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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 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.
A rare fossil has provided a snapshot of what was an exceptionally unlucky day for a prehistoric sea cow. The now-extinct species of dugong, a manatee-like marine mammal, was swimming in the sea ...
The sea otters eat while floating on their backs, using their forepaws to tear food apart and bring to their mouths. [64] [65] Marine otters mainly feed on crustaceans and fish. [66] Pinnipeds mostly feed on fish and cephalopods, followed by crustaceans and bivalves, and then zooplankton and warm-blooded prey (like sea birds).
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 fossils. Eocene sirenians, like Mesozoic mammals but in contrast to other Cenozoic ones, have five instead of four premolars, giving ...
Wolverines are observed finding large bones invisible in deep snow and are specialists at scavenging bones specifically to cache. Wolverine upper molars are rotated 90 degrees inward, which is the identifying dentition characteristic of the family Mustelidae (weasel family), of which the wolverine has the most mass, so they can crack the bones and eat the frozen marrow of large animals.
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.