Fascinating creatures, manatees

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FourWalls (@FourWalls) wrote recently about seeing a manatee recently on her trip to Florida. I wondered if manatees and dugongs were one and the same so off I went agoogling. It seems manatees (genus Trichechus) can live in salt- or fresh-water but dugongs are only found in saltwater and have longer snouts and fluked tails, unlike the paddle-like tail of the manatee. Both are also known as sea cows and are herbivorous, feeding on a wide range of but freshwater and saltwater plants. The upper lip is divided and prehensile. Manatees graze up to seven hours a day, using their flippers to walk along the bottom. Their caecum (large intestine) is unusually long (45 metres) for the animal ‘s size. They weigh upwards of 400 kg (880 lb) and average around 3 metres (9’10”) in length. They are thought to be distantly related to elephants as they have some similarities. Females have a nipple under each flipper; elephants have their nipples near the forelegs and in both, teeth toward the front of the mouth are continually replaced with new teeth pushing forward from the rear. They are fascinating creatures but that’s probably enough information for one discussion. The photo is from Wikimedia and attribution is not legally required.