Mustelidae Spotlight: Potamotherium

So, this is the very last Mustelidae Spotlight that I will be writing. It has been a lot of fun for me to learn about the musties and all their dirty deeds. I think the contrast between the rodent spotlights and these blogs should be pretty clear. The musties lean more towards bad behavior. Both, however, seem to have their good fellows, and I find that very interesting.

For my final mustie spotlight, I bring you the prehistoric creature known as the potamotherium. Bones of this animal were first found in 1833 and have since been located in Europe and North America. They look a little like otters that have been stretched out like a rubber band. In fact, they probably are related to otters as they were believed to be semi-aquatic; although, there are many disagreements in this matter.

I remember having this problem back when I spotlighted the guinea pig. This is one of those animals that people argue over what they really are. The official call is that they are, indeed, mustelidae; however, others suggest that they may be related to sea lions, and even other say that they are actually early bears. So, what is my opinion?

My opinion is that they are VERY CLEARLY musties. Yes, there are some weird aspects to them, but if I am to go by the artist renderings alone, they clearly resemble all those creatures I have been spotlighting. Of course, my opinion means very little in the legit world of science.

What little research I have of the potamotherium is that they have a very flexible backbone which would make it very good at swimming. It also apparently had a poor sense of smell; however, it made up for it with excellent sight and hearing. Although, I could not figure out what its diet was, I think it is safe to assume that he would hunt up fish and small animals that live near the water.

I want to believe that the potamotherium was playful, but I am leaning towards it being more of a nastier demeanor than the otters. The only reason I say this is because I have trouble seeing happy, playful animals during the age of the dinosaurs. Maybe, they were playful, but I just don't see it.

Fiction-wise, I see them as being very a tribal and dangerous people. They live near rivers and are very hostile towards invaders. Who knows, maybe they originated the Weasel War Dance! Either way, that's how I see it.

For those of you who have been reading my spotlights--especially those who have been following me all the way back when I was doing my Rodent Spotlights--I just want to express my great appreciation for sticking around with me. I really enjoy these animals, and I am very happy to learn about them and share them with the world in my own screwball way. I promise that there will be more spotlights coming very soon. I hope you will all come back to see what shenanigans I get myself into. But for now, I must bid a fond adieu to mustelidae!

Thank you for reading this blog. If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Au revoir!