446 THE MAMMALS 



The woolly mammoths, whose bodies have been found in a nearly 

 perfect state of preservation in Siberian ice fields, were the prehistoric 

 relatives of our modern elephants. Apparently these were the only 

 members of the elephant family that have been capable of living in cold, 

 arctic regions. When some of these were found the flesh was so well 

 refrigerated that it was actually fed to dogs and at a banquet in London 

 mammoth steaks were served which had been in a deep freeze of Siberian 

 ice for several thousand years. The tusks were sold for ivory. Still 

 more ancient were the mastodons, which are believed to have lived in 

 lush, tropical rain forests. 



Order— Sirenia 



Sometimes exhibits are set up at carnivals and circuses to allow the 

 public to gaze on a real live mermaid for a small fee. With visions of a 

 beauteous female creature, human-like from the waist up and fish-like 

 from the waist down, the ever-gullible people buy their tickets. To say 

 that they are disappointed is putting it mildly, when they walk in to see 

 an ugly sea cow floating lazily in a tank of water. However, the sea 

 cows are the real mermaids, although only a drunken sailor on a dark 

 night could mistake them for the mythical sirens that give this order its 

 name. They are found along the Atlantic coasts of Africa and South 

 America and are numerous along lagoons of the Florida coast. Their 

 bodies are adapted for life in the water with the front legs modified into 

 flippers and the hind legs absent. The tail is broadened and flattened 

 out to form a fin-like structure for swimming-. 



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Order — Rodentia 



This is the largest order of mammals, having more genera and species 

 than any other, and it probably contains more individuals than all other 

 orders of mammals combined. These mammals have many enemies, 

 such as the snakes and birds, but they are extremely prolific in reproduc- 

 tion. They mature rapidly and the females have large numbers of off- 

 spring at frequent intervals during their lifetime. Mice will be ready for 

 reproduction within three months after they have been born, have a ges- 

 tation period of only twenty days, and have an average of about eight 

 offspring every six weeks. Rodents are omnivorous in their diet and 

 are man's chief competitor among the mammals for food. In fact, their 

 diet is so nearly like that of man that they are almost always used in 

 dietary experiments to determine the effects of the elimination of impor- 

 tant elements in the human diet. Rodents have no canine teeth, but the 



