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Manatees (/ ˈ m æ n ə t iː z /, family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows.There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species in the order Sirenia: the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the West ...
The recently extinct Steller's sea cow was the largest known sirenian to have lived, reaching lengths of 10 metres (33 feet) and weights of 5 to 10 tonnes (5.5 to 11.0 short tons). [ 2 ] Sirenians have a large, fusiform body which reduces drag through the water and heavy bones that act as ballast to counteract the buoyancy of their blubber .
The West Indian manatee is the largest living member of the sirenians (order Sirenia), a group of large aquatic mammals that includes the dugong, other manatees, and the extinct Steller's sea cow. Manatees are herbivores , have developed vocal communication abilities, and are covered in highly sensitive whiskers (called vibrissae ) that are ...
Sea cows at that point in time could be as large as 5 meters (about 16 feet) long, Benites-Palomino said, and their fatty tissue would have been a good food source.
To the present, almost all have remained tropical (with the notable exception of Steller's Sea Cow), marine and angiosperm consumers. Sea cows are shallow divers with large lungs. They have heavy skeletons to help them stay submerged; the bones are pachyostotic (swollen) and osteosclerotic (dense), especially the ribs which are often found as ...
The recently published study suggests that the giant sea cows may not have arrived in large numbers to the state of Florida until after European settlements started sprouting up in the 1500s.
Dolphin meat is high in mercury, and may pose a health danger to humans when consumed. [17] Ringed seals were once the main food staple for the Inuit. They are still an important food source for the people of Nunavut [18] and are also hunted and eaten in Alaska. Seal meat is an important source of food for residents of small coastal communities ...
Petersen, who monitors more than 40,000 cattle on a dozen farms in the Texas Panhandle, collected samples from cats and cows and sent them to Dr. Drew Magstadt, a friend from college who now works at