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manatee |
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manatee: see sirenian sirenian (sīrē`nēən) or sea cow, name for a large aquatic mammal of the order Sirenia. ..... Click the link for more information. . manateeAny of three species (family Trichechidae) of slow-moving, shallow-water herbivorous mammals. Manatees have a tapered body ending in a rounded flipper, no hind flippers, and foreflippers near the head. The Caribbean manatee (Trichechus manatus) lives along coasts of the southeastern U.S. and northern South America; the Amazonian manatee (T. inunguis) and the West African manatee (T. senegalensis) inhabit rivers and estuaries. Adults are 8–15 ft (2.5–4.5 m) long and weigh up to 1,500 lbs (700 kg). Manatees live singly or in small herds and are protected by law in most areas. The manatee or its relative, the dugong, may have given rise to the folklore of mermaids. See also sea cow. manatee any sirenian mammal of the genus Trichechus, occurring in tropical coastal waters of America, the Caribbean, and Africa: family Trichechidae. They resemble whales and have a prehensile upper lip and a broad flattened tail How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
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Its difference from the manatee consisted in its upper jaw, which was armed with two long and pointed teeth which formed on each side diverging tusks. When a man's fingers have been amputated, imperfect nails sometimes appear on the stumps: I could as soon believe that these vestiges of nails have appeared, not from unknown laws of growth, but in order to excrete horny matter, as that the rudimentary nails on the fin of the manatee were formed for this purpose. Owen states, proves indisputably that it was intimately related to the Gnawers, the order which, at the present day, includes most of the smallest quadrupeds: in many details it is allied to the Pachydermata: judging from the position of its eyes, ears, and nostrils, it was probably aquatic, like the Dugong and Manatee, to which it is also allied. |
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