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Florida manatee

Trichechus manatus

3 Comments

Interesting Fact: The West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus, includes two distinct subspecies, the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus). While morphologically distinctive, both subspecies have many common features. Manatees have large, seal-shaped bodies with paired flippers and a round, paddle-shaped tail. They are typically grey in color (color can range from black to light brown) and occasionally spotted with barnacles or colored by patches of green or red algae. The muzzle is heavily whiskered and coarse, single hairs are sparsely distributed throughout the body. Adult manatees, on average, are about nine feet long (3 meters) and weigh about 1,000 pounds (200 kilograms). At birth, calves are between three and four feet long (1 meter) and weigh between 40 and 60 pounds (30 kilograms).

Ryan.Champiny
Ryan.Champiny 9 years ago

Gee well it's a good thing I put it as a common name. There are many different common names for any single species, just look up the trout Lilly. As long as the scientific name is correct, it doesn't matter what the common name is

MrsPbio
MrsPbio 9 years ago

Actually it is called the "west indian manatee".

Ryan.Champiny
Spotted by
Ryan.Champiny

Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Spotted on Mar 21, 2014
Submitted on May 22, 2014

Spotted for Mission

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