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Cetacea ceases, the whole organization of these animals being constructed on entirely different lines. The American manati, Manatus (or, as some would have it, Trichechus latirostris), inhabits the See also:

rivers of See also:

FLORIDA

Florida, See also:

Mexico, Central See also:

AMERICA

America and the West Indies, and (From Murie.) Front view of See also:

head of American Manati, showing the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. A, with the lobes of the upper See also:

LIP (a word common in various forms, to Teutonic languages, cf Ger. Lippe, Dan. laebe; Lat. labium is cognate)

lip divaricated; B, with the lip contracted. See also:

MEASURES

measures from 9 to 13 feet in length. The See also:

BODY

body is somewhat See also:

fish-like, but depressed and ending posteriorly in a broad, See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat, See also:

shovel-like See also:

HORIZONTAL

horizontal tail, with rounded edges. The head is of moderate See also:

SIZE

size, oblong, with a See also:

blunt, truncated muzzle, and divided from the body by a slight constriction or See also:

NECK (O. Eng. hnecca; the word appears in many Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch ride, Ger. Nacken; in O. E. the common word was heals; cf. Ger. Hals)

neck. The fore limbs are flattened See also:

OVAL (Lat. ovum, egg)

oval paddles, placed rather See also:

low on the sides of the body, and showing externally no signs of See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division into fingers, but with three diminutive flat nails near their extremities. No traces of See also:

HIND

hind limbs are discernible either externally or internally; and there is no dorsal fin. The mouth is See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar, the tumid upper lip being cleft in the See also:

MIDDLE

middle See also:

LINE

line into two lobes, each of which is separately movable. The nostrils are two semilunar See also:

VALVE (Lat. valva, a leaf of a double or folding door, allied to volvere, to roll, as of a door on its hinges)

valve-like slits at the See also:

APEX

apex of the muzzle.

The eyes are very See also:

minute, placed at the sides of the head, and with a nearly circular See also:

APERTURE (from Lat. aperire, to open)

aperture with wrinkled margins; and See also:

EXTERNAL

external ears are wanting. The skin generally is of a dark greyish See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour, not smooth or glistening like that of whale or See also:

DOLPHIN

dolphin, but finely wrinkled. At a little distance it appears naked, but See also:

close inspection, at all events in See also:

young animals, shows a scanty covering of delicate hairs, and both upper and under lips are supplied with See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, stiff bristles. Manatis have a number—as many as 20 pairs in each See also:

JAW (Mid. Eng. jawe, jowe and geowe, O. Eng. cheowan, connected with " chaw " and " chew," and in form with " jowl ")

jaw—of two-ridged See also:

TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth, of which, however, but comparatively few are in use at once. They lack the large tusks of the male dugong, and the fore See also:

PART

part of the See also:

SKULL

skull is not so much See also:

bent down as in that See also:

animal. In See also:

LIFE

life the See also:

PALATE (Lat. palatum, possibly from the root of pascere, to feed)

palate has a horny See also:

PLATE

plate, with a similar one in the See also:

LOWER

lower jaw. The See also:

SKELETON

skeleton is described under SIRENIA. Manatis pass their life in the See also:

WATER

water, inhabiting bays, lagoons, estuaries and large rivers, but the open See also:

sea is unsuited to their peculiar mode of life. As a See also:

RULE

rule they prefer shallow water, in which, when not feeding, they See also:

lie near the bottom. In deeper water they often See also:

FLOAT (in O. Eng. floc and flota, in the verbal form f eotan; the Teutonic root is flut-, another form of flu-, seen in " flow," cf. " fleet "; the root is seen in Gr. a-M e, to sail, Lat. pluere, to rain; the Lat, fluere and fluctus, wave, is not connect

float, with the body much arched, the rounded back close to the See also:

SURFACE

surface, and the head, limbs and tail See also:

HANGING

hanging downwards. The See also:

air in the lungs assists them to maintain this position. Their See also:

food consists exclusively of aquatic See also:

PLANTS

plants, on which they feed beneath the water.

They are slow in their movements, and perfectly harmless, but are subject to persecution for the See also:

SAKE

sake of their oil, skin and flesh. Frequent attempts have been made to keep specimens alive in captivity, and some-times with considerable success, one having lived in the See also:

BRIGHTON

Brighton See also:

AQUARIUM (plural aquaria)

Aquarium for upwards of sixteen months. From such See also:

CAPTIVE (from Lat. capere, to take)

captive specimens certain observations on the mode of life of these animals have been made. We learn, for instance, that from the See also:

SHOULDER (in O.E. sculder, cognate with Ger. Schulter, Dutch schouder, Swed. skuldra, &c; the root is unknown)

shoulder-See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint the flippers can be moved in all directions, and the See also:

ELBOW

elbow and See also:

WRIST

wrist permit of See also:

FREE

free See also:

EXTENSION (Lat. ex, out ; tendere, to stretch)

extension and flexion. In feeding, manatis push the food towards their mouths by means of one of the hands, or both used simultaneously, and any one who has seen these members thus employed can believe the stories of their carrying their young under their arms. Still more interesting is the See also:

ACTION

action of the peculiar lateral pads formed by the divided upper lip, thus described by See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor A. Garrod: " These pads have the See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of transversely approaching towards and receding from one another simultaneously (see fig.). When the animal is on the point of seizing (say) a See also:

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf of See also:

LETTUCE

lettuce, the pads are div erged transversely in such a way as to make a median See also:

gap of considerable breadth. Directly the leaf is within grasp the lip .pads are approximated, the leaf is firmly seized between their contiguous bristly surfaces, and then See also:

DRAWN

drawn inwards by a backwa rd See also:

MOVEMENT

movement of the lower margin of the lip as a whole." The animal is thus enabled by the unaided means of the upper lip to introduce food placed before it without the assistance of the comparatively insignificant lower lip, the action recalling that of the mouth of the silkworm and other caterpillars in which the mandibles diverge and converge laterally during mastication. All trustworthy observations indicate that the manati has not the power of voluntarily leaving the water. None of the specimens in confinement has been observed to emit any See also:

sound. The Amazonian manati (M. inunguis) is a much smaller See also:

SPECIES

species, not exceeding 7 or 8 ft. in length, and without nails to the flippers.

It ascends most of the tributaries of the See also:

AMAZON

Amazon until stopped by rapids. From a specimen which lived a short See also:

time'in See also:

LONDON

London it appears that the lip-pads are less See also:

DEVELOPED

developed than in the See also:

NORTHERN

northern species. The third species is the West See also:

AFRICAN

African M. senegalensis, which extends a distance of about ten degrees See also:

south and sixteen See also:

north of the See also:

EQUATOR (Late Lat. aequator, from aequare, to make equal)

equator, and ranges into the See also:

heart of the See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent as far as See also:

Lake Tchad. From 8 to to ft. appears to be the normal length; the See also:

WEIGHT

weight of a specimen was 590 lb. The colour is bluish See also:

black, with a tinge of See also:

OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive-See also:

green above and yellow below. (R.

End of Article: MANATI (often anglicized as "manatee")

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