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Manatees are believed to share common ancestry with elephants. Sirenia is the order of placental mammals which comprises modern "sea cows" ( manatees and the Dugong ) and their extinct relatives. They are the only extant herbivorous marine mammals and the only group of herbivorous mammals to have become completely aquatic.
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.
[30] [32] Unlike manatees, the dugong lacks nails on its flippers, which are only 15% of a dugong's body length. [33] Manatees generally glide at speeds of 8 kilometres per hour (5 mph), but can reach speeds of 24 kilometres per hour (15 mph) in short bursts. [34] The body is fusiform to reduce drag in the water.
Manatee relative, 700 new species now facing extinction. PATRICK WHITTLE. ... 1 / 3. Climate Threatened Species List. FILE - Serena, a dugong, swims at the Toba Aquarium in Toba, Japan on Sept. 5 ...
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 ...
Paenungulata (from Latin paene "almost" + ungulātus "having hoofs") is a clade of "sub-ungulates", which groups three extant mammal orders: Proboscidea (including elephants), Sirenia (sea cows, including dugongs and manatees), and Hyracoidea . At least two more possible orders are known only as fossils, namely Embrithopoda and Desmostylia. [a]
The fossil genus Dusisiren is regarded as the sister taxon of Hydrodamalis: together, the two genera form the dugong subfamily Hydrodamalinae. [1] They were the largest member of the order Sirenia, whose only extant members are the dugong (Dugong dugon) and the manatees (Trichechus spp.). [2]
In modern taxa, dugongs show a sharply downturned upper jaw, generally associated with its grazing lifestyle, while manatees have comparably shallow rostral deflection. Although not thoroughly researched, it's hypothesized that the downturned snout helps with grazing by keeping the mouth close to the ground while maintaining a horizontal ...