The manatee, often called the sea cow, is the only exclusively herbivorous marine mammal. It grazes on all kinds of aquatic plants, especially marine sea grasses, assisted by its large prehensile lips, which are studded with bristles.
During the day, it is frequently found close to the surface, sleeping within the top three to ten feet (1 to 3 m). Occasionally it swims down to thirty feet (10 m), propelling itself along with the aid of its large flat tail, which it also uses as a rudder.
When feeding, which it usually does at night, it walks along the bottom using its fore limbs.
It is restricted to tropical and subtropical waters because it has an unusually low metabolic rate for a large mammal and rapidly loses body heat to the surrounding water.
Because it was overhunted in the past and — despite its current protected status — continues to be caught in fishing gear and hit by speed boats, the West Indian manatee is endangered.
Name: West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus)
Family: Trichechidae (Manatees)
Range: Florida to northeastern Brazil, including islands
Habitat: Rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters
Diet: Seagrass and other aquatic plants
Total Length: 8 to 13 feet (2.4 to 4 m)
Weight: 440 to 1,300 pounds (200 to 600 kg)
Life Cycle: Mating year-round; gestation 385 to 400 days, one (sometimes two) calves born
Description: Gray to gray-brown skin; small eyes; whiskered snout; absence of external ear flaps; two large flippers; flat, paddle-like tail
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Major Threat: Human interference
 Order: Salmoniformes, Family: Salmonidae Typically spend the first year of their life in fresh water. Upon moving to the ocean, growth increases dramatically. At about the third year, coho salmon reach maturity.
They weigh from 6 to 12 pounds and can be up to 38 inches in length.
Oncorhynchus kisutch are deep-bodied salmon with unique color characteristics. The dorsal surface is a metallic blue while the sides are a silver color....
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 Order: Sirenia, Family: Trichechidae The Amazon Basin of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru.
The Amazon ox manatee is gray and bears a white patch on its chest or several white markings on its chest and abdomen. Its body is covered with fine hairs and its upper and lower lips are covered with thick bristles. It has two mammary glands near its armpits.
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 Well, their brains, of course. Dolphins have large brains for their bodies — in fact, a bottlenose dolphin is second only to humans in the ratio of brain size to body size. Researchers have also pointed to the parallels in the organization of dolphin and primate brains as more evidence of high intelligence in dolphins. Some have gone so far as to suggest that dolphins actually have a language that...
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 Unlike any other mammal, dolphin babies are born tail first!
Dolphins have very little sense of smell!
A mother dolphin will stay with a calf for two to three years!
Dolphins, like cows, have two stomachs — one for storing food and one for digesting it!
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 Order: Carnivora, Family: Mustelidae Male sea otters average 5 feet and 70 pounds; females average 4 feet and 60 pounds.
They are dark brown with lighter heads that turn grayish white with age.
Sea Otters live in shallow coastal waters, especially kelp beds.
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 Order: Sirenia, Family: Trichechidae A large, grayish, nearly hairless, aquatic mammal without hind limbs; tail broadened into a horizontal, rounded paddle; front limbs paddlelike. Dental formula: I 2/2 (nonfunctional), C 0/0, Pm 0/0, M 6/6 (variable and continuously being replaced) X 2 = 32. Total length of adults, up to 3.5 m; weight, up to 1,000 kg.
Distribution in Texas: West Indian manatees are found in rivers, estuaries, and...
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