Amazonian Manatee
| Amazonian Manatee[1] | ||||||||||||||
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| Trichechus inunguis (Natterer, 1883) |
The Amazonian Manatee Trichechus inunguis is a species of manatee that lives in the freshwater habitats of the Amazon River and its tributaries. Amazonian manatees are aquatic animals. They come from the Sirenia order and are also known as "seacows". Their color is brownish gray and they have thick, wrinkled skin, often with coarse hair, or "whiskers." It lacks significant predation, other than being occasionally hunted by humans. The three species of manatees, and the closely related Dugong, are unique in that they are the only plant-eating marine mammals in modern times.
A somewhat unique feature (amongst mammals) of the manatee is the constant replacement of molar teeth; new teeth enter at the back of the jaw and replace old and worn teeth at the front. Thought to be their close cousins, the elephants also have teeth that get replaced, but they have a limited set of these replacement teeth.
Amazonian manatees are typically about 10 feet long, and 1,000 pounds, making them the smallest of all sirenians. They also lack the hooves found on the end of most sirenians' flippers.
A dwarf variety has been described by Dr Marc van Roosmalen in the Rio Arauazinho. Called locally the peixe-boi anão, it is four feet (130cm) long and lives in fast-flowing streams. Van Roosmalen calls it a subspecies, but this discovery is awaiting formal scientific acceptance.[3]
References
- ^ Shoshani, Jeheskel (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 93. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Marmontel, M. (2007). Trichechus inunguis. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-13. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A3cd v3.1)
- ^ Tetrapod zoology
See also
External links
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