This massive extinct otter may have had a bone-crushing bite

The scientific term for crunching hard-shelled creatures to death in your teeth before swallowing them is called “oral-crushing durophagy” — and a massive, extinct otter called Siamogale melilutra may have been a champion at it.

The giant otter was the size of a small human, weighing in at more than 110 pounds when it roamed southwest China six million years ago, National Geographic reports. But don’t imagine that this was a cuddly fuzzball: this ancient otter’s bite, described Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, was probably more powerful than that of any otter species alive.

Image by Credit: Z. Jack Tseng
3D reconstructions of otter jaws: the Eurasian river otter on the left, and Siamogale melilutra on…

Continue reading…

Go to Source