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UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE 



Fig. 191. Elefhant seal. 



The West Indian seal, vionachus tropicalis, is nearly extinct and should be 

 looked for. Very little is known of it. It is brown above and pale below, and 

 trusting and sluggish in habits. Formerly it occurred in the West Indies north 

 to Florida. Any seal seen in that area should be reported to the United States 

 National Museum in Washington, D.C., or American Museum of Natural 

 History in New York City. 



The elephant seal, Mironnga angiistirostris, is the largest of living Carnivora 

 in length and weight. Bulls reach 18 feet and 5,000 pounds. The cows are two- 

 thirds as large. The major herd now known is one on Guadalupe Island near 

 San Diego, where it is protected by law. This herd has spread to establish new 

 colonies on several surrounding islands. Formerlv it occurred ovev the entire 

 West Coast from Mexico to British Columbia. The name is derived from the 

 male's inflatable snout and its huge size. Its food probably consists of fish and 

 invertebrates, caught at night. By day they bask on shore and can be approached 

 closely. Its valuable oil was the cause of its near extinction by man. 



Sea Cows: Order Sirenia 



The head and mustache of a walrus, flippers of a seal, lack of hind limbs, and 

 odd, spatulate tail (on the manatee) identify the two living members of this 

 order, the Indo-Pacific dugong and the manatee of the Gulf of Mexico and the 

 West Indies. It is thought that these animals gave rise to the mermaid tales of 

 a few years ago. The scientific name gives credence to the fable by being adapted 

 from "sirens," the voluptuous singing maidens that so tempted Ulysses. Sea cows 

 are reported to be able to whistle, but they do it through their unmaidenlv, 

 valvelike noses. If former voyages had not been so protracted in length, it would 

 otherwise be difficult to imagine how a sailor, even a hot-blooded one, could 

 confuse a maiden and a sea cow. 



Both species have been much reduced. The dugong is in special danger of 

 extinction. 



MANATEES: Family Trichechidae 



MANATEE (sEA cow) : Trichecluts viauatus 



