The Sirenia (/ s aɪ ˈ r iː n i. 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.

Mar 8, 2025 · sirenian, (order Sirenia), any of four large aquatic mammalian species now living primarily in tropical waters where food plants grow. The three species of manatee (genus Trichechus) occupy warm latitudes of the coastal Atlantic and associated rivers, and the dugong (Dugong dugon) inhabits the coastlines of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Feb 28, 2025 · Sirenians, also called sea cows, are peaceful aquatic mammals that constitute the order Sirenia, which includes dugongs and manatees. They are primarily found in warm, shallow coastal waters, rivers, and estuaries of the Caribbean, West Africa, and parts of the Americas.

Sire­nia is a small order, com­posed of just two ex­tant fam­i­lies, Dugongi­dae and Trichechi­dae, with four cur­rent species. Fam­ily Trichechi­dae in­cludes three species: West In­dian man­a­tees (Trichechus man­a­tus), African man­a­tees (Trichechus sene­galen­sis), and Ama­zon­ian man­a­tees (Trichechus in­un­guis).

Jul 28, 2019 · Sirenians are large, slow-moving, aquatic mammals that live in shallow marine and freshwater habitats in tropical and subtropical regions. Their preferred habitats include swamps, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal waters.

The Sirenia, 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.

Jan 4, 2021 · This month, we will talk about the sirenians: manatees and dugongs. These slow and peaceful “herbivores”, also called sea cows, have elephants as their closest land relatives. In this post, we highlight some mostly unknown facts about the sirenian family and hope to raise awareness about the threats they face today.

The sirenians are unique among mammals and marine mammals in that they are the only fully aquatic, herbivorous marine mammals. Their complete life cycle occurs in the water as do the life cycles of the cetaceans. Early explorers may have mistaken them for mermaids.

Sirenians are a group of aquatic mammals that belong to the order Sirenia, which includes dugongs and manatees. They have a large, rotund body shape and are found in warm coastal waters and rivers in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Amazon basin in South America, as well as the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

Sirenia – Marine Mammals – Sea Cows (4 species) When looking at a manatee or a dugong up close, it is difficult to imagine why the early sailors often mistook them for mermaids. Perhaps it was the long hours on the sea without female companionship.