Habitat
The Pteronura brasiliensis is typically only found in South America. Several of the countries include Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela (Duplaix et al. 2008).
They live in lowlands near the Amazon River and Pantanal and are both terrestrial and freshwater animals. The giant river otter lives in habitats near streams, lakes, swamps, and slow-moving rivers. They tend to stay away from harsh, fast-moving bodies of water, and studies have shown that they prefer black water creeks and rivers with sandy or rocky bottoms (Morales-Betancourt 2011).
It is also important that the density of fish, their main food supply, is high in areas they inhabit. Locations with dense vegetation are also preferred by the giant river otter. They can occasionally be found in unusual habitats such as a man-made dams and canals (Duplaix et al. 2008).
One organism that lives in a habitat much similar to the Pteronura brasiliensis is the Persian sturgeon. If you would like to learn more about this species see this website. Another species that lives near the Pteronura brasiliensis, and also is considered its main source of food includes many species of catfish. The Amazon has a wide variety of these fish, to learn more visit this website.
Visit the adaptations page to learn about how the Pteronura brasiliensis adapt to environmental stimuli!