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Giant River Otter

Pteronura brasiliensis

Photo by AdamRiley
Published on Project Noah
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-17.1528, -56.6492

Field Notes

Description:

The Giant Otter or Giant River Otter is one of the most endangered species of South American mammals. I photographed this individual along the Cuiaba River in the northern Pantanal. It was enjoying its meal of a freshly caught fish and squealing with delight - these social animals are very noisy.

Habitat:

Neotropical forested rivers

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (27)
patty
Great picture and spotting Adam; I guess they must feed well to maintain their name....
DDO
awesome ariranha picture
Josh Asel
Fantastic spotting and capture! keep it up man!
zapabio
que foto animal!!!!!!! você minha a missão que crie só com mamíferos do Brasil? coloca essa foto lá! Obrigado Have you seen my new mission with mammals from Brazil? enter it! Thanks http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/14161253
achmmad
Gorgeous spotting and information!
lmdang
Fantastic spotting & picture. You are so lucky, we looked for 3 days (near Puerto Maldonado) and didn't get remotely close to them.
HeatherMiller
ok, this one should definitely get looked at for a spotting of the day or week...your image quality is fabulous and the subject matter is very neat. I love his little tongue licking his mouth. Very cool.
Elsa
Absolutely awesome!!
AdamRiley
Thanks for the positive comments - it was a fantastic sighting! Unfortunately I don't know the species of fish so can't help with that!
Sergio Monteiro
From Wikipedia: Members of the family Loricariidae are commonly referred to as suckermouth armoured catfishes, armoured catfish, 'plecos' or simply 'plecs'; a shortened form of the species name plecostomus. These names are used practically interchangeably when referring to the Loricariidae. The name "Plecostomus" and its shortened forms have become synonymous with the Loricariidae in general, since Plecostomus plecostomus (now called Hypostomus plecostomus) was one of the first species imported into the fishkeeping hobby. This can cause some confusion as some unrelated fish may also be called plecostomus, such as the "Borneo Plecostomus", which are actually balitorid fishes.
auntnance123
Definitely a spotting of the day--it's wonderful.
BrandonBlount
I thought it looked like something in the "Plecostomus" family. :-D
Sergio Monteiro
The fish seems to be a "Cascudo", a Loricariidae, Order Siluriformes. That name means, in portuguese, "shelled", for its hard skin, covered with bony plates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricariidae
SeanWeekly
a piece of art, a wonderful spot and great capture!
BrandonBlount
Very Awesome Shot!!!!! I am curious as to what species of fish it was eating...

Spotted for Missions

Mission
2011 Best Wildlife Photo
Mission
Hunters & Animal Food Habits
Mission
Brazilian Mammals - Mamíferos Brasileiros
Photographed
PublishedOctober 17, 2011

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