Thevet says, "the Saricovienne, or Sea Otter, is found by the sides
of the river Plata; it is an amphibious animal, and lives as much in
the water as upon land; it is full as large as a cat, its skin is a
very dark grey, nearly black, and is extremely soft; its feet are
webbed like those of water fowls; and its flesh is very good, and even
delicate."
Naturalists do not seem to have been acquainted with this animal, nor
to have known that the _carigueibeju_ of Brasil, which is certainly
the same, had membranes between the toes, for Marcgrave, who has given
a description of it, totally omits this essential character. I am
also of opinion that the _guachi_, mentioned by Gumilla, which is a
species of otter in South America, is the same as the saricovienne.
Marcgrave and Desmarchais describe it to be as big as a middling sized
dog: that the top of its head is round, and its nose long; that its
teeth and whiskers resemble those of the cat; that it has small black
eyes, round ears, five toes on each foot, with a kind of thumb shorter
than the others, and all armed with brown claws; that its hair, which
is short and soft, is black on the body, and has a white spot under
the chin; that its voice is somewhat like that of a young dog; and
notwithstanding it lives principally on crabs and fish, its flesh is
very good, and its skin makes an excellent fur.