Sea otters are the only carnivores with just 4 lower incisors.
Sea otters are carnivorous. They will eat nearly any fish or marine invertebrate they can find in their kelp forest foraging grounds. Their diet consists of marine invertebrate herbivores and filter feeders such as sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Strongylocentrotus franciscanus), sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus), limpets (Diodora aspera), coast mussels (Mytilus edulis), chitons (Katharina tunicata), and purple-hinged rock scallops (Crassadoma gigantea). Otters also eat crabs, octopus, squid, and fish.
Sea otters compete with commercial fisheries by feeding on shellfish, sea urchins, and crabs.
Sea otters are the only carnivores with just four lower incisors.
• Image | ©️ Canopic, Some Rights Reserved(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
• Sources | (Allegra & Gunderson 2012; Cohn, 1998; Estes, 1980; Estes, Underwood, & Karmann, 1986; Limbaugh, 1961; Nowak, 1999; Paine, 1993)
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