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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 West African manatee (T. senegalensis) lives in murky isolated inland mangroves and coastal flats in West Africa. It is found in waters above 18 °C, and its range spans Senegal to Angola. [23] The dugong (Dugong dugong), the closest living relative of Steller's sea cow, lives in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean in more than 40 different ...
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] All other mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, [13] other than the two-toed and three-toed sloths. Like the horse, the manatee has a simple stomach, but a large cecum, in which it can digest tough ...
Similar to an extant manatee's ribs, these ribs provided a ballast and allowed the animal to achieve neutral buoyancy. P. portelli lacked the large, muscular tail used in modern Sirenians to propel through the water column, and skeletal anatomy suggests that they instead garnered propulsive force through spinal undulations, similar to otters.
Vibrissae are blood filled sinuses bound by a dense connective tissue capsule with sensitive nerve endings that provides haptic feedback to the manatee. [10] Usually vibrissae are found on the facial regions of terrestrial and non-sirenian aquatic animals and are called whiskers. Manatees, however, have vibrissae all over their bodies.
According to the FWS, the Florida manatee will continue to be considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act, while the Antillean manatee, which is found around the Caribbean and Puerto ...
Amazonian manatee Dugong West Indian manatee. Sirenians, along with Proboscidea (elephants), group together with the extinct Desmostylia and likely the extinct Embrithopoda to form the Tethytheria. Tethytheria is thought to have evolved from primitive hoofed mammals ("condylarths") along the shores of the ancient Tethys Ocean.
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