Pteronura brasiliensis (Gmelin 1788)

[Lutra] brasiliensis Gmelin 1788, in: Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 13th ed., Vol. 1: 93.

Type Locality: "in fluviis americae meridionalis"; Cabrera (1957:274) restricted to "rió São Francisco, en la orilla correspondiente al estado de Alagoas ", Brazil.

Vernacular Names: Giant Otter.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Pteronura brasiliensis subsp. brasiliensis Gmelin 1788

Subspecies Pteronura brasiliensis subsp. paraguensis Schinz 1821

Distribution: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.

Conservation: CITES – Appendix I; U.S. ESA – Endangered; IUCN – Endangered.

Discussion: See lengthy comments by Harris (1968) concerning the correct identity of the type, the confusion in published synonomies, and the type locality. Synonyms allocated according to Cabrera (1957).