What are the characteristics of Sirenia?

Sirenians have the following morphological characteristics in common: robust body; tough, thick skin with little hair; two nostrils on top or at the front of a thick muzzle; no ear pinnae; no hind limbs; mammary nipples located near the axillae; forelimbs modified into flippers; horizontally flattened tail; and dense.

What are the characteristics of dugongs?

The Dugong is a large, grey brown bulbous animal with a flattened fluked tail, like that of a whale, no dorsal fin, paddle like flippers and distinctive head shape. The broad flat muzzle and mouth are angled down to enable ease of grazing along the seabed.

What are the characteristics of sea cow?

Like the dugong, the sea cow had a relatively small head and a broad, horizontal forked tail fluke. Small stumpy flippers near the front of the body were used for moving over rocky areas and for holding fast to rocks in rough seas. The barklike skin was dark brown, sometimes streaked or spotted with white.

Who is Sirenia?

Sirenia, commonly sirenians, are also referred to by the common name sirens, deriving from the sirens of Greek mythology. This comes from a legend about their discovery, involving lonely sailors mistaking them for mermaids. Seekoei (sea cow) is also the name for a hippopotamus in Afrikaans.

What adaptations do dugongs have?

Dugongs have adapted their communication habits to suit their relatively limited senses, relying on vision and touch when they are near one another and hearing when they are apart. They use their sense of vision mostly when choosing mates, as they perform visual displays to attract each other.

What is sea cow called?

Manatees look a bit like walruses or chunky porpoises and are sometimes referred to as sea cows, but they’re actually much more closely related to elephants.

What is the scientific name of sea cow?

SireniaSea cows / Scientific name

Do dugongs have fins?

Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs. The forelimbs or flippers are paddle-like. The dugong is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth.

Why is it called a sea cow?

Manatees and dugongs are affectionately dubbed “sea cows” because of their grass-eating tendencies and slow nature. They are often seen swimming gracefully with their powerful tails and flippers.

Where did the sea cow live?

the Bering Sea
It lived mostly around islands in the Bering Sea, especially Bering Island. In earlier eras it might also have lived in the Pacific, ranging from Japan to California and Mexico. The Sea Cow lived in cold, relatively shallow waters where there was plenty of kelp and sea grass.

What is Palawan fossil Sirenia?

The sirenia fossil, however, belongs to an extinct species that roamed Palawan some 20 million years ago during the Miocene era, according to Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron, quoting the findings of the La Venta exploration.

Do dugongs have hair?

Their skin has hair or fur. Dugongs are mammals and they need to come to the surface of the sea to breathe. They have hair, although not very much of it. The calves drink milk from their mothers.

How do dugongs move?

Dugongs swim by moving their broad whale-like tail in an up and down motion, and by use of their two flippers. They come to the surface to breathe through nostrils near the top of their snouts.