I think the type of manatee around the Yucatán is the West Indian Manatee (who can find out the species name? how many species of manatees are there?) The manatee is very endangered. You often see the word "extant" when you read about them. What do you think that word means? It is so sad cuz it seems like a lot of their close relatives have become extinct. Does anyone know why they became extinct?
I read up a bit about their order Sirenia -- it's a funny word for them as it seems to suggest the word Sirens from Greek mythology -- related to the idea of mermaids calling to the lonely sailors on long journeys. (Whoa...search for sirens greek mythology and click on images...it is really clear that the idea of sirens have captured a lot of people's imaginations...but why don't any of them look like this pudgy manatee? I think someone was trying to be funny when they called these guys Sirenia)
But want to get really confused. Check out their cousins by clicking on their clade (it's like a branch of a tree of life...but I'm not sure exactly what it is because it is NOT included in the scientific classification list. Why can't they make any of this easy?).
Hey I bet Jen can help us with this scientific classification stuff? I'll ask her.
What do you think the most interesting thing about manatees are?
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