#sirenian

[inatungulates]

Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris

Observed by bradyh, CC BY-NC

[knuppitalism-with-ue]

The coasts of Lemuria are an ever busy interface between and and sea. The calls of penguins and parrot relatives fills the air while semi-aqautic whales and sirenians wabble on the beaches.

Lemuria has a rich marine bird fauna and this piece doesn't even fit them all, rest assured a few more will be canonized off stream. Same goes for a few other small critters. In the mean time we are moving into the mangroves and with that a more terrestrial/brackisch habitat.

For people not aware, Lemuria is a spec evo project of the #paleostream community. It follows the evolution of organisms living on the fictional continent of Lemuria (fusion of Madagascar and India) from the Cretaceous to the Pleistocene. #LemuriaChallenge

[leha-santehnik]

Don't worry Sirenian, You'll beat them next time, I belive in you

[critter-creature-or-beast]

This is a...

critter

creature

beast

Voting ended onMar 10, 2025

By pgkaestner, CC BY-NC

[miradawhissu]

NOT A SEAL! (Zootopia x OC Comic)

Honestly I remember the sea lion juggler from zootopia 2 and I honestly think it would be great friends with each other since he really does not like getting mistaken as a seal since he is a manatee and the other one doesn't like being called a Seal either because he's a sea lion technically manatees are not even seals or walruses not even pinnipeds they're actually closely related to hyraxes, elephants, and dugongs! Both manatees and dugongs are in the same order sirenia!! Honestly really interesting fact that's why I made the OC since he really does not like being called a species he's not even in the family with but I low keyship the sea lion juggler with that Manatee character so much I'm not going to lie TwT

I hope you guys like this comic because it took me awhile to finish :D

comic inspo: AxelGripp on DA!

[gabipaleo]

Steller's sea cow - a recently extinct giant sirenian, related to modern dugongs and manatees. They went extinct in XVIII century, but their exctinction wasn't just because of europeans, we know that the last populations near Kamchatka were already on the brink of exctinction.

These huge animals could reach 9 metres in length and weight 10 tonnes, making them the largest aquatic non-cetacean mammal we know. They were algae eaters, feeding on kelp. Unlike modern sirenians, they didn't have teeth and used two keratin plates in their mouths for chewing. After feeding, according to Steller they'd lie on their backs and nap. Steller also observed an interesting mutualistic behaviour between sea cows and gulls (probably slaty-backed gulls), as these birds would eat parasites from the sea cow's back, like oxpeckers and rhinos.

The slaty-backed gull is one of the seabirds native to areas where sea cows used to live, and while we can't be sure which species of seabird fed on parasites of these large mammals, the opportunistic nature of seagulls makes them good contenders for the spot.

Despite their appearance, sea cows weren't stupid animals, they lived in large herds, looked after their young and were probably monogamous. Steller observed that they kept their calves in the middle of the herd or near the shore. This could have been caused by their predators.

Killer whales, specifically Bigg's killer whales, which are known to hunt other mammals, are the most likely predators of Steller's sea cow, apart from humans. While they might have trouble killing a large cow, especially in a herd, a small calf might be a meal worth the risk.

[hazel-drawthorne]

Huevember #26

Steller's Sea Cow

Extinction Date: 1768 (257 years ago)

This animal went extinct just 27 years after its initial discovery in 1741.

[arthistoryanimalia]

It's #WorldDugongDay!

#DYK the Dugong is the only surviving Sirenian cousin of the Manatees; its closest modern relative, Steller's Sea Cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. 😢

Louis Paul Jonas (USA, 1894-1971) Dugong sculpture, H 7 x W 14 x D 7.25 in.