. The animal kingdom; based upon the writings of the eminent naturalists, Audubon, Wallace, Brehm, Wood and others. Mammals; Zoology. \\^^>\^^^^ ^^^^r •^ ^ ^\ ^ ^ ^ ^ > > ^v % %|1 WMmw ^a^' w\ <\k V ^ ^ < ^ ^ ^ ^ V ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ \^ ^ •% \w~^. )G&SiS^ THE SEA COWS. THE ORDER SIRENIA—MERMAIDS—THE FAMILY MANATID.'E—THE MANATES OF AMERICA—THEIR VORACITY AND LAZINESS—MODES OF CAPTURE—TAME SPECIMENS—THE FLORIDA MANATEA— THE AFRICAN LAMANTIN—THE EASTERN DUGONG—THE AUSTRALIAN DUGONG—THE NORTH- ERN SEA COWS—STELLER'S DESCRIPTION—EXTINCT SINCE 1768. THE Sirenia, or Sea Cows, as they are
. The animal kingdom; based upon the writings of the eminent naturalists, Audubon, Wallace, Brehm, Wood and others. Mammals; Zoology. \\^^>\^^^^ ^^^^r •^ ^ ^\ ^ ^ ^ ^ > > ^v % %|1 WMmw ^a^' w\ <\k V ^ ^ < ^ ^ ^ ^ V ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ \^ ^ •% \w~^. )G&SiS^ THE SEA COWS. THE ORDER SIRENIA—MERMAIDS—THE FAMILY MANATID.'E—THE MANATES OF AMERICA—THEIR VORACITY AND LAZINESS—MODES OF CAPTURE—TAME SPECIMENS—THE FLORIDA MANATEA— THE AFRICAN LAMANTIN—THE EASTERN DUGONG—THE AUSTRALIAN DUGONG—THE NORTH- ERN SEA COWS—STELLER'S DESCRIPTION—EXTINCT SINCE 1768. THE Sirenia, or Sea Cows, as they are commonly called, are regarded by some authorities as intermediate between the Eared Seals and the Whales, while others consider them as constituting a sub-family of Cetacea. But many parts of their structure exhibit so close an alliance with the thick-skinned, or pachydermatous mammalia, that modern investigators place them in a separate order, preceding immediately the orders which are sometimes united under the common appellation Pachydermata. The name of Sirenia, which is given to this group of animals, is chiefly owing to the peculiar form and habits of the Dugong, which has a curious custom of swimming with its head and neck above the surface of the water, so that it bears some grotesque resemblance to the human form, and might have given rise to the poetical tales of mermaids and sirens which have prevailed in the literature of all Eastern countries. When the female Dugong is nursing her child, she carries it in one arm, and takes care to keep the head of her offspring, as well as her own, above the surface of the water, and thus presents a strangely human aspect. If alarmed, she immediately dives below the waves, and flinging her fish-like tail into the air, corresponds in no inadequate degree with the popular notions of mermaid form. The Sea Cows are herbivorous animals, living on the coasts or in the great rivers of several parts of the g
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectm, booksubjectzoology
