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The two extant families of sirenians are thought to have diverged in the mid-Eocene, after which the dugongs and their closest relative, the Steller's sea cow, split off from a common ancestor in the Miocene. The Steller's sea cow became extinct in the 18th century. No fossils exist of other members of the Dugongidae. [19]
The fossil record shows sirenians appearing in the Eocene, where they most likely lived in the Tethys Ocean. The two extant families of sirenians are thought to have diverged in the mid-Eocene, after which the dugongs and their closest relative, the Steller's sea cow, split off from a common ancestor in the Miocene.
Manatees and dugongs. 8. Manatees and dugongs. In ancient Greek mythology Proteus was the herdsman of Poseidon’s seals, a god who could change himself into any sort of creature – leopard, tree, snake, water, anything. Today we imagine that Nature, although slower, has a similar capacity: leopards, snakes, rhododendrons, mushrooms, sharks ...
Sirenia is the order of placental mammals which comprises modern "sea cows" (manatees and the Dugong) and their extinct relatives. They are the only extant herbivorous marine mammals and the only group of herbivorous mammals to have become completely aquatic. Sirenians are thought to have a 50-million-year-old fossil record (early Eocene -recent).
Trichechiformes Hay, 1923. The Sirenia (/ saɪˈriːni.ə /), commonly referred to as sea cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The extant Sirenia comprise two distinct families: Dugongidae (the dugong and the now extinct Steller ...
The extinct Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), formerly of the Bering Sea, also belonged to the dugong family, but all were killed off by humans less than 30 years after they were first scientifically described in 1741. Steller’s sea cow was the largest sirenian and one of the few sirenians to occupy cold water.
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When did the dugongs split off from the sirenians?
Is a dugong a sirenian?
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How do sirenians differ from dugongs & manatees?
How many species of Sirenia are there?
Is a seacow a dugong?
This reconstruction illustrates multispecies communities of seacows from three different time periods and ocean basins. Each seacow represents a different extinct species of dugong. (Carl Buell) Sirenians, or seacows, are a group of marine mammals that include manatees and dugongs. In the modern ocean, only one species of seacow is found in ...
