Title :

Manatee

Category: North American Mammals

Facts about Manatee, "Scientific name for Manatee is Trichechus manatus". "Manatee" is a Trichechus type of aquatic animal that comes from the Trichechidae family. The Manatee are largely found in shallow, sluggish-moving streams, estuaries, canals, saltwater bays and coastal regions, where freshwater vegetation and sea grass beds flourish. The Manatee are a migratory variety of animals, and they migrate to Florida and as far as the western parts of Texas and as far as the northern parts of Massachusetts in the United States during winter. During summer, the Manatee are largely found in sightings in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. The Manatee are also called as sea cows, and they come in three varieties, such as the Amazonian Manatee, the West Indian Manatee and the West African Manatee.

Features of Manatee

When the Manatee is fully grown, it attains the maximum body length, ranging from 9 feet 2 inches to 9 feet 8 inches (23.3 to 24.9 cm), with the body mass, ranging from 800 pounds to 1,200 pounds (362.9 to 544.3 kg). Usually, the female Manatee are bigger and heavier than the male ones. The big aquatic Manatee have a grey color body, with a tail, which is in the shape of a paddle. They boast two forelimbs, known as flippers, with a maximum of four nails on every flipper. Female Manatee breeds contain two teats, one below each flipper, a feature that was used to build early links between elephants and the Manatee.

The face and head of a Manatee are creased with whiskers on the small nose. The close relatives of the Manatee are the Hyrax and the elephant. The Manatees are considered to have developed from a wading, plant-consuming animal. When the Manatee is born, they have an average body mass of 66 pounds (30 kg), with a big, stretchy, prehensile upper lip. The Manatee make use of the lip to collect food and consume, in addition to using it for communal interactions and connections. The Manatee has a smaller nose than their associate Sirenians, the dugongs. Their little, extensively spaced eyes contain eyelids that close in a circular way. The adult Manatee animals have neither incisors nor canine teeth, and they just have a set of cheek teeth that are not obviously distinguished into molars and premolars. These teeth of the Manatee are continuously replaced all through their life, with fresh teeth growing at the back while the aged teeth fallout beyond forward in their mouth. A manatee usually has not more than six teeth in every jaw of its mouth during its lifetime.

Diet of Manatee

Manatee animals are herbivores and they feed on more than 60 dissimilar freshwater plants, such as floating hyacinth, alligator weed, pickerel weed, hydrilla, water lettuce, water celery, mangrove leaves and musk grass,. The Manatee also feed on saltwater plants, such as sea grasses, manatee grass, shoal grass, widgeon grass, turtle grass, sea clover and sea algae. The Manatee are known to feed on small quantities of fish from nets. Manatee can consume 60 to 100 pounds (27.2 to 45.3 kg) of vegetation per day.

Reproduction of Manatee

Usually, Manatee has a low reproductive rate, and they attain the sexual maturity after the age of 5 years. The Manatee breed once in two years, and normally only one calf is born. Gestation period continues up to one year and an additional period of 12 to 18 months to nurse the calf.

Usually, the Manatee animal lives up to 60 years.