 (1): 23–31. doi:10.1093/jmammal/1.1.23. JSTOR 1373716.
  9. ^ Hinton, Martin A.C. (1921). "Paraonyx, a new genus of clawless otter discovered by Capt. J. E. Philipps, M.C., in Central Africa". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Ser. 9. 7 (38): 194–200. doi:10.1080/00222932108632510.
  10. ^ "Aonyx". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Search for "Aonyx"". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  12. ^ Larivière, Serge (2003). "Amblonyx cinereus". Mammalian Species (720): 1–5. doi:10.1644/0.720.1. JSTOR 3504404.
  13. ^ Srinivasulu, Chelmala; Srinivasulu, Bhargavi (2012). "Genus Aonyx Lesson, 1827". South Asian Mammals: Their Diversity, Distribution, and Status. New York: Springer. p. 310. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3449-8_3.
  14. ^ Nel, Jan A. J.; Somers, Michael J. (2013). "Genus Aonyx: Clawless Otters". In Kingdon, Jonathan; Hoffmann, Michael (eds.). Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. Mammals of Africa. Vol. 5. London: Bloomsbury. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-4081-2255-6.
    • Somers, Michael J.; Nel, Jan A. J. (2013). "Aonyx capensis African Clawless Otter". In Kingdon, Jonathan; Hoffmann, Michael (eds.). Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. Mammals of Africa. Vol. 5. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 104–108. ISBN 978-1-4081-2255-6.
    • Jacqeus, Hélène; Parnell, Richard; Alary, Franck (2013). "Aonyx congicus Congo Clawless Otter". In Kingdon, Jonathan; Hoffmann, Michael (eds.). Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. Mammals of Africa. Vol. 5. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 108–110. ISBN 978-1-4081-2255-6.
  15. ^
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