Other organisms 

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Echinodermata

Class: Echinoidea

Order: Echinoida

Family: Strongylocentrotidae

Genus: Strongylocentrotus

Species: purpuratus

• Purple sea urchins are one of the sea otters top prey. They are able to break open the sea urchin by hitting it on a rock, then they can eat the meaty inside. 

• Purple sea urchins are invertebrates and are in the phylum Echinodermata meaning "spiny skin."  Other echinoderms include sea cucumbers, sand dollars, and sea stars. 

Kingdom: Protista

Phylum: Gyrista

Class:  Phaeophyceae

Order: Laminariales

Family: Laminariaceae

Genus:  Macrocystis

Species: pyrifera

• Kelp beds make up a major part of the sea otters' habitat. 

• Giant kelp is one of the only large, multicellular protists. 

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class:  Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Otariidae

Genus:  Zalophus

Species: californianus

• Californian sea lions are one of sea otters' top predators. 

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class:  Lilopsida

Order: Alismata

Family: Zosteraceae

Genus:  Zostera

Species: marina

• Eelgrass is a marine angiosperm, which means it has vascular tissue, seeds, and flowers. 

• Eelgrass is essential to the sea otter's habitat, just like kelp. 

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Molluska

Class:  Cephalopoda

Order: Alismata

Family: Myopsita

Genus:  Doryteuthis

Species: opalescens

• The opalescent inshore squid is a cephalopod, which are characterized by their billateral body symmetry. 

• The opalescent inshore squid is one of the sea otters top prey. 

Kingdom:  Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class:  Lilopsida

Order: Alismata

Family:  Zosteraceae

Genus:  Phyllospadix

Species: scouleri

• Surfgrass is very similar to eelgrass, as they are both different species of seagrass. 

• Surfgrass also pays an important roll in otters habitat. 

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class:  Chondrichthyes

Order: Lamniformes

Family:  Lamnidae

Genus:  Carcharodon

Species: carcharias

• White sharks are sea otter's top predator, and are the leading cause of sea otter deaths.

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class:  Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Family:  Cancridae

Genus:  Metacarcinus 

Species: magister

• Dungeness crabs are arthropods, which means they are invertebrates, have an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. 

• Dungeness crabs live in eelgrass beds, which is where otters hunt them. 

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class:  Aves

Order: Procellariiformes

Family:  Diomedeidae 

Genus: Phoebastria 

Species: albatrus

• The short-tailed albatross is one of the rarest albatross species.

• It shares its pacific habitat with sea otters. 

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum: Echinodermata

Class: Asteroidea 

Order: Forcipulatida

Family: Asteriidae

Genus: Pycnopodia

Species: helianthoides

• Sunflower sea stars are similar to sea urchins because they are both echinoderms. 

• Sunflower sea stars are another one of sea otters' top prey.