Abstract

A new genus and species of otter‐like mustelid, Teruelictis riparius, is created on the basis of a partial skeleton from the Late Miocene (Vallesian age, MN 10) locality of La Roma 2 (Teruel, Spain), including several postcranial elements, the skull, and the mandible. The combination of a typically lutrine dentition, similar to that of other fossil otters such as Paralutra jaegeri, with a very slender postcranial skeleton, including a long back and gracile long bones and metacarpals, thus lacking any aquatic adaptations, was previously unknown in the fossil record. This mosaic of features strongly suggests the possibility that the aquatic lifestyle of otters could have appeared after the initial development of the distinctive dental morphology of this specialized group of mustelids. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London