1934] Hatt, African Manatees 539 



Specimens Examined 

 In the course of this study I examined the collection of manatees in 

 the American Museum, which, at the time, consisted of the following: 



T. senegalensis 



1 skin, skeleton, Congo River 

 T. m. manatus 



1 skeleton, Puerto Rico 



1 skull, Honduras 

 T. m. latirostris 



9 skeletons, Florida 



2 skulls, locality unknown 

 T. inunguis 



2 skeletons, Amazon 

 15 skulls, Amazon 

 1 embalmed specimen, Amazon 

 1 cast, locality unknown. 



I also studied the following material, generously loaned by the Field 

 Museum, to the officers of which I am greatly indebted. 



T. m. manatus 



4 skulls, Guatemala 

 T. m. latirostris 



1 skull and partial skeleton, Florida 



1 skull and partial skeleton, Texas (?) 

 T. inunguis 



2 skulls, "Para." (Probably from farther up the Amazon.) 



Furthermore I had the carefully executed figures of Hartlaub, 

 Blainville, and certain others for comparison. 



CRITERIA FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE MANATEES 

 Material available for diagnosis of the external features of manatees 

 is limited because of the inadequacy of published descriptions and the 

 paucity of embalmed specimens, casts, reliable drawings, and good 

 photographs. Tanned skins are uncommon and, when accessible, are so 

 shapeless and changed as to be all but useless. Observations on the 

 internal soft anatomy, though of great generic interest, are not of 

 demonstrated value for specific diagnosis. 



The skeletons have yielded much the most important and reliable 

 information as to the differences in these animals, and as always, the 

 skulls have been more commonly preserved and studied than other bony 

 parts. The postcranial skeleton does, however, show variation that is 

 correlated with age, sex, and specific habitus. 



