Taxon name
Lutrogale perspicillata
(I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Lutrogale perspicillata
(I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826)
Common name(s)
Smooth-coated Otter, Indian Smoothcoated Otter, Uud, Uud Biral, Bhodar
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
(I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
The species was named as Lutra perspicillata by Geoffroy 1826 and as Lutrogale perspicillata by Gray 1865. Two subspecies were reported (Pocock 1941) (1) L. p. perspicillata - in northeast and southern India, Myanmar and Sumatra; and (2) L. p. sindica - i
Lutra perspicillata I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Critically Endangered
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species occurred in and around all the wetlands and forested areas of Bangladesh until 1980s. Its population has declined more than 90% due to hunting and poaching, loss of natural habitat and severe conflict with commercial fish farming. There is a small semi-captive population conserved traditionally in Norail District and used for fishing. However, this has also declined more than 80% in last two decades. Therefore, it has been categorized as Critically Endangered.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
Mohammed Mostafa Feeroz
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet Nam (de Silva et al. 2015). The species is restricted to the hilly areas of the northeast and southeast and the coastal districts when its largest population possibly still thrives in the Sundarbans Mangrove forest in the southwest corner of the country (Feeroz et al. 2011ab, Khan 1982, 2015).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The Smooth-coated Otter inhabits major rivers, mangroves and estuaries. It is predominantly a fish eater, but supplements its diet with shrimp/crayfish, crab and insects, and other vertebrates such as frog, mudskippers, birds and rats (Prater 1971, Foster-Turly 1992, Hussain and Choudhury 1998).
History
Critically Endangered in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232
