Sirenia

long in comparison to other mammals (Meyers et al 2014). Their radius is attached to the humerus and it is a long and thin nonetheless also a strong bone that supports the wing, while the ulna is reduced and fused with radius (Meyers et al 2014). Chiroptera wrists have been modified to support motions that deals with flying but has reduced flexible compared to other mammals (Meyers et al 2014). The bait forelimbs may be also used for climbing, defense, and for eating. This is allowed by their thumb that is located at the edge of the wing, containing a claw (Meyers et al 2014). Their wings membrane is an extension of their skin of their body which contains hairs (Meyers et al 2014). Dugong dugon commonly known as sea cows, are in order sirenia and family dugongidae. Their forelimbs main functions have evolved for swimming. They have a fusiform body shape. Their forelimbs are paddle like flippers and are used for turning and slowing (Chew 2009). They also lack hind limbs, dorsal fins and some lack nails (Domning 2001). Their limbs contain five sets of fingerlike bones (Kanai 2014). They are able to pull their body forward in shallow water because of their forelimbs (Berta et al 2006). Another function their forelimb is used for is feeding; they use their thick flippers to turn the seabed during feeding (Chew 2009). Some think that because of their fingerlike bones and ability to turn their head they may have been mistaking for mermaids from far away to old sailors (Kanai…

wonderful creature is gray in color, and may have pink or white patches on the belly and glides through the water with ease. Life Cycle The Florida Manatee has a life expectancy of 40 to 50 years old. The males sexually mature at approximately 9-10 years of age and the females at 2 ½ to 6 years of age (Encyclopedia, 2016). During breeding a female will mate with several males and give birth one-year later. A live birth of one calf is born under water and can weigh about 60-70 pounds and be 4…

Throughout the course of history, mammals have evolved attempting to adapt to their changing environments. Since the world is continuingly changing, mammals needed to also change their habits and adjust so that they may continue to thrive and live. Three exemplary mammals that adapted so that they could exploit aquatic environments are the Orcinus orca, a cetacean, more commonly known as the killer whale, the Trichechus inunguis, a Sirenia, more commonly called the Amazonian manatee, and finally…

INTRODUCTION The West Indian manatee’s scientific name is Trichechus manatus, which approximately translates to “sea cow”. They are a member of the order Sirenia which contain the dugong and the abruptly extinct Steller’s sea cow. Manatees are large and come in varying colors of gray and brown. They are marine mammals but unlike a dolphin or whale the manatee has a flat, paddle like tail. They have two front flippers which each has at least three nails on it, another quality distinguishing it…

This is a manatee. [pic: Pearson Scott Foresman] At first glance you might think it was related to seals or walruses, but its closest living relatives are actually elephants [pic: Bernard Dupont] and small, stocky hyraxes. [pic: D. Gordon E. Robertson] The three species of manatees, along with the related dugong, are the only living members of the Sirenia order that evolved from the same land mammal as elephants over 50 million years ago. [pic: Edwardtbabinksi] Although some of them still…

The scientific order Sirenia, which is classified as marine mammals, has only two extant families. The first family contains the manatees (Trichechidae). In this family, there are three different species which are the West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus), African manatees (Trichechus senegalensis), and Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis). The second family (Dugongidae), contains only one species which is the dugong (Dugong dugon). This paper will focus on manatees. On average, manatees…