FratFiles

• Save Paper

Manatee, common name for each of three species of a large water mammal, popularly called a sea cow because it grazes on marine grasses and other water plants. The Amazonian manatee ranges throughout the Amazon River basin in South America; the West African manatee occurs in rivers and coastal waters of tropical West Africa; and the West Indian, or Caribbean, manatee is found in rivers and coastal waters from the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean Sea and northeastern Brazil. An adult manatee has a rounded body, usually colored light to dark gray or black, that tapers to a horizontally flattened, rounded tail. It is 2.5 to 4.5 m (8 to 14 ft) long, depending on the species, and weighs 200 to 600 kg (440 to 1300 lb). The small head includes a straight snout and a cleft upper lip with bristly hairs. Its nostrils, set on the upper surface of the snout, are closed tightly by valves when the animal is under water. The paddlelike forelimbs are set close to......

View the rest of this paper...

Approximate Word Count: 425
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

Similar Essays

1. Manatees
   

   Manatees Manatees Quietly, but swiftly, the plump, dark animal glided across the water while making sounds comparable to that of the squeaks and squeals of a whale ("Florida

2. Manatees
   

   Manatees Manatees are a highly talked about animal in our society today due to the fact that they love to reside in shallow waters along the coast of Florida, thus exposing the

3. Manatees
   

   Manatees In 1493, when Columbus sailed to the Americas for his second journey, he and his sailors were the first Europeans to spot the present-day manatees. Because of their

4. Manatees
   

   Manatees Manatee, common name for each of three species of a large water mammal, popularly called a sea cow because it grazes on marine grasses and other water plants. The

5. John Updike
   

   but scientists theorize that there were many more in the past. Early forms of manatees are thought to have originated near the Amazon basin in South America. Some remained