Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
[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.
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 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]
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.
Dugongs. Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered. Family: Dugongidae. Genus: Dugong. Dugong, Dugong dugon VU
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]
Dugongs. Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that live in rivers and marine wetlands. It includes four extant species, three manatees and the dugong, and the extinct Stellar's sea cow. Family: Dugongidae. Genus: Dugong. Dugong, D. dugon VU [3]
Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs) Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and ...