Diet and Eating Habits
Oriental small-clawed otters feed mainly on invertebrates such as crabs and other crustaceans, molluscs and amphibians. The hindmost upper teeth (pm4 and m3) are broad and robust and are specialized for crushing the exoskeletons of crabs and other hard shelled prey. They also feed on insects and small fish such as gouramis and catfish. They supplement their diet with rodents and snakes. Apart from crabs, the major prey items are mudskippers (Gobioidei). There is much seasonable variability in the diet. They hunt food by using their vibrissae to detect movements of prey in the water. They use their forepaws to locate and capture items rather than their mouths. Their incomplete webbing gives them a great deal of manual dexterity. They dig in sand and mud for shellfish such as clams, mussels and crab. To get at the meat they crush the shell manually or let heat from the sun force the shells to open.
Read more about this topic: Oriental Small-clawed Otter
Famous quotes containing the words eating habits, diet, eating and/or habits:
“That anger can be expressed through words and non-destructive activities; that promises are intended to be kept; that cleanliness and good eating habits are aspects of self-esteem; that compassion is an attribute to be prized—all these lessons are ones children can learn far more readily through the living example of their parents than they ever can through formal instruction.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)
“Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty—the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“I have been spending my first night in an American “summer hotel,” and I despair of the Republic! Such dreariness, such whining callow women, such utter absence of the amenities, such crass food, crass manners, crass landscape!... What a horror it is for a whole nation to be developing without a sense of beauty, and eating bananas for breakfast.”
—Edith Wharton (1862–1937)
“It contributes greatly towards a man’s moral and intellectual health, to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals unlike himself, who care little for his pursuits, and whose sphere and abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate.”
—Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864)