What order are manatees and dugong classified quizlet?

What order are manatees and dugong classified quizlet?

Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. The dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees.

What types of mammals are dugongs and manatees?

Manatees and dugongs are mammals of the order Sirenia—that is, sea cows. The word Sirenia comes from Greek mythology to describe mermaids. The first sailors were persuaded to believe that these creatures were sirens (mermaids), hence the name of the order.

What group do dugongs belong to?

Sirenia
Manatees are aquatic mammals that belong to a group of animals called Sirenia. This group also contains dugongs. Dugongs and manatees look quite alike – they’re similar in size, colour and shape, and both have flexible flippers for forelimbs.

What type of animals are sirenians?

The Sirenia currently comprise two distinct families: Dugongidae (the dugong and the now extinct Steller’s sea cow) and Trichechidae (manatees, namely the Amazonian manatee, West Indian manatee, and West African manatee) with a total of four species.

Which animal is the only herbivorous marine mammal?

Pinnipeds spend the majority of their lives swimming and eating in water and come onto land or ice floes to bear their young, rest, and molt. Like cetaceans, sirenians also spend their whole lives in water. They are the only entirely herbivorous group of marine mammals.

How many species of Sirenia are there?

There are only five living species of sirenians, known collectively as “sea-cows,” including the dugong and the manatees.

What is the difference between dugongs and manatees?

Dugongs have tail flukes with pointed projections at the tips, much like a whale or dolphin, but with a somewhat concave trailing edge. Manatees have paddle-shaped tails more like a beaver that moves vertically while swimming. The snout of a dugong is broad, short, and trunk-like.

What are the main differences between manatees and dugongs?

Manatees have horizontal, paddle-shaped tails with only one lobe to move up and down when the animal swims; it’s similar in appearance to that of a beavertail. Dugongs have a fluked tail, meaning it is made up of two separate lobes joined together in the middle. The snout of a dugong is broad, short, and trunk-like.

Are dugongs related to manatees?

Dugongs (Dugong dugong) are closely related to manatees and are the fourth species under the order sirenia. Unlike manatees, dugongs have a fluked tail, similar to a whale’s, and a large snout with an upper lip that protrudes over their mouth and bristles instead of whiskers.

Why are dugongs classified as herbivores?

Dugongs are considered herbivores because they primarily feed on a diet of seagrass and algae at the bottom of the coastal beds.

Whats the difference between manatees and dugongs?

Are manatees the same as dugongs?

Some people mistakenly think dugongs and manatees are the exact same animal with different names. Though manatees and dugongs have a lot in common, they are different animals with distinct characteristics. Both dugongs and manatees are part of the same taxonomic order, Sirena.