The Manatee. 11 



The Sirenia are certainly not beautiful, and it 

 says much for the imaginative powers of our 

 ancestors that they could, as doubtless was the 

 fact, have evolved so charming a figure as the 

 mermaid out of such a clumsy, graceless animal as 

 either the manatee or the dugong. Though not 

 graceful, however, the manatee is a very curious 

 animal, with many striking outward peculiarities, 

 which will be noticed by any one examining the 

 specimen at the Gardens. The body is compact 

 and cylindrical, narrowing towards the tail, which 

 is large, flat, and rounded, reminding one rather 

 of an exaggerated beaver' s tail, and, as in the 

 whales, is placed horizontally. The head is round 

 and clumsy in appearance, and can hardly be 

 distinguished from the body by any neck ; the eyes 

 are exceedingly small and deep set, and are singu- 

 larly wanting in expression ; the ears are appa- 

 rently wanting, being only two small fissures which 

 penetrate the skin ; the muzzle is large and fleshy, 

 semi-circular in the upper part, in which the 

 crescent-shaped valvular nostrils are placed, and is 

 thickly set with short, stiff bristles. The mouth 

 is most peculiar ; the lips are lined with short, 

 hard, very thick bristles, the upper lip, which is 

 somewhat prehensile, being very full and cleft in 

 the middle, while the jaws are furnished in front 

 with horny plates upon the gums, the whole 

 being specially adapted to the animal's method of 

 feeding, which is most curious. 



The food is taken between the divisions of the 



