" The short and thick neck, fin-like fore legs, want of hind legs, caudal tegumentary fin, smooth, naked, and almost hairless integu ment, are all modifications of external form by which the Dugongs and Manatees are adapted to play their part in the water : but the kind of part," says Professor Owen, " which they are to play in that ele ment depends on organic characters which mainly, if not exclusively, reveal their true affinities. Now we have seen that the whole of the internal etructuro in the Herbivorous Cctacca differs as widely from 1st of the Carnivorous Cetacea as do their habits : that the amount )f variation is as great as well could be in animals of the same class ixisting in the same great deep. The junction of the Dugongs and Nlanatees with the true Whales cannot therefore be admitted in a distribution of animals according to their organisation. With much superficial resemblance they have little real or organic resemblance to the Walrus, which exhibits an extreme modification of the amphi bious carnivorous type. I conclude therefore that the Dugong and its congeners must either form a group apart, or be joined, as in the classification of M. de Blainville, with the Pachyderms, with which the Herbivorous Cetacea have the nearest affinities, and to which they seem to have been more immediately linked by the -now lost genus IJinotherium." The following is a synopsis of the genera :— 1. Monatus. Tail rounded. Grinders, 9 — or 6 — tubercular. 9 2. Halicore. Tail forked. Grinders, ; flat-tipped ; upper cutting teeth produced, tusk-like.
Rytina. Tail forked. Grinders none.
Manatus australls, the Manatee. This is the Lamantin of Buffon ; Trichechus Manatus of Liumeus • Manatus Antericanus of Desmarest ; Manate del'Oreuoque of Lamantin d'Amdrique of Cuvicr. The terms Manatee and Lamantin are indifferently applied to this and the following species. The present species is of a gray-black colour, and is an inhabitant of the warmer parts of America and its islands.
Cuvier describes the Manatees as having an oblong body terminated by an elongated .oval fin ; eight molar teeth in each jaw, with a square crown marked by two transverse ridges ; neither incisors nor canines in the adult ; but in the very young ones two small Pointed teeth are found in the intermaxil lary bones, which disappear early. The vestiges Of nails are observable on the edges of their flippers, which they use dexterously enough in creeping and carry ing their young. This has caused these organs to be compared to hands ; whence their name Manali, or Manatee.
The mamma; of the Manatees and Dugongs are pectoral, and this conforma tion, joined to the adroit use of their flippers (whose five fingers can be easily distinguished through the investing mem branes, four of them being terminated by nails) in progression, nursing their young, &e., have caused them, when seen at a
distance with the anterior part of their body out of the water, to be taken for some creature approaching to human shape so nearly (especially as their muzzle is thick set with hairs, giving somewhat of the effect of human hair or a beard), that there can be little doubt that not a few of the tales of Mermen and Mermaids have had their origin with these animals, as well as with Seals and Walruses. Thus the Portuguese and Spaniards give the Manatee a denomination which signifies Woman-Fish ; and the Dutch call the Dugong Baardmannetje, or Little Bearded Man. A very little imagination and a memory for only the marvellous portion of the appearance sufficed doubtless to complete the metamorphosis of this half woman or man, half-fish, into a Siren, a Mermaid, or a Merman; and the wild recital of the voyager was treasured up by such writers as Maillet, Lachesnaye-des-Bois, Sachs, Valcntyn, and others, who, as Cuvier well observes, have displayed more learning than judgment.
This and the other species of Manatees are called by English sailors the Sea-Cow and the Woman-Fish, and by the French Bumf Marin and Vedic Marine.
The Manatees are gregarious, and generally go in troops. The young are usually placed in the centre of the herd for protection, and on the approach of danger all unite for the common safety. It ie alleged that, when one has been struck by a harpoon, its companions will tear out the and they are so attached to their young that if the calf be taken, the captors are sure of the mother, from the reckless ness with which her maternal affection leads her to the place of capture. If the mother be captured, the young follow her to the shore, and fall an easy prey.
The shallow bays of the Antilles and the quiet creeks of the South American rivers, particularly in Guyana and the Brazils, are the favourite haunts of the Manatee. They were formerly abundant at the mouths of the Orinoco and Amazon, ascending many miles, even into their tributaries and the fresh-water lakes. There, their actions are recorded as being similar in some respects to the whales, such as ' breaching,' or leaping to a considerable height out of the water. The food is entirely vegetable, consisting of subaqueous plants and littoral herbs principally.
The mild innoffeuaive manners of the Manatee, and the unsuspect ing nature of the animal, make it an easy prey to the hunter, who pursues it for the sake of the flesh, which all pronounce to be excel lent, both fresh and salted. Hernandez compares it to well fatted pork of pleasant flavour. Others compare it, when roasted, to beef or veal in flavour, and state that when salted it makes excellent sea provision.