ftbe Sea Cows. 



TWELFTH ORDER: Sirenia. 



TUDENTS reading the name 

 "Sirenia" in zoology would 

 naturally think of the fabu- 

 lous creatures of antiquity 

 which were said to be half 

 Woman and half fish, which 

 inhabited the crystal waves 

 of the ocean and by their 

 wonderful sweet singing 

 and still more enticing ges- 

 tures, by the stately poise of 

 their heads and their glow- 

 ing glances, lured the poor 

 sons of the earth to follow 

 them to the ocean's depths and be lost; but if he 

 should expect in this connection an account of such 

 beings, he would be greatly mistaken. Naturalists 

 have in this case only proven their predilection for 

 adopting poetical names, without having fulfilled the 

 requirements of poetry. The name of Sirenia has 

 been about as appropriately chosen for the ocean- 

 dwellers in question as has been that of the Greek 

 wood-nymphs (Hamadryas) which has been bestowed 

 upon the queerest of Monkeys, which, indeed, is 

 beautiful only in the eyes of a naturalist, and neither 

 in its looks nor its actions has any suggestion of a 

 nymph. 

 General Charac- The Sirenia or Sea Cows form an 

 teristics of the order by themselves. In their inte- 

 Sirenia. r j or anatomical structure they show 

 the greatest affinity to the hoofed animals and may 

 be regarded as a branch of them, which has adapted 

 itself to an aquatic life. Many naturalists place 

 them among the Whales as a special division or 

 family, but the differences between them and the 

 latter animals are so great that the plan of placing 

 them apart is well justified. They are distinguished 

 by a small head, separated by distinct demarcation 

 from the body and furnished with a bulbous snout, 

 bristly lips, and nostrils opening at the extremity of 

 the muzzle; by the clumsy, peculiarly articulated 

 body, sparsely covered with short, bristle-like hair, 

 and by their peculiar dentition. They have only 

 two limbs, namely, the anterior pair, but they are 

 genuine fin-limbs. The general integument incases 

 the toes so completely that all independent mobility 

 of the individual parts is destroyed. Only the traces 

 of nails indicate externally the digital divisions of 

 the hand. The tail, which performs the functions of 

 the hinder limbs, terminates in a fin. It requires a 

 vivid imagination to see mermaids in these animals, 

 even if they should show themselves at a great dis- 

 tance; the only thing these lumbering, uncouth crea- 

 tures have in common with the beautiful body of a 

 human female is that their mammae are also placed 

 on the chest, between the fore limbs, and are more 

 prominent than those of other aquatic mammals, but 

 these animals are nevertheless very interesting. 



Zhe flDanateea. 



SOLE FAMILY: Manatid,e. 



This order has only one family (Manatidce), which 

 is divided into three genera, of which one, composed 

 of the Sea Cow proper, can no longer be classified 

 among the living ones, however. The genera differ 

 so materially in their dentition that it does not seem 

 suitable to discuss it here and at the present time. 

 While the Sea Cow or Stellerine possessed, instead 

 of teeth, only a horny plate for mastication, which 

 was developed on the inner side of the lower jaw and 

 on the palate, the rest of the Sirenia have toothed 

 jaws. Upon this difference have been based the 

 genera, which, if one follows the more recent classi- 

 fications of Dollos (who regards the Stellerine, which 

 has not been long extinct, as a Halicore that has 

 lost its teeth) would be limited to the Dugong {Hal- 

 icore) and the Manatees {Manatus). 



Habitat and The Sirenia inhabit shallow banks 

 Habits of the and gulfs of tropical countries, estu- 

 Sirenia. aries and streams, and especially the 



shoaly waters of the latter. They seem to occur 

 only in exceptional cases in the temperate zone, but 

 nothing definite can be said in regard to this sub- 

 ject, as they usually baffle observation. We know, 

 however, that their abode is not always the same: 

 they often wander for many miles, sometimes pene- 

 trating far inland, entering the lakes which are con- 

 nected with great rivers. They are to be seen either 

 in couples or in small societies; yet it is affirmed 

 that they live in strict monogamy and that a male 

 always keeps faithfully to his mate. They are much 

 more aquatic than the Seals. In exceptionally rare 

 cases only do they thrust their bulky bodies above the 

 surface of the water. They lack the agility of other 

 aquatic mammals, for, though they are excellent 

 swimmers and divers, they shun very deep waters, 

 probably because they are too awkward for a con- 

 stant ascent and descent. On dry land they drag 

 themselves along for short distances with the great- 

 est difficulty; their finny limbs are much too weak 

 to move the great bulk of the body, the more so as 

 the latter does not seem to possess any of the flexi- 

 bility of the body of a Seal. 



Diet and Attri- The food of the Sirenia is composed 



butesofthe of marine plants, algae and grasses 



Sirenia. which grow in shoaly water or close 



to the bank, as well as of various aquatic plants 



which grow luxuriantly in shallow spots of rivers. 



Like all voracious creatures the Sirenia are lazy, 

 dull-witted beings with weak senses. They are 

 called peaceable and harmless for the reason that 

 they do nothing but eat and rest. They are neither 

 shy nor bold, and live in peace with all other animals, 

 caring for nothing but their food. Their intellectual 

 power is exceedingly slight, but there is no doubt of 



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