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: 
Tue ORDER oF SIRENIANS 
Order Sirenia 
FAMILIES SPECIES 
Trichechus latirostris.. .Florida, Central America, Mex- 
__. MANnaTEEs, ico, Cuba. 
Triche'chidae.... | Trichechus americanus .South America to the Amazon. 
Trichechus senegalensis .West Africa. 
Ducones, Dugong dugon...... .. Africa, Ceylon, India. 
Dugong’idae..... Dugong australis....... Australia. 
TESTE A Hydrodamalis (or Rhy- 
Hy-dro-dam-al'1- 
ao tina) gigas.......... Bering Island (now eztinct). 
Tue Manates, 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 7s a Manatee?” 
