The African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is an aquatic, marine mammal in the Trichechidae family of sirenians. It is also called a sea cow and is related to the Dugong.
A team of researchers have found the African Manatee in the Niandan River about 4,000 kilometres up the Niger River in Guinea, West Africa. Why are they living in the river when they usually live on the coast?
Continue reading “African Manatees found in an inland river”
The Antillean Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is an aquatic, marine (saltwater) mammal in the Sirenia order of dugongs. It is also known as a Sea Cow, West Indian Manatee, or Caribbean Manatee. It is not a seal. It is related to the dugong and the elephant.
The Antillean Manatee looks like a large, grey seal with flippers and a paddle tail. It has lungs, not gills, because it is a mammal, and therefore it needs to come to the surface to breathe. It has a prehensile snout (nose), like an elephant, so that it can grab water plants and bring them to its mouth. It has 6-8 teeth in each jaw. It has short, sparse, sensitive hairs called vibrissae. Each individual hair is called a vibrissal. The vibrissae around its mouth are like whiskers.
Continue reading “CREATURE FEATURE: Antillean Manatee”