Differences Between Northern and Southern Sea Otters #shorts

#seaotter #otter #kpassionate
Recently, I talked in depth about subspecies as they pertain to sea otters and killer whales. You can find that video here → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxYOI4W6epI

I often talk about how sea otters are weasels. They’re in the family mustelidae along with the thirteen species of river otters. While every otter is in the same family, they are all different species. A species is defined as a group of organisms in which any two individuals of mating types can produce fertile offspring. So if sea otters and river otters were to somehow breed… their offspring would likely be a sterile hybrid.

So what then is a subspecies? And what happens when they breed? A subspecies is a minor ranking below species. In zoology, it is the only rank below species that can officially have a name. There are two recognized subspecies of sea otters in North America; the southern sea otter native to California and the northern sea otter found from Alaska all the way down to Washington State.

Northern sea otters are larger and have denser fur than southern sea otters. Their jaws are also larger and more powerful. While southern sea otters have longer rostrums (also known as snoots) and smaller teeth. But while they do have evolutionary differences, they are the same species and produce fertile offspring. In fact, groups trying to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon coast plan on using both northern and southern sea otters in the hopes that they breed. Because it increases genetic diversity and reduces the risk of health defects associated with inbreeding.

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