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The manatee's tail is paddle-shaped, and is the clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs; a dugong tail is fluked, similar in shape to that of a whale. The manatee is unusual among mammals in having just six cervical vertebrae, [11] a number that may be due to mutations in the homeotic genes. [12]
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.
The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is a species of manatee that lives in the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. [2] It has thin, wrinkled brownish or gray colored skin, with fine hairs scattered over its body and a white chest patch. [4] [5] It is the smallest of the three extant species of manatee. [6]
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.
The physiology of underwater diving is the physiological adaptations to diving of air-breathing vertebrates that have returned to the ocean from terrestrial lineages. They are a diverse group that include sea snakes, sea turtles, the marine iguana, saltwater crocodiles, penguins, pinnipeds, cetaceans, sea otters, manatees and dugongs.
African manatee on land Skull of an African manatee. The African manatee's body is widest at the middle, and its tail resembles a paddle. The manatee is gray in color with small, colorless hairs that cover its body. However, algae and other tiny organisms often grow on an African manatee's body, so its body sometimes appears brown or greenish ...
Trichechus inunguis - Amazonian Manatee; Trichechus manatus - West Indian Manatee; Trichechus senegalensis - African Manatee †Trichechus hesperamazonicus †Potamosiren †Potamosiren magdalensis †Ribodon †Ribodon limbatus