Jurassic Otter
I read in today's New York Times that scientists are reporting that they have uncovered fossils of what may an otter-like mammal that lived in China 164 million years ago. “The extinct species appears to have been an amalgam of animals. It had a broad, scaly tail, flat like a beaver's. Its sharp teeth seemed ideal for eating fish, like an otter's. Its likely lifestyle — burrowing in tunnels on shore and dog-paddling in water — reminds scientists of the modern platypus.”
It is a surprising discovery in that this type of mammal was not thought to have existed during the Jurassic Period: “Thomas Martin, an authority on early mammals at Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, said the find pushed back 'the mammalian conquest of the waters by more than 100 million years' and impressively contradicts” the conventional view…..Despite similarities with some modern animals, the Jurassic mammal has no modern descendants and is not related to any existing species. The discoverers have given it the name Castorocauda lutrasimilis, Latin for beaver tail and similarity to the otter.”
I must say that I can see the resemblance between the Jurassic otter and our mascot, “Otto.”
People ask me why I named the business, “The Otter Group.” OTTER is an acronym that stands for Online, Training, Technical and Educational Resources. The real value of the name, for me is in the logo and what it means: being optimistic and flexible; working smart not hard; being curious and a good communicator––all qualities I value and look for when I am hiring “Otters.” It is kind of cool to think that Otto may have a Jurassic predecessor and that somehow those qualities survived the demise of the dinosaurs.
