Sirenians
The Dugong
The dugong can grow to be around 3 meters in length and weigh 420 kilograms. Its body has a cylindrical shape that tapers at both
ends and is sparsely covered in short hairs, which develop around the mouth, where a large horseshoe-shaped upper lip forms its
highly mobile muzzle. It has thick, smooth skin of a pale cream colour at birth which darkens dorsally and laterally with age.
The dugong's tail flukes and flippers are similar to those of dolphins. These flukes are raised up and down in long strokes to move the
animal forward and can be twisted to turn. Its forelimbs are paddle-like flippers which aid with turning and slowing. Its tail is deeply
notched. The dugong has very small eyes and limited vision but acute hearing within narrow sound thresholds. Its ears, which lack
pinnae, are located on the sides of its head. Its nostrils are located on top of its head and can be closed using valves. Dugongs have
two teats, one behind each flipper.
Although dugongs are social animals, they are usually solitary or in pairs. Gatherings of hundreds of dugongs sometimes happen.
They can go six minutes without breathing (though about two and a half minutes is more typical), and have been known to rest on
their tails to breathe with their heads above water. They can dive to a maximum depth of 39 meters but they spend most of their
lives at depths no deeper than 10 meters. They communicate via chirps, whistles, barks and other sounds that echo underwater.
Dugongs are semi-nomadic, often traveling long distances in search of food, but staying within a certain range for their entire lives.
Many dugongs often move together from one area to another. These movements may be caused by changes in seagrass availability.
Their memory allows them to return to specific points after long travels.
Manatees
Manatees weigh 400 to 550 kg (880 to 1,210 lb), and average 2.8 to 3.0 m (9 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in) in length, sometimes growing to 4.6
m (15 ft 1 in) and 1,775 kg (3,913 lb) and females tend to be larger and heavier than males. At birth, baby manatees weigh about 30
kg (66 lb) each. The female manatee has two teats, one under each flipper. The lids of manatees' small, widely spaced eyes close in a
circular manner. The manatee has a large, flexible, prehensile upper lip, used to gather food and eat and for social interaction and
communication. Manatees have shorter snouts than their fellow sirenians, the dugongs.
Manatee adults have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, which are not clearly differentiated into molars and
premolars. At any time, a manatee typically has no more than six teeth in each jaw of its mouth.
The manatee's tail is paddle-shaped, and is the clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs; a dugong tail is fluked,
similar in shape to that of a whale.
Apart from mothers with their young, or males following a receptive female, manatees are generally solitary animals.[8] Manatees
spend approximately 50% of the day sleeping submerged, surfacing for air regularly at intervals of less than 20 minutes. The
remainder of the time is mostly spent grazing in shallow waters at depths of 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in). The Florida subspecies (T. m.
latirostris) has been known to live up to 60 years.
Generally, manatees swim at about 5 to 8 km/h (3 to 5 mph). However, they have been known to swim at up to 30 km/h (20 mph) in
short bursts.
Manatees are capable of understanding discrimination tasks and show signs of complex associative learning. They also have good
long-term memory.[17] They demonstrate discrimination and task-learning abilities similar to dolphins and pinnipeds in acoustic and
visual studies.[18] Social interactions between manatees are highly complex and intricate.
Manatees emit a wide range of sounds used in communication, especially between cows and their calves.[21] Their ears are large
internally but the external openings are small, and they are located four inches behind each eye.[22] Adults communicate to
maintain contact and during sexual and play behaviors.
Manatees use their flippers to "walk" along the bottom whilst they dig for plants and roots in the substrate. When plants are
detected, the flippers are used to scoop the vegetation toward the manatee's lips. The manatee has prehensile lips; the upper lip
pad is split into left and right sides which can move independently. The lips use seven muscles to manipulate and tear at plants.
Manatees use their lips and front flippers to move the plants into the mouth. The manatee does not have front teeth, however,
behind the lips, on the roof of the mouth, there are dense, ridged pads. These horny ridges, and the manatee's lower jaw, tear
through ingested plant material.[26]
Stellar’s Sea Cow
Steller's sea cows are reported to have grown to 8 to 9 m (26 to 30 ft) long as adults, much larger than extant sirenians.[6] In 1987, a
rather complete skeleton was found on Bering Island measuring 3 m (9.8 ft).[7][8] In 2017, another such skeleton was found on
Bering Island measuring 5.2 m (17 ft), and in life probably about 6 m (20 ft).[9] Georg Steller's writings contain two contradictory
estimates of weight: 4 and 24.3 t (4.4 and 26.8 short tons). The true value is estimated to fall between these figures, at about 8–10 t
(8.8–11.0 short tons).[10] This size made the sea cow one of the largest mammals of the Holocene epoch, along with baleen whales
and some few toothed whales,[11] and was likely an adaptation to reduce its surface-area to volume ratio and conserve heat.[12]
Unlike other sirenians, Steller's sea cow was positively buoyant, meaning that it was unable to submerge completely. It had a very
thick outer skin, 2.5 cm (1 in), to prevent injury from sharp rocks and ice and possibly to prevent unsubmerged skin from drying out.
[6][13] The sea cow's blubber was 8–10 cm (3–4 in) thick, another adaptation to the frigid climate of the Bering Sea.[14] Its skin was
brownish-black, with white patches on some individuals. It was smooth along its back and rough on its sides, with crater-like
depressions most likely caused by parasites. This rough texture led to the animal being nicknamed the "bark animal". Hair on its
body was sparse, but the insides of the sea cow's flippers were covered in bristles.[5] The fore limbs were roughly 67 cm (26 in) long,
and the tail fluke was forked.[5]
The sea cow's head was small and short in comparison to its huge body. The animal's upper lip was large and broad, extending so far
beyond the lower jaw that the mouth appeared to be located underneath the skull. Unlike other sirenians, Steller's sea cow was
toothless and instead had a dense array of interlacing white bristles on its upper lip. The bristles were about 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in length
and were used to tear seaweed stalks and hold food.[5] The sea cow also had two keratinous plates, called ceratodontes, located on
its palate and mandible, used for chewing.[15][16] According to Steller, these plates (or "masticatory pads") were held together by
interdental papillae, a part of the gums, and had many small holes containing nerves and arteries.[5]
Side view of a brown-green dugong: It is similar to a manatee in that the head is pointed downwards, the eyes are small, and the
body is stocky. The arms are perpendicular to the body and bend backwards toward the tail. There are no fingernails. The tail is
knotched, much like a dolphin tail. As with all sirenians, the sea cow's snout pointed downwards, which allowed it to better grasp
kelp. The sea cow's nostrils were roughly 5 cm (2 in) long and wide. In addition to those within its mouth, the sea cow also had stiff
bristles 10–12.7 cm (3.9–5.0 in) long protruding from its muzzle.[12][5] Steller's sea cow had small eyes located halfway between its
nostrils and ears with black irises, livid eyeballs, and canthi which were not externally visible. The animal had no eyelashes, but like
other diving creatures such as sea otters, Steller's sea cow had a nictitating membrane, which covered its eyes to prevent injury
while feeding. The tongue was small and remained in the back of the mouth, unable to reach the masticatory (chewing) pads.[12][5]
Steller described the sea cow as being highly social (gregarious). It lived in small family groups and helped injured members, and was
also apparently monogamous. Steller's sea cow may have exhibited parental care, and the young were kept at the front of the herd
for protection against predators.
The sea cow used its fore limbs for swimming, feeding, walking in shallow water, defending itself, and holding on to its partner
during copulation.[5] According to Steller, the fore limbs were also used to anchor the sea cow down to prevent it from being swept
away by the strong nearshore waves.[6] While grazing, the sea cow progressed slowly by moving its tail (fluke) from side to side;
more rapid movement was achieved by strong vertical beating of the tail. They often slept on their backs after feeding. According to
Steller, the sea cow was nearly mute and made only heavy breathing sounds, raspy snorting similar to a horse, and sighs.
