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Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is an extinct sirenian described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741. At that time, it was found only around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia; its range extended across the North Pacific during the Pleistocene epoch, and likely contracted to such an extreme degree due to the glacial cycle.
They reached up to 9 metres (30 ft) in length, making the Steller's sea cow among the largest mammals other than whales to have existed in the Holocene epoch. [3] Steller's sea cow was first described by Georg Wilhelm Steller, [4] Cuesta by Daryl Domning, [5] and Takikawa by Hitoshi Furusawa. [2]
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 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 .
Bering Island was the only known habitat of Steller's sea cows, an immense (over 4,000 kg or 8,800 lb) sirenian related to the dugong. The sea cow was hunted to extinction within 27 years of its discovery in 1741. [8]
It included the Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), the Cuesta sea cow (Hydrodamalis cuestae), and the Takikawa sea cow (Hydrodamalis spissa). Pages in category "Hydrodamalis" The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.
Species †Hydrodamalis gigas, Steller's sea cow; The genera Eosiren, Eotheroides, and Prototherium have been assigned to Halitheriinae in the past, but recent cladistic analysis recovers these genera as basal to the clade formed by Trichechidae and Dugongidae. Moreover, Halitheriinae is paraphyletic with respect to Dugonginae and ...
The Steller's sea cow was a sirenian endemic to Bering Sea between Russia and the United States but had a much larger range during the Pleistocene. First described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741, it was hunted to extinction 27 years later due to its buoyancy making it an easy target for humans hunting it for its meat and fur in addition to an ...