Tubingen (Germany), Sep 18: Researchers from the Universities of Germany have come across a fossil of previously unknown species of otter from 11.4 million years old fossil site in Hammerschmiede, Allgäu, Germany. They found it to be a Vishnu otter species (Vishnuonyx) which were first known from sediments at the foot of the Himalayas. They lived in the great rivers of South Asia 14 to 12.5 million years ago. Recent finds showed that Vishnu otters reached East Africa about 12 million years ago. This is the first evidence that they also lived in Europe. Vishnu otters are mid-sized
predators with a weight of about 10 to 15 kilograms. The new one was named Vishnuonyx neptuni (Neptune’s Vishnu otter). Researchers used the latest computer tomographic technique to see the tooth structure of the fossil. It had pointed cusps, cutting blades, and restricted grinding areas which shows that their diet was primarily fish.
