Lutra Brünnich, 1771 . Zool. Fundamenta, p. 34, 42.

TYPE SPECIES: Mustela lutra Linnaeus, 1758 .

SYNONYMS: Barangia Gray, 1865; Hydrictis Pocock, 1921; Lutronectes Gray, 1867 .

COMMENTS: Some have used Lutra Brisson, 1762, which was ruled unavailable (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 1955). Pocock (1921 c, 1941«) recognized Lutrogale Gray, 1865, and Hydrictis Pocock, 1921 . Harris (1968) and van Zyll de Jong (1987; 1991a) considered lutra, maculicollis, and sumatrana to represent a single monophyletic group; furthermore, van Zyll de Jong's analysis supported separation of perspicillata from other Lutra, which is followed here. Van Zyll de Jong (1972) referred New World otters to Lontra (see comment therein), and although this has not been followed by some recent checklists (Corbet and Hill, 1991; Hall, 1981; Honacki, et al., 1982), van Zyll de Jong's hypothesis has not been refuted.