Till' MAXATEB. 



IJ7 



prey Ite color is grayish-black upon the buck, and white on the abdomen. The eye ia wonder- 



fully .-mall, l-iiu' onh ,,n,--,-i-liih of an im-h in diaim-t-r in u Sooaoo which measures four ..r 

 ih .- i- .1 in length. There ia no dorsal lin, its place being indicated by a small projection. 



SI REN I A. 



MANATEES AND DUGONGS. 



THE small bnt singular group of animals that are classed together under the title of the 

 Sn:i si \, are so foi m.-d that anatomists liave had much difficulty in deciding upon their proper 

 position in the animal kingdom. Many parts of their structure exhibit so strong an affinity to 



tin- pachydt-rmata. or thick-skinned mammalia, that they have been placed next to the 

 l.-phaiits l.y som.' /iM.lou'Nts. while their fish-like form and aquatic habits have induced other 

 w lit. -IN to place them in tin- position which they now occupy in the British Museum. Tli.-y 

 feed chiefly on x.-etaM- sul.stances, and find the greater part of their subsistence in the thick 

 herbage that edges tin- waters where they reside. Their imMiiN are placed at the extremity ..f 

 the muzzle, as is the case \\ith most mammalia, and they are never employed as blow-holea, 

 aft>-r the manner of the cetaceans. 



Tin MANATKE, or LAM A vim . i- .1 very strange-looking creature, appearing like a curious 

 mixture of several dissimilar animals, tin- v-nl and hippopotamus U-ing predominant. 



There are sevenil .siH'ci.-s of Manatee, twonf \\liicliaiv found in America and nne in Africa, 

 bnt always on those shon-s wliich are washe<l l.y the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The com- 

 mon Manat'-e is genemlly alnnit nine or t.-n f.-. t in l.-nj^h, and is remarkable for the thick 

 di-- !.i. !i '. iv:':. : i;-^/i,-. .,,[ ]: .- !.: ' < !..- ;,, .^ iiN :, i. j .:.-,. .-, ! Etlifloadfel 

 pl.-ntyat tin- mouths ,,f sundry large rivers, such as th.- Urinoko or the Amazon, and 

 feeds ilium the algie and oth.-r herbage which grows so plentifully in those regions. By some 



