--- title: Wolf-Sized Otters Lived in China 6 Million Years Ago description: Scientists have found fossil evidence of a wolf-sized otter relative that lived in southwest China's wetlands 6 million years ago. canonical: https://time.com/4650766/otters-wolf-size-china-6-million-years-ago/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-26T19:37:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:58:50.746Z article:section: Science og:title: There Were Huge Wolf-Sized Otters in China 6 Million Years Ago og:description: They also had super powerful jaws, according to scientists og:url: https://time.com/4650766/otters-wolf-size-china-6-million-years-ago/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50cf3c12ea509a80/6988b775cf40a80e05c4637d/siamogale-melilutra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Two Siamogale melilutra individuals, one feeding on a fresh water clam, are pictured in this artist illustration handout image og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There Were Huge Wolf-Sized Otters in China 6 Million Years Ago twitter:description: They also had super powerful jaws, according to scientists twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50cf3c12ea509a80/6988b775cf40a80e05c4637d/siamogale-melilutra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There Were Huge Wolf-Sized Otters in China 6 Million Years Ago > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=13e976e0-6d32-47a0-92b4-550e7ee73ebd&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1)  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jan 26, 2017 7:37 PM UTC  An artist's illustration of Siamogale melilutra, an otter as big as a wolf, in a handout image distributed on Jan. 23, 2017. An artist's illustration of Siamogale melilutra, an otter as big as a wolf, in a handout image distributed on Jan. 23, 2017. Mauricio Antún—Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County/Reuters  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jan 26, 2017 7:37 PM UTC Scientists have [found evidence](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/science/wolf-sized-otters-china.html) of a wolf-sized [otter](http://time.com/4177386/newborn-otter-falls-asleep-on-top-of-floating-mom/) relative that lived in southwest China’s wetlands 6 million years ago. The researchers from China and the U.S. based their findings about the recently-discovered Siamogale melilutra species on a cranium, some teeth and a mandible that they found and digitally reconstructed in a coal mine, the New York _Times_ reports. “It’s huge, it’s bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in terms of otters,” Denise Su, an author of [the report detailing findings about the new species](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2016.1267666), told the _Times_. The skull had been flatted by pressure and time, researchers said, so they had to scan and digitally re-“inflate” the bones. After doing so, they determined the specimen was probably 6-feet long and 110 pounds. \[[_New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/science/wolf-sized-otters-china.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4650766/otters-wolf-size-china-6-million-years-ago/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4650766/otters-wolf-size-china-6-million-years-ago/"},"headline":"There Were Huge Wolf-Sized Otters in China 6 Million Years Ago","datePublished":"2017-01-26T19:37:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:58:50.746Z","description":"They also had super powerful jaws, according to scientists","url":"https://time.com/4650766/otters-wolf-size-china-6-million-years-ago/","keywords":["animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50cf3c12ea509a80/6988b775cf40a80e05c4637d/siamogale-melilutra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50cf3c12ea509a80/6988b775cf40a80e05c4637d/siamogale-melilutra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Two Siamogale melilutra individuals, one feeding on a fresh water clam, are pictured in this artist illustration handout image","caption":"Two Siamogale melilutra individuals, one feeding on a fresh water clam, are pictured in this artist illustration handout image obtained by Reuters January 23, 2017. 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