Potamogalinae is the
subfamily of "otter shrews", a group of semiaquatic riverine
mammals in the family
Tenrecidae indigenous to
Subsaharan Africa. All otter shrews are carnivorous, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers. As their common name suggests, they bear a strong, but superficial resemblance to true
otters. They move through the water by undulating their tail in a side-to-side motion similar to the motions made by a crocodile swimming.