50 



iilmost erery essential element, and the strictly aquatic life, appeal too 

 strongly to the sense to admit of any doubt of their alliance with the 

 Cetacea. 



But beyond these connecting links, this singular group evinces, by 

 the nature of its dentition, by the elevated position of the nasal 

 aperture on the skull, useless as blow-holes, by the pectoral mammae, 

 and by many other deviating characters, so decided and so intrinsi- 

 cally diiFerent to similar parts of either of the orders enumerated, that 

 of necessity a separation is required and a distinct locality assigned it 

 among the mammals. 



Influenced by this necessity for distinctive position, and guided by 

 the greater alliance, shown in the osseous structure and in the habits 

 of the living animal, to the seal and the whale, than to any terrestrial 

 pachyderm, I have ventured to suggest that the natural allocation for 

 the Order Sirenia should be between those of Pinnipedia and Cetacea. 



Qenus Majptatits, Eondelet. 

 Incisors i;i, caniaes t9, molars 5^, =: 38. 



Incisors very small, early deciduous ; molars squarish, irregularly 

 flat on their apices, transversely tuberculated ; of these several of the 

 front ones frequently drop out, so that in the adult animal the number 

 of teeth occasionally amounts to twenty -four only ; front limbs termi- 

 nated by smaU claws ; tail rounded at its extremity ; cervical vertebrae 

 six ; portion of the beak, anterior to the eye-sockets, short, advanced 

 directly forwards, with a very slight gradual downward bend. 



MAjfATUs Ameeicah-tjs, Desmarest. The Manatee. 



Synonyms — TricliecTius manatus. Linnaeus. 

 Manafus Americanus , Desmarest. 

 Manatus latirostris, Harlan. 

 Manatee {i.e., Ksh-ox), Negroes of Jamaica. 

 Ooju-mero (i.e., Sea-cow), Guiana. 



In external appearance the Manatee is oblong, the body tapering 

 from the shoulders posteriorly ; the head is short, comparatively small, 

 terminating at the muzzle with a thick fleshy disc, ia the upper portion 

 of which the nostrils are placed; the Hps are studded compactly 

 with stiff bristles ; the front Hmbs are well developed, and possess a 

 comparative free motion, — one, indeed, intermediate between the Seal 

 and the Whale ; small, flattish nails protect the tips of the fingers ; of 

 the hinder limbs there is no trace ; the tail is cartilaginous, horizon- 

 tally flattened, and rounded at its extremity. The colour of the adult 

 varies from grey-black to blue-black, lighter and brighter underneath ; 

 the length from sis to ten feet, even to fifteen feet ; and the weights to 

 correspond to these dimensions range from eight hundred pounds to a 

 ton. 



