CHAPTER XII 



Order VII. Sirenia (Manatees) 



THE Sirenia are fish-like, herbivorous mammals that 

 form a connecting link between the Seals and Whales. 

 They are the step between one order that cannot exist out of 

 the sea and another the members of which, while living 

 entirely on the products of the sea, yet spend part of their 

 days ashore, especially during the period when they produce 

 their young. At various times the animals which we are 

 about to describe have been classed with the Whales, the 

 Walrus and even the Elephant. 



The most striking peculiarity of the Sirenia, or Sea Cows, 

 as they are often called, is their strict vegetarianism, which 

 alone absolutely separates them from other rigidly carni- 

 vorous denizens of the deep ; in fact, they seem as much 

 out of place in the teeming world of waters as antelopes in 

 a jungle infested with tigers. 



MANATEE (Manatus australis). 

 Coloured Plate XXX. Fig. i. 



The Manatee inhabits the shallow seas and the river 

 estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico ; in West African waters is 

 found a very similar species. Their food consists chiefly of 

 marine and aquatic weeds. 



The body of the animal is oblong in shape, terminating 

 in a lengthened oval tail which is placed vertically. The 

 front limbs, which are only exaggerated fins, are capable of 



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