"The sea otter is the heaviest member of the family Mustelidae, a diverse group that includes the thirteen otter species and terrestrial animals such as weasels, badgers, and minks. It is unique among the mustelids in not making dens or burrows, in having no functional anal scent glands, and in being able to live its entire life without leaving the water. The only member of the genus Enhydra, the sea otter is so different from other mustelid species that as recently as 1982, some scientists believed it was more closely related to the earless seals. Genetic analysis indicates that the sea otter and its closest extant relatives, which include the African speckle-throated otter, Eurasian otter, African clawless otter and oriental small-clawed otter, shared an ancestor approximately 5 million years ago.
Fossil evidence indicates that the Enhydra lineage became isolated in the North Pacific approximately 2 mya, giving rise to the now-extinct Enhydra macrodonta and the modern sea otter, Enhydra lutris. The sea otter evolved initially in northern Hokkaidō and Russia, then spread east to the Aleutian Islands, mainland Alaska, and down the North American coast. In comparison to cetaceans, sirenians, and pinnipeds, which entered the water approximately 50 mya, 40 mya, and 20 mya, respectively, the sea otter is a relative newcomer to a marine existence. In some respects, however, the sea otter is more fully aquatically adapted than pinnipeds, which must haul out on land or ice to give birth."