Lutra maculicollis Lichtenstein, 1835 . Arch. Naturgesch., 1:89.

TYPE LOCALITY: "Kafferlandes am östlichen Abhange der Bambusberge." Listed in Honacki et al. (1982) as " Namibia, Orange River, Bambusbergen" [According to US Board of Geographie Names gazetteer, Bamboesberg Mts are in South Africa, at 31°30'S 26°20'E) .

DISTRIBUTION: Subsaharan Africa, except east coast and SW African deserts, including: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia.

STATUS: CITES - Appendix II.

SYNONYMS: chobiensis Roberts, 1932; grayii Gerrard, 1862; kivuana Pohle, 1920; matschiei Cabrera, 1903; mutandae Hinton, 1921; nilotica Thomas, 1911.

COMMENTS: Pocock (1921c) and Cabrera (1929) placed maculicollis in the monotypic Hydrictis; however, Ansell (1978) and Harris (1968) considered Hydrictis a subgenus (see comments under Lutra). Van Zyll de Jong (1987) placed as sister groups L. perspicillata and (L. lutra + L. sumatrana). Pohle (1920) placed maculicollis in subgenus Lutra .