Marine Mammal
West Indian Manatee > Florida Sub Species
Scientific Name
Trichechus manatus
Diet
Herbivore: seagrasses, algae, water hyacinth, other aquatic plants
Length
Between 9 to 15 feet | 3 to 4.5 meters
Weight
440 to 1350 lb | 200 to 600 kg
Location
South East USA | Florida, Mexican Gulf
Habitat
Coastal areas | Rivers | Estuaries
9 MUST KNOW FACTS
About the Florida manatee
1
Largest species of manatee
2
Power plants help to keep them warm
3
Protected by law since 1893
4
Alligators actively avoid manatees
5
Their brain is the size of a grapefruit
6
Have 3-4 vestigial nails on their flippers
7
Scars help scientists to identify them
8
96% of them have propeller scars
9
Florida’s offical state animal
Dangers + Threats
Boat strikes + injury
Loss of warm water habitats
Habitat loss
Algae blooms
Illegal hunting + intentional killing
Seagrass meadow decline
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Vocabulary
Stuck on a word? Have a look below.
Aquatic living or found in water
Ballast weight that helps keep something stable and balanced.
Bouyancy the ability to float or stay at a certain depth in water.
Estuary where a river meets the sea, mixing fresh and salt water.
Lagoon a shallow stretch of water separated from the sea by a sandbank or reef.
Herbivore an animal that only eats plants.
Nictitating lens a transparent eyelid that protects the eye underwater.
Marine mammal a warm-blooded animal that lives in or around the sea and breathes air.
Migrate to travel from one place to another with the seasons.
Prehensile able to grip and hold, like fingers
Seagrass meadow underwater fields of grass-like plants that grow in shallow coastal waters.
Sirenia the scientific order that manatees and dugongs belong to.
Subspecies a smaller group within a species that shares specific characteristics.
Reniculate Kidney instead of one kidney, manatees have kidneys made up of lots of tiny individual kidneys all bundled together, each one doing its own job
Vibrissae are tiny hair sensors that pick up movement and vibrations covering the manatees body and mouth.
Vestigial a leftover body part no longer needed after millions of years of evolution.