The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the Eastern United States to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on underwater plants and uses its whiskers to navigate.

West Indian manatees, Trichechus manatus (Linnaeus, 1758), aka American, Antillean, Caribbean, North American or Florida manatees and sea cows, are large, gray-brown aquatic mammals with bodies that taper to a large flat, paddle-shaped tail.

Large, docile, barrel-shaped aquatic mammal. Looks like a large, elongated seal. Has paired, rounded, flexible flippers and a round, paddle-shaped tail. Typically gray, although coloring ranges from black to light brown. Head is small, with a flattened profile. No external ears.

Sometimes known as “sea cow” because it forages on aquatic plants, the West Indian manatee is one of four living species of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia. There are two subspecies of West Indian manatee—the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus). The two share many traits ...

What does the species look like? This is a slow-moving mammal with a rounded body, gray to brown skin with fine sparse hair, small head, squarish snout with a deeply split upper lip, valvular nostrils, small eyes, flexible flippers, and a large rounded horizontally flattened tail. Adults usually are about 10-13 feet (300-400 cm) in total length.

Small head, no neck crease, large and spatulate tail. A rotund body, eyes are small and deeply set, a bristly muzzle with prehensile lips. Slow swimmers, average dives are about 4 minutes, maximum dives at 24 minutes.

The West Indian manatee is a large, bulging creature found moving through the warm waters around the eastern coastline of the Americas. Two subspecies are recognized, the Florida manatee and the Antillean manatee. Here they spend their day eating up to 15% of their weight in sea grass and other aquatic plants.

The West Indian manatee is an aquatic mammal. It is gray or brown and has a very light covering of fur. It has a broad head with a big upper lip that has short whiskers on it. It has a large, flat, round paddle-like tail and large front flippers. It has no hind flippers or external ears. Adults are about ten feet long and can weigh up to 1,000 ...

The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is the largest member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia (which also includes the dugong and the extinct Steller's sea cow). Manatees are obligate herbivores, have developed vocal communication abilities, and are covered in highly sensitive vibrissae that are used for feeding and navigation. The ...

The West Indian Manatee, also known as the American Manatee, is one of three manatee species, the other two being Amazonian Manatee (T. inunguis) and West African Manatee (T. senegalensis). Manatees (often referred to as sea cows) are large, streamlined animals with round, barrel-shaped bodies and small heads; they can weigh up to half a ton ...