inhabitance of fishing villages is an indicator of the marine otter's ability to adapt to urbanization. Reproduction Marine otters may be monogamous or polygamous, and breeding occurs in December or January. Litters of two to five pups are born in January, February or March after a gestation period of 60 to 70 days. The pups remain with their mother for about 10 months of parental care, and can sometimes be seen on the mother's belly as she swims on her back, a practice similar to that of the sea otter. Parents bring food to the pups and teach them to hunt. Feeding Studies have shown latitudinal variations in diet, feeding periods, and dive time throughout the marine otter's distribution. Marine otters of southern Chile primarily feed on fish, while those in northern Chile mostly feed on crustaceans and mollusks. The otters on Isla La Vieja, Peru presumably prey on a colony of Peruvian diving petrels regularly. In January 2009, one was seen preying on magellanic flightless steamer duck chick in Puñihuil. The species shows opportunistic feeding behavior, sometimes eating small mammals and even fruit of plants like Greigia sphacelata and Fascicularia bicolor. Taxonomy The marine otter is of the lutrinae, a subfamily of mustelidae. Its exact taxonomy has been debated due to lack of data. A phylogenetic study by C. G. Van Zyll De Jong in 1987 proposed the following phenogram of the lutrinae, based on morphological data. Jong's proposed phenogram implied that the marine otter descended from the Asian small-clawed otter, and its closest relative being the North American river otter. A 2004 study contradicted Jong's research. The following was proposed as a part of the taxonomy of the Mustelidae, based on cytochrome b sequences. Threats Human activity on coastlines poses disturbance to marine otters. Humans introduce domestic animals which may also disturb their dens. Humans, as well as domesticated species, may expose a marine otter population to disease. Marine otters may be entangled in fishing nets and die. Microplastics have been found in the scat of marine otters. The effects of microplastics in marine mammals are still unclear. Competition and predation Gulls and South American sea lions may compete with marine otters for prey, the latter known to also attack the otters. Orcas and sharks allegedly prey on the otters, though direct attacks have not been observed. Parasites Marine otters are known to be susceptible to Toxoplasma gondii