Lutra nippon (Japanese Otter)

[surroundx]

The Japanese Otter, last seen in 1979, and probably extinct. Sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra).

www.otterspecialistgroup.org/Library/Colloquium_10/Presentations/10-11-10-40_Ando.pdf

www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/otter-kappa/

www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/12419/0

[Melanie]

A report about unconfirmed sightings in recent times

japandailypress.com/numerous-sightings-of-supposedly-extinct-japanese-otter-reported-2023720

[Peter]

The [Mammal] Ministry of the Environment Fourth Red List (2012), from the website of the Japanese Ministry of Environment, mentions both Japanese otters as extinct subspecies of Lutra lutra:
↑ニホンカワウソ（本州以南亜種）Lutra lutra nippon
↑ニホンカワウソ（北海道亜種）Lutra lutra whiteleyi

Source (pdf): www.env.go.jp/press/file_view.php?serial=20550&hou_id=15619

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And I also found, at the same website, that both were declared extinct in 2012:

和名	学名	新カテゴリー （2012）	旧カテゴリー（2007）
ニホンカワウソ（本州以南亜種）	Lutra lutra nippon	EX	CR
ニホンカワウソ（北海道亜種）	Lutra lutra whiteleyi	EX	CR

Source (pdf): www.env.go.jp/press/file_view.php?serial=20559&hou_id=15619

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With Google Translate:
ニホンカワウソ（本州以南亜種）= Nihonkawauso (Honshu south subspecies)
ニホンカワウソ（北海道亜種）= Nihonkawauso (Hokkaido subspecies)

[koeiyabe]

Japanese people don't want to believe that the otter was totally extinct, but sadly this otter is listed as EX by the latest Japanese Red List.
It is the fact that a few hunters have poached or killed otters within 30 years to preserve fishing business.

Lutra lutra nippon - inhabit Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
Lutra lutra whitely - inhabit only Hokkaido Last seen in the 1950s. The subspecies may not valid and still in dispute with whether or not L. l. whitelyis is distinct from L. l. nippon

Taxonomic Status (in English)
ci.nii.ac.jp/els/110004311725.pdf?id=ART0006479299&type=pdf&lang=en&host=cinii&order_no=&ppv_type=0&lang_sw=&no=1430175472&cp=

WANTED



www.pref.ehime.jp/h15800/documents/chirashi.pdf  Page 2



Video of observing an otter in 1979. 



The otter bit the hand of the cameraman in 1975 from this video above. 

[koeiyabe]

The otter became a mascot or a symbol of Susaki City where it was last seen.


kawausosu.com/?cat=53
many images of different mascots

[koeiyabe]

The otter is a big eater and has to eat a large amount of fish as 15 % of its weight that is more than 10 kg.
The otter like a sort of habitat, such as the course of a big mouth of natural rivers without any embankments and factories. Also, there should be abundant quality of fish. There is a very little special environment in Japan now. Most people tend to live around a big mouth of rivers in lowland.

blog.goo.ne.jp/xbigtreex/e/5740febd8360631a8ae0f54f7723ec42
www.city.susaki.kochi.jp/03_shimin/kankyou_gomi_recycle/kawausonoheya/nihon_kawauso/nihon_kawauso_top.html


kirarhythm.blog.shinobi.jp/雑記/ニホンカワウソ%E3%80%80２  
many images of the living otter and its last spot

The Last Habitat - The Shinjo River in Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture
www.google.com/maps/place/新荘川/@33.391638,133.262867,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x354e4eb1c1265b25:0x6f48cf7175149b78

[surroundx]

Naito, Yuichi I. et al. (2015). Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopic Composition of a Whisker and Fur from a Stuffed 19th Century Specimen of the Extinct Japanese River Otter Collected from Inland Honshu, Japan. Mammal Study 40(4): 265-269. [Abstract]

[surroundx]

Waku D, Segawa T, Yonezawa T, Akiyoshi A, Ishige T, Ueda M, et al. (2016). Evaluating the Phylogenetic Status of the Extinct Japanese Otter on the Basis of Mitochondrial Genome Analysis. PLoS ONE 11(3): e0149341.

[koeiyabe]

Imaizumi, Tadaaki. "The Last Japanese Otter." Ed. Masayuki Shimotochidana. A Secret of Extinct Animals. Vol. III. Tokyo: Gakken, 2013. 4-57. Print.

[surroundx]

Waku, Daisuke and Sasaki, Takeshi. (2016). Evolutionary History of the Extinct Otter Lived in Japanese Islands. Adv. Tech. Biol. Med. 4: 4.

[surroundx]

cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/sightings-soar-of-supposedly-extinct.html

[Sebbe]

What is the taxonomic status of East Asian otter species based on molecular evidence?: focus on the position of the Japanese otter holotype specimen from museum.

The Japanese otter (Lutra nippon), once inhabited in most islands of Japan, is now considered as an extinct species. Although the Japanese otter is regarded as a distinct species from the Eurasian otter (L. lutra), its phylogeny and taxonomic status are based on limited information on morphological and genetic data, and thus further clarification is required. Here, we assessed the phylogenetic relationship among the genus Lutra and taxonomic status of L. nippon by using the complete sequences of cytochrome b gene of its holotype. The present phylogenic trees supported that the genus Lutra specimens largely formed monophyletic group, with L. sumatrana as a basal to other Lutra species. Within Lutra species, L. nippon was distantly related with L. lutra. The European otter population of L. l. lutra were clustered together with its subspecies, L. l. chinensis rather than the same subspecies, Korean otter population. The discrepancy between the genetic data and traditional taxonomy justifies the necessity of reexamination of the current subspecific classification system of Eurasian otters. Level of genetic divergence between the holotype of L. nippon and L. lutra was two to three-fold lower than those among the other sister species of the Lutrinae. Based on the level of divergence between the L. nippon and L. lutra, and insufficient evidence of morphological difference between them, it is suggested that designation of Japanese otter as a separate species from L. lutra will be reconsidered.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6567078/

[redpinnipedgamer]

Footage I collected from a few sources

[redpinnipedgamer]

www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK28009_Y2A820C1000000/

taken June 1979



akkamui.com/blog-entry-113.html

(tons more photos can be found on this blog)





www.otterspecialistgroup.org/Library/Colloquium_10/Presentations/10-11-10-40_Ando.pdf

[redpinnipedgamer]

www.tobezoo.com/animals/library/article/000618.html




The source of this last image I sadly lost and can only find the link to the image itself

kajlihandmade.pl/img/632189.jpg






www.pref.ehime.jp/reddatabook2014/detail/01_04_000020_1.html

taiki-y.hatenablog.com/entry/2021/01/16/175242