THE MANATEE. 



165 



The Dolphin is not a very large animal, measuring, when fully 

 grown, from six to ten feet in length, seven fe^ being the usual aver- 

 age. Its color is black upon the back, and silvery white upon the ab- 

 domen ; while the flanks are grayish white. The beautiful colors which 

 have been said to play about the 

 body of a dying Dolphin are not 

 entirely mythical, but belong 

 rightly to one of the fishes, the 

 coryphene, or dorado, which is 

 popularly called the Dolphin by 

 sailors. _ ^ 



The eyes of the Dolphin are " 



small, and are supplied with eye- The Dolphin {Ddphinus Ddphis). 

 lids ; the pupil of the eye is heart-shaped. The ears have but a very 

 minute external aperture, barely admitting an ordinary pin. 



It is a lively and playful animal, and, being remarkably active in 

 its native element, is fond of gambolling among the waves, and engag- 

 ing in various sports with its companions. Being of a very gregarious 

 nature, it is seldom seen alone, but prefers to associate in little flocks 

 or herds, and is in the habit of accompanying ships for considerable 

 distances, hovering about the vessel and executing various strange 

 manoeuvres. 



The Dolphin produces only a single young one at a time, and nurses 

 her offspring with exceeding tenderness and assiduity. 



The common Dolphin is found in the European seas, and in the At- 

 lantic and the Mediterranean, and may possibly have a still wider 

 range. 



SIRENIA. 



The Manatee, or Lamantine, is a very strange-looking creature, 

 appearing like a curious mixture of several dissimilar animals, the seal 

 and the hippopotamus being predominant. 



There are several species of Manatee, two of which are found in 

 America and one in Africa, but always on those shores which are 

 washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The common Manatee 

 is generally about nine or ten feet in length, and is remarkable for the 

 thick fleshy disc which terminates the muzzle, and in which the nostrils 

 are placed. It is found in some plenty at the mouths of sundry large 

 rivers, such as the Orinoco or the Amazon, and feeds upon the algae 

 and other herbage which grows so plentifully in those regions. By 

 some writers the animal is said to leave the water entirely, and to 

 search for its food upon the land, but this assertion is now ascertained 

 to be incorrect. It is, however, in the habit of crawling partly out of 

 the water, and has a strange custom of elevating its head and shoul- 



