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Evolution of Sirenian Locomotion, based on Berta and Sumich, 1999. Evolution of Sirenia, based on Daryl P. Domning and Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Amazonian manatee Dugong West Indian manatee. Sirenians, along with Proboscidea (elephants), group together with the extinct Desmostylia and likely the extinct Embrithopoda to form the Tethytheria.
Manatees are three of the four living species in the order Sirenia. The fourth is the Eastern Hemisphere's dugong. The Sirenia are thought to have evolved from four-legged land mammals more than 60 million years ago, with the closest living relatives being the Proboscidea and Hyracoidea . [7]
The African manatee's ancestors passed down advantageous migration and food traits. The African manatee is not restricted to a certain area, and does not have to rely heavily on only one ecosystem for support. This evolution of the African manatee's diversity may be part of its key attribute to survival.
The dugong (/ ˈ d (j) uː ɡ ɒ ŋ /; Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal.It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees.It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.
An adult manatee will commonly eat up to 10–15% of its body weight, or 50 kilograms (110 lb), per day, which requires the manatee to graze for several hours per day. [49] By contrast, 10% of the diet of the African manatee is fish and mollusks. [50] Manatees have been known to eat small amounts of fish from nets. [51]
Stubby the manatee arrived at the Columbus Zoo in 2005 after a boat strike claimed 70 percent of her tail, and ever since then this gentle giant has helped care for dozens of orphaned baby ...
Still, the sight of a manatee in a manmade lake in the Cedarwoods community of Pembroke Pines after the Fourth of July holiday bemused some of the residents, according to a WPLG Local 10 report.
The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the Eastern United States to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on underwater plants and uses its whiskers to navigate.