Editing Asian small-clawed otter (section)

== Characteristics==
[[File:Oriental small-clawed otter teeth.jpg|thumb|Closeup of a small-clawed otter's mouth]]
The Asian small-clawed otter has deep brown [[fur]] with some rufous tinge on the back, but paler below. Its underfur is lighter near the base. The sides of the neck and head are brown, but its cheeks, upperlip, chin, throat and sides of the neck are whitish.<ref name=Blanford>{{cite book |last1=Blanford |first1=W. T. |year=1888 |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma |location=London |publisher=Taylor and Francis |volume=Mammalia |pages=187–188 |chapter=''Lutra leptonyx''. The clawless Otter |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mammalia00blaniala/page/186}}</ref>
Its skull is short, and the naked [[rhinarium]] rounded above. The muzzle has long coarse [[vibrissae]] on either side. Its eyes are located toward the front of the head. The small ears are oval-shaped with an inconspicuous [[Tragus (ear)|tragus]] and [[antitragus]]. Its [[paw]]s are narrow with short digits that are webbed to the last joint. There are short hairs on the lower sides of the interdigital webs. The four-lobed plantar pads are longer than wide. The [[claw]]s are short, almost erect, and in some individuals even absent.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Pocock, R. I. |year=1921 |title=On the External Characters of some Species of Lutrinae (Otters) |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=535–545 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1921.tb03279.x |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofzoo1921447887zool/page/534/mode/2up}}</ref>
Females have four [[mammary glands]].<ref name=Timmins1971>{{cite journal |author=Timmins, W. H. |year=1971 |title=Observations on breeding the oriental short clawed otter ''Amblonyx cinerea'' at Chester Zoo |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |volume=11 |pages=109–111 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1971.tb01868.x}}</ref>

The Asian small-clawed otter is the smallest otter species in Asia. In head-to-body length, it ranges from {{cvt|18.4|to|24|in|order=flip}} with a {{cvt|10.2|to|13.6|in|order=flip}} long [[tail]]. The tapering tail is thick and muscular, especially at the base, and more than half the length of the body. Hind feet are {{cvt|3.8|to|4|in|order=flip}} long. Length of skull ranges from {{cvt|84|to|94|mm|order=flip}}. It does not have upper premolars and only four [[cheek teeth]] above.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pocock |first=R. I. |year=1941 |title=The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma |volume=Mammalia II |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=London |chapter=Genus ''Amblonyx'', Rafinesque |pages=303–317 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.19258/page/n329}}</ref>
Adult captive otters range in weight from {{cvt|2.7|to|3.5|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Borgwardt1999>{{cite journal |author1=Borgwardt, N. |author2=Culik, B. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=1999 |title=Asian small-clawed otters (''Amblonyx cinerea''): resting and swimming metabolic rates |journal=Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology |volume=169 |issue=2 |pages=100–106 |doi=10.1007/s003600050199|pmid=10227184 |s2cid=22682528}}</ref>