WHERE THE SIRENIANS LIVE 159 



holding food and conveying it to the mouth. Instead of 

 hind legs, there is a broad, flat tail, nearly as wide as the body 

 of the animal at its widest point. The skin, which is about 

 one inch in thickness, is almost as naked as that of an elephant. 

 When twisted and dried, strips of it make practicable canes. 

 The flesh is well-flavored and is eaten with relish. 



Usually the Sirenians live in the lower reaches of rivers 

 that flow into the sea, sometimes in water that is bitterly 

 salt, frequently in brackish water, but in most cases quite 

 above tidal influence, where the water is fresh and sweet. 

 They never live in shallow water, preferring as a rule a depth 

 of about fifteen feet. So far as we know, only one species of 

 the Order has ever inhabited a land of ice and snow. The 

 divisions of the Order are as follows: 



THE ORDER OF SIRENIANS 

 Order Sirenia 



SPECIES 



Trichechus latirostris . . . Florida, Central America, Mex- 

 ico, Cuba. 

 Trichechus americanus .South America to the Amazon. 



MANATEES, 



Triche'chidae . 



Trichechus senegalensis .West Africa. 



DUGONGS, j Dugong dugon Africa, Ceylon, India. 



Dugong'idae \ Dugong australis Australia. 



RHYTINA, \ rr j j / / r>z, 



Hydrodamalis (or Khy- 



Hy-dro-dam-al'i- 

 dae. . 



Una) gigas Bering Island (now extinct). 



THE MANATEE, or SEA-COW, will not often be seen out- 

 side of museums, but it must be introduced here in order 

 that the readers of this book never need ask, as do thousands 

 of other persons "What is a Manatee?" 



