Manatees/Dugongs

• Manatees
  • An aquatic mammal with a rounded tail flipper, living in shallow coastal waters/adjacent of the tropical Atlantic
• Dugongs
  • Looks like a manatee, but isn't one
  • Aquatic mammal found on the coasts of the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to northern Australia
  • Distinguished from manatees by its forked tail
• Key Orders of Manatees/Dugongs
  • Important role in the marine ecosystem
    • Maintains healthy ecosystem
    • Keystone species because they maintain the health of shallow coastal waters
  • Manatees and Dugongs eat a lot of seagrass, keeps them short so it maintains their health
• Key Adaptations of Manatees/Dugongs
  • Manatees known as "sea cows"
  • All manatees and dugongs have adapted breathing mannerisms
  • Exceptional hearing to help them avoid predators
  • Specific feeding behavior; "Hind-Gut" fermentation allows them to efficiently gain cellulose from plants
  • When vegetation is sparse, manatees can adjust/feed on invertebrates and fish
  • They are endothermic, warm blooded
• Key Locations of Manatees/Dugongs
  • Both accustomed to living in shallow coastal environments
  • Can be found in Florida during the winter, Texas/Massachusetts in the summer
  • Other places such as Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina are common sightings for manatees
  • Dugongs can also live in shallow waters
  • Dugongs live in the Pacific/Indian Oceans
  • Dugongs also inhabit and are from east African and Australia
• Body Systems of Manatees/Dugongs (Digestive)
  • Digestive system similar to a horse as they are hindgut digesters
  • Hindgut Fermentation: Digestive process seen in monogastric herbivores/animals with a single-chambered stomach
    • Monogastric: Having a stomach with only a single compartment
  • Allows for cellulose to be digested with the aid of symbiotic bacteria
• Body Systems of Manatees/Dugongs (Circulatory) 
  • Manatees/dugongs have closed circulatory system (they can't go long without oxygen from the surface)
  • Lungs of manatees/dugongs are flattened, elongated, and extended horizontally along the back almost to the anus
  • Circulatory system transports heat/regulates body temperature
• Body Systems of Manatees/Dugongs (Integumentary)
  • Skin of a manatee/dugong very similar to an elephant, thick and wrinkled
  • Manatee/Dugong hair known as "tactile hairs", the tiny hairs are distributed sparsely all over their body
    • Gives them their sixth sense/allows them to move around in dimly lit environments
• Manatees/Dugongs and Tetrapods
  • Considered tetrapods since they evolved from land mammals
  • Tetrapods are mammals with four limbs
  • Considered to be tetrapods even though they lack limbs because they descended from a tetrapod common ancestor
• Manatees/Dugong - Phylum
  • Both of them are in Phylum Chordata
    • Chordates: Animals that have at least some stage development, dorsally situated central nervous system and gill slits that include vertebrates, lancelets, and tunicates
• Special/Unique Traits of Manatees/Dugongs
  • Very similar to one another, the only main difference between them is that Dugongs have a fluked, dolphin-like tail
  • Dugongs also possess unique teeth/skull
  • Manatees/Dugong are large, gray aquatic mammals
  • Two forelimbs, 3-4 nails on each flipper
  • Whole head is wrinkled with whiskers on the snout