Interesting Facts About Manatees
The manatee is an aquatic mammal that scientists classify as a sirenian, along with a similar creature called a dugong and the now extinct Steller's sea cow. The manatee can weigh as much as 1,200 lbs. and be up to 8 feet long, subsisting almost solely on a vegetarian diet. The manatee cannot survive in cold water and in the United States, these creatures exist only in the waters off warm climate states such as Florida and along the Gulf Coast.
Other People Are Reading
-
Evolution
-
The closest relatives still in existence to the manatee include a diverse group---the elephant, the aardvark and a small creature resembling a gopher called a hyrax. According to the Journey North website, the manatee, despite having some similarities to animals like sea lions and walruses, are not relatives of these sea mammals. At one time, as long as 60 million years ago, manatees were land animals. The manatee and its odd array of relatives most likely descended from some type of hoofed mammal.
Lung Size
-
The lungs of the manatee are two-thirds the length of the creature's body, allowing the manatee to stay submerged for as long as 24 minutes if necessary. The "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mammals" states that the mother immediately brings up her manatee young, which are born underwater, to the surface, where they stay for about 45 minutes before she reintroduces them to an underwater environment.
-
Teeth Replacement
-
Manatees have a set of teeth that biologists refer to as marching molars. The first three teeth in each row are not molars, but all the rest of the teeth are. The molars form in the rear of the jaw and as they wear down due to use in chewing plants mixed with sand, they make their way forward and in time fall out. New molars come into the jaw to take their place.
Ecologically Friendly
-
Manatees have the ability to eat as much as 10 to 15 percent of their own body weight in plants in a single 24-hour period, meaning that some will eat over 100 lbs. of plants a day. The manatee is a very beneficial addition in ecosystems choked with invasive waterweeds such as water hyacinth and hydrilla. The manatee helps to keep these plants in check.
Other Characteristics
-
The manatee is the only aquatic mammal that survives on a diet of plants; all others, such as sea otters and seals, are omnivores or carnivores, eating meat or both plants and meat. The manatee and the sloth, a creature found in the South American jungle, are the only two mammals that feature just six vertebrate in their necks; all others have seven cervical vertebrate. The manatee can live for as long as 50 or 60 years and because of their size, the adults have no natural enemies.
-
References
- Photo Credit manatee image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
