Manatee

Manatees Temporal range: Early Pleistocene – Recent 2.5–0 Ma[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Clockwise from upper left: West Indian manatee, Amazonian manatee, African manatee
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Sirenia
Family:	Trichechidae
Subfamily:	Trichechinae
Genus:	Trichechus Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Trichechus manatus Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Trichechus hesperamazonicus † Trichechus inunguis Trichechus manatus Trichechus senegalensis Trichechus "pygmaeus" (validity questionable)
Synonyms
Halipaedisca Gistel 1848 Manatus Brunnich 1772 Neodermus Rafinesque 1815 Oxystomus Fischer von Waldheim 1803

Manatees (/ˈmænətiːz/, family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species in the order Sirenia: the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). They measure up to 4.0 metres (13 ft 1 in) long, weigh as much as 590 kilograms (1,300 lb),^[2] and have paddle-like tails.

Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different freshwater and saltwater plants. Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon basin, and West Africa.

The main causes of death for manatees are human-related issues, such as habitat destruction and human objects. Their slow-moving, curious nature has led to violent collisions with propeller-driven boats and ships. Some manatees have been found with over 50 scars on them from propeller blades. Natural causes of death include adverse temperatures, predation by crocodiles on young, and disease.