Il6o MANATEES AND DUGONGS 



they would also eat other vegetables. The following observations were made by 

 Professor Garrod on the one first acquired by the Zoological Society: "Looking at 

 the living animal generally the most striking peculiarity was the sluggishness of its 

 movements, when crossing its pond there was none of the lateral movement of the body 

 so characteristic of the seals. All flexions were up and down, the whole trunk 

 bending a little in that direction, the base of the tail doing so freely at a clearly- 

 marked transverse fold-line in that region. An opportunity occurred for seeing it 

 out of water, when its pond was drained dry for a short time. From my obser- 

 vations on this occasion, it was perfectly evident that the manatee is purely aquatic 

 in habits, and that it never willingly quits the water. When on land, it seemed 

 perfectly unable to advance or recede, the only movements it performed being that 

 from its belly to its back, and vice versd. The power of moving the slightly exserted 

 elbow was considerable, while that of the wrist was small but apparent. It used its 

 limbs much more freely than do the seals, sometimes employing the extreme mar- 

 gins of the paddles to assist in introducing food into its mouth, at others employing 

 them in progression along the bottom of the pond during which time the swimming 

 tail could not be brought into play to any extent. ' ' 



Beyond the fact that only a single young is produced at a time, there appears 

 to be no accurate observations as to the breeding habits of the manatee; neither are 

 we acquainted with the length of time these animals can remain submerged. 



The flesh of the manatee, which is very light in color, is eaten by the natives 

 of the Amazon region, and is compared by Bates to pork. The fat is reported, how- 

 ever, to have a disagreeable flavor. 



THE DUGONG 

 Genus Halicore 



The dugong, or as it should properly be termed, from its Malayan name, 

 duyong, is a very different animal, both externally and as regards the structure of 

 its skull and teeth, from the manatee. Externally, it is characterized by the nos- 

 trils being situated on the upper part of the muzzle, by the tail being crescent 

 shaped and concave posteriorly, and by the total absence of any trace of nails on the 

 flippers. The skull is characterized by the great thickness and massiveness of the 

 beak and the extremity of the lower jaw, both of which are sharply bent down so 

 as to form almost a right angle with the long axis of the skull. The teeth grow 

 throughout life, and in the adult state comprise a pair of incisors in the upper jaw, 

 and five molars on each side of both jaws. In the females, the incisors are small 

 and do not pierce the gums, but in the males they assume the form of rather large 

 and nearly straight tusks which are partially coated with enamel, and are directed 

 downward. The molars are cylindrical in form, the last in each jaw being more 

 complex than the others, and looking as if it were composed of two cylinders joined 

 together. These teeth have no enamel, and, as in the manatee, some of the front 

 ones are shed before those behind come into use. There can be little doubt but 

 that the molar teeth of the dugong present one step in the process of degeneration 

 which has resulted in their complete disappearance in the northern sea-cow. In 



