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West African manatee
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World map showing the geographic ranges of the four living species of the order Sirenia: the West Indian manatee (highlighted in yellow along the southeastern US, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and northeast South America), the Amazonian manatee (in green within the Amazon River basin), the African manatee (in pink along the west coast and rivers of West and Central Africa), and the dugong (in purple along coastal waters from East Africa through the Indian Ocean to northern Australia and parts of So
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West African manatee

mammal
Also known as: Trichechus senegalensis
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World map showing the geographic ranges of the four living species of the order Sirenia: the West Indian manatee (highlighted in yellow along the southeastern US, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and northeast South America), the Amazonian manatee (in green within the Amazon River basin), the African manatee (in pink along the west coast and rivers of West and Central Africa), and the dugong (in purple along coastal waters from East Africa through the Indian Ocean to northern Australia and parts of So
ranges of living manatees and dugongs Present-day ranges of living members of Order Sirenia.

The West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is a large, slow-moving aquatic mammal found along the coasts and in the rivers of western Africa, from Senegal to Angola. These mammals are dull gray, blackish, or brown, with stout, tapered bodies and a flat, rounded tail used for propulsion. They have forelimbs modified into flippers and lack hind limbs.1

West African manatees are herbivores, feeding on aquatic plants. They have unique adaptations for this diet, including prehensile lips and continuously growing molars to cope with abrasive vegetation and ingested sand. They are classified as Vulnerable Species due to threats from hunting, entanglement in fishing nets, and habitat degradation.1

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3 Britannica Sources
  1. manatee
  2. West African crocodile
  3. Manatee Awareness Month

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