Order SIRENIA. 



This is a small order of aquatic mammals containing 

 only the two living forms the Manatis and the Dugong, 

 and the extinct Northern Sea Cow. 



Like the Cetaceans, the Sirenians have the fore-limbs 

 in the shape of flippers, have no hind limbs, and the tail 

 is expanded horizontally into a steering paddle. 



Unlike the Cetaceans however, the Manatis and 

 Dugongs have depressed bodies, instead of as in the former 

 where the body is compressed from side to side. 



The muzzle is short, and the head more like those 

 of ordinary mammals, being in proportion to the size 

 of the body. There is no dorsal fin as in the whales. 

 The females have two teats situated on the breast. The 

 eyes are small and the ear orifice minute. 



There is no Manati in South Africa, but as the Dugong 

 has been repeatedly captured off the Mozambique coast it 

 comes within the scope of this work. 



Genus HALICORE. 



The tail is crescent shaped, and there are no traces of 

 nails on the flippers. The nostrils are situated on the top 

 of the snout and can be closed at will. 



The skull is thick and has a massive beak-like projection 

 at the extremity of the jaws, both the upper and lower 

 of which are bent downwards. There are twenty-two 

 teeth, consisting of a pair of incisors in the upper jaw, and 

 five molars on either side of both jaws. The incisors in 

 the male form downward projecting tusks, but those of 

 the female are small. 



