Sirenia

Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that includes manatees and dugongs. Its living members graze on aquatic vegetation and have forelimbs adapted for swimming.

Manatee: A large aquatic herbivore in the family Trichechidae, found in the Americas and West Africa. Manatees are one of the two living branches of Sirenia.
Herbivory: A feeding strategy in which animals obtain food by eating plants or algae. Plant-based feeding shapes sirenian teeth, guts, and habitat use.
Pezosiren: An early Eocene sirenian with limbs capable of supporting it on land and adaptations for aquatic life. Its anatomy records an early stage in sirenian evolution.
Steller's sea cow: An extinct, exceptionally large sirenian that lived in the Commander Islands until the eighteenth century. Its rapid extinction after human contact illustrates sirenian vulnerability.
Dugong: A marine herbivore in the family Dugongidae, distinguished by its fluked tail and downturned snout. The dugong is the sole living species of the other sirenian family.
Seagrass meadow: A shallow-water ecosystem formed by flowering plants rooted in marine sediments. Dugongs graze extensively in these underwater feeding grounds.
Prorastomus: An early Eocene fossil sirenian from Jamaica, known from skull and jaw remains. It is among the earliest known members of the sirenian lineage.
Dugong conservation: Efforts to protect dugongs and the coastal habitats on which they depend. Dugongs face risks from fishing, habitat loss, and boat traffic.
Sea cow: A common name for large herbivorous marine mammals, especially sirenians such as the extinct Steller’s sea cow. The name connects living sirenians with their extinct relatives.
Mangrove: A salt-tolerant tree or shrub that grows in tropical and subtropical coastal wetlands. Mangrove waterways provide habitat and feeding areas for some manatees.

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