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Aonyx (clawless otter)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae

Synonyms
  • Anahyster was named by Murray (1860). It is extant.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Aonyx by Allen (1919).
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1827Aonyx Lesson p. 157
1860Anahyster Murray p. 157
1968Aonyx Kurten p. 105
1988Aonyx Carroll
2004Aonyx Marmi et al. p. 492
2007Aonyx Pickford p. 122 figs. Fig. 23
2010Aonyx Werdelin and Peigne p. 619
2018Aonyx Law et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
RankNameAuthor
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Ferae()
CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderCaniformiaKretzoi 1943
infraorderCanoidea(Simpson 1931)
superfamilyArctoideaFlower 1869
Mustelida
familyMustelidaeFischer 1817
subfamilyLutrinaeBaird 1857
genusAonyxLesson 1827

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Aonyx Lesson 1827 [clawless otter]
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Aonyx antiqua Blainville 1841
Aonyx aonychoides Zdansky 1924
Aonyx capensis Schinz 1821 [African clawless otter]
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Invalid names: Aonyx delalandi Lesson 1827 [synonym], Lutra inunguis Cuvier 1823 [synonym]
Aonyx cinerea Illiger 1815 [Oriental small-clawed otter]
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Invalid names: Lutra leptonyx Horsfield 1823 [synonym]
Aonyx congica Lonnberg 1910
Invalid names: Anahyster Murray 1860 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: amphibiousg
Diet: carnivoref
Diet 2: omnivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2012-04-17 11:14:30
Modified: 2012-04-16 20:14:30
Source: g = genus, f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Gingerich 2003, Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Zanclean to the top of the Holocene or 5.33300 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 2.588 Ma

Collections (29 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Messinian - Piacenzian7.246 - 2.588South Africa (Cape) Aonyx sp. (59167)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Ethiopia (Afar) Aonyx capensis (70907)
Zanclean - Calabrian5.333 - 0.781Kenya Aonyx sp. (21399 21506)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781South Africa Aonyx capensis (21824)
Gelasian - Calabrian2.588 - 0.781Kenya Aonyx sp. (21377)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117South Africa Aonyx capensis (21825 21828 21916 21929 21931 21956)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Congo-Kinshasa Aonyx sp. (22098)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Zambia Aonyx capensis (21924)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0South Africa Aonyx capensis (21951)
Calabrian1.806 - 0.781Tanzania Aonyx sp. (22041 22064)
Middle Pleistocene0.781 - 0.126Netherlands Aonyx antiqua (109704)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.126 - 0.0117South Africa Aonyx capensis (115167)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Philippines Amblonyx cinereus (194835 194836)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Congo-Kinshasa Aonyx sp. (22066)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa (Orange Free) Aonyx capensis (21943 21944)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa (N. Transraal) Aonyx capensis (21693)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa Aonyx capensis (21918 21946 96973)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Vietnam Aonyx cinerea (32904)