Subspecies: Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee), Trichechus manatus manatus (Antillean manatee).Species: Trichechus inunguis (Amazonian manatee, South American manatee), Trichechus manatus (West Indian manatee, American manatee, Caribbean manatee), Trichechus senegalensis (African manatee, West African manatee).
#MANATEE PREDATORS FULL#
Classification/taxonomyĪccording to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the manatee's full classification is: In five years, the young manatee will be sexually mature and ready to have its own young. The mother helps the calf get to the water's surface for air, and within the first hour of life, the calf will be able to swim on its own. The calf, or baby manatee, is born underwater. Once the male has mated, though, he takes no part in the raising of the young.Ī female manatee is pregnant for about 12 months, according to Save the Manatee Club. The group of bulls is called a mating herd. The West Indian manatee lives in the southern and eastern United States, although a few "vagrants" have been known to reach the Bahamas, according to the IUCN.ĭuring mating, a female manatee, which is called a cow, will be followed around by a dozen or more males, which are called bulls. Their range is estimated to be around 2.7 million square miles (7 million square kilometers), according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Amazon manatee lives in the Amazon River's drainage, from the headwaters in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador to the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil. The African manatee lives along the coast and in the rivers of western Africa. Typically, manatees stay in rivers, seas and oceans along the coast of several countries.
Their names indicate the regions in which they live.
There are three species of manatee: the Amazonian manatee ( Trichechus inunguis) the West Indian manatee, or the American manatee ( Trichechus manatus) and the African manatee ( Trichechus senegalensis). Manatees usually swim about 5 mph (8 km/h), but they can swim up to 15 mph (24 km/h) in short bursts when they feel a need for speed, according to National Geographic (opens in new tab). They have large, strong tails that power their swimming. Manatees range in size from 8 to 13 feet (2.4 to 4 meters) and can weigh 440 to 1,300 lbs.
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