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The manatee has a large, flexible, prehensile upper lip, used to gather food and eat and for social interaction and communication. Manatees have shorter snouts than their fellow sirenians, the dugongs. Manatee adults have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, which are not clearly differentiated into molars and premolars.
Amazonian manatees, similar to all living manatee species in the family Trichechidae, have polyphyodont teeth. Their teeth are continuously replaced horizontally from the caudal portion of the jaw to the rostral portion throughout the manatee's life, a unique trait among mammals. Only the closest living relative of order Sirenia, elephants ...
The average West Indian manatee is about 2.7–3.5 m (8.9–11.5 ft) long and weighs 200–600 kg (440–1,320 lb), with females generally larger than males. [15] The largest individual on record weighed 1,655 kg (3,649 lb) and measured 4.6 m (15 ft) long.
Manatee captive-fed diets vary greatly from the manatee's diet in the wild. In captivity, manatees are fed 70–80% leafy green vegetables, 10–20% dried forage, and 5% vegetables and fruits. [ 63 ] Dried forage is foods such as hay and timothy grass, which are often used as horse and cattle feed.
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.
Trichechus hesperamazonicus is known by two fragmentary mandibles and part of the palate. Compared with other manatees, it has a wide space between the posterior lower tooth row and ascending ramus of dentary, where the buccinator muscle is located, and a wide ascending ramus of the mandible, which covers the posterior end of the tooth row.
The African manatee's large forelimbs, or flippers, are used to paddle and to bring food to its mouth. Vegetation is then chewed by the manatee's strong molars, which are its only teeth. When the manatee is born, each jaw has two vestigial incisors, which the manatee loses as it matures. [9]
Trichechus inunguis - Amazonian Manatee; Trichechus manatus - West Indian Manatee; Trichechus senegalensis - African Manatee †Trichechus hesperamazonicus †Potamosiren †Potamosiren magdalensis †Ribodon †Ribodon limbatus