Manatee

manatee, (genus Trichechus), any of three species of large slow aquatic mammals found along tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts and associated inland waters, including the watersheds of the Amazon and Niger rivers. Dull gray, blackish, or brown in colour, all three manatee species have stout tapered bodies ending in a flat rounded tail used for forward propulsion. The forelimbs are modified into flippers; there are no hind limbs.

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), which is also found seasonally in the waters of nearby states, is one subspecies of the West Indian manatee (T. manatus). The other subspecies lives in nearshore waters, lagoons, estuaries, and rivers of eastern Mexico, down the Central American coast, and across northern South America. It also occurs around the Greater Antilles islands of the Caribbean—hence its common name, the Antillean manatee (T. manatus manatus).

The Amazonian manatee (T. inunguis) inhabits the Amazon River and associated drainage areas, including seasonally inundated forests. This species lives only in fresh water and can be found far inland through Brazil to Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. The West African manatee (T. senegalensis), found in coastal areas and slow-moving rivers from Senegal to Angola, also ranges far inland in some rivers.