1. Genus: Trichechus Manatees Sea Cows Dugongs

2. Florida has the West Indian Manatee Have a pair of front flippers and a paddle- shaped tail Swim using up and down motion of tail Vegetarians Minimum population 4,480 manatees, as of January 2011.

3. Round body, well padded with blubber Wrinkled skin with few scattered hairs Strictly aquatic Mammals Slow-moving yet graceful underwater

4. Live in peaceful groups About 1300 pounds 4.5 m (15 feet) long Most closely related to elephants

5. Stellers Sea Cow – Largest Sirenian; Extinct in 1768 Slaughtered for meat Huge – 25 feet

6. Sirenians utilized for their meat, hide and oil-rich blubber Reproduce slowly – 1 calf every 3 years The coast of Georgia is usually the northernmost range of the West Indian Manatee Prolonged exposure to water temperatures below 68 °F (20 °C) can cause death. Florida manatees can move freely between salinity extremes.salinity

7. Dugong – strictly marine From East Africa Numbers are critically low

8. Manatee - T. manatus in green Amazonian Manatee - T. inunguis in red Dugong - T. senegalenis in orange